Chapter 17
Eleni
No words could describe how blown away and overwhelmed I felt.
From the moment Paulus and then Kali told me that I would need to be made whole again, I had known that I would undergo some significant changes, if only because of the darkness that had been released in me.
But I never expected that they would turn out to be obvious and permanent alterations to my appearance.
I kept staring at my reflection in the mirror, unsure how to feel about it. My demon DNA couldn’t be denied. I only thanked the gods that the modifications weren’t hideous. Above all, I was beyond grateful that they didn’t bother Lyall in the least. He still loved me. His eyes couldn’t lie.
His now purple eyes, like his mother’s…
I still couldn’t get over the fact that she was the Weaver.
Who would have thought that I would one day enter a family of gods, demigods, and Ancients?
My father-in-law was Lord Azrael himself!
And Asheron? His father was none other than Alderan, the most powerful bone demon of the Seventh Circle of Hell and son of Astaroth. Who else was I now related to?
It would take me a while to adjust to all the ways in which my life had been flipped upside down. But the prospect didn’t terrify me the way one might have expected it to. With Lyall by my side, everything felt possible.
Even now, as he stood a short distance behind me, admiring me through the mirror, the look in his eyes melted me from the inside out.
Since he teleported us back home from the temple—being giddy like a toddler overhyped on sugar at his new power—he constantly stole glances at me as if to reassure himself that I was really well and whole.
And every time he laid eyes on me, a shadow of his light wings would peek behind him, testifying to his happiness at merely being in my presence.
What did I ever do to deserve such a blessing?
I turned around to face him, and he closed the distance between us, drawing me into his arms. I doubted he would ever lose his need for physical contact, and I was grateful for it.
As much as I used to hate clingy, or touchy-feely males, I could never get enough of my man.
And now that he had embraced his divine light, being held by him almost felt like being snuggled by the gods themselves.
He brushed his lips on the smattering of scales on my forehead, rubbed his nose against mine, then gently kissed me. I melted against him, feeling home, feeling safe.
“We have to go thank your Lycan friends,” I said softly.
He nodded. “We will in the morning. For now, I want you to rest. You faced a major ordeal not only today, but also over the course of the past couple of weeks,” he said in a gentle but firm tone.
“I feel fine,” I argued.
“Maybe, but I almost lost you,” he countered stubbornly.
“Right, but you didn’t,” I said in a conversational tone.
“But I still almost did. I would feel better if you spent at least one night resting to make sure that everything is truly okay. What difference would a few more hours make before we see them?” he asked in a slightly pleading tone.
I pursed my lips before nodding in concession.
Had our roles been reversed, I likely would have shackled him then trapped him in countless magic circles and wards to keep him safe until I was no longer freaked out by the near tragedy.
I understood all too well how much his protective instincts had to be working overtime right now.
“Very well, we’ll wait until morning. But make sure we go. I truly owe them,” I said.
Lyall smiled, his relief and gratitude almost palpable. “I promise. Anyway, we must go back since Ulric—their young pack leader—told me that they found something that might be of interest to us.”
“Something like what?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But it’s probably not urgent. At least he didn’t give me that impression.”
“Maybe it was,” I said with a frown. “Maybe they just didn’t emphasize it because healing me was more urgent.”
He creased his brow as he reflected on my words. “That’s possible. I could go check with them while you rest.”
“No! Stay with me!” I instantly exclaimed, my arms tightening around him.
Neither fear nor an unhealthy possessiveness prompted that visceral reaction.
It was something else. His light appeased and grounded me.
Azrael’s words replayed in my head about us balancing each other.
In that instant, I realized that he was right.
I needed a bit of time to adjust to my new self.
The darkness had not vanished. It simply no longer tried to overwhelm me.
But I felt like a toddler taking its first steps and being unsteady on its feet.
“Whatever you need, my mate,” Lyall replied, although I could hear his relief at not having to part from me either.
He would have been freaking out the entire time he was gone, wondering if anything was happening to me in the meantime.
With that settled, I sent a message to Paulus, informing him of the success of the ritual.
Although brief, his response screamed his joy.
Guilt had been eating him from the inside since that day.
As the Grand Master of the Templars, he often had to make extremely difficult decisions.
Some of them meant life or death for the people who had to execute those choices.
He had broken so many rules in his efforts to protect me.
And after the events at the Sanctuary, he believed he had condemned me instead due to a grievous miscalculation.
Considering how things turned out in Hecate’s Temple, I realized that all the challenges and pain we faced had been required to lead us to this moment.
Without those hardships, I still wouldn’t be whole, and neither would Lyall.
Only love and gratitude filled my heart for the man who had risked excommunication for a half demonic little girl he didn’t owe anything to.
Lyall took me to bed, and I snuggled deeply against him while he held me tightly.
That entire night, we slept intertwined, both body and soul, our light and darkness dancing in perfect harmony around us like the mesmerizing shimmer of the Northern Lights.
I could feel him at the spiritual level.
In all the ways that mattered, we were truly one.
Any lingering fear I might have had about his thoughts on my appearance completely vanished.
I woke up refreshed, full of more energy than I ever thought possible.
A part of me believed that my mate and I were feeding each other in some form of symbiosis.
I suspected that Lyall had given me a part of himself—or maybe I had stolen it during the feral phase that had briefly taken me over during the ritual.
Whatever the case, I generally believed that had created some sort of bridge between us.
And if I were right, battling alongside him could be beyond epic.
But there would be time to dwell on this later.
For now, we had an appointment with the Lycans.
Naturally, Lyall was beside himself with impatience to once more use his newfound teleportation ability as he picked me up in his arms. I would have found it hilarious if it wasn’t so darn adorable.
I wanted to ruffle his hair as he puffed out his chest the moment we blinked out of existence in his mansion to reappear seconds later in front of the Howl Inn.
I would lie by saying I wasn’t a little jealous of such fantastic power. But who was I to complain about now having my own express, first-class chauffeur?
All such wandering thoughts faded from my mind the moment Lyall reached for the door.
For some stupid reason, I immediately started feeling self-conscious about how the Lycan would react to my new appearance.
No one had seen me yet aside from Lyall’s family and Morrech.
Although I had hinted to Father Paulus at the changes I had undergone, I also had no idea how he would respond to my new reality.
It was silly for me to worry about what others might think regarding my looks. But they had seen me the night before, unconscious though I was at the time. It would have to be disturbing to them, not to say problematic. They had a great reputation as demon hunters.
We entered the room to find the place crowded.
It was nearly impossible to come to the Howl Inn and find it empty.
But to have such a large attendance this early took me by surprise.
Then again, Lyall had warned them about our visit.
That might have prompted the curious to drop by and hear the accounting of last night’s events directly from the horse’s mouth.
Their happy expressions quickly shifted to shock as they took in my horns and scales, not to mention the odd golden ring around my irises.
The glowing strands of hair mingling with my normal ones gave me even more of an otherworldly look.
However, the tension building within me quickly faded when their shock gave way to awe and fascination.
A stunning black woman rose from one of the tables.
She had lustrous, curly black hair that looked softer than a cloud, beautiful black eyes, an impertinent nose, plush lips, and the most adorable wolf ears.
Unlike the other members of the pack, she wore a brightly colored dress with tribal designs.
I didn’t need introductions to know she was Amara.
An irrational jealousy surged within me as she approached us with a broad smile.
She radiated kindness, peace, and beauty.
No wonder Lyall had fallen so hard for her.
I didn’t even need to speak to her to know she was the type of person everyone gravitated towards and just wanted to bask in her presence.
“You are whole!” she exclaimed, addressing me directly before she even acknowledged my mate.