29. Demonstration

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Thursday, September 24th
Harvest Moon

I felt much better in the morning. I was a little light-headed, but it passed once I ate some cereal. I looked in the mirror at the spot Lilith had bitten me and all that remained was a faint bruise on my skin that was fading away.

It was Saturday and we had no school, so Randall picked me up around lunchtime and took me to his house. Only a few people were there, but I knew it would soon be just as crowded as the last time. After greeting Quinn and Sylvea, we went out on the deck, just the two of us.

I felt bad, because over the past few weeks, Randall and I hadn’t spent much time together. I was constantly exhausted, between getting up early for classes and Lilith’s unceasing late-night training sessions. I caught myself falling asleep during my morning classes and I was still drowsy during my lunches with Randall, some of the only time I got to spend with him, stifling yawns in-between bites of food. The rest of my time went to homework, reading, and studying so that I could do well in my classes. Time had melted away.

I could tell that he was worried, I could sense it in a way I wouldn’t have been able to a few weeks ago. Lilith’s training had honed my perceptions in ways I’d never dreamed were possible.

“How has your training been going?” He asked.

I smiled at him. I’d already figured that he would ask me this, “Just fine, I haven’t had any problems.”

“Do you think you’re ready for tonight?”

I looked into his eyes, “Yes. Tonight will go much smoother than last time. I know it.”

“I hope you’re right,” He sighed. I knew he’d taken a big risk in letting me train by myself. He had as much riding on this as I did, since the ultimate responsibility of training me rested on his shoulders.

“I want to show you something,” I told him. I took a deep breath and said, “Turn around.” He instantly turned away from me.

I began to concentrate on what Lilith and I had spent the last few weeks working on. I tapped into Tala’s power and began to change my physical appearance. I used a face that I had been working on. It was a combination of all the things I wished I was. After a minute, I told Randall to turn back around.

When he faced me, I could see the look of shock in his eyes. To him, I was a different person. My hair was longer, shiny-brown and gold, in loose curls down my back and framing my face. My eyes were greener and brighter, my eyelashes thicker and longer. I’d made my nose smaller and my lips fuller. My teeth were straighter and whiter. I’d even altered my body, making my breasts larger, though not huge, and slimming down my figure.

“So?” I ran my fingers through the unfamiliar new hair.

His jaw hung open for a few moments as he looked me over. “I can’t believe you made this much progress by yourself. I didn’t even feel anything from you. No power at all, no fluctuations or anything. It was as if you weren’t even doing anything.”

“But what about how I look?” I wanted to know what he thought. I had practiced this look, but it was different actually showing it to Randall. I was self conscious about it.

He kissed me on my fuller lips and I pressed my chest against him. I knew he could feel the difference. “You were beautiful before, you know that, right?” He told me, running his fingers through my hair.

“But now I feel beautiful,” I sighed. “I guess I’ll change back.”

“You don’t have to,” He smiled. “Do what makes you happy.” He kissed my perfectly smoothed skin, my eyelids over my nearly lime-green eyes, and then, the side of my neck. Remembering my payment to Lilith, I flinched involuntarily when his lips touched the skin.

“Are you okay?” He asked as I pulled away.

“Yeah,” I rubbed my neck. “It tickled,” I lied.

Quinn walked onto the deck with us and did a double-take. “Well, you smell like Selene, but you sure don’t look like her.” He smiled and patted Randall on the back, “Seems like you trained her well, son.”

“Well actually –” He started, but I interrupted from behind Quinn’s back.

“– He provided excellent training, I just had to practice a lot,” I finished for him.

He turned back to face me, “I see that you have much more control this time. It’s quite amazing for you to learn this much in only one month. You must have practiced hard.”

“Very,” I said.

“You are a true Alpha,” He praised me before going back inside.

“You gave me too much credit. I really didn’t do much at all besides distract you from your self-training.”

“You believed in me, and that’s what’s most important,” I kissed him again before changing back to my normal self. I liked the improved version of me, but it also felt a little bit false. I had only really used it for demonstration and to try to get a reaction for Randall. I felt more comfortable as plain old Selene.

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A/N: I know, I'm awful. Deadlines...

Another chapter coming soon. I'm still behind!