Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
I’ve probably pushed her too hard. She wanted it, but she’s so inexperienced. I should’ve slowed down.
She loved it. She came hard. But…I can’t shake the feeling that a normal boyfriend would’ve been gentler with a new partner, who’s a virgin to boot.
My bear growls at the thought of anyone else touching her. He’s prowling in the background, ready for my control to slip, so he can pounce on my wife and mark her. My fangs throb with the need to sink into Maisy’s sweet skin.
Fates, I just took Moon Cure. Do I need a double dose?
Lucius is still talking, so I tune back in.
“--assume she’s your mate?”
“She is, yes.”
“How fortunate we are, that Fate provides a perfect match for us. And you found her so early in your lifetime.”
I stiffen, thinking he’s talking about how I found Maisy was my mate seven years ago.
Then I remember, he doesn’t know. No one does. And it’s a secret I intend to keep, even from my wife.
Lucius sighs, like he’s remembering the millennium he waited for his mate. I don’t actually know how old he is, but I’m grateful I found Maisy in my twenties. Even if I had to invent Moon Cure to stay sane. Seven years is nothing compared to a thousand, but either way, she’s worth the wait.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about. I’m going to need more hemoglobin from you. A few liters, at least.” I hate asking for so much, but I need it to distill Moon Cure.
“For your patients?” Lucius knows I’ve been treating both human and shifter patients with compounds made from his blood. He doesn’t know it’s Daisy and my own mother,
“For me.” I fight my desperate feelings and explain to him about Moon Cure.
Lucius is silent for some time after, digesting this information. I fight the urge to say anything, to assume he’s angry or off put by me using his blood for my own medicine.
“This mating cure…does it work?”
“It’s worked so far.” I dig my nails into my palm and notice that they’ve grown to claws. I have to focus before they retract.
My bear is close to the surface.
“That is extraordinary.” Lucius doesn’t sound awed, but his tone is always pretty dry. “A medical breakthrough.”
“Yes.” I’m relieved he thinks so. “All made possible by your blood.”
“You shall have what you need,” he pronounces, like it’s a royal decree. “It will take me a few moons to gather that amount of blood.”
I wince. I’m down to my last few doses of Moon Cure, and it’ll take a few days for me to distill more. “I need it as soon as possible.”
“I will do my best. It is not my place, but may I ask…is it wise for a shifter to put off mating?”
I close my eyes and rub my forehead. When I open them, they’re glowing blue in the bathroom mirror.
“You will forgive me for asking, Matthias. Selene and I consider you a friend, and as such, you are precious to me. To us. That is why I ask if this Moon Cure is safe.”
“No.” My voice is bear-rough. “But I need it.”
“Why?”
“My new mate is human. Fragile.”
“Ah yes, I understand. You are afraid of hurting her. Of going too far.”
It seems so simple when he sums it up that way. It’s so much more. A lifetime without Maisy. Of knowing I hurt her…and that I deserve to be alone.
I clench my fist, which I just noticed is shaking. “Do you think—”
But before I can ask him for advice on handling a fragile human sub, Maisy lets out a soft, distressed sound. I end the call quickly.
By the time I race to her side, she’s thrashing in the sheets.
“Sshh, beautiful, it’s okay.” I draw back the covers to free her. She wakes with a start, her eyes wide. Her heart is racing.
When she sees me, she startles.
“Maisy, it’s me. Matthias.”
“Matthias,” she whispers, sounding broken.
I sit close and reach for her. “Can I hold you?”
At her nod, I pull her into my arms. “Bad dream?”
“I was back in the casino hotel. The door opened, but it was my dad. You didn’t come–it was too late.” She lets out a shuddering sigh.
I just hold her, letting her come back to the present. “I’m here now, beautiful. No one’s going to hurt you ever again.”
I feel her head bob under my chin.
“You ready to go back to sleep?”
“I think so. What time does a duck wake up?”
“When?”
“At the quack of dawn.”
I laugh softly. “That’s my girl. C’mere.” I lay her down and wait until she’s comfortably situated on her side, facing me. The bedside table holds rope, I take her wrist and do a simple single column tie. I make it loose enough she can wear it all night, and use my phone flashlight to check her fingertips for capillary refill.