Chapter 97

Lyra

“Damon… please…”

I whispered it before I even meant to. My throat was still burning.

My knees were still on the floor. My pulse was still sprinting like it didn’t know if I was dying or just barely surviving.

But I said his name.

Because I saw him.

I saw his body shaking, shoulders pulsing beneath his shirt like his skin was tearing from the inside.

His claws were still buried in Camilla’s neck, his lips curled back over his fangs, and his chest was rising in hard, heaving waves like he couldn’t catch his breath. Like he wasn’t trying to breathe at all.

He was growling.

And honestly, I knew what happened to people who stood too close to an Alpha caught between forms. I knew what happened when they lost control. When the beast inside them woke up and didn’t know the difference between prey and punishment.

“Damon… please,” I said again, louder now, dragging myself up from the floor, one trembling hand reaching out