Heart of a Beast

Chapter 22 | Crystal

Song: "Sound of an Angel" by Peter Roe

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When Crystal finished her shower, she found her father drying Tiberius with a towel on the deck. She was about to open the sliding door when her mother stopped her. She looked up to meet her mother's smiling eyes as Crystal furrowed her brows.

"Unless you want to embarrass him, I'd let your father take care of him," her mother said.

"Why? He's my mate, I'm supposed to take care of him."

Her mother leaned in and lowered her voice. "Exactly. You're his mate. He's a lycan and the new moon is tomorrow night. He experiences it differently from werewolves. While all his senses diminish when the Goddess closes Her eye, one thing gets heightened in its place."

"Huh?" Had she forgotten something important about the new moon?

She tried to recall her afterschool lessons on werewolf culture, history, and biology, and came up dry. Taking a wild guess at the only logical thing that came to mind, she said, "Um, animal instincts are heightened?"

Her mother nodded. "Certain instincts are when the third eye that connects us to Her is closed. Our strongest instinct at the time of the new moon is heightened and for unmated lycans and werewolves..."

Her mother trailed off, allowing Crystal to fill in the blanks.

Crystal stepped back, her eyes widening as she put the pieces together. "He-He's..."

"Highly sensitive to your scent and touch. Let your father dry him off from showers and the pool for the next few days. He's going to be a little more aggressive and easily aggravated, so don't mind him. Give him space, relax, and try to watch your own emotions."

Hanging her head, Crystal swallowed before peering out into the backyard while chewing on her bottom lip.

She knew what her mother was referring to. Her seizures were always the worst when the Goddess closed Her eye and her thoughts would drift to suicide more frequently as she held herself and cried in her bed.

The next couple of days were going to be rough.

"I'll try Ma."

Her mother's palms cupped her cheeks and drew her eyes up to meet her mother's olive green ones a few inches above hers. She brushed her nose lightly against Crystal's.

"I know you will, Cricket. Maybe if you think more about Tiberius' needs and sensitivity right now, it will be enough to keep those seizures from happening? You'll be thinking too much about him to worry about yourself," she said as she pulled away, giving Crystal a crooked grin.

"Ma, you're creeping me out with that look."

Her mother wiggled her eyebrows at her, sending warmth to shoot up her neck to her cheeks.

Crystal made a beeline to the fridge for a drink of water while her mother giggled to herself and said she was going to go out and run a few errands. Her father poked his head in the kitchen, grinning at her mother with an air of mischief around him. Crystal looked away from their private exchange, her face growing a few degrees warmer.

She didn't want to think about how the new moon affected her parents' animal instincts. Gross.

'Think more about Tiberius' needs.' Her mother's words flitted around her mind as her father stepped into the kitchen with Tiberius ambling behind on all fours. His head was down, but she thought he was watching her from the corner of his eye.

She followed her parents to the front door as they chatted and slipped shoes on, telling her they'd be back in an hour or two. Closing the door behind them, she turned to Tiberius with her head lowered. She stared at the ground as warmth spread across her face.