Surrounded By Temptation(33)

“Me too,” she said back just as softly, then she spoke louder. “You know, after I left here, I had a lot of time to research the chemicals with the medication. Since it was designed to address your aggressive nature, you have to be tapered off of it if you were to ever stop using it. The fact that you were forced to self diagnose your side effects and not take it for a few days caused your previously checked aggression to spike. When I tell you you had no control over how you reacted, please believe that I’m not telling you this just to make you feel better.”

“I said horrible things to you. I called you names. There is no excuse for that.”

Ariel nodded at him. He had been very hateful toward her, but she couldn’t deny the science behind his reaction. “And you apologized. I forgive you. All I can hope is that you’ll find the same forgiveness for me one day. Had I been more careful with you, you would not have had to deal with the chemical imbalance that made you more aggressive than normal.”

He rose suddenly and pulled her into his arms. Rob shot up as soon as Jack did, but when Jack just held her, Rob did nothing. Ariel assumed it was his protective nature to make sure Jack didn’t attack.

Rob needn’t have worried.

“You have nothing to be forgiven for. You did the best you could under very strange circumstances. I should never have questioned your need to study our DNA.”

“And I never should have let the thought of outing your family secret enter my mind. No matter how the news would have rocked the scientific community, I honestly don’t think I could have gone through with it. But it still shames me that I’d ever considered it an option.”

Ariel felt arms on her and turned. Krista pulled her into a hug and stood back. “Tell everyone what you told me on the phone.”

She looked at Rob before glancing at the others in the room. “Because of what happened to Jack, I wanted to see if I could figure out a way to incorporate natural supplements instead of shots. I’ve found that herbs derived from the same plants the chemicals are created from can be ingested in their raw form. I’ve modified the supplement to allow for time release so large quantities during ingestion wouldn’t trigger nausea, vomiting, or the like. Based on my results, you can drink a shake every three days and it will be just as effective as the shots while being less jarring on the body. I’ve brought the ingredients and the recipe.”

Thomas’s eyes sparkled and he clapped his hands together. “That’s wonderful news, Ariel. Just wonderful.”

She felt heat bloom her cheeks, so she turned to Mikaela, choosing to continue and not bask in Thomas’s praise. “I would never dream of suggesting tests on you while you’re pregnant or on the baby once born, but I called some medical doctors to verify that just the herbs in small doses will not harm the fetus or baby while breast-feeding. If you choose to do this on your own, then I’ll leave that decision up to you.”

Mikaela walked over and hugged Ariel. “Thanks, girl. That makes me feel better. I can’t tell you how worried I am about my child having to live a life of solitude like Josh and his brothers.” She pulled back and stared at Ariel with watery eyes. “I’d love it if you were to continue researching the effects of the herbs on children.”

“I’d be happy to.” What she didn’t say was that this was something she had already decided to do anyway. Her sister was mated to Toby and she knew it might be an issue one day if they ever decided to have kids.

Rob started toward her and everyone else fell into the background. When he reached her, he stood behind her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and squeezed. “I’d like to have a word with Ariel alone, please,” he announced to everyone, and several seconds later, he faced Thomas. “Yes, Dad, I’m okay.” Ariel figured Thomas had spoken to him silently, but she was so thrilled this man was touching her, she couldn’t be sure she hadn’t just tuned Thomas out.

“Are you okay with this, Ariel?” Krista asked her, and turned to her sister. Ariel nodded, unable to find her voice. Rob squeezed her shoulders again and the gesture felt reassuring to her, not that she needed it. Just Rob touching her was enough to get her to do whatever he wanted.

And that thought brought her up short. She moved away from him as gently as she could. She would agree that she had feelings for him, but she couldn’t be the mate he needed. She missed him like crazy and felt like he was important to her, but she couldn’t lose herself in any relationship. Not again.

“We’ll be outside,” Thomas said, and turned toward the door.