Blackwater Islands was hypnotized by a strange delight

He'd caught her, but she was able to stop worse from happening. Bridget stood still as the man seemed to fold against her, staring at Maegi, but with her ears pinned at the sound of him coughing. He wasn't well enough to be dealing with this shit yet.

Both. I don't know. He's been like this since he came here. She was frustrated, wanting to help but knowing it likely wasn't possible. Whatever was wrong with him was deeper than illness.

I'm sorry. But you need to give him space. She'd intervened to push him back, but now she squared, prepared to keep her away if she had to. She hated to do it; the two were clearly mates, and he meant something to her that ran deep. Bridget wasn't sure why he'd lashed out, but if they kept pressing, things would likely only get worse.