CHAPTER 30
Lena came awake slowly, sighing with relief when she realized her body no longer hurt. The last thing she did remember was Gauge entering her mind. He did something and the pain just suddenly disappeared. She’d either fallen asleep then, or he’d put her to sleep.
She opened her eyes, finding the room empty except for Gauge, who was stretched out beside her on the bed.
She sensed he was sleeping, his features relaxed, almost peaceful.
“Thank you,” she murmured, snuggling closer against his side.
She froze when she put her hand on his chest, shocked by the sight.
Lena had been born a serpent. She’d always had pale yellow scales, the same as her mother, but what covered her hand and arm now was not the same.
The scales were thicker, darker, and . .
. beautiful. The claws at the end of her fingertips were also longer, sharper, more like the males of their species.
So, she had changed. Did it mean she would be able to breathe fire now, or fly, or shift into a battle form, like Samantha?
The thought should have thrilled her, but all she could think of was that Gauge wouldn’t want her now.
Vaguely, she remembered a deep feminine voice telling her that her serpent side would fight off her vampire side.
Gauge couldn’t accept a serpent as his mate.
She’d blown it by not convincing him to finish the claiming.
Maybe the voice hadn’t been real.
When she started to pull away, Gauge reached out and took her hand.
“Relax, little one. You are overthinking everything. Teo and Jax are right. I would be a fool to walk away now.” He opened his eyes, eyes that had once been bright green with round pupils.
They were still green, but there were a few gold flecks around catlike serpent pupils.
“What happened to your eyes?” He blinked and the pupils returned to their round state. “Never mind. They look normal again.”
“You are not the only one who is changing, Lena. I’m not developing scales or wings, but I can feel changes taking place inside me.”
“Are you upset with me?”
He rolled onto his side, staring into her eyes. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Gauge, I know you didn’t want this. You keep trying to push me away. Honestly, I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”
He smiled, and it softened his whole face, making him appear more approachable. “Did you know what Teo had planned when he took you to the ship behind my back?”
“No, he didn’t tell me.”
“He planned to tell me he’d decided to take you as his mate, since I was behaving like such a fool.”
“But I’m not his mate.”
“If he’d been serious, it wouldn’t have mattered. Shifters are only given one true mate, their destined, but if they never find her, or she is taken from them, they can accept a second mate, a substitute. It isn’t quite the same, but it doesn’t have to be bad either.”
“I don’t want Teo as my mate.” She cringed, hoping the comment didn’t come across as mean or ungrateful. “Not that I don’t appreciate his friendship.”
“It was a bluff, Lena. He knew I would never allow it. Just the thought of you with another male would have sent me into a rage. Teo knew that too. He risked his life to try to make me see reason. Unfortunately, before he could proceed with his idiotic plan, the transporter set off a different transformation in you.”
“Do I look like Samantha now?” Lena didn’t want to reach for the horns she suspected had sprouted from her temples. There was a heavy weight at her back that hadn’t been there before too.
Gauge didn’t immediately answer, which worried her.
“You don’t look much different from what you did before.
Your scales are a darker, richer color gold instead of yellow.
They may be a bit thicker, more prominent now, shinier.
Your eyes are brighter with more of a gold color, and there are now green flecks around the pupils. ”
Just the opposite of Gauge’s. Interesting. “And I have wings and horns, right?”
“Yes, though the horns are very delicate, even more so than Samantha’s.”
“Will I be able to shift into a battle form?”
“We don’t know for sure yet, but the odds are in your favor. Samantha can probably help you with this when you’re ready.”
“Am I still going through a conversion?” At least her muscles no longer hurt.
For the first time, Gauge looked slightly uncomfortable. “We don’t’ know, not for sure. I kept you sleeping for almost three days. We only woke you long enough to drink, then put you back to sleep.”
“Drink what?”
“I gave you blood, but we don’t know if you actually needed it. Tell me how you feel now.”
“I feel good. Strong.”
“Are you hungry?”
Lena paused, trying to figure out what she felt. “No, I don’t think so.”
“We don’t need to do it right now, but we should probably try to see if you can keep solid food down. It’s possible you’ll be able to take both blood and solid food. At this point, we just don’t know what to expect. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Lena crawled up higher and leaned forward, pressing her face against Gauge’s neck, breathing in deep.
Was it the shaprata or her abaci that made him smell so good?
Behind the leather, his fresh, natural scent made her think of the sea.
Made her think of home and safety. She sighed, her mate making her feel loved. “Thank you for helping me.”
Gauge reached up to cup her cheek, drawing her mouth to his. “I never want to see you in pain again. I won’t be an easy male to live with, Lena, but if you’ll have me, I would like to try to make this relationship work. My word, I won’t try to run again.”
When Gauge asked her to open for him, Lena didn’t hesitate to accept his tongue into her mouth.
She shivered as her sex began to pulse, finding the sensation almost pleasant.
She wanted more, much more from him. “You are my mate, Gauge. There will never be another male for me. I want you to take me now; show me how it is supposed to be between a male and female.”
Gauge broke the kiss, but he didn’t lean away, his breath warm against her cheek when he asked, “Are you sure, Lena? There will be no going back once we consummate our union. And we don’t know what the abaci will do to you once it is returned.”
“I’m sure. The abaci is meant to bring a Raiden pair closer together. It will be the same for us. I’m sure of it. Let me see you, Gauge. Let me see you out of the clothes.” Lena wasn’t wearing any, but she didn’t feel any shame. Serpents were used to nudity.
Gauge leaned back enough to study her expression for several long seconds.
When she felt him touch at her mental shields, Lena dropped them, needing him to see how much she wanted this.
She refused to live in fear any longer. Her father, a powerful alpha, had raised her to be a strong, independent female, even though she’d driven him crazy at times.
Ngozi had wounded her terribly, destroyed her confidence, but Gauge helped her heal those wounds.
She let him feel all this, her love for him, her determination to overcome her past abuse.
She didn’t want to be treated like she might break anymore. She didn’t want to be a victim.
He leaned forward to kiss her again, but this time Lena was the aggressor, pushing her tongue into his mouth, tasting his unique flavor, making it a part of her.
She touched her tongue to a sharp fang, both of them shivering when she nicked it, the flavor of blood exploding in both their mouths.
Lena chuckled when Gauge took her tongue and sucked on it, then used his own to heal the small wound.
Gauge smiled when he broke the kiss, but this time she also noticed a hunger in his eyes.
Not hunger for blood. This was different.
Lust. For a second she remembered the lust in Ngozi’s eyes when he’d taken her, but Lena quickly pushed it away.
She wanted Gauge to look at her this way. She wanted him to want her.
“I’m sure,” she murmured again, smiling.
Gauge nodded, then gracefully sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed as he took off his shirt.
Lena reached up to run one claw gently down a ragged scar along his right shoulder blade.
She knew his kind healed almost any type of wound immediately, except those made from silver.
She frowned, remembering that distant voice saying something about vampires not being true immortals.
Gauge could be killed; this scar proved it.
He wouldn’t need to worry about it if she could learn to shift to a battle form. Lena would protect Gauge then. As Samantha would say, she would fry anyone who tried to hurt him.
Gauge chuckled as he stood, turning to face her. “I am not so easily killed, my mate. Many have tried over the centuries, and all have failed.”
She grinned up at him. “Obviously. But now those who try will also face me. Serpents in battle form are also difficult to kill.” Licking her lips, she glanced down his well-developed chest, his trim hips still covered in leather pants.
“Please, Gauge, I want to see all of you. Your mate grows impatient.”
He laughed then, and her grin widened. Gauge stilled, looking almost as surprised as her. She had never heard him laugh before and found she wanted to hear it often. He shook his head, then reached to release the tabs that held his pants together.
Lena refused to look away as he peeled them down well-developed thighs.
Once removed, he stood there a moment, allowing her to study him.
She’d never cared to look at Ngozi. He’d mostly taken her from behind anyway, and when he wasn’t raping her, he was beating her.
All Lena wanted was to forget everything about the insane male.
Gauge was beautiful, his testicles hanging heavily below his erect penis. His cock. The males of their species always called them cocks. He wasn’t a small male, but she found herself growing more excited rather than frightened by it.
“I won’t hurt you, Lena,” he said gently, his eyes never leaving her face.
“I know. Come to me, Gauge. Let me touch you.”
He stretched out on the bed beside her, leaning over to give her a gentle kiss. “Come to me, Lena. Sit on my lap.”
She pushed up, frowning for a second at the weight against her back.
Distracted, she looked over her shoulder.
How odd. Her once black hair had changed to a light golden-blonde color, more like Gauge’s.
Instead of scales, she found dark gold feathers with a black diamond pattern along the top.
She couldn’t tell if the pattern went all along the wings but suspected it did.
Why would she develop feathers? Even Samantha’s wings were covered in light scales, the underside a thick, leathery membrane, which was typical for serpents.
She turned back to Gauge, allowing him to see her puzzlement as she fingered a long strand of hair.
“We don’t know,” he said. “The Umi queen may be able to answer some of our questions once we find her. None of the other recently converted females had a change of hair color. Samantha was born with blonde hair so we don’t know if hers would have changed.”
“Why do I have feathers on my wings instead of scales?”
“We don’t know that either. Another question for the Umi queen.”
Lena concentrated on her wings, ruffling them. She looked forward to Sam or Seraphym helping her fly. Speaking of her uncle, she wondered how he was handling all of this. She didn’t imagine too well. It was a good thing Samantha was here to help keep him calm.
“Do you want to see yourself in the mirror, Lena?” Gauge said.
She shook her head. “No, later. Right now, I want you.”
He smiled, holding out his hand. Lena didn’t hesitate to take it, allowing him to help her straddle his lap. She could feel the tips of her wings resting against his calves.
“You are everything to me, Lena. I will never let you go.”
She shivered, remembering Ngozi saying those exact words to her, but the idea didn’t terrify her with Gauge. And I will hold you to it this time, my Hunter, Lena thought, determined to make him a good mate.