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“Prince Taveon...is idealistic. It is a trait that is rarely found in Dark Fae. I imagine he sees this going far differently than it will. That doesn’t make you harmless, Bree. It just means that he’s brought a needle to a swordfight.”
“Whatever.” Bree crossed her arms over her chest. “If you want to think your raven form can stop my beast, then that’s on you. Notme.”
He flashed her a grin. “Close youreyes.”
Bree took a deep breath and followed his orders, though a part of her felt nervous about blocking the fae from her sight. He could doanythingwhile she had her eyes closed, and she would never know it. And, in fact, when her lids fluttered shut, she could hear the whisper of him as he moved closer toher.
His lips pressed against her ear, his breath tickling her warm skin. She swallowed hard and licked herlips.
“First, you must imagine the creature you wish to become,” he murmured in such a soft voice that Bree couldn’t be certain if she’d actually heard the words or if she’d merely conjured them up in hermind.
“If I imagine that I’d like to become a harmless rabbit, then can I become thatinstead?”
He let out a soft chuckle, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. “I am afraid not. You can only become the creature you are inside, and that, Bree, is thewolf.”
The wolf. It wasn’t so bad when she imagined her creature as a wolf, but that was the closest animal to what she became. She’d always thought of it as a beast or a monster before. Wrong. Scary.Hideous.
Those were always the words she used to describe herself, to describe that thing that lived inside of her. She’d never seen a reflection of herself in that form, but she knew what it looked like regardless. It was an image that was burned into her head, one she knew she’d never shake. Some memories remain forever, an imprint of a life almost forgotten, while others fade into nothing more than fog and smoke. This one, Bree knew, it was one of the permanentones.
That dark, oily fur that matted together with dirt and grime. Those teeth like sharp and jagged rocks, and the saliva that collected around her jaw, dripping as the hunger took hold. And her eyes. They stayed blue somehow, the only sign of who she reallywas.
“Are you imagining it, Bree?” Rafferty asked, reminding her of where shewas.
“Yes,” she breathed, curling her hands into tight fists. The sight of her own self in her mind was enough to make her body tremble. She hated the beast. She wished it was gone. But if it had left her, she never would have become who she was now—fae.
“Good.” His lips brushed against her earlobe, and she shivered. She swore she could hear his mouth twist into an arrogant grin. “Now, think about what those claws look like. Think about your own hands. Your ownfingers.”
It was kind of hard to do that now that he’d made contact. All she could think about was how near he was, how warm his breath felt against her skin, how bright his silver eyes were...eyes she wanted tosee.
She opened her eyes and gazed into his. She swallowed hard, her heart flickering in herchest.
The left side of his lips quirked up. “Come on, Bree. I am here to help you. I cannot do that unless you do everything Isay.”
“You’re not like Taveon,” shesaid.
“PrinceTaveon,” he said. “And no. The two of us are nothing alike. We come from very different places and have led very different lives. We see the world in differentcolors.”
“Then, why are you here? Why are you doing what he tells you todo?”
“Because I owe him.” The smile faded away, and he stepped back. “But enough about the Prince. I want to see that beastly form of yours. We will spend all day in here if that is what ittakes.”
Bree didn’t understand what it was about Rafferty, but she felt instantly at ease in his presence. It was as if the beast within her recognized him as a fellow shapeshifter, soothing her frazzled nerves and calming the anger that had burned bright ever since she’d stepped foot in the Dark Fae’srealm.
After several attempts, he finally coaxed her soul to transform into her beastly form. Even though she was now “in control” of herself in a way she never had been before she’d taken the Starlight, the beast still roared with bloodlust. In truth, she didn’t think she was fully in control, not like she thought she would be. She could stop herself from becoming the creature, but it was next to impossible to control its actions when it had taken over every cell of herbody.
And it was even difficult to force herself to shift. She had a feeling it was because a part of her deep down inside of her soul very much didnotwant to become the monstrousbeast.
But Rafferty’s calm, soothing voice coaxed it out ofher.
She stood in the center of the room. Everything looked different when she was a wolf. The whole world was a strange shade of red, and her vision expanded past the corners of her eyes. Smells became stronger, and the tiniest sounds were amplified. Bree focused on Rafferty’s breathing. She could hear every exhale from his lungs and the brush of his tongue across hislips.
Bree blinked at him, her mangy, furry body heaving with every belabored breath. The bloodlust soared through her, causing her lips to curl back to bare her massive teeth. But Rafferty didn’t evenflinch.
He merely gave her a smile and said, “Good.”
