Part 42 (2/2)

Could he? He'd never trusted anyone besides his poor mother. She'd trusted a man once. A man who had pushed her aside

quickly enough when he learned she carried his child. It was man's nature, Merrick had since learned, to take the easy road. It

had been his... until now. Slowly, he lowered the weapon.

”For you, I promised I would do anything. I will trust as you trust, Anne.” Suddenly Merrick was thrown backward against the tree. It knocked the air from him, and as he opened his mouth to gasp, a blue light spilled forth. His vision blurred. His throat burned. Tears ran from his eyes and he could not close his mouth, could not breathe. The light took form, took shape, that of a wolf. Only when the shape was complete and stood between him and Anne could he suck air into his lungs. The animal stared at him as he straggled to regain his breath. Merrick stared back.

”Begone with you, wolf,” he growled.

The shape slunk slowly off into the woods.

”Merrick!” Anne was beside him, her cool hands brus.h.i.+ng his hair from his face. ”What happened?”

He wasn't sure... but he felt different now. Different than he'd ever felt before. It was almost as if he were blind, deaf, but no, his abilities had only weakened to what he supposed normal people saw and heard. He glanced up at Anne's pale face.

”I think it's gone from me,” he told her. ”The gifts, the curse, whatever it was. It is gone.”

”Gone?” she whispered. ”Are you certain, Merrick?”

He was, and Merrick didn't know how he felt about that yet. The gifts had been part of him; the curse had only come recently.

He was only a man now. But no, he was a man in love with a woman. One who would stand beside him, cursed or no.

”I'm certain,” he answered.

Anne sat back on her heels, looking rather stunned by what had just happened. ”What should we do?”

There was only one thing to do. Get on with the rest of their lives. He took Anne's chilled hand in his and kissed her fingers. ”I'm thinking we should be off to Gretna Green. I plan to marry you today, Lady Anne.”

Her lips trembled when she smiled, but she was made of st.u.r.dier stuff than she knew. Then she frowned. ”It has just occurred to me that you have no last name to give me, Merrick.” He thought on that, but only for a moment. ”My name is Wulf, Merrick Wulf, and I'm thinking after we get ourselves wed, it's time to pay my half brothers a visit. We may need their help in the coming days.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. ”You would do that for me?”

Merrick pulled her into his arms. ”I told you, I will do anything for you, Anne.”

”Anything?” she asked, glancing up from beneath her lashes.

She was naked beneath the blanket and Merrick was thinking it wouldn't take him long to recover from becoming a man and

only a man. He thought he knew what his lady love wanted.

”We've got all day to get to Gretna Green,” he said, bending to kiss her. ”What would you ask of me, Anne?”

She placed a finger against his lips to stop him. ”I want to ride your horse, bareback, in nothing at all.”

Merrick blinked down at her. It wasn't the start he'd imagined to their new life together, but as he'd promised, he could deny her nothing.

”And you will,” he a.s.sured her, bending to kiss her again. ”But later.”

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