CHAPTER TEN

Winter

"You're a werewolf?" Alec blurts out.

A sheepish look crosses Damon's face. "Well ... yes."

Alec and I stare at each other. We definitely did not see that coming.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," Damon says. "It's not exactly something you share with everyone you come across. And then I saw you both do those amazing things ..." His eyes widen, and he smiles big.

"We thought you'd left," is all I can think to say.

His face falls. "No. I'm sorry if it looked that way. I snuck off to shift. I thought, maybe if I did it in secret, then I could change back, and you wouldn't know it was me, and ..." He rubs the back of his head and looks away.

I'm still having trouble finding words. Damon is like us! Well, not one hundred percent, since Alec is a vampire, and I'm a ... something.

But he's close enough.

"Thank you." My eyes fill with tears. "Thank you for saving us."

He nods. "I wouldn't leave."

Alec clears his throat. "Were you going to tell us?"

I glower at him. "W