The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince (17 page)

lashing out at him from inside Shea. Terrified, Corbin reached for his mate, intending to snap Winter out of his trance. Something stopped

him from doing so, a knowledge that Winter could handle this.
“Give
me a moment,”
Winter whispered in his mind.
“I can handle this.”

And, indeed, Shea’s color began to improve and his cries quieted

down. Finally, the glow on Winter’s hands diminished. Winter fell

back against Corbin, panting hard.

A few seconds passed while Winter recovered. Finally, Winter

struggled to his feet. Corbin helped his mate as much as he could, the fright he’d gone through still very present in his mind.

“I have some good news and some bad news,” Winter told Preston

and Layton. “Which one do you want first?”

“Just tell us already,” Preston replied. “The bad news.”

A part of Corbin already knew what Winter was going to say. He

didn’t quite understand it, but he was still unsurprised when Winter

said, “Your son suffers from something we call the shadow of a curse.

After a spell is broken, lingering traces remain behind. Sometimes,

they can attach themselves to the close ones of the originally cursed person, particularly offspring, who are, by nature, vulnerable.”

Corbin hadn’t thought Layton could get any paler, but he did. “So,

it’s my fault. My God…I should have known that spell couldn’t go

away just like that. I should have realized…”

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“It’s not your fault,” Winter interrupted Layton. “None of us

realized it, not even me. Shadows are many times latent and

undetectable until they actually manifest. You couldn’t have known.”

Layton’s lower lip trembled, and he looked a step away from

crying. In Corbin’s experience, Layton never cried, but of course, in these circumstances, all bets were off.

“Can you heal it?” Preston inquired.

“Not by myself,” Winter answered. “Magical afflictions are more

potent than usual ones, and when there’s only one healer involved,

there’s a chance for the curse to fight back strongly and recoil against both healer and patient.” Winter paused and licked his lips. “But if I were to take Shea to the Sidhe palace, the island wards alone would

shatter the curse, and the Silver Pool could deal with any possible

trace it might have.”

Layton tensed visibly. “You want to take Shea?” He gave Winter

a suspicious look. “No. I can’t trust you.”

“Your uncle wanted to kidnap him before.” Preston narrowed his

eyes at Winter. “How do we know this isn’t some sort of trick?”

But it wasn’t, and Corbin knew very well that Winter was telling

the truth. “Calm down. We’re all family here, and we want what’s

best for Shea.”

“Look, I understand your point,” Winter said, “and I know that it

does seem very suspicious. If you’re willing, I can discuss it with my uncle. Perhaps we can find some middle ground, so that Shea doesn’t

have to be transported there. Maybe we could bring more healers, and

together, we should be able to deal with it.”

“Will that work?” Layton asked. “Will it be enough?”

Winter nodded. “Yes. The shadow curse has just awoken, and it’s

not as virulent as it could be. For now, Shea is safe, as I managed to leash it. But he must be kept away from anything that could trigger a worsening of his situation. He needs to be kept happy and calm at all times. Family should visit him, but preferably one at a time, so that he
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isn’t overwhelmed. I will try to contact my uncle and arrange for

other healers to come.”

Preston squeezed his mate’s hand and shared a look with Layton.

“We should know…What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

Winter grimaced, and Corbin saw the images and information in

his mate’s mind. He wanted to tell Preston not to pursue it, that at

least Layton should be spared the torture and the fear. But he saw the decision in both men and knew he could not change their mind.

After a moment of hesitation, Winter slowly started to explain,

“The spell on Layton had three parts. One affecting the body, another affecting the mind, and the third one affecting the soul. Right now,

only the third one is active. It was the weakest, as your mate bond

took care of most of it. But should the other two come out of latency, Shea could become very sick. For Layton, the corporal component

referred to lust, but Shea’s age means he cannot experience sexuality.

Therefore, there are chances that it might transfer into something else, most likely physical pain. The same thing could happen for the mental side of it. But again, I can’t be certain, as shadow curses are very

varied and complex.”

Layton took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. “Very well.

Thank you for telling us.”

Winter simply nodded and took Corbin’s hand. “We’ll go contact

my uncle now. If there are any developments, if Shea’s condition

worsens, call me right away, all right?”

After being reassured that they would be notified should there be

any change in Shea’s state, Corbin and Winter left Shea alone with his parents. They headed out to their room, walking in silence, lost in

thought.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Winter finally said. “I hurt you through

my selfishness. Again.”

Corbin pushed the door to their room open. “It’s not that I don’t

understand, sweetheart. I do. But I’d still like to have a family with you, if it were possible.”

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At Winter’s remorseful look, Corbin decided now was not the

time or the place to discuss such things. His mate was tired, the

healing process having taken a lot out of him. “Let’s leave it for now.

After all, you’re not a seahorse like Layton. You couldn’t give birth to a child if you wanted to.”

Winter nodded, but an expression of regret crossed his face. He

plopped onto the bed and offered Corbin a small smile. “I’ll get some shut-eye. Wake me if there’s any problem with Shea.”

Corbin lay down next to his mate and watched as the beautiful

Sidhe surrendered to slumber. There was so much still separating

them in spite of both their efforts. But Corbin swore that he’d get

Winter to see that, with enough love, any obstacle could be surpassed.

He only hoped this would apply for Shea’s curse as well.

* * * *

Winter opened his eyes to a distinct feeling of wrongness. He

distinctly remembered falling asleep at Corbin’s side, but now, his

lynx mate was nowhere to be seen.
“Corbin?”
he asked through their bond.

“Hey, sweetheart,”
Corbin answered.
“Sorry I couldn’t be there
when you woke up. Wait for me there, okay?”

“Why?”
Winter inquired, instantly alarmed.
“What’s wrong?”

The question was somewhat rhetorical since through their bond,

he could see and hear Corbin’s thought processes. Anger and

frustration coursed through him as he got his answer.
“Your ex? She’s
here?”

“Apparently, she got wind of our return and she wants to stir

some trouble,”
Corbin replied.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re politely
ushering her out because we don’t want any fuss with Shea in a

delicate condition.”

Winter agreed with those precautions, but at the same time, he

wanted her out of Corbin’s proximity as soon as possible. More

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119

information trickled in his mind, and he understood that he couldn’t

just stay put as Corbin seemed to want. He needed to make a stand.

As quickly as possible, he found some clothes and changed from

his sleep-wrinkled outfit. He combed his long hair and tied it back,

then rushed outside, following his instincts to guide him to his mate.

He found Corbin in the office with his parents and the same woman

Winter had briefly caught sight of at the wedding. There were two

other people there, a man and a woman, grouped around Corbin’s ex.

“There’s nothing for you here,” Winter said without preamble.

“Leave and don’t come back.”

The woman narrowed her eyes at Winter. “Who do you think you

are, you little faggot? Corbin’s my mate. Mine. He promised me he

would mate me. I’m pregnant with his child. I won’t allow your

interference to push my baby into growing up fatherless.”

Winter froze. According to Corbin, he hadn’t been with his ex in

over a year, since before he’d met Winter. If what she said was true, Corbin had deliberately deceived him. Would it be so hard to believe?

After all, Corbin wanted a family. Their earlier debate clearly

illustrated that.

Winter shook himself, cursing his own lack of trust in his mate.

“Go spout your lies someplace else,” he told her. “If you are pregnant, that child’s not Corbin’s.”

“I’m afraid it’s his word against hers,” the woman with Corbin’s

ex said. “And I’m inclined to believe my daughter. We might not be

very traditionalistic, but the least Cherise deserves is some

compensation for her suffering and humiliation.”

“With all due respect, Madam,” Corbin said, “whatever suffering

she experienced at my hands is hardly worthy of compensation. We

were never lovers, and I haven’t touched her in over a year.” Corbin

wrapped an arm around Winter’s waist. “Like Winter said, if she is

pregnant, the child is not mine.”

Cherise’s parents must have actually believed their daughter

because they seemed furious. Garth intervened before the situation

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could worsen. “You’ve exposed your points, Cherise, and so has

Corbin. There’s no reason for you to stay here any longer. If you do

insist that Corbin is the father of your child, the solution is easy

enough. We’ll schedule a DNA test as soon as possible. For now, I’m

going to have to ask you to leave.”

For a few seconds, it seemed like Cherise and her parents would

agree to Garth’s command. But then the unexpected happened. Out of

nowhere, Cherise retrieved a gun and pointed it straight at Winter. “I will have you dead for this.”

Several things went through Winter’s mind. He wasn’t afraid, as,

in general, Sidhe weren’t particularly vulnerable to normal lead

bullets. Cherise was unlikely to know about Sidhe vulnerability to

iron, so she probably wouldn’t have thought of bringing special

ammo. Furthermore, the weapon was very small, tiny really, its small

size doubtlessly the reason why she’d managed to sneak it past the

Cunninghams’ guards. However, a bullet that caliber could hardly

cause too much damage in a shifter or a Sidhe.

“Please, Cherise,” Garth said, “put the weapon down before you

hurt yourself or someone else.”

Cherise suddenly gained a hunted look. “No. I won’t lose, not to

someone like him.”

Suddenly, Nicolas, who had been quiet until then, produced a

small knife and threw it at Cherise. The weapon flew and unerringly

embedded itself in Cherise’s arm. She dropped the gun with a cry and

fell to her knees.

Chaos erupted as Cherise’s parents tried to reach for her. Preston

and Skylar burst into the office, followed by several guards, while

Cherise scampered for the gun.

Foolishly, Cherise’s family tried to block any attempt of others to

capture her. While they couldn’t take the larger number of people

intent on Cherise’s immobilization, their intervention allowed Cherise the delay she needed to grab her weapon again.

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She directed her gun at Winter and, without hesitation, pressed the

trigger. Seconds later, pain exploded in Winter’s shoulder, and he

realized he had been mistaken. She did indeed know about Sidhe

vulnerability to iron, as was proven by the iron bullet currently lodged in his flesh.

Corbin released a roar of anguish and caught Winter before he

could fall to the floor. In the meantime, Winter was distantly aware of Preston approaching Cherise and reaching for the gun. Probably in a

fit of insanity, Cherise pointed the weapon at Preston and shot.

It could have ended much worse, but thankfully, the bullet just

grazed Preston without causing significant injury. Much to Winter’s

relief, Preston subdued her with ease. Winter could focus on his own

problem and eliminate the iron from his body.

Gritting his teeth, he clutched Corbin’s arm and centered his

energies on the foreign object lodged in his flesh. Mentally, he pushed the bullet out of him. He heard it fall to the floor with a silent thud, and immediately felt a weight come off his chest as the poison started to clear out of his bloodstream.

By the time the healing process was over, he was left as weak as a

pup and ready to sleep for a week. Corbin lifted him in his arms just as Byron Cunningham stalked into the office.

“I can’t believe this insanity.” Byron growled. “You two, get out

of my house,” he told Cherise’s parents. “Your daughter stays here,

and she won’t see the light of day until I say so.”

The two shifters tried to protest, but the guards were already

obeying his orders and removing the intruders. Winter was greatly

relieved, and he hoped his mate could take him back to their room