Taming the Beast

She woke in her own bed sometime later, with sun streaming in through the window. Her head ached, and only one eye would open when she tried to blink. It took a moment for everything to come into focus, and she quickly realized Duncan and Nick were looming over her, wearing twin expressions of concern on their very different faces.

“Ah, good. You’re back with us, young lady.”

At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, she turned her head as far as she could to the right to see him with her left eye. “Who are you?” He was an older gentleman, and he had a reassuring smile.

“I’m Dr. Barro. Duncan and Nick sent for me, and I can see why. You’re in rough shape. I think you should be in the hospital.”

No,” she said firmly, which echoed their negative response as well. “I’d rather be here unless I need surgery or something?”

The doctor shook his head, white hair springing wildly around his face. “No, nothing like that. I’d just feel better if you were on pain medicine through an IV and under continuous monitoring.”

“She’ll get continuous monitoring here, from us,” said Nick firmly.

“We aren’t going to leave her side,” added Duncan.

The older man laughed, and he sounded indulgent when he did so. “Yes, yes. As you’ve said. Since the patient agrees with you, there’s not much that an overly cautious old man can do to persuade you otherwise.”

“Is anything broken?” she asked, wincing when her lip split again.

Dr. Barro shook his head. “You’ve been banged up a bit, and that brute cracked one of your ribs, but nothing’s broken. There’s no internal bleeding. If there were, you would have been in the hospital hours ago. I have no doubt these men would have insisted on it. They would have carried you themselves, I’m certain. Truly, you’re fine to be here as long as they maintain constant vigilance, and I’m only a half-hour away if the need arises to call me again. Otherwise, I’ll be in to check on you frequently over the next few days, and I’ve left an ample supply of pain medication to see you through.”

Shortly after that, the doctor took his leave, and Nick walked him out. She turned her head to Duncan, who sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand. His shoulder was in a sling, and she could see a white bandage peeking through. “You were shot.” It was a statement, not a question.

Duncan shrugged the uninjured shoulder. “Aye, but it’s not too bad. It’s more of a flesh wound, and it went straight through. The doc had to pack the wound and do a little stitching, and I’ll have to take some antibiotics, but I’ll be fine. I think we’ll all be fine once we heal.”

Nick returned then, closing the door quietly behind himself as he came to sit on the other side of her bed. As one, both men took her hands in one of theirs, and she clung tightly to them.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Sam sooner. I thought he was just being petulant. I didn’t realize how unhinged he was, or that he was going to follow me and decide to capture the beasts.” She closed her eyes as dread swept through her. “He took pictures. I don’t know if he posted them or shared them anywhere, but what if—”

“It’s all right,” said Nick. “The beasts are gone.”

Her eyes felt like they were bulging against her sore lids, and even the one that was swollen shut seemed like it wanted to open at the words. “Gone? What do you mean?”

“Last night, as soon as you said you loved us, the beasts faded away. We were men again in the middle of the night, and that’s how we got you back to the house,” said Nick.

She looked at him for a moment, searching her memories. “I remember that. Kind of. I remember you carrying me, and I saw the moon, but I didn’t realize why that was significant at the time. The curse is truly broken?”

“Aye,” said Duncan as he leaned closer, brushing his lips against her swollen cheek in a very gentle kiss. “Your love freed us, and in more ways than one, Baylee.”

“So even if Sam somehow disseminated the images he captured with his camera, and someone comes poking around if they’re foolish enough to believe the pictures were authentic, they won’t find anything. Not anymore,” said Nick with a purr of satisfaction. “The beasts are gone, and the curse is lifted. We’re free to be together for the rest of our lives without that dogging us.”

“The rest of our lives?” She licked her lips and then winced when her tongue touched an open spot, and her saliva made it sting worse. “How long will that be?”

They shared a glance, and then Nick shrugged. “We aren’t sure, but from the research we’ve done over the years, and the books on magic we’v

e collected, we think it’s a safe bet that we’ll just have our normal lifespans. What we would have had before the curse, I mean. We were forced to live as long as the curse remained in effect, but I don’t believe we’re immortal any longer. We’ll eventually grow old and die.” He sounded relieved by that.

She clung tightly to their hands. “Let’s not be in a hurry to do that though. I just found you, and I can’t imagine losing you. Either of you.” She wasn’t certain how her family would take the news of her being involved in a triad, but she had no intention of hiding it, or pretending to be involved with only one of them. She imagined her parents would be resistant to start with, but they would come around when they saw how happy she was with Nick and Duncan.

“We should let you get some rest, love,” said Nick.

She held tighter to his hand and squeezed Duncan’s too. “I’d rather you rest with me. Will you just stay here while I sleep? Maybe hold me if we can find a way that doesn’t hurt myself or Duncan?”

“Aye,” said Duncan as he curled against her, seemingly unbothered by the possibility of injuring his shoulder further. “We’ll gladly hold you whenever you want.”

“And make love to you whenever you desire, once you’re fully healed,” said Nick.

She wanted to protest, to insist she could make love right then—because she was certainly moved by the need for them—but reality intruded. She wanted them, but she was in no position to take them at the moment. She would have to settle for cuddles and tender affection, which was not settling by any means at all. She was positive now they hadn’t settled on her, and she certainly hadn’t settled on them. Their joining was meant to be, and their union would be a happy one.