Chapter 80

Addy’s POV

My ribs felt like they’d just been auditioning for a jackhammer commercial as I hunched over, gasping. Damien’s hands slid up and down my back and tangled in my hair, his fingers warm and steady, even when my bones weren’t. “Almost there,” he murmured, like we were just waiting in line for coffee, not undergoing a full-body remodel courtesy of wolf-shifting tortures. Each ligament popped and crackled in protest; I wondered briefly if I’d ever stop feeling like I’d swallowed broken glass.

Finally, the last spine-shuddering wave washed over me. My body plopped into place—literally—against his chest as I panted, half-grateful, half-convinced I’d never feel comfortable again. Definitely a long way from “casual Friday.”

He held me close, heat radiating off him like a space heater on overdrive. I realized my shirt had ripped in all the wrong places during the shift—wolves are elegant in theory; fashion disasters in practice—so I was bare-assed, cheeks e