Page 72 of The Biting Bargain

Vincent blinks. Once. Twice.

"Again, please," he says in a treacherously calm voice.

"Ms. Bukowski seems to have inadvertently installed an even stronger counter-curse on you." Aidan straightens up and beams at me like a hundred-watt bulb. "Most likely, with you having intercourse in the dungeon, you accidentally performed some sort of arcane ritual powerful enough to override the werewolf's curse with another counter-curse."

I don't understand a single word, blinking back and forth between Aidan and Vincent, who also looks like his brain has literally stopped for the first time in his long life.

"Arcane ritual?" he finally croaks.

"I suppose you owe Ms. Bukowski a huge debt; she solved your biggest problem." Aidan beams and taps and points to his screen. "Look here. The biomarkers on the magic string show a definite phase enhancement that..."

"All right, all right." Vincent waves it off and sinks into Aidan's empty office chair, staring into space in front of him.

"So that means the curse is gone?"

Aidan chuckles. "No, sir. Not gone. But spellbound. As I said, I need a cross check to be completely sure. I need to discuss the results with the witch who installed your previous counter curse at the time. But I'm 100% sure you won't turn into a werewolf again."

"Not even during the full moon?" I ask.

Aidan shakes his head. "No, unless, you wish to, Mr. Renard. If I read the results correctly, you should be able to control the shifting process now..."

Vincent stands up so violently that I flinch and Aidan interrupts his flow of speech.

"Sir, I really wouldn't..."

With a few large steps, Vincent is at one of the large windows and pulls aside the curtains. White moonlight spills into the room and all over him. I jump up from my seat — but nothing happens. Vincent holds the curtains in his fists and looks out into the second clear full moon night.

"Wow," he mutters.

"Amazing, isn't it, sir?" Aidan flips his laptop shut and tucks it under his arm. "I'm going to see the witch Yli-Pekkala right away. In a few days we should know for sure."

With a friendly nod he hurries past me and out the door.

I stand there with my heart pounding, my throat tight and my mind spinning. It takes a few long moments before I’m able to step up next to Vincent at the window. He is still clenching the curtains and staring out.

"Are you okay?" I ask cautiously.

I expect one of his usual biting remarks. That I shouldn't ask. That it's none of my business. Instead, he says in a low voice:

"I haven't seen it in ages."

It takes me a second before I get it. He’s talking about the moon.

I look up. In the dark, velvet sky the moon looms like a silver spotlight.

"Looks amazing," I mutter, but my heart clenches at the sight of Vincent. A mixture of horrified amazement and awe is written on his face. I don't know how old he really is, but who knows how long he hasn't been able to look at the moon? A wave of compassion wells up inside me.

And something else becomes clear to me.

"That's it." I utter the nasty flittering thought before I can hold it back. Vincent blinks as if waking from a trance and looks at me.

"I mean, you don't need me anymore, do you?" I say, brushing a strand of hair out of my forehead and forcing the corners of my mouth into what I hope looks like a crooked smile. "End of the line and all."

He frowns, his razor-sharp mind seeming to jump back on. His mouth turns into a hard line.

And my heart sinks.

Of course this is it. Of course he doesn't need me anymore. I accidentally destroyed his curse and replaced it with a better one. There’s no need for my presence to balance out his magical conundrum. Vincent can return to his normal life as a Billionaire Playboy Vampire Boss.

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