Page 30 of Into the Dawn
“It sounds like it,”he said, sounding unconvinced.
“Okay, I will only mention you being sweet to me from now on,”she promised.
He grunted.“That is acceptable.”
“Is Dominic with you?”she asked.
“Nay, love. He should be right there with you by your side.”
She turned her head to find Dominic sprawled out next to her on the bed. He was lying on his side with his head propped up on his fist, smiling down at her.
“You’re right. He’s here,”she told Ronan.“Get back to work, and I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Miss me while I am gone,”he demanded, making her smile.
Focusing on Dominic, she returned his smile. “Hello, mate.”
“Hello,” he repeated. “Welcome back to the land of the living, little one.”
He was wearing a large shirt with the logo of a local university on it and a pair of black sweatpants. Under normal circumstances, someone might have mistaken him for a good-looking college student. But the way the material stretched over his muscles made him look too damn delicious to be an ordinary student. Considering his size and physical stature, he could have been the star on the football team or some other elite athlete.
However, now Kylie could see though the magical camouflage that had been masking their true features, there was no way to mistake him for a human. His eyes were glowing gold, and she could see a hint of his fangs when he smiled. His bronzed skin even looked like it had been brushed with metallic dust in the moonlight, so she could imagine how much more noticeable it would be in the sunlight.
When she tried to sit up, he immediately moved to help her. Instead of propping her against the headrest, he lifted her onto his lap, cuddling her close. Instead of resisting, she melted against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her longhair spilled down her back in waves, and she was dressed in a midnight blue silk nightgown that she recognized from her own closet.
“We have been worried,” he said softly, stroking a hand down her hair. “You seemed to have slept well through this last healing cycle. Did you feel any pain while you were resting?”
“No, not this time. I didn’t feel anything. I just passed out and woke up here next to you.”
“That is a relief. How are you feeling now?”
“I feel…” She paused to consider it. “I feel fine. No, I feel good. Really good. No pain or discomfort at all. Does that mean I’m fully healed now?” When he didn’t say anything, she lifted her head to look at him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He gently caressed the side of her face. “You look different.”
“Different how?”
Instead of explaining, he simply lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. She gasped when she got a look at herself in the mirror. It had been a long time since she had seen herself looking healthy, but what she saw was completely unexpected.
She tapped his arm until he got her silent signal. With a sigh, he set her back down on her feet. Shuffling toward the mirror, she gaped at her reflection. It looked like a stranger was staring back at her.
No, not a stranger.
She still looked like herself, only a better version.
Her long red hair was vibrant and glossy, and her pale skin had a lustrous sheen to it like the most priceless pearl. Her face looked better than when she had on full makeup, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise. What was shocking to see was her green eyes were now glowing just like her mates’.
“How…?”
“Honestly, I do not know.”
“Is this a side effect of the magical cure? A new upgrade from the last healing session?”
Dominic stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her arms in a soothing motion. “It seems so. It is almost like you have gone through the conversion already, but we are not sure how that is possible. You only have a mating bond with one of us, and we have not completed the bonding ritual yet.”
Her pulse quickened as she thought about what that would entail. She knew from being in their heads that she would have to be with both of them at the same time in order to complete the bonding ritual. She was nervous and excited about that. As much as she was willing and had even fantasized about that scenario, it was still a big step to take for someone who had always lived pretty conservatively.
So much had happened over the last few days. Even though she’d had a lot of time to think things over while she’d been in her magical slumber, it was different dealing with everything while she was awake. Seeing the physical changes in her appearance was a little jarring, and it was going to be really hard to explain.
