Page 61 of Falling for the Beast

“I’m sorry, I had to bring you here,” Aribelle said. “You were shot.”

Thaddeus sat up and looked around. “Gavin?”

“He’s gone. He thinks he’s a murderer and is running from the police. I don’t think we’ll see him again.”

Thaddeus held his hand out in front of him, his eyes widening. He looked to Catherine. “You took back the curse?” He felt his chest and looked down at his skin.

“I took back my curse,” Catherine said, giving Elizabeth a pointed look.

Elizabeth squirmed. “I took back part of mine.”

Catherine’s eyes widened. “What?”

She pointed to Thaddeus. “You saw that. He healed so many people. I couldn’t take that from him.”

Thaddeus shook his head. “I’m confused.”

Catherine sighed and sat down in a Victorian style chair. “That night you came back, screaming at me to undo what I had done, I was at my wit’s end. I saw nothing good in you. I cursed you to become the monster you were inside.”

Thaddeus frowned. “I know. I remember.”

“But what you didn’t realize was I wasn’t the only one who cast a spell that day.” She pointed to her daughter.

Elizabeth fidgeted. “I didn’t think it was fair for you to be cursed like that. Without any way to redeem yourself. So I gave you the power to heal and take others’ injuries upon yourself.”

Thaddeus’s mouth fell open.

Elizabeth continued. “I knew you were angry, but I also knew you had good in you.”

“How?”

Pink touched her cheeks. “I knew you from school. You hung out with the ‘in’ crowd, but I watched you. I saw you be kind to Trisha Fox when she fell and scraped her knee. Everyone else was laughing at her sprawled out on the concrete, but you bent down and helped her up.”

“I don’t even remember that,” he said, scrubbing his hand over his face. And the way he stared up at her, it was obvious he didn’t remember Elizabeth either.

“I know.” Elizabeth touched the hem of her shirt. “But I remembered.”

Catherine sighed. “I guess my daughter is a better judge of character than I am.”

Thaddeus shook his head. “No, you were right. I was a horrible person. Insolent and conceited.”

“And with a terrible temper,” Catherine added.

He nodded. “Yes, that too.”

“But he’s not that way anymore,” Aribelle said, unable to sit quietly any longer. “Well, he still needs to work on the temper thing, but he’s grown into a caring person.”

Catherine nodded. “I could tell by the sheer number of scars on him.” She looked him over. “You healed a lot of people.”

Thaddeus dropped his gaze. “It helped me keep myself under control.”

No one spoke for a moment, and Aribelle began to grow anxious to leave. “I’m sorry I barged in on you guys on Christmas Eve. We really should go.”

Catherine stood and extended her hand to Thaddeus. “I’m glad things have changed.”

He took her hand in his. “Me, too.”

Chapter 27

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