His stomach ached. "I respect you, lass. But 'tis my duty to protect you. I must keep that vile adder Alpin away from you. And I refuse to show weakness before him. He must never ken how much I care about you, or he will scheme a way to take advantage."
She frowned. "You don't care about me."
"Aye, I do." More than he wanted her to know at the moment. More than even he could fathom.
"Only because you think I can magically shatter a curse. I can't! You still turn into a hawk every morning. Is that the way it's going to be for the rest of our lives? Will our children have feathers, or are we two different species with incompatible DNA?"
Children?"An heir. 'Tis the answer!" A chill raced through him.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"I must get you with child… my heir. Once a bairn grows in your belly, the curse will be destroyed." Saints, that had to be the answer.
She scowled. "Are you insane? What would that have to do with it?"
"We shall see."
"Well, lucky for me, I took a birth control shot a couple weeks before I came here."
"What is this?" He hated it when she talked about things he didn't understand.
She pointed to her upper arm. "An injection with a needle under the skin that keeps me from getting pregnant for three months."
Surprised such a thing existed, he drew back. "In truth? An invention from the future?"
"Yes."
"'Tis no wonder the curse still looms over us, then. Damnation! Why would you use this remedy if you're nay in the habit of bedding men? Or did you lie about that too?" Annoyance grasped onto him.
"No, I didn't lie! The hormones in the shot reduce my severe and painful cramps," she yelled.
He frowned. "Cramps?"
"Don't know much about women, do you?"
"I ken enough." Damn the wench. He knew about muscle cramps, for he had experienced them after strenuous training. But she'd meant something else—a mysterious woman's ailment. He hated showing his ignorance, but more than that, he hated she could prevent him from planting his seed within her. "So… this medicine lasts for three months?"
"Yes."
That meant the vile spell could linger for three more months. "I wish you had told me before."
"Why would it have mattered?"
"Because I would've known about the delay. I want our troubles banished forthwith."
"You don't even know if pregnancy is the key. You're guessing."
True, but he would try near anything.
"Now, you no longer want to be married to me, right?" She crossed her arms.
He perceived the pain behind her glare. Was the woman daft? "Nay! I enjoy being married to you," he snapped.
"All you want is someone to end the curse and give you an heir. That's selfish! How do you think I feel? I was ripped from my regular life and everything familiar. I've lost my family and friends, my career, the hobbies I enjoyed, my warm, comfortable apartment, my car, my clean bathroom—all because you need your curse removed. Why am I the only one who has to sacrifice everything?"
She had brought this up when he was a hawk, but he still had no good reply. What could he say? Mayhap he was selfish, but he had not caused her to come here. Divine power must have placed her in his life.
Before he could come up with a suitable response, she continued. "To you, a woman is a possession, like a dog or a sheep. Let me tell you something, mister. It isn't like that where I'm from!"
