The silence in our mind disturbed us. Where was the simpering voice begging to be freed, and pleading for us not to cause harm? Even when he was hiding, we could always sense the weakling sniveling and weeping when we displayed our power against prey. Was he sleeping?
Why do we even care?
We did not. We had other things to do. We had to adapt to our latest evolution. It took some effort to fully break open the shell that had protected us from those who would seek to abuse us in our time of vulnerability. Expanding our senses, we sought the presence of other potential threats to our welfare in these next few critical moments. Once again, silence greeted us. It was oddly unnerving to be so completely alone and yet ideal in our current predicament.
Treading carefully, we climbed out of the recess on the floor. Our instincts took over as we leaned against the cold wall before us and slightly spread our legs to give us balance while we grew familiar with the weight of our wings. It was blissful to feel them spread for the first time, their deceivingly delicate appearance far more lethal than one would think. We didn’t know how we knew this; we just did.
We slowly flapped our wings to both dry them and familiarize our muscles with the movement. We hadn’t had wings before, and yet we already intimately understood the motion, not by instinct, but by experience. How could that be?
The thought no sooner crossed our minds than the face of a human female flashed before us. It had been too swift for us to truly see her, but she was of great importance somehow. But now was not the time to dwell on that weak species. We had to focus on our venom sacks swelling at the back of our throat—a wondrous addition we had not possessed before. Our teeth throbbed as well, as our new fangs manifested themselves. We extruded our claws and our tail, their vicious tips thicker and sharper than before. Better still, we could now cover them in venom.
Flexing our muscles and flapping our wings faster, we regained control of our vessel and prepared to go on the hunt. We needed sustenance, and then we could have some fun.
As we turned to exit the warm and humid room, we noticed another cocoon, much smaller than ours, lying near the shower. It struck us as odd one of us would be so tiny. But then, he had mastered a host and lived long enough to reach this next stage of our evolution, so he had to be worthy. As we approached the exit, the tingling of sentient minds nearby set us in attack mode.
Expanding our senses, we skimmed through their immediate thoughts, confusion washing over us. They were coming here. They were coming for Varnog… for their friend who had just awakened. Our head jerked around the room until our eyes found the camera that had been spying on us.
No, that had been watching over me.
The thought startled us. It hadn’t come from the weakling. It had been unconsciously spoken by us. Why would we—?
Not spoken by us, but by me. There is no more us. Our host is dead. The monster is dead. There is only me.
The door opening in the main chamber kept us from challenging our confused voice. We rushed out of the bathroom not to be cornered in the tight space only to be confronted by a group of humans, some odd-looking. Our instincts shouted for us to attack, to kill, and obliterate. But the wretched voice that had been messing with our mind forbade it. They were important to us.
“Holy crap, Varnog!” a dark-skinned female exclaimed. “You are every shade of badass!” Her awe and admiration were genuine as her gaze roamed over us… until it reached our crotch. “Oh wow! Yeah… Very badass. But hmmm… You will want to cover that. I don’t think Linette will approve of you flaunting the goods.”
The males accompanying her snorted although their eyes—filled with worry—never strayed from me. I should be reading… WE should be reading them, but my brain was stuck on that name.
As memories from the female flowed into us… into me, shock nearly had my knees buckle. Even now, understanding I was the individual named Varnog, I struggled to reconcile that truth with how I felt. I latched onto the images of Linette, my mate, as seen by Tyonna. And then my own memories started flooding in. So many we had made together in such a short time. I was drowning in them, barely hearing the words being spoken around me.
“How are you feeling, brother?” Reaper asked.
My eyes flicked towards him, but I couldn’t process the words, images of my woman still dancing before my eyes.
“Here, cover yourself,” Tyonna said, picking up one of the blankets from the bed.
I instinctively took it from her, and as I began to wrap it around me, my gaze roamed over the people present.
“Where is she?” I asked.
The uneasy look in the Vanguard members present immediately set all my senses on high alert.
“Linette is here,” Rogue said in an appeasing tone. “But you just went through a major ordeal. How are you feeling? I would like to give you quick examination to make sure—”
“Where is my mate?” I asked in a menacing tone, interrupting him.
My gaze turned towards Wrath, but even as it did, my spine stiffened with certain knowledge. My head jerked towards the bathroom door behind me, the memory of the smaller cocoon coming back to the forefront.
“No…” I whispered with horror.
I ran back in and fell on my knees next to what I knew beyond any doubt to be my mate’s chrysalis. It acted like a psychic disruptor. I couldn’t brush against her consciousness or even feel anything inside.
“What’s happening to her?” I asked whoever had rushed in behind me without looking away from the hardened shell.
“We can’t say for sure,” Rogue said gently. “Just like we couldn’t say what was happening with you. But it is good to see what enhancement it has given you, and that you’re still yourself. It means she will hopefully be coming out in a similar fashion. What greater gift than wings to your mate who has such a passion for flying?”
My hand slid over the slick and shiny surface of the cocoon. Indeed, what an amazing gift it would be to my little Firefly. But what if it was something else instead?
“How long has she been like this?” I asked, feeling helpless.
“Four days,” Rogue answered.
My head jerked left to look at him with bulging eyes over my shoulder. “Four days?!” I exclaimed, staring at him disbelievingly. “How long was I out?”
“Twenty-one days,” Wrath said. “And your woman was by your side every second of it. She watched over you with such incredible devotion she was neglecting herself. We had to force her to eat and rest. But she refused to sleep in her own bed. She would sleep with you, pressed against your cocoon. Whatever this is doing to her, my little Half-Pint won’t care as long as you are together again.”
My throat constricted with a mix of guilt and love for my woman, and anger that she had suffered or allowed herself to grow weak because of me.
“Thank you for looking after my soulmate,” I said with sincere gratitude.
He smiled and squeezed my shoulder.
“What of my brothers? What of Reklig?” I asked as the thought suddenly popped in my head.
“They’re all like her,” Rogue said, pointing at my woman’s cocoon with his chin. “The day after you began your metamorphosis, each one of your brothers started falling one by one over a three day stretch. As soon as we leave you, we will be contacting Khepri to let them know what has happened, and how you are faring. But I need to run some tests on you.”