Dark Forest (Secret Blood, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

what his hand looked like with thick, elongated fingernails. Not quite claws, but close enough to look like them, and he’d easily be able to tear through flesh with them. He turned to face her.
    Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Her head canted as her hand lifted and then dropped to her side. “Can I…You’re not actually a wolf.”
    “No,” he agreed. Relief swept through him when she didn’t run. “We’re shape-shifters. We have four distinct shapes. This”—he indicated the visible changes in him—“is what we call a semi-shift. The half-human and half-wolf Hollywood movie shape is called the lycan, and the wolf is called the wolf.” He assumed she understood human was the fourth shape.
    She bit her lip. “Will you show me?”
    He wasn’t sure about it, but he had more of a chance of losing her if he didn’t.

Chapter 5
    “Let’s go around back.” Even though he lived far away from town, on a back road, Aiden didn’t want anyone seeing him from the street.
    She needed to see his other forms. She had to accept him. It was a soul-deep need. Humans had never been taboo mates, there simply wasn’t enough of a shifter population to keep from inbreeding if they refused mates from outside their kind, but that didn’t meant the Council was happy about letting humans in on the secret. He stopped by the woodpile, and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m going to need to take off my clothes.”
    Color touched her cheeks. “I’ve seen boy parts before.”
    He growled before he tugged off his shirt and handed it to her. He toed off his shoes and set them to the side. When he dropped his pants, her eyes went wide as a tiny, smug smile curved her mouth. “Is this your way of getting me to see you naked?”
    “It’s an elaborate plan. I’m going to do the lycan first. It’s big and scary, but it’s still me. I am in full control no matter what shape I’m in, all right?”
    “Quit talking about it and do it,” she said.
    He chuckled as he took a step back from her. A show of bioluminescent color swirled around him. His body slipped into the hulking, lycan state. At this point, Rose knew more about what one looked like than he did. Usually, when he shifted into this form it was because he was fighting for his life.
    Rose moved toward him with wide eyes then lightly touched his chest. “You’re not scary,” she murmured. “You’re…beautiful.”
    His jaw twitched. Aiden wasn’t sure how to respond, but he couldn’t talk like this, so he touched his wolf nose to her temple.
    “I want to see the wolf,” she said.
    He loved the wolf state the most—well, he was sure his human state would become his favorite if Rose agreed to be his mate. He stepped away from her, not wanting her to get hurt in the surge of power. Lights twisted around him, and then he was a wolf.
    Rose dropped onto her knees next to him. “Oh my…Aiden, you’re him. You’re the wolf who saved me.”
    He flashed into his human form. “Rose?”
    “I’m okay,” she breathed. “I just…That’s amazing.”
    Aiden helped her to her feet. Their bodies brushed. She eeped , and took a quick step backward. Hunger smoldered in her eyes. “Please, a girl only has so much willpower.”
    He snatched up his pants and pulled them on. “You can’t tell anyone.”
    She moved up in front of him. Her gaze scorched every part of his body as she looked him over. “I won’t.”
    Aiden stared down into her beautiful face. She was so tiny, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulders. For so long she’d been the unattainable dream. He had a chance, a real chance with her. He swallowed hard, knowing if he touched her in this moment, he would consume her. “Rose.”
    “Aiden,” she whispered. Her hands rose to hover over his chest for a moment, before her soft, delicate fingers skimmed the contours of the muscles under his skin.
    He wrapped his hands around her wrists. “Don’t.”
    Her bright green eyes met his. A