Ophelia’s POV:
The world had frozen.
Time itself seemed to coagulate like cooling wax as Damon stood before me. The moonlight illuminated his face with a clarity that made my soul shrivel.
I watched the transformation of his features—the slight pull of his brow, the hard set of his jaw. His lips tilted down, not in shock, but in a visible, visceral disgust.
The ache in my chest made every breath a battle. My heart was trembling. I couldn’t control it. The shock of his reaction, the sheer weight of the mate bond slamming into a wall of his hatred, broke my concentration.
The shift reversed. My bones snapped back into place with agonizing speed, a symphony of wet, grinding pops. I dropped to the damp earth, shivering and raw, clutching my naked body in a desperate attempt to shrink away
