I pull the sheets back, helping him scooch back and cover him with the comforter. “There we go,” I murmur, kissing the middle of his forehead. “Now rest.”
“You’re so good to me,” Zeke murmurs through a wide yawn. “So good to a monster.”
My brows furrow. I want to question the comment but he’s already completely dead to the world. Instead, I get into the bed with him, snuggling against his side.
I’m not sure how long I’m asleep or what exactly wakes me. I open my eyes, blinking and trying to gain my bearings. I swear I see something move in the corner of my peripherals.
I sit up, my entire body going frozen as I see someone, or maybe something, in the corner of our room. I try to put my hand on Zeke in order to shake him awake but find the bed beside me empty. My stomach swoops with something close to fear, wondering what the hell is going on.
“What the fuck?”
The thing is what I can only describe as a phantom. It’s like a black sheet flickering in the wind, with two arms and a very clear face. As it gets closer, it tilts its head to the side and the gestures are so like Zeke that my breath is stolen.
Oh.
Oh my gods.
“Zeke?”
Instead of answering, the phantom flies over to the empty space beside me on the bed. I watch with wide eyes as the phantom seems to sink itself onto the bed, slowly morphing from a flickering phantom to Zeke, corporeal once more.
“Zeke?” I ask again.
Zeke’s eyes flick open, blinking a few times. He looks over at me and his eyes look frantic, like he’s terrified of my reaction. Reaching forward, my heart breaks as he flinches. I continue on, touching his cheek softly.
“Wow,” I breathe out, unable to find the words to say what I’m feeling. Was that scary? Yes, but that’s mostly because I didn’t know what the hell I was looking at. Now that I know that was Zeke’s true banshee form, I can appreciate just how magnificent it was.
Finding understanding and acceptance in my eyes, Zeke makes a broken noise. He rushes forward, burying himself in my arms.
Chapter Ten
Zeke
This is not how I planned things. This is not how I wanted to show my mate my true form. Fuck. Fuckity fuck. Shit.
I wait for his reaction. I wait for him to leave this room screaming. I’m prepared for him to push me away and ask to never see me again. I’m ready for the worst.
Instead, I somehow see acceptance and dare I say it, love, in his eyes.
“Hey,” he breathes out, his fingers running over the back of my head, doing his best to soothe me. The broken little whimpers that keep sounding through the room are coming from me, and I do my best to stop them to no avail. I’m overwhelmed with how much this means to me, how unbelieving it is that Casper would accept me, all of me. “It’s okay, Zeke. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”
I bury my face against his shoulder, just desperately holding on, doing my best to believe his words. He accepts me. He’s seen the monster I can be and is sticking around.
“I had to feed,” I tell him, my words coming out slurred against his shoulder. “I had to feed so I could heal up.”
“That’s okay,” he says, still petting the back of my head. “What do you feed on, Zeke?”
“Brains. Disgusting, I know.”
“Shh,” he shushes me, pulling me away from his shoulder so he can look into my eyes. “If they heal you and are something you need, then they’re not disgusting. Nothing you do is disgusting, Zeke.” He waits a moment before asking, “they’re not like live brains, are they? Like should we be getting out of here before someone wakes up screaming that their husband’s brain is missing overnight?”
“What? No! Of course not! There’s a local hospital that I drifted over to. I found someone in their morgue to snack on.”
Casper lets out a breath he was holding, giving me a nod. “Okay, then. It sounds like we’re all good then.”
“That’s your big issue? Ethically sourced brains?”
“Well, yeah. What else would I be worried about?”
I blink at him, trying to wrap my head around this conversation. “Seriously? You’re not upset that I’m literally a monster who eats brains.”
“You’re a banshee who eats ethically sourced brains. Just like I’m a familiar who can shift into a lion. We all have our quirks.”
How could I stay anxious when my mate is calling what I think of monstrous just another quirk. He accepts me just as I am. I feel giddy with relief.
“Quirks? Baby, please.”
Casper gets the most ridiculously love sick look in his eyes. “I like it when you call me that.”
My breath is stolen from me. I can’t believe he’s okay with me being a banshee and everything that comes with that. All I can do is pull him into a kiss, pouring all of my emotions into it, silently telling him what this all means to me.
Casper makes a surprised noise against my lips but quickly begins to kiss me back, his arms holding me tight. How could I not love this man? How could I experience this level of acceptance and not fall, head over heels for him? Sure, these feelings have come on fast, but I have the rest of our lives to settle into them now that they’re here.
That’s how true mates work. The feelings come on strong and hard, two pieces of a puzzle snapping into place, two sides of the same coin finally finding each other.
“Casper,” I breathe out, overwhelmed by the amount of emotions slamming into me. I give him one last kiss before reaching behind myself, flicking on the lamp. Casper blinks a few times, adjusting to the light. “I wanna show you my true face.”
Casper’s hand touches my cheek, keeping me from looking away. “There’s nothing I want more than to see you, Zeke.”
