MARIE

My Mum scoffed, waving a hand at me as if swatting away a fly. "Oh, please. I don’t think he’s ready for that yet. You two still need to learn the rhythm of each other outside of all this sickness."

She spoke with such sudden intensity that I wondered if she was secretly terrified of the idea of me belonging to anyone else even my own mate.

The thought hung in the air, thick with maternal anxiety, until my father’s voice cut through the tension like a blade.

"That’s enough, ...