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)
He lurches from the chair toward me. His clothes rip and shred as he changes from man to bear midair.
Darius and Teddy both grab his arms to keep him from reaching me.
“Whoa! No, Matthias! You’ll hurt her. Shift back,” Darius yells.
“Shift, Matthias,” Teddy commands.
Their agitation and obvious fear only increase mine.
“Let him go!” I cry out, running to him.
They don’t release him, but I put my hand on his chest, over his heart. “Hey,” I say softly. “What’s wrong?”
He lets out a long bear-warble. It makes the hair on the back of my neck raise.
“Can you shift back?” I ask gently.
He roars and shakes his head, jerking away from his brothers and knocking me back in the process.
“No, Matthias!” The twins tackle him to the ground.
I scream.
What can I do?
“The bear wants to mark her,” Teddy mutters.
“Fuck. He’s too wild. He’s gonna hurt her.” Darius straddles Matthias’ chest to hold him down on the ground.
I spy his black doctor’s bag on the hearth. The Moon Cure! I run for it and dump the contents onto the sofa with shaking hands.
Syringe. Vial. Rubber strap. “Is this what you need?” I hold them up to show Matthias.
He roars.
“What is that?” Darius asks.
I yank off my coat, so I’m less restricted. “A medicine he developed to keep from going moon mad. He calls it Moon Cure.”
“Hell, I didn’t know anything about this. Did you?” Teddy looks at his twin, who shakes his head.
I’ve never filled a syringe before. Never used a needle, but I figure it out. I’m a capable person, and Matthias needs me.
I walk over to him, my heart in my throat. Then I realize he’s covered in fur. I have no idea where his veins would be. Well, I’ll just have to use a big muscle, then. I drop to my knees, jab the needle into his quad, and depress the plunger.
He lets out a deep, low grumble that goes on for several seconds.
Darius gets off his brother, who has stopped fighting. He takes the syringe from me and sniffs it, then hands it to Teddy.
I try to catch Matthias’ eye, but his giant bear head turns away from me, like he’s ashamed. He rumbles some more.
My heart thuds. Should he have transformed by now? How long does it take to work? Was I too late?
A tear drips down my nose.
Matthias’ head jerks around, his nose twitching like he smelled my tear. He opens his giant jaws, and then his body contorts.
I gasp as I hear the sound of popping joints, but it’s okay. Matthias is transforming back to a man.
A very naked man.
A gorgeous, naked man who belongs to me.
“Thank fuck,” Teddy murmurs. He and Darius move back to give him room.
Matthias sits up, leaning back on his hands like he’s weak and stares at me, panting.
“So…it worked?” I croak.
He nods, his eyes shadowed. “I’m sorry. I…I didn’t want to take it anymore. You didn’t like it,” he explains.
Tears prick my eyes. “I don’t want you to turn feral, Matthias.”
“Seems like you got this, brother,” Teddy mutters. “Maisy, call Everest if he shifts again.”
I nod, and the twins leave the cabin, giving us privacy.
He looks at me. His gaze snags on the wedding ring I put back on.
I look at his hand to see he’s still wearing his too. My breath catches.
“What do you want, Maisy?”
“I want you to claim me,” I whisper.
His eyes turn red, and he blinks hard. “You do?” His voice sounds rough. He starts to reach for me as I speak.
“But…”
He freezes. “Yes?”
“Not if you don’t want me. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t want me. Or love me.”
“Maisy, beautiful.” He’s in motion now, reaching for me, lifting me to straddle his waist. “You’re all I want. Fuck, is that how I screwed this up? I made you think I didn’t want you?”
I suck on my lower lip and nod.
“Gah! That’s why you didn’t like hearing it was a biological attraction.” He smacks his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I’m such an idiot. My explanation must’ve been the least romantic thing you’d ever heard.”
“Yes. It was.”
“Maisy, you’re everything to me. I adore you. I’m obsessed with you. You’re the only female I’ve ever wanted or ever will want. And I’m sorry I made you think anything other than that.”
“But is that all just biology?”
Matthias leans his forehead against mine. “No, sweetheart,” he murmurs. “Science soothes me. Reducing transcendent experiences to scientific or medical explanations helps me think I can control them, but, of course, I can’t. And my scientific explanation hurt your feelings. I’m so sorry.”
“But if you want me, why didn’t you claim me?”
Matthias’ expression takes on that stoic look I’ve come to recognize. The one he wore when he talked about keeping his mother’s illness a secret from the entire family and carrying the burden all on his own. “It wouldn’t be fair to you. You’re young. Barely an adult. You hadn’t even experimented with another man–not a date or even a kiss. How could I trap you into a lifelong mating before you even had a chance to experience life?”