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She turned a suddenly grinning face to her husband "You knohat this nant that made me ill on board Fantastic"

But her husband was not reacting in quite the ry, and not the sort of angry that e fors He was quietly, white-faced, shivering angry And it was terribly, terribly frightening

"How?" he barked at his wife, backing away froh she were infected with some terrible disease

"What do you mean, how? The how should be perfectly obvious, even to you, you iry herself Shouldn’t he be delighted? This was evidently a scientifichuman’ when I touch you, for lack of a better term I’m still dead, or mostly dead Have been for hundreds of years No supernatural creature has ever produced an offspring Ever It simply isna possible"

"You believe this can’t be your child?"

"Now, hold on there, my lord, don’t be hasty" Mada one small hand on Lord Maccon’s arm

He shook her off with a snarl

"Of course it’s your child, you pollock!" Now Alexia was livid If she hadn’t still been feeling weak, she would have stood and roped for her parasol Maybe whacking her husband atop his thick skull would drive some sense into him

"Thousands of years of history and experience would see, wife"

Lady Maccon sputtered in offense at that She was so overset she couldn’t even find the words, a remarkably novel experience for her

"Who was he?" Conall wanted to know "What daylight-dependent dishtowel did you fornicate with? One ofdrones? Is that why you’re always visiting hian calling her things, names and words, dirtier and harsher than she had ever heard before--let alone been called--and Alexia had encountered more than her fair share of profanity over the past year They were horrible, cruel things, and she could cos of y

Conall had co their association, not the least of which was savage a woman into metamorphosis at the supper table, but Alexia had never been actually afraid of him before

She was afraid of him now He did not move toward her--in fact, he’d backed farther away toward the door--but his hands were fisted white at his thighs, his eyes had changed to wolf yellow, and his canines were long and extended She was irateful when Madame Lefoux physically interposed herself between Alexia and the earl’s verbal tirade As though, somehow, the inventor could provide a barrier to his horrible words

He stayed there, on the other side of the rooh he’d placed the distance between them, not because he didn’t want to coht he ht His eyes were such a pale yellow they were almost white Alexia had never seen the out of his onized and bereft

"But I didn’t," Alexia tried to say "I wouldn’t I’d never do those things I am no adulteress How could you even think? I would never" But her protestations of innocence only seeood-natured face cru down into lines of pain, as though hethe door behind hiair had, during the chaos, e back into human form She came around the front of the couch and stood a mo gray-brown hair, loose over her shoulders and chest

"You will understand, Lady Maccon," she said, eyes cold, "if I ask you to leave Kingair territory at once Lord Maccon may have abandoned us once, but he is still pack And pack protects its own"

"But," Alexia whispered, "it is his child I swear it I was never with anyone else"

Sidheag only stared at her, hard "Come now, Lady Maccon Shouldna you come up with a better story than that? ’Tis na possible Werewolves canna breed children Never have done, never will do" Then she turned and left the room

Alexia turned to Madame Lefoux, shock written all over her face "He really believes I was unfaithful" She herself had reflected recently how much Conall valued loyalty

Madame Lefoux nodded "I’m afraid it is a belief most will share" Her expression sympathetic, she placed a small hand on Alexia’s shoulder and squeezed