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)
“But you will.” She sniffled, and my heart ached for her. But she turned back to Liv. “I have to find a way to change. If you can help me…”
Liv held out her hands. “Put your palms on mine and close your eyes.”
Her hands shaky, Evan did as Liv asked.
“Now I want you to think about folding your wings in.” Liv’s eyes closed, too. “They’ve been with you for a while now, so you know there’s space for them. There’s space for your fangs and claws, too. It’s normal and natural for them to recede when you don’t need them.”
“It’s not happening,” Evan said.
Lilith moved in beside her. “Because you’re panicking. The witch is right, and the energy that is flowing off her will help, but you have to open yourself to it. It’s only good energy, Princess Evangeline. I can see it. The witch is changed, and you can trust her. And the wolf king… His love for you makes his soul shine. You are true mates, and wings cannot change this. So breathe and let the witch guide you through this first transformation.”
Evan’s eyes closed again, and she took in a deep breath.
After a long moment, her wings folded in and receded, leaving her with a decimated shirt and two light scars where the wings had disappeared. I wasn’t close, but I thought they were slightly open.
“Okay, I feel better.” Evan stepped back and looked down at her hands. “I can feel them, but they don’t hurt. I think I could do it again if I needed to.”
“Oh, you’ll do it again.” Trent had found a pair of pants—likely because Eddie had hidden them all over the mansion. “You’ll have to train, Evan. Lee is right. This is going to make a huge difference in the war to come. I know you’re upset about it, but I think once you settle in, you’ll see how much power you’ve been handed.”
“I’ve been handed a curse,” Evan said with a frown. “But I can see the men in my life are only going to see me as a weapon for now. I’m going to check on Dean and make sure Lucifer did what he promised. Fenrir, put on some pants, babe.”
She strode out of the room.
“Well, she’s going to be fun,” Lee said, beginning to follow her. “I thought she would be excited. I never imagined this would be her reaction. It’s not like she’s got to walk around with eight-foot wings.”
“No, but she’s got to deal with the fact that she could hold Fen back,” Gray said with a shake of his head. “And I know you don’t care, Fen, but she does, and she’s not wrong about this making things worse. With her father back, we’re going to need the wolves to fall in line. We can’t take on Myrddin without them.”
“That’s not Fenrir’s responsibility,” I pointed out.
“But it is.” Fen moved to the hallway. “And I will handle it, but I will not give up my mate for any reason.”
Casey had a hand on Liv’s back, seeming to balance her. “Are you okay? Let me take you back to our room so you can rest.”
“You’re still playing the husband role?” she asked, a tired uptick of her lips.
“I’m not playing,” he vowed.
Lilith had a hand on one of the hound’s heads, scratching thoughtfully as she stared my way and then looked back to Liv. “Witch, are you ready to reclaim that piece of you he stole?”
“We don’t know where it is,” Casey replied. “We’ve been asking around about where he could have stored it.”
Lilith snorted, an oddly elegant sound. “So much knowledge has been lost on the Earth plane. You cannot force a soul into storage. He was lying about that. Or perhaps he’s delusional and truly believes he has her soul in an amulet around his neck. The soul goes where it feels safest. It cannot be destroyed. It is the truly eternal part of us. As to where Olivia’s soul is, it’s here.”
Liv frowned, her eyes turning to Casey and confusion clear on her face. “Do you have it?”
“He does not, though it’s easy to see he would have kept that piece safe for you.” Lilith sighed and looked to her son. “Seriously? No one knows?”
Tix shrugged. “Well, I do. It’s quite plain, but I also know it won’t work until the witch is ready. Shall we have some tea, Mother? You can tell me what you’ve learned about Layla.”
“You could have mentioned Lucifer is your father, Tix,” Gray said with a frown.
“Or he could tell us where Liv’s soul is,” I complained. “We’ve been running all over the Hell plane looking for it.”
Tix turned his alien eyes toward Gray, but the expression on his face was pure disgusted teen boy. “He is not my father.”