Page 161 of The Black Witch

My breath catches tight in my throat.Oh, Ancient One. There’s nothing but the deepest of sincerity in his amber eyes, his expression one of raw anguish.

I let out a deep sigh. “I respect that. I know your people don’t say that lightly.”

“No. We don’t,” he says. “I want to mate with her, Elloren. For life.”

Oh, Sweet Ancient One.“But you’re Lupine, Jarod, and she’s Gardnerian. Her family is incredibly conservative.”

“I don’t care,” he says. “I don’t care what she is. I don’t care who her family is. I love her. I can’t help it. I just do.”

He places one hand on his hip and brings the other to his temples, like he’s massaging a headache. He looks around blankly, then takes a seat on the hallway bench and drops his head into his hands. “This complicates my life as well, you know. My pack will accept outsiders, but theymustbecome Lupine. If I were to take a Gardnerian female to mate before she became Lupine, I would cease to be a member of my pack. My family wouldn’t cut off contact with me like hers would, but I would not be allowed to return home until my mate became Lupine.”

I sit down next to him. “Aislinn doesn’t want to be Lupine, Jarod. She loves being a Gardnerian. And she loves her family very much.”

“I know.” He’s quiet for a moment, Aislinn’s muffled sobs audible through the door.

“Jarod,” I say, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Give her some time. She didn’t expect to like kissing you so much. It came as a bit of a shock. She always thought of kissing as a rather unpleasant chore, actually.”

“Randall’s an idiot,” Jarod snarls, exposing his gleaming canines. “When I think of him taking Aislinn to mate, I feel physically ill.”

I let out a long sigh. “I think she feels the same way.”

He gives me an imploring look. “Do you think she’ll speak to me again? Before she wandfasts to that fool?”

“I think so. But you might have to give her some time. I think she loves you, too, and it’s scaring her.”

“She’s the last person on Erthia I want to frighten.”

“I know that.”

“You’ll speak to her? You’ll tell her all this?”

I hesitate, but the devastation in his eyes softens me toward him. “I will.”

He breathes a long sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

* * *

When I return to my room, Aislinn has stopped crying and is sitting on the bed, staring straight ahead at nothing, a traumatized look in her glassy eyes.

“What did he say?” she asks, her voice flat and emotionless.

I sit down in my desk chair and lean forward to face her. “He says that he loves you. That he doesn’t care who your family is. That he still loves you. That he doesn’t care if his own pack disowns him. That he only wants you. For life. And that he never meant to cause you any pain.”

Aislinn begins to sob again. She closes her eyes tight as if her thoughts hurt, turns slowly and lies down on the bed, curling herself into a tight ball, her back to me.

I sit and watch her for a long moment, not sure what to do, heartbroken for the both of them. I blink back tears.

There’s nothing I can do. There’s no easy way out for either of them.

I wipe away my tears, blow out the lamp on my desk, pull a blanket over Aislinn, then lie down next to her and put my arm around her. Aislinn grasps hold of my arm with a firm, desperate grip.

I hold her for a long time, until she finally cries herself to sleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Trapped

“I’m worried about you, Aislinn.”

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