I shrugged, trying to decide whether I should give him privacy as he climbed into the back seat and started taking everything else off or ogle him shamelessly.

Ogling won, because really, daaaaammmn.

Now I understood why Declan had tinted windows. “Life isn’t fair. Sometimes one person has to carry the load for another. It’s called friendship.”

Declan leaned forward and kissed me hard on the mouth. “You’re a good person. I’ll carry everything on the way back.”

“Sure,” I said. “Because that’s when it’s lighter. I see how it is.”

He threw his shirt at me.

I watched as he slid out of his boxers, now gloriously naked. “Do you need privacy for your shift?”

Declan shook his head. “It’s okay if you watch.” He dipped his chin, suddenly shy. “If you want.”

I rested my head against the seat and waited. I’d never seen someone shapeshift this close before. The process was smoother than you would expect—after all, it’s magic. Explaining it was difficult—it reminded me of pouring liquid between two vessels. The wolf flowing into the container that was Declan, but at the same time, Declan flowed to wherever the wolf had been.

Declan shifted quickly, the process finished before I could count to ten, though the amount of magic it contained made the air in the car heavy. When he was done, a gray wolf rested on the back seat, head on his paws, taking deep breaths, the silver hair on his back and sides heaving. Eyes the color of river ice peered out of his dark mask, his gaze weighty as we studied each other.

I closed my eyes, feeling for our bond, making sure it was fully open. This was a time when we needed to be careful and in contact, because the wolf wouldn’t be able to shout at me if Eva attacked. It also gave me a minute to collect myself. The experience of watching his shift, of bonding with his wolf like this, felt almost sacred. A gift. Like being granted an intimacy that few others would get. I realized we’d never just sat like this. Just me and the wolf with nothing catastrophic happening.

For the first time, I had a chance to quietly get to know his wolf, and it made my breath catch. I’d always loved wolves. There was just something so captivating about the way they flowed through the world, and Declan’s wolf was no exception.

I dropped my mental barriers completely and welcomed this other half of him. The wolf and the human—they’re separate and they’re not. I don’t know how to really explain it. They were more like really close twins that told each other everything, having no secrets, but still having distinctly different personalities. Declan’s wolf seemed less playful than he was. Solid and serious, but also calm, like a deep, still lake. His scent filled my nostrils and I could almost feel his fur as his consciousness rubbed against mine, making me smile.