I changed shape in the garden, whispering my goodnights to the two men before creeping into the guest room where Shannon slept. My night vision, exceptional as a wolf, was well beyond average for a human, and I stood for a moment admiring the play of moonlight on her face. It brushed her with silver, transforming her into something too ethereal and tantalizing for mere humanity.

Maybe she sensed my presence. She opened her eyes and beckoned me silently to join her. I slipped under the duvet, sliding my arms around her. She stroked my hair, pulling out a few stray twigs with a sleepy smile. “You smell like wet dog,” she mumbled.

I ran my hands down her back, over the soft curve of her hips. “You love it.”

“I love you.” She kissed me, her lips warm and dry, the last vestiges of sleep falling away from her. She twisted in my arms until we were hopelessly tangled, limbs twined together, her hair brushing my throat and shoulders as we kissed.

A need hotter than the burn of change consumed me as I nipped and bit tenderly at her throat and she dragged her nails down my sides and pushed her breasts against mine. The sensation left me breathless, helpless in her arms.

She dictated the pace, as always. I had to be careful, so careful not to hurt her. So Shannon took control, kissing and caressing her way down my body while I writhed and moaned in pleasure.

She rose up to lick my nipples, sucking them into taut peaks and pulling frantic whimpers from me. The animal part of me wanted to take her, assert my dominance, but I held that part back, clamping down the instincts that roared inside me whenever we made love.

She whispered my name lovingly as she explored and aroused my body, teasing me into a mindless frenzy in the thick half-dark. Silvery shadows slipped around us, illuminating Shannon’s sensuous curves as she moved over me.

My skin tingled as if all my nerve endings were exposed to her touch. I sought her lips, my hands trailing down between her thighs, fingers seeking out the heat of her to make her cry out with the same passion I was.

And afterwards, sated and shivering with the aftershocks, we lay together and mumbled sweet nonsense to each other, and I was reminded once again why I always came back to humanity.