Page 116 of Burn for Her

Dorian braced himself, pinned his mate down, and screamed right along with Lena as her transformation began.

Chapter 37

How could someone go from soaring in bliss to dropping into Hellfire in one fell swoop?

It hurt like a bitch, and Lena relished every bit of it.

Her body cycled through waves of ice and heat. Her veins coursed in different directions. Her blood was icy hot. Electricity skated under her skin - zipping and biting, warming and melting her. She had no idea how long this state lasted, but the next one was much worse.

Her lungs slammed shut. Her skin grew taut across her bones, shrinking, cracking, stretching.

Clawing at the air, her body bowed. She screamed. The pain was paralyzing. She went into sensory overload.

“Let go.” Dorian’s fingers laced with hers as he pinned her down. “Let it go, Lena.”

His thighs bracketed her hips. Holy shit, her heart pounded so fast it ran out of steam and stopped. She sucked in air to scream with and bucked on the floor. Her teeth ached, and gums split. Her lungs burned. Biting down on her bottom lip, she winced as her new fangs pierced her mouth and blood rushed onto her tongue. The sensation and taste had her reeling.

Everything hurt. Agony of this magnitude shouldn’t exist.

Shit! Even the tips of her fingers stung!

“I can’t!”

She couldn’t take much more of this. It was too much. Too extreme.

“You’re strong, Lena. Fight for your power. Let go of your old self.”

A rolling heat wave smashed her next. The apex of her thighs swelled. Her nipples hardened to the point of pain. Her back cracked. She jolted and cried out.

Dorian’s grip tightened even more on her. Lena curled her fingers around his and squeezed back with equal strength.

Gasping for air, she coughed and cried out again.

“That’s it.” His voice cracked. “Keep going. Oh fuck, you’re almost there, Lena.”

Too many noises rushed into her ears at once. She heard everything from Dorian’s voice to the pounding of his pulse, to the air conditioner running to the bugs crawling across the blades of grass outside. It was too much. Way too much.

Overwhelmed, she squeezed her eyes shut and grunted, shaking her head wildly as if to rattle the sounds out of her head.

“Easy,” Dorian barely whispered. “Easy, Lena. Don’t focus on any one thing. Let it wash over you. Ride the current.”

Ride the current? There was no current! It was like a tsunami, and she was drowning in too many things slamming into her at once.

“Breathe in,” he whispered. “Breathe out.”

That sounded great if she could just… Take. A. Breath. But she couldn’t! Her lungs froze. If she inhaled, they’d shatter, and she’d die.

“Trust me,” he said. “Breathe with me.”

Lena shook her head violently.

“Trust me,” he said, swiping her face. “Trust me. Just breathe and ride the current.” He’d never give her bad advice. He’d never tell her do to something that would jeopardize her safety. Lena sucked in a small bit of air and let it out. Each time, she increased the amount of air.

The noises died down to a reasonable volume. Her skin stopped burning.

“I can’t see,” she whimpered. “I’m blind.”

“Breathe.” He readjusted and brushed her ribcage with the back of his hand. “Can you feel me?”