Lucian's POV
Seraphina slept for fourteen hours, her body working overtime to complete the transformation. I remained beside her the entire time, marveling at the subtle changes taking place—the way her breathing deepened, how her skin took on an otherworldly luminescence, the increasing strength of our blood bond.
When she finally stirred as the sun set on her second day as a halfling, her eyes opened to reveal swirls of gold that definitely hadn't been there before.
"Good evening, beautiful," I murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
She smiled, and my dead heart did something that might have been a skip. "Is it evening? I feel like I've been asleep forever."
"Your body needed time to adjust. The transformation is nearly complete now." I helped her sit up, noting how she moved with newfound grace. "How do you feel?"
"Hungry," she said immediately, then blushed as her stomach growled audibly. "Starving, actually. But also... energetic? Like I could run a marathon."
I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Enhanced metabolism is one of the side effects. You'll need more food than before, but you'll also be stronger and faster than any mortal."
"What about..." She touched her throat where I'd bitten her. "Do I need blood now?"
"Not yet. Your human heritage means you can still sustain yourself on regular food, though you may find yourself craving rare meat." I stood and offered her my hand. "Come. I'll make you dinner while I explain what you need to know."
My kitchen was a study in modern efficiency, all black granite and stainless steel. I'd learned to cook over the centuries—when you lived as long as I had, you picked up various skills to stave off boredom. Tonight, I prepared steak so rare it was practically still breathing, along with roasted vegetables and a glass of wine that cost more than most mortals made in a month.
Seraphina devoured everything with an appetite that would have been impressive even for a full vampire.
"Sorry," she said, looking embarrassed as she finished the last bite. "I don't know what came over me."
"Your body is changing. It needs fuel for the process." I refilled her wine glass, enjoying the way the alcohol brought color to her pale cheeks. "There are other things you need to know about your new nature."
"Such as?"
"Your senses will be heightened permanently now. You'll be able to hear heartbeats from across a room, see in complete darkness, smell emotions on people's skin." I leaned back in my chair, studying her face. "You'll also be much stronger and faster than before, though not quite to full vampire levels."
She flexed her fingers experimentally. "How much stronger?"
"Enough to bend steel bars. Enough to move faster than human eyes can track." I smiled at her expression of wonder. "The sunlight won't kill you like it would a full vampire, but you'll find it uncomfortable. You'll prefer the night now."
"What about aging?"
"Slowed dramatically. You'll age perhaps one year for every ten that pass. Effectively immortal, though not truly unkillable like pureblood vampires."
She was quiet for a long moment, processing everything. "And the blood bond? What does that actually mean?"
This was the conversation I'd been dreading and anticipating in equal measure. "It means we're connected on a level deeper than physical or emotional. I can sense your feelings, your general location, whether you're in danger. In time, you'll be able to sense mine as well."
"Can you read my thoughts?"
"No. The bond doesn't work that way. But I can feel your emotions as echoes of my own." I reached across the table to take her hand. "And there are other... effects."
"Such as?" Her voice was breathier now, and I could smell the shift in her scent as her body responded to my nearness.
"Physical attraction heightened beyond normal parameters. An almost overwhelming need to be near each other. Possessiveness that borders on obsession." I brought her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. "The urge to claim and be claimed in every way possible."
Her pupils dilated, and I heard her breath catch. "Is that what this is? Just supernatural compulsion?"
"No." I stood and moved around the table to cup her face in my hands. "The bond doesn't create feelings, Seraphina. It amplifies what's already there. What you feel for me, what I feel for you—it's real. The bond just makes it... intense."
"How intense?" she whispered.
Instead of answering with words, I kissed her. Not the gentle kiss from earlier, but something deeper and more demanding. She responded instantly, her hands fisting in my shirt as she pulled me closer.
The bond flared between us like wildfire, and I felt her gasp against my mouth as she experienced the full force of our connection for the first time. Her emotions crashed over me in waves—desire, wonder, a hint of fear, and underneath it all, a love so pure and fierce it nearly brought me to my knees.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"That intense," I said roughly.
She stared up at me with those gold-flecked eyes, and I saw the exact moment she made her decision. "Show me more."
"Seraphina—"
"I'm not some fragile mortal anymore, am I?" She stood, bringing our bodies flush together. "And you said we're mates. So show me what that means."
The scent of her arousal was driving me insane, but I forced myself to stay in control. "Are you certain? Once we complete the bond physically, there's no going back. You'll be mine in every way that matters."
"I already am," she said simply. "I have been since the moment you bit me. Maybe even before that."
Her honesty shattered the last of my restraint. In one smooth motion, I lifted her onto the counter, stepping between her legs as my hands tangled in her hair.
"Then let me worship you properly," I murmured against her throat. "Let me show you how a vampire prince claims his queen."
Her answer was lost in a moan as I began mapping every inch of her skin with my lips, but I felt her consent through our bond—freely given and absolute.
Outside, the night deepened around us, but I only had awareness for the woman in my arms and the way she made me feel human and monster and something transcendent all at once.
My mate. My equal. My salvation.
And tomorrow, I would have to figure out how to keep the vampire world from tearing her away from me.
But that was tomorrow's concern. Tonight, there was only us and the ancient magic that bound our souls together across space and time.
Tonight, I would make her truly mine.