Chapter Thirty-Eight

ASH

He could hardly believe what he had been told. Rebekah had been changed? Luca’s mother, who used to sneak them extra cookies after dinner? His father, Ethan, was a member of the council!

It wasn’t as if he cared or thought any less of them for it, he was just shocked, especially given the position Luca’s father held. He hadn’t ever met anyone who had been changed before.

At least he hadn’t thought he had. He had always thought the difference would have been something you were able to sense somehow.

But Luca’s story had made him realize that he could have met any number of them without ever realizing it.

His mood had been entirely lifted by his conversation with his beta. Luca had shared the knowledge his father had uncovered over his years of research.

From what he had discovered, if a human mate made it through the bite alive, their chances were very good.

Occasionally, the mind still rejected the process, not being able to give itself over to the change, but the mate bond assisted in the acceptance of it more than an unmarked human mind seemed to be able to.

Proper mental preparation was the key.

The conversation had taken some time. Luca had shared everything he knew to be fact, and many things that were only suspected, but not properly confirmed by multiple sources.

As he made his way back to Keyara, he could sense the pain of the transformation returning to her body. After what Luca had told him, it was much easier for him to bear the feeling.

Key opened her eyes and smiled up at him through her pain as he entered, sensing the optimism he now felt. “Did Luca tell you?” she asked thickly, closing her eyes again. “About his mother?”

Ash sat down beside her and took her hand in his. “He told me. He told me he thinks your chances are very good as well.”

She nodded, and he realized he must have already shared that with her. It explained her confidence over the last day.

They had four days left until the full moon. He would spend every bit of it preparing her for what was to come.

KEYARA

The next few days were a blur, each bleeding into the next. The pain returned full force, just as she had been told to expect. Her body no longer could tell the difference between day and night.

She kept her eyes tightly closed against the pain in her head and slept when it eased enough to allow her to relax.

Luca and Ash seemed to alternate watching over her. They would bring her water and broth, and sometimes a bit of bread or fruit, urging her to eat and drink as the waves of nausea ebbed a bit.

She felt like she threw up much more than she was able to eat, but she tried her best to eat as much as she could.

When Ash was there, which was more often than not, it was a bit easier.

His hands never left her body, constantly soothing and massaging her aching muscles, wiping the sweat off her face, or holding her while they both tried to sleep.

Even with the cloud of concern that seeped from him, his touch helped enough that his emotions were not too much to take.

It was more difficult when Luca took over, but Key knew that Ash needed food and proper rest as well.

Every once in a while, as she left the bed to throw up into the bucket that had been emptied multiple times, she was able to catch a glimpse of the sun or the night sky, so she had a vague sense of the time passing.

On the occasions she was lucid enough to concentrate, they would speak to her about the transformation, preparing her for what to expect.

The first shift was apparently the hardest for everyone, bitten or not. She could not hope to do it in the blink of an eye she had witnessed Ash make it in.

They both emphasized that the most important thing was not to fight it—to try to allow her body to make the changes naturally, even though it would be very difficult to not try to reject it.

When she was not as lucid, and lost in the waves of pain, she could hear their voices floating around the room.

Ash worried about how thin she was or how little she was drinking. Luca spoke in soothing tones, calming her mate in his worried moments.

Suddenly, on the fourth day, she woke up with a clear head.

The lack of pain was jarring. For once, the sun shining through the window didn’t make her wince.

She could hear the men talking in low tones in the common room, though she couldn’t make out the words, and the smell of eggs and coffee filled her nose.

Her senses were stronger and more acute. The past days had made her something more than human.

Luca had told her that the pain would stop before it was time to shift, and if it did, it meant her body was ready and physically prepared for what was ahead. All that remained was her mind.

Ash was asleep beside her, one arm draped heavily across her chest, his face inches from hers. His scent invaded her nostrils; she could sense him so much more clearly now.

For the first time in the last four days, she was able to concentrate on his features. Even with his face slack in sleep, she could see how much watching over her had taken out of him.

There were dark circles under his eyes, and a frown was on his lips. There was a crease of worry between his eyebrows, and Keyara reached out and gently smoothed it with one finger.

His eyes flew open in surprise, meeting hers.

“Hi,” she said with a smile.

His eyes flicked back and forth between hers, studying her expression.

“I’m all right,” she told him. “The pain has passed, just as Luca said it would.”

He let out a relieved huff of air, hugging her against him.