“Oh,” Allie said quietly, glancing toward the people crowded into the pantry, watching Dani and Decker leave. Apparently, someone was holding the door between the pantry and garage open. She could smell a faint whiff of exhaust and hear the hum of the automated garage door being raised. Glancing back to him, she asked, “So are you really going to turn me now?”

He peered down at her solemnly. “Do you want me to?”

Allie nodded at once. There seemed little reason to delay. This is why she agreed to be his life mate.

Magnus was silent for a minute, and then nodded slowly. “All right. Then once everyone comes back from seeing Dani and Decker off, I shall inform them of your decision and we will start the preparations.”

“Preparations?” Allie asked with surprise. “What preparations?”

“Mom!”

Allie turned her head as Liam came rushing into the room with Teddy and Gracie on his heels. “The movie stopped playing. Can you come fix it?”

“Oh.” She hesitated. Elvi had found a movie on Netflix for the kids when they’d taken them pop and chips. If it had stopped working, the modem probably needed rebooting or something. She glanced back to Magnus, but then sighed and moved toward her son. Explanations would have to wait.

Thirteen

“Why is Leonora setting up an IV?” Allie asked with concern as Magnus led her into her room at Casey Cottage. It had taken her longer than she’d expected to fix the Netflix problem. And of course the minute she was done, the kids needed bathroom breaks and more to drink and she’d had to pause the movie she’d just got going. She’d then had to wait there until they were all set again before unpausing it for them. By the time all that was done, Allie had come out to find Magnus waiting to lead her here to perform the turn.

Allie had been surprised to hear the turn would be done in her room. She hadn’t really considered where she would be turned, but supposed because it was a medical procedure she’d had a vague thought of a hospital or a clinic now that Dani was gone. Which was ridiculous, Allie realized now. Immortals would hardly want their existence known. But then, apparently, there were a lot of things she hadn’t considered. Like: “Why are they attaching chains to the bed?”

“The IV is to give you blood during the turn,” Magnus explained.

Crossing the room to join them by the door, Elvi added, “Leonora will also use it to administer the drugs Dani left for you.”