Breaking the Curse

Kiarra

My body shivered. I was confused.

“Melody, what the hell is going on? Why are you doing this?” I screamed at her.

She’d pulled off enough of her tantrums. This was going too far.

“Our parents are going to be so pissed, so let down!”

“Kiarra!” she snapped back, “stop screaming! They’ll hear you!”

“Who? Who the hell is going to hear us? What are you doing?”

I had no idea what had gotten into my sister, but it was like she’d lost her mind.

“This is not what you think it is, okay? Can you just trust me?”

There was banging suddenly at the door. I jumped out of my skin.

Melody rushed over, “Gold?”

“It’s me! Let me in!”

She popped the lock, and through the door came the one person I’d least expected to ever see again, let alone in the mix of this madness.

“Kiarra? Kitten?” He bent down on one knee; his eyes were intense.

It gave me the same feeling as when I’d met him in the woods.

He was so familiar, and yet, I didn’t know him.

I shook my head, remembering what the reality was, “This is wrong, I mean, Melody?”

I looked at my sister, but she remained quiet.

“Melody, what the hell is happening?”

“We better do this now, Aidan; she’s more and more lost by the second.”

“Lost?” I spat at my sister, “Lost? You’re the one who dragged me out of my ball for this? What if Mom and Dad find us?”

“Kiarra,” Aidan said, his warm but firm grip sending chills through my body.

“Gold, for fuck’s sake, we don’t have time for this shit! Say the words!”

The one called Aidan pulled out a scrap of what looked like an ancient parchment.

I couldn’t make out what it said.

“Kiarra, I need you to listen to me, okay? We’re going to tell you the secret, okay?” Melody declared, bent on her knees beside Aidan.

“Wait, Melody,” Aidan looked to her, “what about the prisoners?”

She sighed. She looked more worried than I’d ever seen her.

“If my parents know you’re here, which they probably do by now,” she hesitated, “they’re going to get rid of every single prisoner quickly.”

“Send the location to my pack,” Aidan commanded.

I didn’t know what it was about his voice, but I felt a deep tingle erupt between my legs.

“But,” she tried to object.

“Melody! Send it now!”

As her eyes glazed over, I felt Aidan’s warm hand squeeze my knee.

“It’s going to be okay, Kitten, I promise.”

When Melody came to, she looked at Aidan, “Got the paper, you ready?”

There was a violent crash outside the room.

I didn’t know what was happening out there, but it sounded like it was getting closer.

“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked hopefully.

He smiled, a certain sadness, a certain relief in his eyes.

“How do you know me?”

I had so many questions, and so far, not a single one has been answered.

There was another furious bang at the door. I jumped again, but this time into Aidan’s arms.

“It’s okay, Kitten,” he smiled, and I felt myself melt willingly into his arms.

“Alpha! It’s me and Ang, open up!”

I saw the way my sister looked at Aidan.

“Wait!” I found myself screaming, “Who is that? Don’t let them in here, Mel!”

“Kiarra, they're friendly, it’s fine.” She ignored my plea and opened the door.

Two broken wolves came padding through. One was bleeding severely.

The other… was Angela.

“What is happening?” I whispered to myself, unable to fathom my current reality.

“We’re just gonna tell you this secret, Kitten, and then you’ll know what this is all about, okay?”

I bit my lip, something I did a lot lately. I said nothing; I just listened.

“I told you to head back with Ang!” Aidan yelled at the young male wolf.

“You directly disobeyed me, Jack!”

“Alpha! I’m sorry! We both are! It’s not his fault. It was mine. I forced this,” the one I knew to be Angela declared.

It seemed that whatever her connection was to me, it was worth risking the rules.

Aidan looked down, then at me.

“Watch the door, Jack. Melody, let’s get this done,” he commanded.

“By the moon of this silvery night, I seek to break this binding might. Influence woven, now unwound, let Kiarra be free and be found.”

I looked at them both in astonishment.

“Bound? Swayed? What the hell is wrong with you two?” I spat, unable to contain this unspoken fury I felt boiling in my belly.

“It’s not working, Melody!” Aidan said, looking worried.

“Just keep going, Aidan! Hurry!”

He looked back at the paper in his hands.

“With the power of my own, I dispel this shadow, break the bonds of persuasion’s snare, free her spirit, make her aware.”

The room began to spin.

Blotches of blackness clouded my vision. “What, what’s happening?” I stammered, unable to see past the blur in my vision.

“Just hold on, Kiarra, we’re almost there!” I heard Melody’s voice, but it was distant.

“By the elements of earth, air, water, and fire, cleanse her, make her whole. As I speak this sacred rhyme, I break the spell and end its time.”

For just a moment, everything went black. It was like I fell away from a body that wasn’t mine.

When I opened my eyes, my head pounded. “What the fuck is going on?” I asked, feeling confused and disoriented.

“Where the hell… Aidan? What’s going on? Jesus Christ! Ang! Jack! What’s happened?”

“Kitten! I thought I’d lost you!” He pulled me close.

I breathed in his musky scent and let his warmth run through me.

I didn’t know what happened, but it had felt like forever since I’d been in his arms.

It took a moment, but in an uncontrollable flood, the memories came back to me.

Every. Single. One.

“The Kendricks,” I looked at Aidan, then to Ange and Jack, “They fucking did this, didn’t they? Did they wipe my mind, too?”

“Yeah,” Aidan hung his head, “We had to find a sorcerer to break the spell they cast.”

I nodded, and my eyes found Melody. The fury I felt for James and Rose Kendrick was enough to chew on for a lifetime.

There was going to be justice.

“Melody?”

She looked up, “Are you in or are you out?”