Imprisoned at Werewolf Keep (Werewolf Keep Trilogy) (16 page)

‘You think that now, in the afterglow. But when you realise what you
have to give up to be with me, to be one of us, you will feel differently. This Keep is our prison! For the rest of our lives we can never go far from it for any length of time. You can never travel the world and see the sights. You will spend three nights a month locked in a cold, bare cell. It is not the life for you!’

She scrambled to her feet and picked up
her satin robe. Furiously, she pushed her arms into it and tightened the belt. All the while she tried to think of what to say to him. His arrogant acceptance that he knew what was right for her made her furious. She had been treated like a child by her parents and her husband, she was not about to be treated that way by her lover.

‘If your kisses did not turn me, then your blood will have. I made my choice. If you see that as me forcing a relationship on you, then I am sorry. That is not what I intended. The intimacies we
shared have nothing to do with commitment. That is for innocent virgins. I am a widow. I can take my pleasure where I choose as long as I am discrete.’ She lifted her nose and sniffed.

‘
Nobody in their right mind would choose to be a werewolf!’ Jasper yelled at her, springing from the bed.

‘Then I am not in my right mind.
Good night to you, sir!’

And with that she stormed from the room, not caring how much noise she made or how many
people she woke in the process.

How did one man have the ability to take her to the heights of ecstasy in one moment and throw her down into the depths
, the next? How dare he try to decide her fate for her? He had been the one to put her at risk in the first place, without allowing her to know the extent of that risk. Now he was deciding her fate by trying to keep her from becoming a werewolf, as if he had the right or even the ability to do so. No, no man would ever tell her what she would do again. Nor any woman, for that matter. She was independently wealthy, she was a widow, and she was an adult. Her life and her choices.

Will passed Jasper in the upper hallway with Ellen in his arms. He paused for a moment and studied him, his concern apparent.

‘You look like hell,’ Will said
.

‘Drinking doesn’t solve nothin
’, young Jasper,’ Ellen added.

‘I am well enough. Thank you both for your concern. Where are you off to at this time of the morning?’ Jasper managed to keep his voice neutral and polite as he changed the subject.

‘Sittin’ in that room was givin’ me the wobblies. I spend enough time closed in. I need some space,’ Ellen said. ‘Will is takin’ me out for a ride. The sun is shinin’ and the air’s crisp.’

‘Ride?’ Jasper was rather shocked by the idea of the ancient crone on horseback.

She cackled in amusement. ‘In the little trap. I couldn’t sit a ‘orse, even in me younger years. That’s for the likes o’ you lords and ladies.’

Jasper nodded his understanding. They had a one horse cart that was just big enough for two people. It was rarely used. But on a lovely winter’s day like today
, it would be a perfect way to get out in the fresh air for the old lady, without requiring her to extend herself.

‘Come with us, why don’t yer?’ she asked kindly. ‘Looks like ye could do with getting’ out a bit.’

‘He was out a bit with his wolf no’ two nights ago, Ellen. Getting’ out isna’ what this laddie needs right the noo,’ Will commented dryly, his Scottish brogue broader than usual.

Jasper had to wonder how much of last night his neighbours had heard. Certainly
Fidelia had been loud when she climaxed. And then their fight had been much more than a quiet disagreement between friends.

When was the last time he’d yelled at someone like that? When he wasn’t under the influence of the wolf, that was? He couldn’t remember. His emotions were always so muted, so civilized. But in the last few days, since he met Fidelia, his feelings had undergone a complete reversal. Now he was irritable and easily roused to anger. And he was rest
less, but with no clear idea what he wanted.

Oh
, he knew lust played a part in his restlessness, and that he needed the little widow beneath him again soon. Having known her once had only served to whet his appetite for more.

Fidelia was like nothing he’d ever known before. Her passionate
, uninhibited nature, her confident desire to explore, and her sensitivity all made her the most incredible bedmate he’d ever had. But she was more than that, he knew. She was his mate as surely as she was his wolf’s.

T
hat she didn’t accept his claim on her was galling. But it was her witless desire to be a werewolf that was infuriating him. He knew what was best for her, and being a werewolf was not that.

Even though she seemed convinced she was already turned, he still doubted it. Even if she had ingested his blood
and received his seed, it didn’t mean she’d been turned. But if she wasn’t, then she would be trying all the harder to make it happen. It was insanity, and he had no way to stop her.

‘Where are yoo o
ff to, then?’ Will asked, shifting Ellen’s weight a little so she was more evenly balance in his arms. He was such a big, muscular man, there was no doubt that he could hold the frail old lady in his arms all day and be hardly aware of it. But he knew that the way he held her would be putting pressure on her swollen joints, and he obviously didn’t want to cause her any hardship. For such a gruff man with a violent streak he never made much effort to hide, Will could be incredibly gentle with those who were weaker than himself.

‘The library. I have been away from my research for too long. There may be
something in the unopened mail.’ It was an excuse. He had no more desire to trap himself in the library as he wanted to go three rounds in a ring with Will, but it was the only place he could think of where he could be safely away from Fidelia. Even his room had proved no hindrance to her.

His memory flashed up the image of her sprawled naked across his bed, her usually neat and impeccable blonde hair spread around her like a field of wheat in the wind. Those glorious eyes of hers had looked at him so fiercely that he had known immediately that when they came together
, it would not be a mild and mellow experience. And he’d been right. Oh, had he been right. She had driven him to the edge and over, splintering him into a million pieces that he’d found impossible to pull back together, even after he’d lain with her in the afterglow. Even now, it felt like some of those pieces were still split off, lost in the chaos of that moment.

It left him feeling empty
and lonelier than he’d ever felt in his life. And restless.

And he knew the only way back from that was Fidelia.
But until she saw sense, he had to keep his distance. Not because he thought he could turn her, because if he hadn’t done it now, he never would in human form, but because he feared he’d say things to her that couldn’t be taken back. His anger at her heedless disobedience was bubbling just beneath the surface. Until he calmed down, he was better off away from her.

Entering the library, he saw Professor James sitting with his head bent over one of the letters from the bundle on the desk. He wandered over
and looked down at what had the academic’s attention.

‘There is a widow in Italy
who became pregnant to her infected husband. She delivered a healthy boy who shows no sign of being infected. So that is promising,’ the owlish scholar said absently.

‘How does she know she fell pregnant after he was infected?’ Jasper demand
ed, his system suddenly on high-alert. This was one worry he hadn’t been able to rid himself of after Fidelia had left him. If his seed didn’t turn her, then it might impregnate her, and they had no idea what a child born from such a pairing would be like. Could this evidence give them that answer, and the one to whether a werewolf’s seed could turn a human?

‘It seems that her husband was away for several months, at which time he was infected. Th
ere is no chance it could be anyone else’s child nor have been conceived before he became infected.’

‘And she shows no sign of turning?’

The professor shook his head. ‘I am sure she would have mentioned it if such a thing had occurred. No, she is simply informing us of her son’s health and asking if there is any chance he might turn when he’s older.’

‘And you will tell her he is safe?’

‘Yes. I cannot see any reason to assume that the infection would require the host’s maturation before activating. If the child was infected, I would think he would have turned in utero on the full moon and then with every full moon after birth. We have no record of werewolf whelps.’

Jasper sat down
at the desk beside him, letting out a relieved sigh. The only possible way that Fidelia could have been turned now was from ingesting his blood. But if a child, who would share his father’s blood, hadn’t turned, then just maybe they were not contagious at any time other than when in werewolf form.

Fidelia was safe.

‘Thank you, this is a big weight off my shoulders.’

‘Why is that?’ The scholar’s eyes looked huge through the thick lenses of his spectacles.

‘Phil’s friend Fidelia. She and I have become close…’ Jasper thought everyone in the household would have known about his sins by now. But then, the professor was not one for sharing any information other than that related to their research. He would have tuned out any gossip exchanged in his presence, if such a thing had occurred.

He picked up the letter James had passed him and read the optimistic facts for himself. The woman was in her thirties. The child was her second. She didn’t go into detail about the child’s conception, but made it clear that she had not seen her husband for months before he came home, telling her of the monster he’d crossed paths with only the week befo
re. When her husband had turned and was shot by the local constabulary before he could hurt anyone, she had immediately put two and two together and been deeply concerned about her unborn child. She had told no one about her fears until several months after the child was born, when she was sure he wasn’t going to turn.

Fidelia was safe. Whatever her heightened feelings were, they had nothing to do with being a werewolf. Maybe bei
ng married to the prudish Duke of Clarence had been the reason for her disinterest in sexual activity. He knew that women needed a great deal more stimulation to become aroused than a man, and Victorian women were incredibly ignorant about the workings of their own bodies and the sexual act. Maybe all Fidelia had needed was a little attention…

He climbed to his feet with more enthusiasm than he’d had when he’d entered the library.

‘Going so soon?’ Professor James didn’t even look up.

‘Yes. There are several people who need to know about this case.’

He found Byron and Phil in the study, sharing a cup of morning tea. He was disappointed to see that Fidelia wasn’t with them.

‘You look chipper
, old boy,’ Byron commented as he entered the room and came to take a seat across from the pair. He poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it thoughtfully.

‘I am. There has been a case of a woman becoming pregnant by her infected husband. The child is normal and so is she. Sharing bodily fluids during intimate moments is not contagious.’

Phil stared at him for a moment and then smiled her relief. ‘Oh, that is such good news. As much as I would love to have had Dee stay with us permanently, I would not want it to be that way.’

‘There is only one possible concern now, but I think it is insignificant.’

Phil’s eyes became intent, and she became very still. She didn’t know about their intimacies last night, it would seem. Was it his place to share them? Yes, if her safety was the issue.

‘Fid
elia came to me last night. She has become rather taken with the idea of becoming a werewolf. We…became close and she bit me, drawing blood and ingesting it intentionally.’

Phil jumped to her feet as if her seat was on fire. Her face bloomed red with fury.

‘Intentionally? She bit you? Jasper, I cannot believe you would make up such despicable lies about my dearest friend. When I left her yesterday afternoon, she was beyond horrified by the possibility of being a werewolf. She did not want to look at you again after the danger you put her in. Now you claim she came to you and bit you so she could become a werewolf? That is absurd! What has come over you, man?’

She stormed from the room before either male could stop her. When the
noise from the slamming door ebbed, Byron looked at Jasper curiously.

‘I seem to have to apologise for my wife rather often these days.’

‘Just as you have to demand apologies from me for my behaviour toward her these days.’

‘She came to you and you made love?’

‘Yes. I did not take advantage of her. I would marry her tomorrow if not for…what I am.’

He rubbed his hands through his hair in frustration. Nothing had changed. He could not keep Fidelia, even if she was safe from infecti
on. And she might fall pregnant.

‘
I understand that, Jas. But she may want to marry you. If she is trying to get turned so she can stay with you – ’

‘No. Not to stay with me. Dee was very emphatic on that point. She thinks her heightened senses are caused by being turned, and she want
s that feeling, no matter the cost.’

‘But if she isn’t turned
, then any heightened feelings she is experiencing are normal human responses to love.’

‘Not love. She cannot love me. Lust
, yes. Though a gentleman would never claim a lady could fall foul of lust, I think we both know it is possible.’

‘She may love you,’ Byron insisted stubbornly.

‘She cannot. I am a monster. You cannot love a monster. She has seen by naked body and been aroused by it. For a gently reared lady, such a sight would have been quite enough to arouse sexual feelings, independent of love.’

‘You see
yourself as a monster, but perhaps she does not.’

‘It does not matter what she sees me as. I am a monster. I have killed an innocent woman. I killed a man not two days ago. I am not fit to lick her booted foot.’

Byron threw up his hands in disgust. ‘Have it your own way. But I have a feeling that your little widow is going to have a say in all this, whether you like it or not.’

‘After the next full moon
, she must go. There is no other alternative. She cannot stay here with me. I will not allow it.’

Byron chuckled humo
urlessly. ‘You have a great deal to learn about women, my friend. A great deal to learn!’

Phil burst in to Fidelia’s room without knocking. She found her friend sleeping naked in the four poster bed. That in itself was a shock. Fidelia was never naked. She even bathed with a cotton slip on, just as she herself had done back in her school days.

‘Dee, wake up!’ she demanded, sitting down on the edge of the bed and shaking her friend
’s bare shoulder.