Chapter 56

Victor and Adam’s POV

Explaining to Daisy what it was like to shift caused an intense craving to be in my wolf form. It brought back the pleasant memories of running freely through the darkness with the other night creatures.

I left the living room and Daisy before I couldn’t control the shift any longer. After running out of the living room, I left the house at the side entrance, shedding my clothing along the way.

I ran into no one, and as soon as I cleared the house, my body morphed into its wolf form. I could feel Adam’s delight to be unrestrained once again.

“Do you smell them?” Adam asked me. “There is a large nest of rabbits nearby.”

I breathed deeply and detected the family of rabbits, but my sensitive nose caught the scent of larger prey in the nearby woods.

“Let’s go,” Adam urged me. “It’s been a long time since we’ve feasted upon a fresh kill.”

I gave in to my instincts and ran. It was a joy to run like the wind over the high grasses. Adam and I raced across the fields and entered the woods, where the scent of the deer grew stronger.

As I stalked my prey, my thoughts drifted to Daisy. She was probably disturbed by how I suddenly ran out of the house. But I wanted to save her from the shock of my shifting in front of her.

“Victor, you must concentrate on the hunt,” Adam scolded me. “Our prey is near.”

Catching the strong scent of deer, I crept closer and spotted two bucks, and four does sleeping beneath a pine tree.

“Let’s take the larger buck,” Adam said. “He’ll put up the best fight.”

I positioned myself close to the chosen prey and prepared myself to attack.

But before I could spring at the buck, I stepped on a fallen branch that cracked under my weight. The smaller buck instantly awakened and caught my scent. He sounded the alarm to the others.

The herd instantly sprang to their feet and sprinted through the trees. I gave chase, but they separated and melted into the darkness.

“Follow the scent of one of them,” Adam urged me. “We can still catch them.”

“I feel like running first,” I said. “They won’t leave the woods tonight. After a run, I’ll be more focused.”

“It’s Daisy, isn’t it?” Adam said. “I have felt your emotions for her. You have fallen for the girl, despite your attempts to remain indifferent toward her.”

“I have not fallen for her! Yes, she is much more attractive and intelligent, and funny than I had thought at first. But we are friends. That is all.”

“You know I will not bind myself to any woman. I enjoy her company, but first and foremost, I want her father’s position in the alliance. I have earned it.”

Before Adam could answer, I bolted out of the woods and ran around the edges of the field until I grew thirsty and stopped at the pond for a drink.

“I felt your jealousy the night you saw Daisy in William’s arms here at the pond,” Adam said. “You know what I say is true.”

I raised my head from the water and shook it as if to get Adam’s words out of my mind.

“I did feel unpleasant emotions when I saw William holding Daisy in his arms,” I admitted. “But that does not mean I am in love with her.”

“Of course not,” Adam said slyly.

“Be silent, Adam,” I commanded. “I’ll prove to you I feel nothing but friendship for her.”

I circled around the house and looked into the windows, but I didn’t see anyone except some of the servants.

Daisy must be in her room. I suddenly had to see her. I would gaze upon her while Adam monitored my thoughts. I had to prove to Adam that I felt only friendship for her.

I know her bedroom is opposite the library. We will go there to find her.

“What do you think you’re going to accomplish by this?” Adam asked.

I will show you my true feelings for Daisy,” I replied. “You’ll know what’s in my mind and soul as I am near her.”

Hurrying around to the east wing, I leaped silently onto the balcony outside her room and stealthily peered inside Daisy’s bedroom.

It was so quiet that, at first, I thought perhaps she wasn’t there either. But I could smell her scent and feel her presence.

“She is nearby,” Adam said. “The room is filled with her scent, but we can hear her heartbeat.”

The bed was empty, but it had been turned down by a servant and was ready for Daisy to sleep nestled in its softness. The thought of her lying on those sheets made my breathing quicken.

“You feel lust for her,” Adam said. It was not a question.

I couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I would very much like to make love to her. But as I’ve told Daisy, lust is not this love that she yearns for.”

“Love is a foreign concept that has no meaning to me,” I explained to Adam. “You know that. Let me show you how I feel about her.”

I let my eyes scan the room and was rewarded by a slight movement and the sound of quiet breathing on the other side of the bed.

Daisy was there, curled up on a plush armchair with an old book in her hands. She looked serene and satisfied. I had the urge to sit in that chair with her in my lap and hold her.

It was apparent she was not studying but instead reading for pleasure. As I watched her face, I could see her emotions change from the words on the pages.

First, she was happy, and then a few minutes later, the book must have taken a darker turn, and her smile faded. But after she turned a few more pages, she smiled before putting down the book and stretching.

I was alarmed when she placed the book on her bed and came out on the balcony.

I crouched deep in the shadows behind a chaise lounge, hoping not to be seen by her in my wolf form. Yet I was afraid to leave because she would hear my departure and know I was here.

She didn’t seem to notice me as she stared up at the waning, gibbous moon. She stretched again, her arms raised to the night sky, and her head fell back as if surrendering to the night.

“You care for her, Victor,” Adam said. “I can feel your tender emotions toward her.”

“It’s not love,” I insisted. “I’ll never love any woman.”

“You fool yourself,” Adam said. “Your feelings for this female grow stronger every day.”

“It’s just admiration and lust,” I said. “And I’ll debate it no more.”

A woman’s voice called Daisy into the bedroom. As she spoke to the maid, I decided to leave the balcony. I did not want her to catch me spying on her while in my wolf form.

I moved from behind the chaise lounge, leaped over the railing, and landed in the grass below the balcony and concealed myself in the shadows near a large lilac bush.

But as I looked up before departing, I saw Daisy looking over the railing and down at the ground. She must have heard me jump from the balcony.

“Hello,” she called into the shadows. “Who’s there?”

Instead of answering her, I ran.