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?”
