answered. "Convince you to come back to the caravan."
He laughed, his teeth flashing in the coming dark, but at least his teeth were not pointed, she noted. "Come back to what?"
She lifted her chin. "To me, to those who consider you family."
"Do not pretend that you are not repulsed by me, by what you saw last night. I know differently."
Again, shame washed over her. "I was taken aback by what happened last night. I believe I am entitled to that first reaction."
He stepped closer. His hair was tangled and he still looked half-wild to her. Elise would not retreat in fear. She knew Sterling would never hurt her, regardless of what form he took.
"What are you saying?" he demanded.
Staring up into his eyes, she answered, "I love you, Sterling. And because I love you, I accept you as you are."
She would be the death of him. Sterling's heart soared with hope, even as his spirit plummeted with the reality of their situation. Brave words from her now, but Sterling could not allow her to love him, to waste her young life upon a man cursed.
"I will not have children," he said. "I will not pass this curse to my sons." Sterling gently touched her cheek. "If we could not abstain from the pleasure we find in each other's arms, I would have to be ever mindful of the risks involved in loving you as you deserve to be loved. You deserve children. You deserve a normal life, which you will never have with me."
"I deserve to be with the man I love," Elise argued. She sighed. "I do love children, but a life on the road is not what I would wish for them. It is a life I could be happy with." She stared up at him with hope shining in her eyes. "Please allow me what I deserve most in life, Sterling. To be happy, and I can't be happy without you."
Again, he imagined these were brave words that would soon fade away. As much as he longed to believe her, he could not. He took her slender shoulders between his hands. "Elise. I am cursed by the moon. Whenever it is full, I become a beast that roams the night like other beasts. I have no recollection of what I did last night, but I woke naked and shivering this morning in a man's body."
Instead of recoiling from him, she said, "Well, it's not so bad, then. We've only a few days each month to deal with your curse. The rest of the time we can live a normal life."
He supposed his mouth dropped open. "Are you mad? There is nothing normal about me now, Elise. I want you to find your aunt in Liverpool and forget about me. Find yourself a governess position somewhere and a respectable man who can give you all that I cannot!"
"I don't want that," she insisted. "I want you."
With a growl, Sterling released her and turned his back. Night would soon fall. He felt the change already upon him. "You cannot have me!" If he must be a brute to convince her, then he would. "I don't want you, Elise. I want to live out the rest of my miserable life in peace! I don't want to worry about you, or the people of the caravan! I just want to be alone!"
"Sterling," she pleaded.
"Go!" he shouted. "Darkness falls and the wolf comes. I am lost to him, Elise. I am lost to you."
He left her before she could protest further. Sterling bounded through the trees, waiting for the awful pain that would soon tear through his body. But before he allowed the beast to take him, he would circle around and make certain that Elise reached the safety of the wagon.
He saw her a few moments later standing before the animal wagons. He crept closer.
"What am I to do?" he heard her ask the cats. "I love him for all that he is, but he does not love himself enough to accept what I offer him. How do I make him see that nothing on earth will make me stop loving him?"
The urge to go to her was overwhelming. His love for Elise in that moment became stronger. But he loved her too much to ask her to share his curse. He would make her believe that he had gone. But until she reached the safety of Liverpool, Sterling would be watching.
Part Four CHAPTER 15
In the month it took Elise to