I figured since he was willing to talk, I would keep going as long as I could. “What sort of animals?”
“It depends on the family.”
“What about your family?” I asked. He was close to shutting down again.
“I don’t have any family left.”
“Oh, what happened to them?” I felt ashamed for bring up a painful subject, but my curiosity wouldn’t let it be.
“Nothing. I’ve never had one.”
“You don’t have a mother or a father?”
“I did once, but that was long ago.”
“I’m so sorry Marren.”
“Don’t be. I’m not alone in my kind. I just don’t share a familial tie to them.”
“Oh. What animal do you change into?” I moved my hands to my lap and sat up so he didn’t see the nervousness inside me. Since the night before, I couldn’t keep that picture from my mind for long. Each time it came to the front, I struggled to push it back.
“I would rather not talk about that at the moment.”
“I know you’re afraid. I get that. But you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to leave, and I could never run away from you. Especially after you came around when no one else wanted me, saved me from whatever twisted fate the Cyrs had in mind, and brought me here to a world beyond my dreams. If anything, I owe you my life.”
“You don’t know what you are saying. The magnitude of the words you speak. You don’t even know what I am.”
“I don’t care about what you are, Marren, only who you are. You’re someone extraordinary. The only person who could break down my walls and my guard. So, don’t dare tell me I don’t understand the magnitude of my words when I know well the weight they hold.”
Marren shifted his gaze from me and lifted his hand to his temple, making me feel rejected. Being dealt a low blow, I realized I had gotten my hopes up on something that didn’t exist. I left Marren brooding alone.
When I got to my room, I closed the door, happy to see a fire already roaring with life. I would have to remind myself to thank Enid when I saw him again. I walked to the table and pulled the comb out of my hair. It caught the glow of the fire, causing tiny beams of light to scatter along the gems. It was silver with red crystals set in shapes of flowers and silver leaves. I set it on the table and moved to take off the rest of the ridiculous outfit.
A rumble of thunder in the distance, followed by the cry of a lonely wolf, sounded through the air and chilled my skin. I ran to the balcony and pulled open the doors, only to be disappointed by the empty garden below. Not so much as a shadow moved within the trees. I walked back inside to continue undressing, leaving on the underdress. Parting the sheers surrounding the bed, I climbed in. I wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over me and shut out the rest of the world.
Chapter 6
Reveal of a Dark Secret
I woke from a fitful sleep with a loud clap of thunder that shook the room. I sat up, struggling to catch my breath, when I saw someone at the foot of the bed. “Marren?”
“I’m here.”
“What are you doing at the foot of my bed?” I said, impatient and still angry.
“I want you to see me…what I am,” he replied as if he was surrendering to something he didn’t want to do.
My heart raced. Questions and warnings rang in the back of my mind. One thing overwhelmed them all. Need. A need to know, a need to see, a need to keep him with me because I was too proud to admit I was too scared to be alone.
I moved slowly, crawling on top of the blankets and to the edge of the bed. I stood on my knees and took deep breaths to calm myself as lightning and thunder crashed and rain pelted the stone balcony. I reached with trembling hands and pulled the sheers apart slowly. Marren stood on the other side of the bench, patiently waiting for my reaction. He stood perfectly still, like a statue belonging in the ballroom with the other races, long fallen into myth and legend. Lighting flashed across his face, and I realized why he was so afraid.
I froze. Partly in terror and partly in awe. “You’re a werewolf.”
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked with uncertainty.
Of course, I was afraid. It wouldn’t be natural otherwise. I couldn’t tell him that. “No. More like…mesmerized.”
I leaned over the bench, reached out my hand and touched his face. Soft and smooth skin returned my touch, just as with the human part of him. My fingers traced the changes, moving over the rises and falls of his features. Goosebumps rose on my arms and trickled down my spine. Another flash of lightning shone on his face, his eyes were closed.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered.
“You—you don’t think I’m a monster?”
I laughed under my breath. “How could I?”
“This is what I am. If living a life with me is what you really want, you will need to eventually make the change as well,” his words echoed soundlessly through my mind, as well as the urgency within them.
I dropped my hand and sat back on my legs. “Before I can think about that, give me some answers.”
He nodded slowly.