Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
“I only wish to know everything you can tell me about my daughter,” she said quietly.
“Layla?” Tix asked. “I thought my sister was lost forever.”
“Well, her father is a tricky one. I should have remembered,” Lilith muttered.
The hounds had found their mother again, and I noted Puff was with them, sniffing around Evan.
He growled.
“Hey, buddy, that’s your mom,” Fen said, picking him up. “It’s okay.”
“He doesn’t recognize me.” Evan seemed to panic, turning, and her wings slapped against the bookshelf, sending a vase crashing to the floor. “He doesn’t know who I am.”
Lee started to reach for her, and one of the talons on her wings caught him on the cheek and he began to bleed. “Hey, Evan, calm down.”
Lilith moved in front of her. “Calm, child. You changed. You can change back. Let go of the wings now. Until you need them again. What is your name?”
Evan seemed to still, her wings folding in against her back. “Evangeline Donovan-Quinn.”
“Princess Evangeline Donovan-Quinn,” Lee corrected. “Of the royal family of the King of All Vampire and daughter of the High Priest of Faery and his goddess.”
Evan frowned, rolling her eyes and suddenly looking more like Evan again. She had a set of delicate fangs, but she sent her brother a bratty look. “You are so pretentious. I would almost think you’re Rhys and not Lee.”
“Rhys is right about this,” Lee admitted. “We’re standing in front of the First Woman, the mother of demons. Apparently the mother of Nimue, Lady of the Lake, and the one person who might have a shot at controlling Lucifer. She should know who she speaks to and that we can help her.”
“Prince Lee, you are quite the politician,” Lilith replied.
A smooth smile crossed Lee’s face, and the playboy was back in the building. “I’m far more, ma’am.”
Tix’s lips turned down. “Do not hit on my mother. She is thousands of years old. Thousands. She saw man fall.”
Lee winked. “I bet we fell for her.”
I swear sometimes Lee sounds like he’s trying to be Joey from Friends. “Go and check on Dean.”
Lee shrugged. “Sorry. She’s hot, and she looks like she’s going to calm my sister down. My sister, who I’ve been worried isn’t equipped for the war to come. Now I’m not as worried. You just wait, sis. Sasha’s going to have whole new training protocols for you.”
“Hey, don’t tease her,” Fen objected.
But Evan ignored them both, watching Lilith with worried eyes. “I don’t know how to change back. I can’t live like this. I can’t go home with wings and fangs and talons.”
Liv stood up. “I can help you. You need to take some energy from me.”
“Baby, you’re pretty much out of energy,” Casey objected. “I think you should go rest.”
Liv shook her head, and I swear I could see the brown in her hair again. Like breaking the connection to Myrddin had begun a reversion to her original form. “No, I need to do this. Let me help her. Casey, I still can’t feel what I should. My soul is still incomplete, and it might always be, but I can do the right thing. I can do it because I should. I think it’s Eddie’s blood. I know I have to get off it, but it has helped me in so many ways.”
“I will not miss it, Mistress Olivia.” Eddie bowed.
Liv held out a hand, and Eddie took it. “I thank you, my friend. Your wisdom has always been a lighthouse for this family.”
I was not going to cry.
Maybe a little.
Liv squeezed Eddie’s hand and then moved into Evan’s space. She took a long breath and placed her hands on Evan’s shoulders. “You are in control of this. You decide when and if you change. Picture your body the way it was before. You can walk the Earth in that form and have all the power of the primal at your fingertips.”
“I don’t want it,” Evan vowed.
“You have to want it. This won’t work if you reject it,” Liv explained.
“Baby, I love you,” Fenrir promised. “There is nothing wrong with you. I think you look awesome.”
“I look like a freak, and I’m further from being a proper mate to you than I ever have been. If you think the alphas won’t accept a companion as your mate, I can’t even think of what they’ll say about a hybrid primal,” Evan said, her voice tight and tears in her eyes.
“You’re not a vampire,” her brother said firmly. “I would be able to sense if you were. What I think you are is something more like a hybrid werebat.”
She jabbed a finger his way as though he’d made her point. “And that is even worse. Wolves have problems with other wolf packs, much less other were creatures. They will never accept me now.”
“I don’t care,” Fenrir promised. “Evan, we’ve been over this. I do not care.”