Swallowing a salty bite of bacon, Adair asked, “How does it work? Changing your partner by marriage, I mean. It’s almost like you change your mate like a vampire might change someone, but the blood exchange almost makes scientific sense to me.”
Setting down her strip of bacon, Astrid said, “It’s like our choice to accept the gift when we turn eighteen. Something activates within us and changes our genetic structure. Except we copy some of the demon strands and share them with our partner. It requires a focused, undoubting commitment in our mind that this person is our equal and our future, and the words enable us to share some of our abilities.”
Bodie cleared his throat. “The process is the same for werewolves. The words are important because they symbolize the confirmation and the decision to proceed that starts the process. Actually, this is where the phrase, ‘you may kiss the bride,’ originated. It’s that intention and the physical connection that officially begins the exchange. But coming together completely, makes it permanent. Which is why a marriage must be consummated before it’s considered binding in most civilizations. Seals the deal, so to speak.”
Holding Skye tight against her as she scooped in another bite, Quinn grinned at Bodie before turning to Adair. “Bodie is an anthropologist specializing in the paranormal. Most of us have no idea how it works, we know to say the words that have been passed down through the generations, and the rest of the good stuff is rather inevitable, as if you didn’t truly feel that way, the transfer wouldn’t happen.”
“Kissing and sex to claim someone? Sounds more romantic that biting and sucking.” Adair grinned over the rim of her coffee cup.
Bodie winked. “Those are important too.”
Ripping off a chunk of bacon, Lana added, “I like to practice as often as possible, so I get it right when the time comes.”
Nodding, Bodie said, “It was really weird when we got married, as we shared different gifts. I mean, we both have longevity already, but werewolves don’t heal as rapidly as demon hunters. As soon as we kissed at the end of the ceremony, I could feel something in that connection; painful, like rebuilding every cell in my body, but weirder yet, was feeling Astrid bearing the bulk of the agony for me, while I was fighting back to protect her from the wolf changes in her.”
Bennett leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. “I always wondered about that. Why anyone would risk bringing that pain on a mate.”
Lana shook her head. “My dad’s been trying to get me to settle down since my fricking eighteenth birthday, so I know way more than I care to. I got used to hearing about where babies come from, the sex talk, and the chastity belt threat at every family dinner. Dad did not take after Grandpa and hates that I do. Mom was his childhood sweetheart. Anyway, by instinct, we shoulder the pain of the change for our partner, not just to be nice, but we have the strength to handle it.”
Hand rubbing the back of his neck, Bodie added, “By the time the exchange was done? I was so tempted to go out and get hurt so I could see how fast I heal. Really cool. But, you know, by that point, I was a little distracted by the consummating bit.”
Astrid swallowed her bite before speaking. “Werewolves get married under the full moon, either based on suspicion or an awareness of that’s when their power is at its strongest, and as we kissed, I felt the strangest energy from the moon, and I do every month now.”
Ryan slid his empty plate forward and took Skye so Quinn could finish eating. “Not everything is shared though. Only what is necessary to form the lifelong partnership, and what can be shared. Longevity and healing, yes, but strength, instincts, and for werewolves the ability to shift, those aren’t shared, either because they’re not necessary or not possible to pass to your partner. Quinn didn’t get my ability to travel across the veil to the demon realm.”
She nodded as she swallowed a massive bite of eggs. “I was a little disappointed by that. But Skye has it. I mean, I can’t say for sure, but I had some control while I was pregnant, and that’s gone now.”
After kissing the top of Skye’s red fuzzy head, Ryan said, “When she’s older and we can tell for sure, I’ll take her to the demon realm to meet her grandfather. I visited him before she was born, and he says there’s no reason she wouldn’t be able to. As a direct descendant of the demon king, she would inherit his control over the veil like I did. And, like with me, the gift may not be a choice, but could come more gradually with puberty instead.”
Laughing softly as she slid her empty plate forward, Adair settled back and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m old, like, really old, and this is, without a doubt, the strangest breakfast conversation I’ve ever had.”
Bennett shrugged. “You haven’t spent enough time with demon hunters.” He punctuated the invitation with a wink. He gulped down a pint of Vann’s unique delivery, bison blood this time, and then claimed it was his turn for Skye now that he wasn’t hungry. She was awake and alert, so he sat on the couch with his legs propped up on the coffee table, the happy baby resting in the makeshift seat he’d made for her. Her dark eyes focused in on him with a knowing look. He grinned and chatted with her, tapping the tip of her nose to elicit a reflexive smile.
Adair felt the demon hunter, human and vampire in him starting to settle. His cravings were so much better controlled than hers had been this early on, either due to his stubbornness or the hunter inside him, protecting at all costs. He moved differently now, faster and smoother, but he still held that power in every movement. She’d felt the demon hunter strength still running strong when he’d fed from her. Even restrained, he exuded that untamable physicality.
A crack in the curtain creeped across the room as the sun rose high in the sky. Adair felt it for the threat it was and dodged its burn. She crossed to sit next to Bennett to smooth over the incident from earlier this morning. Before lowering to the couch, she felt the warning flame over her skin and looked down at his arm.
He caught her hovering and glanced up. “What?” His eyebrow raised at her open-mouthed concern.
“Look.”
He followed her gaze to the scrap of sunlight that should feel like roasting under the oven broiler.
“Oh, shit.” He shifted Skye and rose to his feet, moving out of the light, then passed Skye to Adair.
Awkward and totally uncertain with the delicate package, somehow less fragile than she would have imagined, Adair wanted to refuse, but Bennett was freaked. She balanced the little one in her arms and rested her against her chest like Quinn had done through breakfast. Snuggly and cozy like a little heater, Skye burrowed into her.
The room stilled as Bennett stood stunned. Testing the water, he reached into the strip of sunlight and let the ray dance over his fingers. “Isn’t that supposed to hurt?”
“Yes.”
Moving to the curtain, he glanced back at her. “Stay in the shadows.” With a cautious thrill, he drew back the curtain and let the golden waves wash over him.
Standing like a warrior, the sun rising over a frozen battlefield, he closed his eyes and opened his arms. Drawing in a breath of the morning sun, his lips drew into a resonant grin. Rare dimples flashed in his cheeks, the tension that had tightened over his neck and shoulders loosened.
Breath catching in her throat, Adair watched as he savored the sensation she hadn’t felt in centuries. She loved her immortality, the speed, feeling her surroundings with intensity. But the sun on her face?Thatshe would give up eternity for.
Turning with a dreamy smile, Bennett flashed her a wink.
