"It will be fine, my love. Do not worry," she crooned.
"How can it be fine, Selene? What if we made a child?"
She made a small hum low in her throat.
"That is my dearest wish."
He fell back against the pillow, bitter tears clawing against his eyelids. Surely, if there had been any hope for him, it was gone now. He'd marry her, install her at Llyan, then he'd be off, perhaps to Outre Mer again, or anywhere where an enemy sword could find him, deliver a death blow his traitorous body could not heal.
"My love." Her voice was so low, he barely heard her over his own bitter musings.
"Yes?"
"There's one more thing you should know."
How could there be anything else? Not after this.
"What?"
"Tonight is the new moon. And the sun has just started to set."
She heard his curse as he tried to rise from the bed. She knew he felt betrayed, abused. But she knew in her heart that this was the only way to break the curse. So she threw her body atop his and held him to the bed. He was stronger, but she knew he would never hurt her, not even to get free.
"What have you done?"
She'd never heard such pain ripped from a human throat. Tears ran down her cheeks as she struggled to keep him pinned beneath her.
"I've found the way to break your curse. All you have to do is hold on. And trust in me. Trust in my love."
"I cannot, my love. Now let me go before I hurt you!"
"You will never hurt me. I know that as surely as I know my own name. Whether man or lion or something in between, you would never do me harm."
He groaned, falling still beneath her grasp.
"Selene, you cannot be sure. Please. I can feel the change begin!"
So could she. His skin had roughened, begun to sprout coarse fur. His muscles shifted beneath her touch, reforming into something alien and terrifying. But still, she held on.
"Selene!" He roared her name as his face twisted grotesquely, long, razor-sharp teeth springing from his lips. Finally, at the last moment, his hands, which were no longer hands, dug into the bedding with vicious claws. She wrapped both arms around the massive feline body and clung tight.
"I love you, Rhodri ap Cadoc, lord of Llyan. No matter what you look like or where you go, I will never let you go!" And then she placed a gentle kiss on the snarling feline lips, and prayed, to the Christian God, to the ancient gods and goddesses of Celt and Moor alike.
The great cat went limp beneath her, all struggling ceased. Then slowly, so very slowly, the teeth and claws began to retract. The muscles she clasped reshaped themselves back into the form of the man she loved. When she finally dared to open her tear-filled eyes, it was Rhodri's face staring up at her in wide-eyed wonder.
"You've done it!" His voice was a raspy whisper, filled with awe, and for the first time since she'd met him, hope. "You've broken the curse."
She sniffed, wiping her hand across her face, though she only succeeded in smearing the wetness around.
"It seems I have." Her heart fairly burst with joy.
"But how did you know? What made you guess that this was the way?"
"You gave me the idea last night," she told him. "When you called me your Jennet."
"Ah. She held onto her love throughout the transformations. Just as you did." He used a corner of a blanket to dry first her eyes and then his own. "My brilliant, fearsome love!"
"I was never sure," she confessed, still shaken. "But I hoped. In so many of the tales of magic, true love is the key to the spell. And I truly, truly love you, Rhodri. I could only pray that it would be enough."
"More than enough. More than I ever dreamed. But why did you insist on making love first? Would it not have been wiser to wait?"
She gave a weak laugh.
"In the story, Jennet is pregnant. I was not certain whether or not that was a vital factor."
"So you took the chance that you would conceive after just one mating?"
She felt the flush color her skin, as she hid her face against his chest.
"I may have cast a small spell to ensure fertility."
The hand that had been stroking her back stilled.
"Are you telling me that you're certain you're with child? So soon?"
"Mmm." She nodded into his chest. "And the babe is fine, I promise. I've no sense of the curse whatsoever. I could always feel it in you, even before I knew what it was. There was always a pool of darkness in you that nothing could reach. I'm so grateful it's gone now." She yawned, suddenly exhausted by the events of the night.
"As am I." He held her tight. "Sleep well, my darling. In the morning, I'll need to go find us a priest."
Beltane dawned clear and balmy. Selene woke in the arms of her love, who proceeded to show her just how wonderful lovemaking could be, without the threat of disaster looming above it. Lying sated in her bed, she had nibbled on the breakfast Rhodri had brought her, while he filled her bathing tub with warm water in the outer room. Then they bathed together, and finished by mopping up the cottage amid kisses and laughter.
"Go away while I dress," she finally demanded. "Huw will be back at any moment, and I've no wish to add to his education."
"True, I'd hate to have to blind the lad." Rhodri dropped one last kiss on her head before he strode from the room, whistling.
A few moments later, as she was tying up the last of her laces, she heard him call. "Sweeting, there seem to be two wagons approaching. One contains your friends and Huw. I cannot make out the occupants of the other."
She scurried out to the main room and flung open the door. Surely enough, two carts were even now rolling up the lane. She held her hand to her eyes and squinted, gripping Rhodri's arm.
"I believe it is my father," she told him. "And, quite possibly, the village priest. Have I mentioned that my father has a way, from time to time, of knowing about events before they occur?"
Rhodri laughed and held her to his side as the travelers disembarked. Dominic D'Argente reached out a hand to Rhodri.
"Llyan," he remarked amiably. "Well met."
"Well met, sir." Rhodri dipped his head, and returned the handclasp. Selene loved him all the more for the respect he showed her sire.
"Well, daughter." He gave Selene a brief buss on the cheek, his grey eyes twinkling. "I imagine you have quite a tale to tell."
She felt her skin heat, but she looked up at him and smiled.
"Aye, Father, that we do."
"Well, then, I brought the priest. Your friends have arrived." He grinned broadly and rubbed his hands together. "Let us have a wedding!"
End Part 1