Nash was winning or losing. She couldn’t
distinguish the growls or the yelps from
each other. She knew that she had to do
something. She had to help Nash. He
couldn’t fight them alone. She didn’t want
to kill anymore, but she couldn’t see any
other option. Surely if Nash had given her
the silver sword, he expected her to use it.
She drew the sword and tossed the
sheath aside. Its weight was so familiar,
but the feeling of uncertainty in her chest
was entirely new. She took a step towards
the snarling, snapping Wolves and
hesitated. Her moment of indecision
allowed the two minions to pin Nash
down and tear into his throat.
“No!”
She surged forward. Slashed one Wolf
along the side. Stabbed the other in the
shoulder.
Both yelped and then turned their
attention to her.
She stared at them in disbelief.
Neither had succumbed to the silver’s
poisonous affects. She looked down at the
sword in her hand to make sure that it was
indeed her father’s. There was no
mistaking it. It was tarnished from lack of
attention and had traces of fresh blood on
the blade. Distracted, Maralee didn’t even
see the Wolf coming. Huge paws
connected with her shoulders and she fell
flat on her back, the sword flying from her
grasp. She hit the ground with enough
momentum to knock the wind from her
lungs.
“Wait.” She huffed several times
trying to catch her breath as the brown
Wolf stared down at her with malevolent
amber eyes. Nash’s blood stained his
snout. “That sword was s-silver.”
The Wolf melted instantly into his
human form. Maralee was surprised. She
didn’t know any Wolf, besides Nash that
could transform in front of her.
“What did you say?” Jack asked, his
eyes narrowing.
“I just cut you with a silver sword.”
“It can’t be true,” he snarled. “You’re
lying.”
“I’m not lying,” she insisted. “The
curse…” She paused as the enormity of it
settled over her. “The curse must be
broken.”
Marc, still in the form of a black Wolf,
sniffed her sword and howled.
“What did he say?” Maralee asked
Jack, who was still pinning her to the
ground by her shoulders.
“The sword smells like silver.”
“You see. Nash broke the curse. He’s
a Guardian. Do you see the crescent on his
forehead?”
Jack looked at the fallen Wolf lying
several yards away.
“A Guardian?”
“A Guardian is capable of breaking
the curse, correct?”
Jack gazed down at her suspiciously.
“How do you know all of this? How do
you know a Wolf, a Wolf Guardian no
less? You’re a murdering Decatur, aren’t
you? Your aunt has been protecting our
pack by keeping you away, but you came
back to kill us all, didn’t you?”
She shook her head. “Nash is my
lover,” she said, “the father of our unborn
child. By creating a life with a human,
Nash has broken the curse. If you kill me,
our baby will also die. If that happens, the
curse will revert and the poisonous silver
already circulating in your bloodstream
will prove toxic.” She was improvising.
She had no idea if her theory was correct,
but she seemed to be convincing enough to
earn the Wolf’s consideration.
“The curse has been broken?” he said
quietly. “And that is a Guardian? And you
carry the Guardian’s child?” He paused,
thinking, as Maralee watched blood gush
from the wound on Nash’s throat. “Silver
is no longer poisonous, so does that mean
the madness beneath the full moon will
also be gone?”
“I’m sure it must be,” she rushed. “Can
I please go to Nash now? I promise to
leave your people in peace. Surely you
want to tell them the curse has been
lifted.”
The black Wolf, Marc, who had been
listening to their entire exchange, barked
and wagged his tail. Jack melted into his
Wolf form and moved off Maralee. He
stared down at her for a moment, licked
her cheek and darted off towards the
woods to the west of the Decatur estates.
Maralee climbed to her feet and raced
to Nash’s side, dropping to her knees
beside him and leaning over him to check
for signs of life. He seemed to be
breathing but was unconscious and no
matter how much she called his name, or
tried to shake him awake, he didn’t
respond.
“Maralee?” a voice asked anxiously
behind her.
She started and glanced up at William
whose worried face was blurred by the
tears in her eyes.
“Is that a Wolf?” William asked,
eyeing Nash’s limp body nervously.
“We have to get him up to the house.
He’s hurt pretty badly,” Maralee said,
trying to lift him from the ground, but he
was too heavy.
“But…” William whispered. “It’s a
Wolf.”
“Help me, William!”
“Maralee, what—”
“Please. I’m not strong enough to lift
him,” she cried.
William sighed heavily and bent to lift
the limp Wolf into his arms. “He’s
heavy,” he complained, but walked
forward.
“What will I do if he doesn’t pull
through this?” Maralee murmured to
herself. “He doesn’t even know about the
baby.”
“You know this Wolf, I take it,”
William huffed as they entered the house.
Maralee nodded and moved to clear a
path to the parlor where William laid
Nash down upon the loveseat. She gasped
when she saw the quantity of blood on
William’s jacket. She dropped to her
knees beside Nash and buried her face in
his furry neck.
“Nash, you can’t leave me,” she said.
“I’m the stupid one who leaves. I’m sorry.
I’m sorry! Please, Nash. Please!”
“Nash?” William said breathlessly.
“This Wolf is…”
Nash whined and blinked open his
eyes slightly.
“Nash, you have to revert to your
human form,” Maralee said. “William, has
that doctor left yet?”
“Yeah. He left a few minutes before
you did.”
“Go after him and bring him back.
This is an emergency.”
“But he’s not a vet. He’s a human
doctor.”
Nash’s ironic laugh drew their
attention to the loveseat. William stared at<
br />
him with shock while Maralee covered
her mouth at seeing the horrible wounds
on his throat. He seemed entirely capable
of bleeding to death at that moment.
“Don’t fret over me so much, Maralee.
I’m immortal, remember?” Nash said and
tried to sit up. His face paled visibly and
he collapsed back onto the loveseat.
“Something doesn’t feel right.”
“The curse has lifted,” Maralee
whispered.
“What?”
“I don’t think…I don’t think you are
immortal any longer,” she said before
turning to William again. “William, go
after the doctor. Hurry now, before it’s
too late.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed and headed
for the parlor door to obey her wishes.
Maralee turned her attention back to
Nash. She had never seen him look so
poorly and she had seen him survive more
than one fight.
“Did you say the curse was lifted?” he
asked her quietly. “How can you know
that?”
“I injured those two wolves with my
father’s sword, but they were immune to
the silver.”
“You tried to kill them?” he asked, his
eyes wide. “Why would you do that? You
promised that you wouldn’t kill anymore.”
Maralee touched his face. “Would you
have me stand there and watch them kill
you? You gave me the sword.”
“Only because I know you treasured it.
I never meant for you to use it again.”
“I’d kill for you, Nash, not because
they were Wolves, but because they were
threatening you. I love you.”
Trayburn appeared in the doorway.
“What is going on, miss?”
“Trayburn, bring some clean cloth,”
Maralee told him, unwilling to leave
Nash’s side for even a moment. “We need
to stop this bleeding.”
“Who is this man? Bleeding all over
the parlor sofa. Naked… Why I’ve never
—”
“Just get the cloth, Trayburn. Do you
want the father of my baby to die?”
This motivated Trayburn into motion.
He left the room at a run.
“Baby?” Nash murmured.
“Yes, Nash. Your baby. I am with
child. Our child. I was on my way back to
you when those Wolves attacked me.”
“I know I’m dreaming now,” Nash
whispered. “If I close my eyes and open
them again, will you be beside me when I
wake up? That’s all I want, you beside
me.”
“What are you rambling about, Nash?”
Maralee said. “You’re not dreaming.
Don’t go to sleep. I’m afraid you’ll never
wake up.”
“I can’t decide if this is a good or a
bad dream,” he murmured, his eyes
blinking slowly as consciousness insisted
on escaping him. “I’m dying—I feel it—
but you are with me, Maralee. I’m so glad
I found you. I’ve been searching for days.”
“Yes, Nash. I’m here. I won’t let you
die, so don’t talk like that.”
His thoughts shifted to the vision of
her standing over him with her sword wet
with blood. Wolf blood. “Why did you
break your promise? You used your sword
with the intent to kill.”
“And I’d do it again to protect those I
love. To protect you, Nash. To protect our
baby. Myself.”
He found her hand with his and
squeezed it. He understood that. The need
to protect. “You’re going to need a
stronger metal than silver, if the curse is
broken.” His strength waning, he struggled
to keep his eyes open.
“Don’t close your eyes, Nash. Please.
Don’t leave me to raise this child alone.
He needs his father. The curse, our pasts,
none of it is important. The only thing that
matters is making a future together. You
need to be there for our child, damn it. I
need you, Nash. I do. This is the destiny I
choose. The one with you in it. Don’t
close your eyes, my love. Stay with me.”
Despite his physical pain, he smiled.
Her words had soothed his emotional
turmoil. “You finally understand, Maralee.
I’m glad I’m not dreaming.”
Maralee leaned closer. Her hot tears
seared his cool lips. She kissed them
gently. “Let’s dream with our eyes open
from now on.”
“Yes,” he agreed, as he drifted away
from her.
Epilogue
Maralee placed a hand on her distended
abdomen. A forceful kick struck her palm
and she smiled lovingly. The baby was
active today. Soon she’d glimpse their
little one for the first time. She peered
across the front lawn of the manor and
called out to the two Wolf cubs frolicking
in the yard.
“Cort. Leland. It’s time to come in and
wash up for supper.”
One cub, black as night with a white
crescent over his left eye, and the other,
white as snow with a black crescent over
his right, hurtled past her and into the
house. When she turned around, two naked
four-year-old boys were wrestling on the
floor.
“Upstairs, you two. And put some
clothes on before you come down to eat.”
“When will Daddy be home?” they
asked her in unison. It was as if the twins
shared the same mind.
“Before dinner. He just had to go talk
to some of the tenants.”
Both boys melted into their Wolf
forms and charged noisily up the stairs,
their claws scratching the hardwood.
She’d long since given up on having
unblemished floors.
“The pair of them are exactly like Cort
was as a child,” Nash’s mother said
nostalgically from the doorway of the
parlor. Stacia had arrived only days
before to help with the new baby. She’d
been surprisingly accepting of Maralee
after she’d been blessed with additional
grandchildren. The breaking of the curse
hadn’t hurt her attitude either.
There was a loud thump above and a
chorus of excited puppy barking that gave
Maralee a start. She waddled towards the
stairs, but Stacia beat her there.
“You take it easy,” Stacia said. “I’ll
go check on them.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I have been
feeling more tired than usual.”
“Nash should be spoiling you more,”
Stacia said with a smile.
“Did I hear my name?” his deep voice
sounded from the recently opened front
door.
Maralee turned and her heart thudded
in her chest at the sight of him. She didn’t
know if it was supposed to be like this
between lovers married fo
r four years, but
every time she saw him, she was stricken
by how handsome he was, how much she
wanted him, and how much she needed
him in her life. What was more surprising,
perhaps, was that he seemed to feel the
exact same way. They stood there staring
at each other as if it had been months
rather than hours since their last meeting.
Stacia chuckled. “I’ll just go and
check on the boys then,” she said quietly,
“and leave you two insatiable lovebirds
alone.”
Stacia’s footsteps carried up the stairs
and down the hall to the twins’ room.
“Did you find out anything about the
Carsons?” Maralee asked him as she
watched him remove his jacket and lay it
across the table beside the door.
“They’ve had a bad pest problem this
year and lost much of their crops. I
decided to reduce their rent until they can
recover their losses. I probably should
have consulted you first,” he said.
He crossed the room and dropped a
tender kiss on her temple. She leaned into
him, craving closeness.
“I trust your judgment,” she murmured,
tilting her head back to look up at him. “If
it weren’t for you, I’d have lost this place
to the bank in the first place.”
Nash chuckled. “It wasn’t all me,” he
reminded her. “The local Wolves were
quite convincing as well.”
It had been amazing how quickly Aunt
Bailey had relinquished all pilfered
money when facing a pack of disgruntled
Wolves.
The
Wolves
had
been
unforgiving of her lies. When they’d found
out Bailey hadn’t really been controlling
Maralee and protecting them from
slaughter, they’d threatened to kill her.
Bailey had fled with nothing but the
clothes on her back and no one had heard
from her since.
Though Maralee had only regained
about half the money her family had left
her, it had been enough to retain
possession of her ancestral estates. She
was grateful for her home, but knew as
long as she had Nash and her children,
she’d be happy anywhere. She had a new
destiny. A destiny she’d created with
Nash out of love.
Maralee’s fingers moved upward to
touch the white scars on Nash’s throat—
reminders of his fight against the Wolves
sent by her aunt to end Maralee’s life. She
had come so close to losing him. She
would never take him for granted. Nash
touched her cheek, knowing what she was
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