“It’s the first time you’ve ever been scratched by a werewolf,” Teddy looked at her. “I’m not one of your unicorns or pygmy puffs, Pan. My scratches carry a little more weight.” He shook his head, running a hand through his curls. “What I had bitten you? You’d turn every full moon like I do, and do you really think I could live with that?” Teddy gestured towards her arm, “’Cause I’ll have a hard enough time living with this.”
Teddy rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall. “Don’t start this again. Me choosing that had every thing to do with me as much as it did you. I wasn’t choosing for you, I didn’t want to watch this happen. Because you never listen to me. As soon as I told you that day, you followed me out of school into the woods when you knew it was going to happen. And I’m not saying I’m not grateful, because outside my parents, grandmother, and the headmistress, you were the only person that knew – and I needed that. But I don’t need this. When you get those feelings, Pan, they’re not about me. Every full moon, I stop being your husband for those 12 hours and there’s nothing you can do to help me.” He met her gaze. “Except not follow me. You can’t. I might not remember myself in those few hours, but I know how to handle myself.” Teddy sighed and dropped his head back against the wall. “This I can’t handle.”
“I never said you were a unicorn or pygmy puff, Teddy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And you forget, I studied werewolves. Extensively. Bloody hell, I’ve handled dragons. I’ve been burnt by one before. I know what I’m doing.” With a sigh, she leaned against the bedpost. “And trust me. Based on my training alone, I know it was a really stupid move, and I’m not planning to do it again. Some people just don’t fully learn until they are burnt, I suppose. Consider me schooled. I may seem fine and dandy with it now, but I was a wreck last night.”
She frowned as he explained his reasoning for his hesitation to date her. He was right, but so was she. It was about both of them. “Well, to be fair, I was young and curious,” she said with a shrug and looked at him. “I usually know better now. I only followed you last night because I was scared for you, okay? Not because I don’t trust you. I know what other creatures are out there, Teddy. I know what could hurt you, even if you’re not yourself. But I also know following you was idiotic. I figured that out fairly quick.” She shook her head, mentally scolding herself yet again. How could she even call herself an expert if she made such a terrible error? “I won’t follow you again,” she insisted. “And if you don’t fully believe my words, consider that all night I kept thinking about our family. I know the best thing for our daughters is for me to never do that again. They should always come first.”