ORPHEUS

Chapter 23

Katherine woke up feeling disorientated. Her eyes were blurry as she clutched the soft hide blanket firmly. She could hear her heat thumping in a distance as she breathed deeply, mouth parted, is if she were previously submurged in water.

As she recalled what happened in the alleyway, she choked, causing coughs to rack her body. She just wanted to wake up. But her vision wouldn't clear. She wanted to start sobbing, her heart hurt, but she steeled herself, again attempting to take long deep breaths.

In..Out..In..Out.. she told herself. Breath...

Orpheus. Where was Orpheus?
She knew he saved her. She could remember him carrying her, she knew it was him.

She moved her hand towards her face, rubbing at her eyes, hoping the heavy dark tinted blur would go away. After a few moments of vigorous rubbing, Katherine was satisfied to see that her vision was back to normal, if not better. More vivid. Katherine suspected it was part of the transformation.

She was pushing away the heavy hide blanket, though regretfully due to the chill, when she spotted the smear of red on her fingertips. She gasped and looked closer. Her hands were not cut, though her nails had become talon shaped and seemed very sharp. Mayhap she had nicked herself while rubbing her eyes.
She stood up, stumbling slightly and headed to the privy, walking along the wall, incase her stumbling got the best of her. She barely glanced at the basin of water she had filled when she let out a shrill scream.

Blood! Her eyes had been leaking blood. She did not nick herself. And that was not the worst of it. Oh no, not by a long shot. She had horns. They were not protruding out of her forhead like she had imagined they would. They were sat, curled gracefully, upon her temples, right above the outer lobe of her ears. They were quite small, Katherine thought relieved, easier to hide. They were a soft pearly white and they had a golden sheen to them. Honestly, they were not so horrible. Then she noticed her lips. They looked swollen and red, not unattractive, she thought with a smile. That was until she saw her teeth. She held back a grimace, but a groan escaped her. She fangs, incredibly small, but straight fangs that could be seen through her parted lips. The second pair of her top incisors had turned into sharp, slightly longer, canines. They must have caused the swelling of her lips, or maybe she had bitten both her lips? Unlikely. She wanted to scream. She no longer felt like the same person. She curiously touched a fingertip to one of her petite new fangs and pulled it back to see a dot of her golden blood. Sharp, she though with a wince, she would have to be careful not to nick her tongue.
She did not know if anything else had changed, so she thought to remove her gown and check. But when she looked down, she realized she was in one of Orpheus' tunics. She probably blushed almost as red as her lips. But she still took it off to check. No new changes. Everything to her toenails was the same. She let out a sigh of relief. She then proceeded to wash herself.

When Katherine exited, she though of where Orpheus may have gone. She hadn't seen him since she had passed out and now she was feeling antsy. She looked around, but it was clear that the shack was unoccupied save for her. She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning against the wall. Apparently her exhaustion had not left. She breathed in deeply, trying to elevate the soreness. She again heard her heat beat in steady rhythmic thumps. But then she heard a snap and stood up startled. There was no pain. She closed her eyes again. Then she heard it.

Thump-snap...Thump-snap...

That was most definitely not her heart. She snapped her eyes open, it had come from outside, she realised. She walked to the door, feeling more balanced as awareness crossed through her. Tentively, she opened the heavy wooden door, grimacing as it creaked sharply. She peeked outside, wary, but any wariness all but fled her as she spotted Orpheus. He was chopping wood. She smacked her palm against her forehead, feeling so very stupid. Orpheus must've heard, since he was not so stupid he did not tense to attack, but turned and gave her a smile that he surely used to rob hearts. He looked ethereal with his platinum hair blowing in the breeze, even though his exposed torso was matted sweat, or maybe it was because of the little beads dotting his bare chest, gleaming and glittering in the sunlight. His smile showed little dents in his cheek, which Katherine wanted to lick and his eyes shone brightly as he dropped his axe and started striding towards her in powerful strokes of his strong muscled thighs. She took in his bare muscled chest and arms, seeing the beautiful ink black designs on the right side almost vibrate, as if excited. The way they looked as his arms moved, as he flexed was mouth watering. She hoped she wasn't drooling, but she brushed trembling hands under her parted lips anyway, just to be sure.

Orpheus let out a husky laugh, his head tilted back as if he knew what she had been thinking and that was when her cheeks betrayed her by reddening, she probably looked like a tomato by the amount of heat she felt on her face.

As soon as he reached her, she swallowed. He paused infront of her, smiling slightly. She said nothing only staring at him, throat dry and lips trembling. She did not know what he would think of her, now that she looked....different.

He only looked into her eyes, staring deeply and as if he could sense her insecurity, he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing only with slight force. She let out a sigh as his shadows circled her waist. She nuzzled his damp chest, wanting to stay in arms forever, feel his warmth for eternity.

And after what actually felt like eternity, he pulled back only grasp her chin and place a soft kiss on her brow. He looked her in the eyes as he trailed a finger down the side of her face and back up again, eventually he reached her horns and traced their shape. Katherine shivered. Her eyes widened, she could feel there, as she felt when he touched her skin. Little prominent tingles traveling up her spine. Oh, that felt good, she thought, her eyes becoming hooded as her lips parted ones again.
Orpheus sucked in a breath. Caressing her left horn one last time, before he trailed his thumb to her lips, he caressed her much more sensitive lower lip, before she felt him touch a fang. She had not realised they were visible, too lost in sensation. He must have nicked his finger too, because she could feel a a drop of wetness on lower lip due to their newly acquired sensitivity. She, much to her surprise, felt her tongue dart out to lick that drop, catching his thumb along the way. Orpheus eyes fluttered as she kissed his wounded thumb, tasting more of his essence. The idea or his blood did nothing to repulse her. To her he tasted like heaven, like sugar and spice, like Orpheus.

She let out another sigh, releasing his thumb, which Orpheus immediately replaced with his lips. She could feel his tongue probing her lips, touching her new canines, and she could do nothing at all to resist him. She pressed her lips to him more forcefully, clutching his neck with her fingers, her other hand on his chest, her nails digging in his skin. She pulled away from him seconds later, eyes widening in horror as she looked at the rivulets of blood that trailed from the moon shaped gashes on his chest. She gasped and prepared to apologise, her hand spread on the gashes as if it would stop the flow. Orpheus only stood there shaking his head, eyes hooded as he grasped her face in his hands, giving her another gentle kiss on her parted lips, effectively silencing her. Then he made her world stop, only to rotate around him.

"Beautiful"he whispered, gaze unmoving from her own wide eyes.