Rayna POV
I shouldn’t have gotten up. I told myself I wouldn’t.
But the moment I sensed him - that frayed tension in the air, that storm-just-outside-the-window pressure that could only be Damon - I rose like something pulled by a string. My wolf stirred, ears perked, pacing just under my skin.
He was here. Not knocking. Just... standing there.
I reached the door. My fingers hovered over the handle for a breath too long. Then I opened it.
Damon stood on the other side, jaw tight, eyes shadowed, scent wild and storm-swept. Like pine, blood, and something darker. His knuckles were raw, a smear of dried crimson trailing down one wrist. His chest rose and fell like he’d been running.
But it was his eyes that caught me. Not glowing. Not furious.
Just raw.
“Are you going to stand there a
