Page 151 of Night's Fall
After that,Itold the screen to cue the vid back to the beginning.
I had our feast spread out when he returned.
And second-best thing to do withAleksei, king-to-be and my mate (after sex)?
Having him claim me in a cuddle while we lounged in front a vid, ate food that was not good for us, and did not one thing else.
Just us, the cats, and home.
Perfect.
Chapter24
Crusader
IfollowedRyadown the stairs, my eyes on my mate leaning a hip to the kitchen counter, sipping coffee while he flipped through a digi-doc, again wearing shirtsleeves and his vest and trousers.Hissuit jacket was thrown around the back of a barstool.
My heart skipped because he was so handsome, but also becauseIknew he was waiting to start his day becauseIwas gettingIVtherapy number three fromRyaupstairs, and he didn’t want to leave until he knew it was done andIwas okay.
He looked our way and did a double take.
I knew why that was too.
Rya made it to the kitchen bar and nodded to him in a kind of succinct bow, before she turned to me, her face filled with compassion.
“I know you’re excited about the increased activity of your beast,” she said.
I for surewas.
“But in an effort to save you disappointment,” she carried on, “Ican’t stress enough that, like the animals they are, shifter creatures do not like to be vulnerable.Thishas been studied extensively, and it is rare to unheard of that a beast will emerge before the drug is fully out of their host’s system.Ifthey did, it could cause them to force you to transform when they’re in a weakened state, just because they won’t have control over themselves, and they simply won’t do that, because it would make you vulnerable.Thatis not their reason for being.Infact, it’s the opposite.Soyou’ll continue to sense increased activity, but you still have two or three days before the drug has fully exited your system.”
“Okay,”Ireplied.
She smiled. “Andthen it will be over, and you’ll be whole again.”
Whole.
I smiled a lot bigger at that.
Her expression grew serious. “Whenit comes closer, asI’vealready told you, you’ll need to take care and hole up somewhere safe for you to transform.She’llhave a lot of energy, and you might not be able to check her from taking over.She’llneed to expend some of that before you can get her back under your control.”
I nodded.
She smiled again.
“See you in a couple of days,” she finished.
“See you, and thanks again for coming,”Ireplied, following her to the lift.
She dipped her head toAlekseiagain, got on the lift, andIturned to him when the door slid closed on her.
“Here,” he ordered.
I fought an eyeroll and went to him.
He crooked a finger and touched it under my chin to lift my eyes to his.
“Did you hear what she said?” he asked gently.
