Distantly, as if I were watching from somewhere outside of my body, I knew Bestia was no longer an animal; she became one with the wings as they pushed through my body and out into the open air of the alley.
I brought myself back to reality and felt my raw and bleeding throat split down the middle as I let out another piercing sound. I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel anything but the burning blades slicing out of my back. Inch by solid inch, the weight of the wings grew heavier on my body as they became real, no longer just in my mind. I tried to turn around and see what was happening, but I couldn’t move. I was face down on the concrete in agony.
Then I felt my gums begin to tingle.
“Fangs, she’s getting fangs,” Seafoam whispered somewhere near me. I had forgotten the guys were there.
“Why is she getting fangs?” I heard Blue’s panicked voice.
“Breathe, Annalise, it’s almost over. Your wings are almost out. You’re almost through the thick of it.”
I didn’t know who spoke; I couldn’t think beyond the searing pain in my gums. It was like a thousand needles were being stabbed into my flesh over and over—all at the same time. Like my teeth were being pulled out one by one. I was crying, screaming, I could feel the salty liquid sliding down my cheeks and landing in my dry mouth.
Then I heard Seafoam cry out, his hoarse voice darkened by the heavy resentment that filled the air around us. I could taste his confusion on my tongue.
It was…delicious.
Like a tangy lemon or a spicy bloody Mary.
“Fucking HELL,” I cried out as a new wave of pain crashed over me.
“Annalise!” I heard Seafoam grit out, a hand coming down to crush my own. I wanted to ask what the fuck was happening to me, but my voice was broken and raw. My throat bled, stinging with each breath like I swallowed glass. I could taste the metallic liquid mingling with my tears.
This was torture. Pure, unadulterated torture.
Using my blood-coated tongue, I felt around my mouth until it landed on four sharp points and realized that, where my canines were once deeply seated in my gums, deadly fangs now sat.
Panicking, I searched for Bestia. Finding her cage empty, I blew through my body like a whirlwind trying to locate her. I knew she was there; I could feel her stronger than I ever had before—but as I looked in every nook and cranny, I still couldn’t see her. Beginning to freak out, thinking I was crazy and alone, I felt my breath quicken and race toward the impending panic attack.
The pain, the fear—I had hit sensory overload and was running headfirst into a state of shock. My body was shutting down.
Then I heard a deep, beautiful voice inside my head say, “I am here, Annalise.”
Where the hell did that come from? I looked again but came up empty until I reached my spine, a place I didn’t look before.
There.
Seated on either side of my spine were two strips of bright white lights. They were glowing and pulsating.
“Her wings are moving, look!” I heard someone say.
“I am here, Annalise. I am now a physical part of you.” That deep voice spoke inside my mind again.
I faintly remembered watching Bestia’s spirit blend with the wings before her animal body faded out, but I didn’t understand…
“How?” I bit out. I wasn’t sure anyone heard me, but Bestia did.
“All will be explained in time. You must sleep now.”
I wanted to disagree. I wanted to fight her for more information right then and there, but my eyelids began to drop against my will.
I felt two strong hands lift me into the air. The person smelled of ocean and sunshine. I smiled, picturing his blue gray eyes.
“Sleep, Annalise,” he said in my ear.
So I did.
I looked down at Annalise in my arms. Her normally hardened features were soft and muted with sleep, dark eyelashes fanning her pronounced cheekbones. She weighed nothing in my arms, feeling like she belonged there. Her breath came out softly against my chest despite the pain I knew she was in. Her body was in shock, but even then, she painted a striking picture.
She was beautiful—so beautiful that it stole my breath and tried to choke me.
Having her in my arms was not something I could have prepared myself for, even after years of dreaming. My lungs screamed against my chest, forcing me to take a steady breath.
For eleven years I watched this girl, but only now, with her in my arms, did I see a sign that she was even a semblance of the girl I had come to know.
In her sleeping state, she looked almost the same as she had in the majority of my visions—the only difference being that I was holding her in real life. Her features in person were stronger and more defined. Her skin was smooth and tanned, her lips full and bright. The inky black of her hair fell in waves over my arm as I carried her.
I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
Attempting to regain my composure, I shifted my arm so I held her waist tighter to me. I felt her skin beneath my fingers and shivered—she was warm and soft to the touch. A sliver of skin was showing where her leather pants stopped and her white crop top began, her skin feeling like silk beneath my fingers. I tried not to let her wings drag on the concrete by holding her high enough on my chest that her head fell into the crook of my neck, giving her new wings space to fall freely against my arm.
I was at war with myself, with my beast, as her breath softly hit my exposed neck.
She was going to kill me. Her very existence shattered me eleven years ago, but now? I was a goner. I was her captive, and she didn’t even know it.
How was I going to explain to her who she was to me? She’d never believe that I knew her, heart and soul. If she jumped to conclusions too quickly for us to explain, she’d never trust me.
Words would be screamed rather than spoken with tender care and understanding. It would be tense and unproductive. I needed her trust so that I could prove to her that, above anyone else, I had her.
I vowed years ago to find and protect her. I vowed that once I did, she’d never face evil like she had when that man touched her. I’d carry the weight of her protection.
If she didn’t let me in, I feared what would happen to me. I gave my heart to Annalise long before she ever knew me.
I’d been with other girls, sure, but not nearly as many as my brothers. I never let it get to the commitment part—I was already committed to someone else. Instead, I fucked when I needed the release. Most of the time, I handled business myself. It always felt wrong with other females, even Nephilim.
She was always in my head, always lingering in my heart. I couldn’t give my all to anyone else.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if she walked out of my life now that I had her in it. What would become of me?
Fighting the urge to tilt my head down and kiss her forehead, I looked at Lanier who was walking quietly next to me. He was staring at Anna, his features unreadable as he watched her sleeping in my arms. He seemed to be only focused on her face, but his eyes betrayed the struggle he felt when he was around her. He was both man and beast, fighting a never-ending battle for control.
Now though—in the moonlight—he looked at her with a tenderness I’d never seen on his face. It was only then that I realized Quint’s normally loud personality was muted. He was walking quickly in front of us, but his shoulders were tense and his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides.