Immediately, Damon hunched over and groaned, the small empty syringe toppling to the floor with a clink. It was ignored, however, as I quickly rushed over to look at Damon, unsure whether I should even hold him or not.

Goddess. We did not think this through properly. What if he truly successfully shifted? This room might not be able to accommodate a fully-grown werewolf!

"Damon!" I called out, panic quickly seeping through my chest. Perhaps Blaise would feel it and he would come rushing over. I needed the help, that was for sure― I was completely at a loss for what to do. "Should I get Nicole? I should get―"

"No!" Damon barked, immediately cutting me off.

He hissed in pain, clutching his side as he huddled into a tight ball. I had never seen him react so visibly to pain before― he always had a higher tolerance, and even when it hurt, his reaction would be very dulled out compared to this.

"No," he repeated, this time softer. Beads of perspiration had already dotted his forehead, and he shakily turned his gaze to me, his lips pale. "Stay," he said, no doubt lacking the strength to formulate more words. Either way, his meaning got across.

"You..." I cursed under my breath, looking left and right.

There was nothing that would help, judging by the transformation of Thorton Elrod and Kyle from earlier. The best I could do was step one side and make way for if Damon successfully shifted. He needed space― lots and lots of open space, something his bedroom couldn’t provide, no matter how luxurious it was.

Before I could even attempt anything else, a guttural growl ripped from Damon’s lips. He gasped and gaped at the air, his teeth gritted tightly together. Veins had already begun to show from under his skin, the jarring blue-green color even more prominent than usual. With his eyes tightly shut, Damon looked as though he was drowning.

I gasped in shock, my hands flying to my lips as I took a step back. Blood had started to pour from his orifices, trails of scarlet red dripping from his nostrils and even the corners of his eyes.

’Blaise, Nicole!’ I called out through the pack link. I had nearly forgotten in my haste just now that I could still call for help without leaving Damon’s side. ’Damon took the serum. He’s not reacting well to it?’

’We’ll be right there,’ came Blaise’s reply. He must’ve felt whatever I did, for no questions were asked.

Just then, Damon’s eyes suddenly peeled open. However, they were anything but normal― the blood that streamed down from his tear ducts was the least of my worries. His glacial blue eyes were now glowing and bright, the luminescence strong enough to slightly light up our corner of the room.

This scene― it was all too familiar. He had never looked more like the Oracles in the Forest of Selene than now.

"What is going on?" Blaise asked, the door thrown open. Then, his gaze fell upon Damon’s form. "Holy fuck."

"I-I-I... He used the serum!" I explained. "I don’t know why he’s reacting like this, but it might have something to do with the Oracles!"

"The Oracles?" Nicole echoed, one eyebrow raised. "From the Forest of Selene!"

"Yes!"

"It might be reacting badly to his blood," Blaise explained. "We have tried the serum on werewolves, but the Oracles are not considered ordinary werewolves. His mixed genetics might’ve caused him to reject the formula."

Nicole looked the most confused out of all of us, but she wasn’t nearly as panicky. Thankfully, there wasn’t a reason to be.

Damon’s eyes suddenly lost their glow, and as though someone had snapped their fingers and removed a dreadful curse, Damon’s knees went weak and he collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

All three of us rushed forward, but Nicole was the only one who dared to shift him. She reached forward, pulling him up so that we could at least see his face. I watched as she placed two fingers right beneath his nostrils, then moved to his neck.

She let out a sigh of relief.

"He’s alive, at least," she muttered, seemingly more to herself as a note than to us.

Before she could make further observations, the room plunged in temperature. We looked around, confused, until Blaise’s eyes widened with horror.

"Nicole, look out!"

I reached forward and pulled her back to where Blaise and I were, and at the same time, Blaise held out a hand. When pillars of ice sprouted from the ground like spikes that demanded our lives, Blaise’s hands swept through the air, summoning electricity to crackle at his fingertips. It blasted the ice off from us, but it didn’t stop the wave of frost from surrounding the room.

Instinctively, I ducked down, and Blaise shielded both Nicole and me under his body.

Thankfully, there was no impact. When the sounds died down, I peeped out from my hiding place. Blaise had straightened up as well, and so had Nicole. We were unharmed, but the room couldn’t say the same. It was covered with frost― snow was even falling in the room, swirling around in a flurry of white as though we were little ornaments inside a snow globe.

"Damon..." I bolted from where I was crouched, rushing straight for Damon, who was now struggling to sit up. The blood trails had stopped, thankfully, leaving mere stains on his skin and clothes.

"What just―" he stopped himself short as he blinked. The last bit of an ethereal glow faded from his eyes and he began to scan the room, his eyes widening into the size of saucers when he realized the state it was in. "―happened."

He looked back at me, his gaze hot, searching for the answers as though my eyes could provide them.

"I didn’t shift, did I?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"But I did this?" He gestured to the room.

This time, I nodded, still wordless.

"The serum didn’t exactly work on you," I said. "But I think it might’ve done something else― maybe even better."

***

Under the numerous tests that Nicole had run Damon through over the next weeks, the final verdict had been released from her investigations. It was as Blaise had guessed― the serum had reacted with his oracle blood, creating a different effect than its original intention. While in an average werewolf, the serum would’ve boosted the patient’s connection with their wolf, this time, it boosted Damon’s connection with his powers.

Other than the medical tests, Nicole had also instructed Kaine to put Damon through a series of physical examinations, such as to test his strength, agility, dexterity, et cetera. He surpassed expectations in all of the tests Kaine put him through, long exceeding the physical capabilities of a normal human and even most werewolves.

It seemed like the serum worked after all. Just not the way we thought it would.

I found Damon in the forest again after the tests. As effortless as it was for him to command magic previously, now, he was even more fluid with it, and the extent of his spells became much grander and larger than before.

We had not spoken directly since then― he was always busy one way or another, and it reminded me of the time when he had first lost his wolf and given up the position of alpha to Blaise. Only this time, I didn’t think he was actively avoiding me any longer.

"Don’t just stand there and stare, little rabbit," Damon said, suddenly turning around and effortlessly pinpointing where I was hiding behind a tree.

I came out from behind the tree, slowly making my way over through the battlefield of ice and snow.

"How did you know I was there?" I asked.

"I might not have my wolf, but my hearing has never been better," he confessed. "That includes every other sense."

In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of me, inches apart. He held me close, one hand on my waist, and the other propping my cheek so that I had no other choice but to look him in the eyes. Where our skins touched, I felt a sea of desire rush through my body, my heart pitter-pattering like the wings of a thousand butterflies.

My tongue darted out to wet my bottom lip, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes trailed down to glance at my lips before returning to my eyes.

"Don’t look at me like that," he murmured. "You’re making it very difficult for me to control myself."

"In that case, lose control, then," I muttered back, my voice barely even above a whisper.

Damon’s eyes darkened, and he leaned in without warning, connecting our lips in a world-shaking kiss. My lips parted, and he took the chance to prod in, deepening the connection between us as I moved along to the rhythm of his dance. He was starved― a monster that had risen from its slumber as his hand moved to cup the back of my neck, pulling me even closer to him.

Sparks danced across my body, and when we finally pulled apart, I thought I was seeing stars. Our breaths mingled, and in the cold air, small puffs of white smoke appeared whenever we exhaled, mixing together before small smiles broke across our faces.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, and with a quick glance down, I knew that this mere kiss wasn’t nearly enough.

"How peculiar," he muttered, our gazes never breaking away from one another. "You have made me an absolute slave to your love."

The silver necklace hanging around my neck had never felt lighter. At this point, it was as though it was a part of me. My fingers grazed it and I smiled― this was never a collar like I initially thought it was.

It was, and had always been, a crown.