“Nate—!” She darted over or tried to, but strong hands held her back.
“Don’t,” Michael ordered. “Let him be.”
“Why? So you can kill him if he becomes another demonic creature?” She yanked at the archangel’s hands, terrified for her mate. Growling, she elbowed the Arc in his belly. “Let me go!”
“Dammit!” he grunted, holding her with arms like steel-freaking restraints. “And I thought the males were a pain in my—”
“Ely, you need to calm down,” Reynner warned, coming to stand next to her.
“He’s growing agitated,” Aba blurted. “Ely, please.”
What? She froze as the air around Nate started to shimmer and grew heavier.
The scabbed lesions running down his shoulder blades where the black leathery wings had been swelled, becoming red and distended, and then they split. Blood dripped down his back, bones creaking—breaking—
Dear goddess! Was he transforming again?
A pained moan escaped him.No, no, no!Her nails dug into the forearms trapping her.Nate, no!
His skin began to shimmer between silver and his natural bronze.
“I think he’s drawing power from the moon!” Shadow whispered in awe. “Look. Can you feel it?”
What? Ely leaned forward, peering at him. The moonlight, as usual, cast its cold rays down on Earth, but a part of it streamed to him in a silvery miasma. His entire body glowed like the celestial orb shone from within him. He groaned, and his head lifted again, chin tipping upward, and it appeared as if he were growing larger.
Ely gaped, her breath stuck in her throat as the silver swirls of dust surrounding Nate started to spin like a tornado, moving faster and faster…and bigger.
“Aba, what’s happening?” she croaked, half dreading the moment the storm around Nate stopped.
“I don’t know,” he whispered.
She could barely see him. Then as fast as it started, the churning haze dissipated, leaving Nate standing there, still clutching the wooden guardrail, which miraculously hadn’t shattered. A shuddering breath escaped him.
Soft gasps echoed next to her.
Ely stopped breathing, fingers pressed to her mouth. Her heart thudded as if it would crash through her ribcage. Tears flood her eyes, blurring her sight.
He had wings.
Again.
CHAPTER33
Breathing hard,blood swooshing through her head, Ely gaped at Nate, unable to look away.
How could she? When wings, not those black, leathery ones he had so briefly, but massive ones as pure as the driven snow, blocked his entire back and swept the wooden deck. The primary flight feathers shimmered a silvery gold, glinting like stars.
A low grunt of irritation erupted from him. He probably felt the weight of his new appendages. His forearms and biceps bulged as he gripped the rail. His back muscles flexed, his wings fluttered, and a shower of silver and gold dust rained down around him. Then his immense appendages spread out, revealing his sexy muscled physique once more.Aaandhe was as naked as the day he was first born.
“What the fuck?” Týr growled.
Nik cursed.
Ely shot them a frowny look, and found both her friends staring, mouths hanging.
Týr dragged a gaping Kira to him, blocking her view, no doubt.
Heck, as far as Ely was concerned, Nate was incredibly gorgeous. But before he did a full-frontal, revealing just how truly magnificent he was, she willed a towel to her and hurried across, draping it around Nate’s lean hips.
