Violet
He froze mid-motion, his hands on the fastening of his pants. His eyes snapped to mine, a flicker of confusion crossing his face before it softened into something closer to understanding.
“You can’t shift?”
I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself.
“I haven’t been able to for weeks. Not since… Lucas.”
Theodore’s hands dropped, his expression unreadable for a moment before he crossed the distance between us.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think it mattered,” I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I can handle myself without it.”
He studied me, his gaze searching mine as if trying to piece together the fragments of a puzzle. “Violet, it matters because it’s a part of you. A part of who you are. Not because I need you to shift for any reason.”
I lo
