“I have to… I can…” Why was it so hard to string a sentence together? “Make it go away…”
Caster stared at him, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
If he could kiss him or fuck him, his wolf would come out and heal this.
Caster’s eyes widened, and even to his drunk mind, he realized he’d shared too much.
“This fucking day…”
Caster’s words made little sense, and he closed his eyes against the effect of his overindulgence. He took a breath and, with it, absorbed more of Caster’s irresistible scent. His wolf came closer, its presence easing his blurriness. He moaned his relief and repeated the action. This time, his drunkenness was a distant nuisance.
When he opened his eyes, Caster’s face was clear, and the consequences of his error in judgment fell like a hammer.
“We will talk about” —Caster waved a hand between them— “this. And you are not leaving until we do.”
Mark swallowed the dread clogging his throat. He’d brought this on himself.
“Yes, you have.” Caster’s smirk mocked him. “Feeling better?”
He could only nod.
Caster turned his body toward him. “Good. Explain yourself.”
He didn’t know where to start. It seemed impossible that a vampire would exert so much control on his wolf, but too many coincidences can only mean the truth is around.
Caster remained silent, waiting.
He took a breath. “Fine. I can’t transform. Well, I couldn’t until I came here. Until you.”
The confusion on Caster’s face was back.
The longer he remained in his presence, the more his wolf healed his drunkenness. His clearer mind was certain he couldn’t tell Caster what had happened to push his wolf away. He was certain he’d never find the words to describe that night. But he could talk about its effects. “It started the night we found that creature, or it found us. My wolf came back as soon as you touched me, and then he was gone again until…”
“That night at the club.”
“And he was gone again when the witch attacked me in the study. He was really gone that time and only came back when I woke up at the cabin.”
“After our…”
He nodded.
Caster shot to his feet. “How’s that possible?” His tone was calm, too calm, but the energy emanating from him was potent enough to ignite the room.
Mark was so busy fortifying himself for the inevitable “why” that it took a second to register the question Caster had settled on. His exhale whooshed out of him, his mind clearer than before he’d indulged in too much alcohol. “I don’t know. I just know…”
Caster sat next to him, and Mark prayed he would see past his brokenness.
“You’re not broken.”
Tears stung, but he refused to shed them.
“So, you’re telling me your wolf only reappears when you’reclose to me?”
Mark nodded, the significance of what he’d shared stealing his words.
Caster surprised him by smiling. “And here I thought nothing could surprise me.”
§