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"Youre sick, no thinking clearly. You canna be out in the snow; you need to be abed. "
"Please, just go back inside and doona worry over this. Ill return anon. "
She snatched his arm and yelled over her shoulder, "Dugh! Come out here! Now. "
Will heard two sets of footsteps stomping down the stairs into the main hall. Da and Munro.
Desperation boiled up inside him. "Ive got to go!" He flung his arm free, shoving against his mother.
Mam tripped, falling down into the hard-packed snow. She gaped up at him, her eyes watering. "Will?"
He was horrified. He would rather die than harm her. "Im so sorry! Have I hurt you? The babe?"
Her hands went to her belly as if to protect the wee girl. Protect Isla from me?
But then Mams tears dried. Her inner beast began to rise, her eyes turning ice blue. Never, never, a good sign. Shite!
"Youve no hurt me, boy," she growled, her fangs lengthening. "Best worry for your own hide. "
Just as Da and Munro made the doorway, she snapped to Will, "Hie your arse inside. Now!"
Da helped Mam to her feet, glancing from her to his son with his jaw slackened. "Have you lost your bluidy mind, Will?"
Aye! Will glanced over his shoulder toward the Woods of Murk, imagining the relief, the end of this pain. He whimpered-
Das massive hand clamped Wills neck. "In you go!" He squired Will to a seat before Conalls great hearth fire. After getting a better look at his sons face, he added another log to the flames.
With his tall form outlined by the flickering light, Da looked even more intimidating than usual. Will swallowed, darting a glance at his twin.
Munros slow nod and steady gaze seemed to say, Well get through this. Keep your head. It helped.
Their mother crossed to sit close by her mate. Mam and Da were always near each other, as if their beasts were tethered with an invisible leash.
Her ire was clearly fading as she stared at Wills sweating face. "Dugh, we need to send for a physic. "
"I fear I know whats wrong with him. " Da turned to him. "Where were you going, son?" He seemed to hold his breath.
Will couldnt lie to his face. And more, he had to trust what he knew of his fathers character-and Lykae law-over Ruelles overwrought predictions. No Lykae will harm anothers mate. "I was going to see my female, a woman who lives in the Woods. "
Silence reigned. His words seemed to hang in the air.
When Da exhaled a stunned breath and Mam looked stricken, a marked unease stole over Will.
Ruelle had predicted that they wouldnt understand; shed never mentioned that theyd be disgusted.
Turning to Da, Mam muttered, "Too young, ah gods, hes too young. " She rose unsteadily to gather a blanket. Wrapping it around Wills shoulders, she said, "Warm yourself, lad. Youve a long night ahead of you. " He noticed with dread that her eyes watered once more.
"Why am I too young? Humans wed when theyre no much older than I. " Of course, hed prepared these arguments, fashioning them from those hed heard Ruelle say.
"Humans must!" Da began to pace. "In these harsh lands, they scarcely live longer than your age! But you, Will, you can potentially live forever. In any case, youre far too young to be in the clutches of one like her. "
This was his mate they spoke of! Surely she was.
"Do you no know what she is?" Da spat the words: "Shes a succubus. "
"Ruelle told me this, right off. "
"Aye, but do you understand what the word means, what her kind do?"
Wills eyes darted. "It means that we are so connected well suffer without each other. " After three nights of mating a succubus, a male would take on her essence, her mystical venom, binding himself to her until death.
Mam said, "It means shes a parasite. " Her tears fell. "One who sank her claws into my lad. " Hed never seen his mother cry before this eve. "Shes envenomed you. Tis why you have sickness. "
"Then I need to reach her. Its been three days. If Im feeling this way, then so is she. "
Da shook his head. "Unlike you, she can take another. Id be shocked if she does no have a stable of lovers. Even in the Woods, she could lure others. "
Impossible. Ruelle loved Will alone.
Da finally sank down beside Mam. "How long have you been seeing her?"
Will hesitated.
In a tone brooking no disobedience, Da snapped, "How-long?"
Forcing his shoulders back, Will answered, "I first went to her cottage four years ago. "
Da shot back to his feet. His mother pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle a retching sound. Had there been a glimmer of rage in Das eyes? A glimpse of his beast? Never had Da unleashed it before them.
Should Will be denied his mate just because he and Ruelle were born in differing times? How could his parents react so violently to something that was natural? They were not usually judgmental.
Will hugged the blanket tighter, struggling to hide his shudders. Pain was like a drum inside him, beating him, breaking him. His bones . . .
"My precious lad," Mam choked out, rising to her feet. " Tis a vile perversion," she told Da. "I doona understand how he survived her hungers when so young! Hes far from his immortality. "
Survived? Could he have died? All Will had done was bed a beautiful woman.
"His beast is stronger than most, a pure alpha," Da said. "Like Munros. Ive spoken of this before. "
Will remembered. Da had sounded both proud yet fearful at the same time. The beast could be a blessing and a curse, lending strength but robbing reason.
"Did your beast rise up when you were with her?"
Will absently nodded.
"Otherwise, she wouldve killed you-a fact she well knew, son. "
Nay, twas not true. Nothing could make him believe Ruelle had ever jeopardized his life. She could be demanding, pushing him to his limits, but only because he was strong and could take it. He was strong for his age. Shed repeatedly said so.
"Look how our son shakes even now. Her venoms work. This must be answered!" Mam declared.
"It will be, love. I set out for the Woods at dawn. Ill petition for entry. The Elders will grant it before they let a pup suffer. "
Answered? Will still didnt quite comprehend their crime. His older cousins were forever tumbling females, and theyd started when they were not much older than Will was now.
But I started earlier still. He glanced at Munro, seeking an ally. Munro cast him a baffled look.
"Nay, Dughlas!" Mams own beast was rising once more. "I know her kind! Shell be winsome and manipulative, and shell twist you too. The men of this pack have said for ages they would run her out of the forest, and naught comes of it. "
"Theyre no our woods to patrol!" Da ran his hand over his face. "And shes never targeted our young before! Shes never envenomed any of our males. Our lad will be free of this by tomorrow eve. The day after at the latest. I vow it. "
"Free of this?" The only way out was Ruelles death. "I-I need to see her. Just tonight. " He and his mate could run.
Leave behind my family?
A lifetime of drowning . . . ?
"Nay!" Mam bared her fangs. "Over my dead body! You will never see her again!"
Da wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Take a moment, love. Just . . . take a moment. Collect yourself. Think of the babe. "
"If I canna protect the bairns I have, I doona deserve the gods to give me more!"
"Whisht, love! I will talk to him, and tomorrow we will end this. Go take your tea and calm yourself. "
She lurched from the room, casting a look over her shoulder. The rage in her expression changed to something like . . . pity when she met Wills eyes. "Never one like her, my Uilleam. " Then she was gone.
Pity? Realization struck. Ive done wrong. Ive hurt Mam.
Before, hed wanted to tell the world about Ruelle; now he felt shame, even though he didnt quite understand why he shoul
d. Hed been mating a beautiful female, his female, so why did his skin feel like it was crawling?
His nose burned, vision blurring. Tears? He was sick of tears-had shed them aplenty in the first year hed been with her. His voice broke as he said, "I dinna mean to do wrong, Da. Are you angrier about my age or about what Ruelle is? How old should I have been?"