"Hey," she said softly, turning his face back toward her. "I did agree. I chose this. Chose you." Her thumb traced along his cheekbone. "And I'd make the same choice again."
The tension in Tyr's shoulders eased slightly under her touch, though worry still clouded his eyes.
"You don't understand," he whispered. "The laws about Turning without permission are absolute. If I had..." He swallowed hard. "Even to save your life, it would have been unforgivable."
Beth kept her hand against his cheek, anchoring him to the present moment. "But you didn't. You asked, and I said yes." She held his troubled gaze. "That's what matters."
Beth's eyelids grew increasingly heavy as exhaustion took hold, the healing process demanding rest. Muscles relaxed into pleasant languidness while she sunk deeper into the luxurious mattress. The transformation and day's events had taken their toll.
"You should sleep," Tyr said softly. "I'll be just a phone call away if you need anything."
A sleepy giggle escaped her lips as she pressed the button to recline the head of the bed. She snuggled deeper into the silk-covered pillow. "Or a pull of the bell cord."
Tyr chuckled, pulling the covers over her. "That too."
Beth frowned slightly as she shifted position, noticing how the mattress seemed to cradle her body perfectly. "Is this memory foam?"
"It is." Tyr's grin held a touch of pride. "With a cooling gel layer."
Beth stared at him, momentarily stunned by this modern convenience in his otherwise antique-filled chamber.
He shrugged, looking almost sheepish. "Vampires have low body temperatures. I hate getting too warm when I sleep."
"Is that why vampires are often shown sleeping on top of crypts and marble slabs in movies and stuff?" Beth asked, curiosity temporarily overriding her exhaustion.
"Yeah." His grin widened. "When they're not shown sleeping in coffins, which by the way was never a thing. That's pure fiction."
Beth's eyelids grew heavier as exhaustion pulled at her consciousness. Even with her eyes closed, she could track Tyr's presence at the bedside. Her new vampire senses picked up the steady rhythm of his unnecessary breathing, matching the rise and fall of his chest. The sound anchored her, familiar yet different through her transformed hearing. Her own chest rose and fell in unconscious synchronization with his.
The last remnants of pain from her healing wound faded into a distant ache as sleep crept closer. Whisper stirred lazily in her mind, the leopard's presence a warm golden glow beneath her consciousness. Her animal spirit settled into a contented purr, completely at ease with both her transformation and Tyr's protective vigil.
The last thing she registered before surrendering to slumber was the soft press of his lips against her forehead and his whispered, "Rest well, my Chosen."
Chapter 25
Beth sat cross-legged on the bed, watching intently as Tyr demonstrated the mental visualization needed for the raptor transformation.
"It's different from your leopard shift," he explained, his gaze intent on her face. "You need to hold the form in your mind - see every feather, feel the hollow bones, imagine the way air moves through them."
Beth closed her eyes, trying to picture a small hawk she'd seen when hanging out as her clouded leopard in the back yard. The mental image came easily - delicate head, curved beak, wings folded against its sides. She could almost feel the individual feathers, the way they'd overlap and shift.
"That's it," Tyr's voice encouraged softly. "Now focus on the size - hawks are much smaller than leopards. Feel how light the bones are, how the wings want to catch the air."
The familiar tingle of the Change rippled through Beth's body. It felt similar to her shifter transformation, yet somehow lighter, more ethereal. Where the shifter Change felt like liquid gold flowing through her veins, this was more like static electricity dancing across her skin.
"Good," Tyr murmured. "Let it build naturally. Don't force it."
The sensation intensified, and Beth felt her body beginning to shift. The Change moved through her differently than her accustomed shifter Change - less muscular power, more hollow-boned delicacy. Her newly enhanced vampire senses made her even more aware of each subtle alteration as it happened.
Whisper stirred in her mind, curious but not threatened by this new form. She seemed to understand that this was just another aspect of what they were now - vampire and shifter combined into something unique.
Beth ruffled her new feathers, reveling in the strange yet exhilarating sensation. The world looked different - sharper, more vibrant. The raptor's natural acuity, amplified by her vampire transformation, created an almost overwhelming level of detail. She could see individual dust motes dancing in the air, count every thread in the brocade duvet beneath her talons.
A movement caught her attention, and she turned her head to find Tobi staring at her, his eyes wide with astonishment. His mouth hung slightly open, an expression she'd never seen on the usually composed vampire's face.
Feeling rather pleased with herself, Beth preened her wing feathers, smoothing them into perfect alignment. The gesture came naturally, as if she'd always known how to do it.
Tyr looked equally thunderstruck, his hands suspended mid-gesture, matching Tobi's stunned stillness.
