Lydia Dare - A Certain Wolfish Charm

Simon shrugged out of his coat and shook his head like a dog. Water flew from his hair, and Oliver was forced to raise his hands in front of his face to avoid being drenched. It was no more than he deserved. The boy needed to learn what it meant to play with the big dogs. If not for him, Simon would be back at Westfield Hall with Lily.

"How did you find me?" the boy had the nerve to ask.

Simon scratched his bristly jaw. Then he tapped his temple with his forefinger. "Superior intellect. Wins every time." Simon flopped down in a chair heavily, all bounds of propriety suddenly absent, along with the desire to find them again. He crossed one foot over his knee. "You remind me so much of your father," he said, shaking his head in wonder. The boy looked just like Daniel, from the stubborn jut of his chin to the feral glint in his eye.

Oliver sat forward but didn't say a word. Simon could tell he had the boy's attention at the mere mention of Daniel. "I found you because your father and I explored every inch of the grounds of Maberley Hall when we were young." He couldn't push back the smile that came with his memories. "There are not many secrets about these grounds that I don't already know." Simon took a deep breath. "We're also blessed with expanded senses." The puzzled look on the boy's face encouraged him to continue. "I smelled you. You haven't noticed that we have a greater sense of smell? That you can suddenly catch scents that you never would have caught before?"

"I noticed," Oliver mumbled.

"I thought you might. What else have you noticed?"

Oliver turned his head to look toward the wall. The rain continued to pound outside the tiny cottage. Simon decided patience would be a great virtue. He would be truly grateful if he was ever granted some. He was trying desperately to find just a bit.

"I'm sure you've noticed that you're growing. You're much bigger and stronger than other lads your age. And, despite your bulk, you're faster than they are."

Oliver nodded but still refused to meet his eyes. Simon pressed on.

"Does it bother you to be one of us?"

Oliver shook his head. "It doesn't bother me," he mumbled.

"Yet you still don't think I'm good enough to be married to your Aunt Lily."

Oliver's gaze finally swung to meet his. "That's not it."

"Then why don't you tell me what it is so we can get this over with." Lily would be proud he hadn't picked the pup up by the scruff of his neck and shaken his secrets from him. He still wasn't completely opposed to that idea.

Oliver just regarded him solemnly.

"I remember when your father found out about our heritage, when he went through the change. He was two years younger than me, so I'd already been through it. But a Lycan is sworn to secrecy. It's never to be mentioned that you're different, except with members of your own kind." Simon wondered if Will had shared that with him. "You haven't told anyone yet, have you?" he asked, suddenly worried that the boy had been screaming it from the rooftops.

"Like anyone would believe me," Oliver mumbled.

Simon chuckled. "That's true. It does seem a little odd, doesn't it?"

"Odd doesn't begin to describe it," Oliver said.

"You'll learn to live with it in time, Oliver—" he started.

"You never should have married her," the boy suddenly said.

Finally, they were getting somewhere.

Simon narrowed his eyes at him. "I know you don't think I'm good enough for her. But I care about her, and I promise to be kind to her."

"But you'll claim her with the next moon. And hurt her," Oliver whispered, horrified.

Simon sighed. He really hadn't thought he would be forced to discuss his sexual relationship with a twelve-year-old. But apparently there wasn't another way to make Oliver understand. "That's where you're wrong," he admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Every Lycan has the choice of whether or not to take a mate. I know you've read about it and you know what occurs." He raised one eyebrow to prompt a response from the boy. Oliver nodded.

"But what the books don't say is that a Lycan is not forced to claim his Lycan mate, even if he takes her as a wife."

"I don't understand."

Neither did Simon. "I took Lily to be my wife. She's mine. In every way." He prompted the boy to nod again and only continued once he did. "But I'll never take her as a Lycan mate."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't know what I am. And I prefer to keep it that way. I want her to have a normal marriage. And I want to share my life with her."

"What about when the moon calls?"

"When the moon calls, I'll do what I do now. I'll travel to Westfield Hall where I can seek the solitude of the forest. Alone. Then, when the moon begins to wane, I'll come back to her."

"You won't bite her neck? And hurt her? Like the book said. Like my father did to my mother?"

"How do you know about that?" Simon asked.

"I remember she was afraid of him and tried to keep me from him. I was too young to wonder about why. She just did. And she always made sure her neck was covered, but I saw it once." Oliver frowned, looking at his own hands. "I didn't know he had done that to her until I read about the claiming in the book."

Damn Will to hell. Daniel, too, for that matter. No wonder the boy was so fearful. Simon's heart ached for the pain he saw reflected in Oliver's eyes. "Your father and I are very different." When the lad started to speak, Simon held up a hand. "Wait, Oliver, because you need to listen first."

Oliver nodded, his jaw twitching as he ground his teeth.

"Your father didn't have anyone to teach him to be a man. Or a Lycan. His own father died when he was a boy, and though my father tried to help him, it wasn't enough."

"And that's why he hurt Mama?" the boy's voice broke on the last few words.

"Yes, he did," Simon said, refusing to show any emotion, though it rolled through him in waves. The boy needed strength, and he could show him that. "But your father loved her."

"Then he shouldn't have hurt her!" he growled at Simon.

He was quite glad the pup still had his milk teeth, because he would be a formidable foe when he was fully grown.

"You're correct. But he didn't know any better. Daniel loved Emma so much. He wanted to share every part of himself with her. He did tell her about himself. And she chose to be with him, in his Lycan form, when the moon was full. She accepted that risk and trusted Daniel, but he couldn't control the beast."

Simon stood and began to pace across the room. "Not until it was too late. He realized what he'd done after it was nearly over. But by then, he'd hurt her, shattered her trust, and she withdrew. It nearly killed him. And her. Because she'd wanted so badly to be

that person

for him. It wasn't his failure. And it wasn't hers."

Simon knelt in front of Oliver where he still sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you afraid that will happen to you? And to someone you love? And to Lily?"

Oliver simply nodded.

"It won't. Because I won't let it," Simon snarled,

suddenly even more sure that his decision to keep his Lycan ways a secret from Lily was a good one.

"You will promise?" Oliver asked.

"I will promise to guide you and teach you what you need to know, just as a Lycan father should. I'll never try to replace Daniel, but I'll try to teach you as he would. As someone should have taught him."

Oliver stood alongside him and was nearly able to look him in the eye. He almost knocked Simon to the ground when he threw his arms around him and hugged him fiercely. All Simon could do was plant his feet, tighten his arms around Oliver, and accept the only bit of affection the boy had ever offered him.

***

Lily paced back and forth across the foyer, biting her fingernails and mumbling to herself. It had been hours since Simon left. As soon as he'd turned the corner of the house, the skies had opened and rain had fallen from the heavens.