Skyler let out a scream as the water went from warm to icy cold. “Okay, okay, I surrender.”

Instantly the water stopped, and he set her on the ground. Skyler gave him a haughty look and swept her hand down her body, drying herself almost as adeptly as any Carpathian with a century or two on them could do.

“I think you know how to do this,” he said.

“Once you told me what to do, I realized it was fairly easy. It’s the details that can mix one up. You have to pay close attention to the smallest detail.”

“That’s right. After a few times, it will become second nature to you. You’re both Dragonseeker and mage . . .”

“And becoming mixed blood like you,” she asserted.

He nodded, frowning a little. “Eventually, yes. Your mind is already fully prepared to use images for dressing, shifting, or creating illusions such as eating or drinking around others not Carpathian.”

She leaned into him, brushing at the frown on his lips. “Mixed blood is simply an enhancement, Dimitri. I’ve been in your mind, healed your body, I know what it’s doing to you.”

“But we don’t know what it will do to you or our children should we have any,” Dimitri pointed out. “I want to find a few answers before you’re in too deep.”

Skyler closed her eyes for a moment, choosing a comfortable outfit, this time, making certain she remembered every detail from the top of her head to her feet. “I’m already in too deep, my love. Stop worrying about things you have no control over. A very wise lifemate said that to me several years ago.”

She turned in a circle, showing off the slim blue jeans, boots and soft flannel shirt. Her hair was in an intricate braid, hanging down her back. “What do you think? Ready to face hunting for my own food? Shifting? Standing before the Lycan council? Seeing my mother and father? Facing the prince?”

He took her hand as he donned his own clothes, going as casual as she had. They didn’t need to go before the Lycan council in formal clothes. He was damned if he’d dress up for them. Evidently, his lifemate felt the same way.

“You look beautiful, Skyler. We’ll hunt first.” He felt her shudder and drew her in close, beneath his broad shoulder. He knew that taking blood from a stranger would be difficult for her. “You know you don’t have to do this. I’m not altogether certain I even want you to. I find giving you blood and taking yours—erotic.”

The low, sensual tone made her blush. “I do, too,” she admitted. “It’s very sexy and the pleasure is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” There was a question in her tone.

“It won’t be that way with others,” he said. “And if it were, I’d forbid you to take blood from anyone else.” She laughed softly, but Dimitri could tell she knew he was serious.

They drifted up to the basement of the house, floating together. He had his arm around her waist, but she rose under her own power and he was immensely proud of her concentration. When they came to the ceiling above that that was the basement floor, they stopped.

“Think of mist. The way it looks, the feel and scent of it. Every component.” He put the image in her mind, and watched her carefully as she examined every aspect of it. “Mist is more difficult than a lot of other forms because it appears so easy, but in fact, it has a distinct configuration. Mist and fog are both drops of water, clouds along the ground so to speak. Fog is denser. Mist travels as a rule close to the ground. Always remember you have to fit in with your surroundings. If you need mist or fog, you have to create the environment for it if it isn’t already there.”

Skyler nodded. She felt the first strange shifting in her body, as if she was falling apart, breaking into tiny molecules. She immediately plunged into Dimitri’s mind—her safety net—but she kept going, trusting he would stop her if she did anything wrong.

Triumphantly, she found herself moving through the cracks as seemingly nothing more than tiny droplets of water, mist rising from the floor into the basement of the house.

Remember to visualize every single detail of your human form, including the clothes you wore. You can’t leave out anything, so take your time. I’m right here with you.

She knew Dimitri was with her. He was the one believing in her, stepping back to allow her to do it on her own. She loved him all the more for understanding she needed to learn and she wanted to do each thing for herself if possible.

Her heart pounded. She could feel it. She heard the roaring of her blood in her ears, like the sound of thunder or a great waterfall, yet she had no body. It was strange and exhilarating. She couldn’t let the wonder of it loosen her focus. She needed to put herself back together without losing any part of herself.

She was determined to be thorough, calling on the memory of her anatomy classes until she felt Dimitri’s laughter.

If I had my boots on right now, I’d kick you. What am I doing wrong? You said thorough.

I should have known you’d take me literally. Your body is there waiting for you, whole and intact. Put that image in your mind. You’ll come together, I promise. I just meant, don’t forget your hair or fingernails.

I was thinking of more important body parts like ovaries.

I know you were.

Dimitri’s laughter spilled into her mind. Everything in her responded to his merriment. She was having fun, and so was he. He didn’t find it a tedious task teaching her things he’d known for centuries. He was enjoying the moments just as she was.

She took a deep breath with lungs that weren’t there and shifted. She found herself standing on the floor of the basement with Dimitri looking down at her as if she were the greatest thing in the entire world. He picked her up and spun her around, leaving her breathless.

“You are amazing, sívamet. Perfectly amazing. I’m certain you’ll have no trouble hunting.”

17

Hunting. Just the word alone conjured up blood and death. Skyler had been a wildlife conservationist and advocate for most of her life. She didn’t eat meat. She didn’t believe in hunting unless one actually ate what they killed. The same with fishing. Killing for sport was abhorrent to her. Hunting sounded so . . . predatory.

Carpathians and Lycans, for that matter, are predators, Dimitri informed her.

He hadn’t given her time to explore the house, something she was very eager to do. Instead, he had taken her quickly through the forest to the edge of the village. They waited in the shadows, staying very still, not moving or speaking, just absorbing the rhythm of the village at night.