He’s dangerous, Bree reminded herself. And he’s full of chaos, just like all the others. He probably thinks Prince Taveon is some kind of hero for capturing me.

Hell, he might even be a supporter of King Midas, which would make him pretty much the exact opposite of the kind of male Bree could ever be attracted to. Still, she kept her eyes on his chiseled jaw, those bright silver eyes, and that body corded with some serious muscle.

“Hello, Bree.” He flashed her a smile, one that was almost blinding compared to the one that Taveon rarely showed. “My name is Rafferty, although you may call me Rafe.”

“Hello,” she said dumbly.

He let out a chuckle. “If you are wondering why I am here, I am a shapeshifter. And I have been assigned to train you on how to control the shift and on how to control yourself when you are in your alternative form.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “So, you’re a Redcap?”

She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. The Redcap virus had originated from the Dark Fae’s realm after all. Still, she hadn’t expected to encounter any of them here.

“Oh no. The Redcaps of our realm are not shapeshifters. Our beasts are merely beasts, much like what humans become when they are infected. They begin by being able to transform their bodies, but when the beast finally takes over, they are gone. Only the Light Fae have enough immunity to withstand the venom enough to shift forms indefinitely.”

“Right,” she said slowly. “Because of the Starlight.”

The Starlight flower was a plant only found in the Winter season of Otherworld. It was difficult to find and required trekking through snow-covered mountains in order to find even one flower. If an infected human took the Starlight, they would be saved as long as the disease wasn’t too far along. They would no longer have the beast within them, and their lives could continue on as if normal.

Bree had been human when she’d been infected by the beast. And she’d taken the Starlight. But instead of being cured, she had become something else. She had become a fae, one who still held the beast within her, and one who wasn’t controlled by its vicious rage. No one understood why or how it had worked differently on her, but Bree had a sneaking suspicion it was because she had wanted to become a Light Fae.

“Of course. Although if a beast here took the Starlight, I do not believe anything would happen. They are creatures of rage. They are not fae.”

“Some might say that all Dark Fae are creatures of rage, and I can’t see much of a difference myself. Not when you had a King like Midas. And not when your Prince is...well, an asshole.”

Rafferty stared at Bree for a long moment, his glittering silver eyes piercing right into her soul. It made her shiver, in spite of herself. She hated that he could see that this one look of his could get to her.

“I must say that I am surprised the Prince has not better warned you of what might happen if you speak so brazenly in front of the wrong fae.”

Bree shivered again.

“You are lucky that I have such a close relationship with the Prince and that I myself find the actions of King Midas and several of his allies to be what you imagine us all to be.” A pause. “But you are likely to lose your luck at some point. King Midas’s supporters slither through this castle still. And they will eat you alive if they hear you say a word against their King.”

Bree lifted her chin, keeping her gaze locked tight on his. His words had shaken her, and especially his eyes had made her feel like a trembling mess, but she wouldn’t let him see just how much he’d gotten to her.

“I thought you were here to train me on shapeshifting, not lecture me on courtly manners.”

His eyes widened at that, and he let out a low chuckle. “Very well. It’s your head on a stake. Not mine.”

“So, what kind of shapeshifter are you anyway?” Bree asked as she eyed up Rafferty once again. She couldn’t help herself. There was something so...mesmerizing about the way he moved. She realized that it was similar to how Norah moved—graceful, like a dancer. Only he radiated a kind of physical power that made him seem far more lethal than that. “A cheetah?”

He grinned. “No, my form is much more useful than that. I shapeshift into a raven.”

Bree blinked at him for a moment, thinking he was somehow joking with her, even though he didn’t really seem like the joking type. But he wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even smiling.

He couldn’t be serious.

“A raven?” She shook her head, taking a step away from him. “You do realize that I transform into a massive wolf beast who can rip people to shreds within seconds, right? How can you possibly protect yourself if you’re a bird?”

“I have no intention of doing anything of the sort.” He stretched his lips into a wicked smile. “I’ll remain in my fae form while you become the beast. And I can assure you that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself against anything you can throw at me.”

Bree didn’t miss the emphasis he placed on the word you. So, he thought she was a weakling who wasn’t a threat. She’d found him attractive at first, but she was starting to get that punching urge she got around the Prince.

“You do realize that I’m not me when I become the beast, right? I’m something else. A monster. You can downplay it all you like, but that doesn’t mean I’m not dangerous. I doubt Prince Taveon would have wanted me to come here and train to fight for him if he thought I was harmless.”

“Prince Taveon...is idealistic. It is a trait that is rarely found in Dark Fae. I imagine he sees this going far differently than it will. That doesn’t make you harmless, Bree. It just means that he’s brought a needle to a sword fight.”

“Whatever.” Bree crossed her arms over her chest. “If you want to think your raven form can stop my beast, then that’s on you. Not me.”

He flashed her a grin. “Close your eyes.”

Bree took a deep breath and followed his orders, though a part of her felt nervous about blocking the fae from her sight. He could do anything while she had her eyes closed, and she would never know it. And, in fact, when her lids fluttered shut, she could hear the whisper of him as he moved closer to her.

His lips pressed against her ear, his breath tickling her warm skin. She swallowed hard and licked her lips.

“First, you must imagine the creature you wish to become,” he murmured in such a soft voice that Bree couldn’t be certain if she’d actually heard the words or if she’d merely conjured them up in her mind.

“If I imagine that I’d like to become a harmless rabbit, then can I become that instead?”

He let out a soft chuckle, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. “I am afraid not. You can only become the creature you are inside, and that, Bree, is the wolf.”

The wolf. It wasn’t so bad when she imagined her creature as a wolf, but that was the closest animal to what she became. She’d always thought of it as a beast or a monster before. Wrong. Scary. Hideous.

Those were always the words she used to describe herself, to describe that thing that lived inside of her. She’d never seen a reflection of herself in that form, but she knew what it looked like regardless. It was an image that was burned into her head, one she knew she’d never shake. Some memories remain forever, an imprint of a life almost forgotten, while others fade into nothing more than fog and smoke. This one, Bree knew, it was one of the permanent ones.

That dark, oily fur that matted together with dirt and grime. Those teeth like sharp and jagged rocks, and the saliva that collected around her jaw, dripping as the hunger took hold. And her eyes. They stayed blue somehow, the only sign of who she really was.

“Are you imagining it, Bree?” Rafferty asked, reminding her of where she was.

“Yes,” she breathed, curling her hands into tight fists. The sight of her own self in her mind was enough to make her body tremble. She hated the beast. She wished it was gone. But if it had left her, she never would have become who she was now—fae.

“Good.” His lips brushed against her earlobe, and she shivered. She swore she could hear his mouth twist into an arrogant grin. “Now, think about what those claws look like. Think about your own hands. Your own fingers.”

It was kind of hard to do that now that he’d made contact. All she could think about was how near he was, how warm his breath felt against her skin, how bright his silver eyes were...eyes she wanted to see.

She opened her eyes and gazed into his. She swallowed hard, her heart flickering in her chest.

The left side of his lips quirked up. “Come on, Bree. I am here to help you. I cannot do that unless you do everything I say.”

“You’re not like Taveon,” she said.

“Prince Taveon,” he said. “And no. The two of us are nothing alike. We come from very different places and have led very different lives. We see the world in different colors.”

“Then, why are you here? Why are you doing what he tells you to do?”

“Because I owe him.” The smile faded away, and he stepped back. “But enough about the Prince. I want to see that beastly form of yours. We will spend all day in here if that is what it takes.”

Bree didn’t understand what it was about Rafferty, but she felt instantly at ease in his presence. It was as if the beast within her recognized him as a fellow shapeshifter, soothing her frazzled nerves and calming the anger that had burned bright ever since she’d stepped foot in the Dark Fae’s realm.

After several attempts, he finally coaxed her soul to transform into her beastly form. Even though she was now “in control” of herself in a way she never had been before she’d taken the Starlight, the beast still roared with bloodlust. In truth, she didn’t think she was fully in control, not like she thought she would be. She could stop herself from becoming the creature, but it was next to impossible to control its actions when it had taken over every cell of her body.

And it was even difficult to force herself to shift. She had a feeling it was because a part of her deep down inside of her soul very much did not want to become the monstrous beast.

But Rafferty’s calm, soothing voice coaxed it out of her.

She stood in the center of the room. Everything looked different when she was a wolf. The whole world was a strange shade of red, and her vision expanded past the corners of her eyes. Smells became stronger, and the tiniest sounds were amplified. Bree focused on Rafferty’s breathing. She could hear every exhale from his lungs and the brush of his tongue across his lips.

Bree blinked at him, her mangy, furry body heaving with every belabored breath. The bloodlust soared through her, causing her lips to curl back to bare her massive teeth. But Rafferty didn’t even flinch.

He merely gave her a smile and said, “Good.”