I stared at my reflection, unable to look away. I had high cheekbones, higher than they used to be at least. My face was smooth, the small scars I’d earned by enforcing the laws—gone. My eyes had the thin black line around them that Ryder’s had. Otherwise, they were the same, blue and purple two-tone coloring my eyes had changed to after my first meltdown, minus the glow shining back at me from the mirror. Hunger. I blinked and took in every fine detail. I was changed. I had perfect skin now, and my hair was thicker, and a little longer than it had been before Transition.
My brands were now formed, with delicate lines that kissed and caressed my flesh. They flowed up my arms and settled on my shoulders. They were dark red, and beautiful. The brands had also formed a Celtic triple spiral knot at the top of each of my shoulders. I remembered in some of my studies back at the Guild that this type of knot represented three stages of a woman—maiden, mother, and wise woman.
I licked my fangs and shook my head. I had flipping fangs. I looked up from my little self-discovery session to find Ryder watching me. He’d put on jeans that sat low on his sexy hips, but had left his shirt off. His smile drew my eyes up to it briefly. Hunger drew them down to his sexy six-pack, and lower to the thin, dark kiss of hair that led into his pants. That happy-trail led to what my hunger wanted.
“Not the monster you’d thought yourself to be?” He asked, moving across the room to stand behind me. He pulled me back against himself, and I felt his already—hard cock press against my bare backside.
“How do I make the fangs go away?” I asked, trying to make my mind work past the feel of his desire.
“They will go away on their own, Pet. They will come and go with the hunger though.”
“I can’t just make them go away like Vlad does?” I asked. I wanted them gone now. They were a reminder that I had changed, as were the ache between my thighs; which reminded that he’d abused me in ways I’d enjoyed.
He smiled over my head as I watched our reflection. We looked Fae, and I wasn’t sure how to process it. I was now immortal. Or, basically, it wouldn’t be official until I was fully out of Transition. I could already feel my hunger growing for this man, and it had little to do with actual hunger.
“Mmm, already hungry, Pet?” he said wickedly against my ear.
“How often do I have to feed?” I asked, turning around in his arms to face him.
“Every few days. Right now, your body is changing and needs to feed often. Later, you will be able to go for weeks at a time between feeding. Without it, you would become sick, and eventually you would succumb to hunger and, yes, you would die. Starvation is one of the few ways Fae can die.”
I nodded and met his eyes, watching as his glow crept into his beautiful amber orbs. I swallowed and considered my options. I was hungry, and he’d feed me. I wasn’t ready to ask him for sex, though, because, well…it felt weird asking him for anything.
“You are so beautiful, Pet,” he whispered softly, dropping a reassuring kiss to my forehead. It made my heart flutter in my chest. “Are you done hiding in here?”
“I wasn’t hiding,” I whispered as I placed my head against his chest and closed my eyes. I listened to his heart beating and wondered what it would be like if it beat for me.
“You have been in here for a while,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me.
“I was trying to figure out how to shut off the second sight. I see everything too bright. It’s giving me a pounding headache.”
He laughed and pulled away. “That’s not second sight, Syn; that’s how we see.”
We.
“All the time?” I asked, looking up at his face. He was even more beautiful now. His skin was perfect.
“All the time,” he confirmed.
“So, before, when I was still human…” Why the hell would I ask him that? I’d been about to ask him if he thought I was beautiful before I’d Transitioned.
“You were beautiful then as well, Pet. You are strong and stubborn, but that soul of yours is undeniably beautiful. I know, because I’ve felt it from the inside when you stole part of mine. My soul was addicted to yours from the moment you stole it. I felt the pure untainted beauty of it. It only made me want to taste you more.”
I could have given some smart ass retort, and it might have gotten him to release his gentle hold. But, right then, I only wanted him to hold me and reassure me that I hadn’t become some fanged freak. “It’s not pure. I’m not a good person,” I whispered and looked up into his face.
“Why? Because you’ve killed those who failed to follow the rules of this world? That doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“I’m not talking about the Fae,” I whispered and tipped my face up to his.
He smiled and lowered his mouth to mine. His kiss was gentle, and I felt myself melting against him like butter in a frying pan. He picked me up and carried me easily into the bedroom. He didn’t take me to the bed. Instead, he pressed me against the wall and captured both of my hands in his much larger one.