"That's right," he chuckles. "My Mara. My feisty tiger."
I chuckle back, and lean in to steal another quick kiss from him.
"Thank you..." I whisper. "...I love you."
"I love you," he repeats almost instantly.
Liam gently takes my mug out of my hands, places it next to us on the counter, and hugs me tightly. I'm warm now. I'm warm and feeling much better than before. I can't believe I let her use my insecurities like that... I really fell deep for it. I take deep breaths against Liam's neck, his scent calming me down. We almost smell the same now. I wrap my hands around his waist, and realize his pants are still soaking wet.
"You're..."
"I know," he sighs. "It's okay. Plus, maybe it will dry while you tell me the good part of that shit dream you had."
"Oh, right..."
I take a deep breath, and as we separate, Liam hands me my mug back. He sips some of his too. Yeah, I'm going to need more hot chocolate while I tell him everything...
Maybe because it was a magic one, this dream is still so vivid in my mind, so I have no problem reciting each detail to Liam. He doesn't say a word while I tell him everything, simply sipping his hot cocoa and gently rubbing my leg, worried that I might still be too cold. I'm good, though. Actually, telling him about that horrible dream, or nightmare, is like pouring out all that angst I got from it. The more I share with him, the more relieved and detached from it I finally feel.
I had to start all over with the story told by Clarissa's mom, but Liam gets really angry when I get to the curse taking Sylviana and Nephera's appearances to trick me.
"Damn it," he growls. "Well, at least now we know what that shit was all about..."
"Yeah... It really was much older than Nephera herself. Even I almost gave in to it. This... bundle of dark feelings, it has probably grown from all those it affected, witch after witch."
Liam sighs and nods.
"Damn, I wonder how many witches were... betrayed by werewolves before."
"Liam, I have a theory, but... it's a bit... crazy."
He chuckles and caresses my hair gently.
"Babe, if I had ever stopped at crazy... I wouldn't be crazy about a witch."
I smile and blush, but this is serious.
"Liam, Nephera was... betrayed by your father, right?"
"Yeah, I mean... yeah."
"...So the curse was activated with her, and it fueled her anger. But it didn't really... affect you and your brothers, right?"
He hesitates, frowning, and from his expression, he’s probably looking through his memories as well.
"I mean, it's not like we had a... good childhood. Our dad was crazy, to begin with, and not the good kind of crazy. Our mother spent all the time I knew her in a hospital, so..."
"Yes, I mean, I know, but it's... Look at little Mara, who wasn't even able to be born, and Clarissa, born with a sick body. I think they lived the same thing."
"You think Clarissa's father betrayed her mother?"
"Either him, or her mother’s father betrayed her mother," I nod, thinking. "...I don't know... I mean, I don't think Clarissa's dad is a werewolf, Amy would have told me. Or maybe she doesn't know herself... I'm really not sure. But, even if he wasn't the one to betray her, I think Clarissa's mother could have been a cursed child herself. If her own mother was abandoned herself by a man, unfortunately, it passed on to her own daughter, and to Clarissa after... Clarissa did mention that her mom was always weak too, and she... died young, of disease. It sounds odd for a witch, especially a good witch. I think Clarissa's mom struggled her whole life to buy them time, and it was some miracle in itself that Clarissa was born at all. Maybe she gave her life to extend Clarissa’s, just like she and little Mara were later able to survive on each other's strength. I think the curse just... doesn't let go like that at once. But I think... you and your brothers were protected."
"What do you mean?"
I don't answer yet. I have all my gears spinning like crazy right now, I feel like my brain is going to explode, but... damn, thanks to that dream, all the pieces are slowly coming into place. Not just Liam and his brothers, but even Selena and Nora's story. Moon Goddess, if... if I look at it from a witch's perspective, everything makes sense.
I take a deep breath and look up at Liam again.
