Cursed

Bambi

I stared blankly at the thick text in front of me, trying to focus on my research, but my mind was elsewhere.

My little book-club-turned-espionage-operation now resided on the third floor of the pack house library, where Ela had secured us an empty storeroom to use as an office.

When I asked her how she’d managed that accomplishment, she responded by saying that it was best if I didn’t know. I was just glad that she was willing to use her pack house position for our benefit.

I was also thankful to have a place to escape from the compound.

A place to bury my nose in books…

And avoid what had happened with Ekon the other day.

The kiss.

~What the hell was I thinking?~

I honestly didn’t know what had come over me in that moment.

Maybe it was Ekon finally showing some vulnerability, or maybe it was the near-death experience, or maybe it was something else entirely. All I knew was that I’d had the overwhelming urge to put my lips on his…

And I did.

And it was…

“An absolute mind fuck!” Ela shouted, exasperated.

“Huh, what?” I said, snapping back to reality.

“What happened in the Northern Pack…so fucked up. It mirrors a lot of similar massacres during the Great War,” Ela said, giving me a funny look. “Are you okay? If it’s too soon to be reading about this stuff after what you saw…”

“No, no, I’m fine,” I responded, shaking off my thoughts of Ekon. “It was terrible, but that’s all the more reason to get to the bottom of this. And now we have a name.”

“Right, Matthias,” Victoria replied, running her finger down line after line of a massive book. “But I haven’t found anything on his death in this volume of the ~Werewolf Chronicles~ yet. Do you really think he could’ve survived?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. You know, it’s weird that he was leader of the Rogues, yet there’s surprisingly little information about him available,” I contemplated.

“In these volumes anyway. Maybe there’s more in the restricted section,” Ela responded with a daring smirk.

“Ela, are you crazy?! Only the Alpha himself has access to those!” Victoria reprimanded her.

“I know, I know. I was just saying,” Ela huffed, sinking into her chair.

As intrigued as I was about this restricted section, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

I recalled how touchy Ekon had gotten when the king was trying to goad him into telling the stories behind all of his war commendations.

“You said there’s almost nothing about Matthias in the ~Werewolf Chronicles~, right? But what about the person who killed him?”

Victoria and Ela perked up.

“You mean Ekon? Of course, why didn’t we think of that sooner?” Victoria slapped the side of her head.

“Is there a list of commendations?” I asked as Ela started furiously flipping through pages.

“Here it is,” she replied. “It says he received a purple claw for dispatching the leader of the Rogues. There’s a reference note here. It’s in…volume three…page four hundred and twenty. Who has that one?”

I looked down at the book in front of me and realized it was my volume.

I turned to the correct page and gasped at the words I saw.

“It says…Alpha Ekon Jedrek fought with Matthias, leader of the Rogues, atop a tower of the king’s castle, after an attack by the Rogues left all of Ekon’s squadron dead except for him. Ekon managed to dig his claws, which he’d laced with wolfsbane, into Matthias’ neck.”

“Wait, wouldn’t wolfsbane have killed Ekon too?” Victoria interrupted.

Although wolfsbane looked like a harmless pretty purple flower, it was the most deadly poison imaginable to werewolf-kind.

“It would kill a normal werewolf, but Ekon’s mother was a pack witch, so he was born with immunity,” Ela chimed in.

I knew a little about pack witches but not much. Many packs kept them around as shamans or healers, but some packs, including my brother’s, didn’t approve of witches.

Come to think of it, Ekon didn’t use them either. Which was strange, considering his mother’s heritage.

“Well, in my volume, it says that even though Matthias’ parentage is unknown, it was rumored that his mother might be a witch. So who’s to say that he wasn’t immune too? Maybe the wound wasn’t fatal,” Victoria shot back.

“Just listen to this next part,” I said, swallowing hard. “After Ekon ripped his claws out of Matthias’ throat, he set the body on fire with a torch and threw it from the tower into a ravine.”

Ela’s and Victoria’s jaws dropped open.

“Sounds pretty fatal,” I said, downcast.

***

Yesterday’s findings had blown a major hole in my Matthias theory, but I knew in my gut that something was still missing. I didn’t have the full story.

I was sure the answers could be found by digging into Ekon’s past, but since he was such a closed book, my only option was to consult an actual book.

I’d asked Kalindi to send a car to take me to the library, where I’d meet up with the girls, but on my way out the door, a soldierly voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Halt!” Ekon shouted. “Where are you going?”

“Um, to my book club,” I said, fidgeting.

“You were just there yesterday. That’s unacceptable. You’re spending the day with me,” he ordered.

“Oh, uh…okay.” I blushed.

I was surprised to say the least. Ekon had never asked me to spend the day with him before.

As much as I wanted to get back to the library and research, I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach.

~Is this a date?~

“I’ll escort you promptly at twelve hundred hours. Dress for the outdoors,” he said curtly.

I giggled at his overly militaristic tone. He must’ve been nervous.

“What do you mean by the outdoors?” I asked.

“We’re going on a picnic,” he replied, letting the slightest smile appear across his lips.

***

“This is literally the blind leading the blind.” I laughed as Ekon covered my eyes with his hands, leading me to a secret spot. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“I used to come here all the time with my parents when I was a child. Trust me, I don’t need my sight to navigate this place,” he responded with confidence. “I’ll just use the sound of the stream as my guide.”

His heightened senses never ceased to amaze me. After a few more steps, we stopped and he removed his hands.

The view was absolutely stunning.

A perfectly green meadow with a giant old gnarled tree next to a babbling brook. The sun danced through the leaves above us, creating a cascade of soft light. It was like a postcard.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful,” I responded, placing my hand on his arm.

I was suddenly saddened that he couldn’t see what I was seeing but touched that he wanted to bring me somewhere special to him.

“It may not be the same for me, but I can still appreciate it,” he said, sensing my uncertainty. “The feel of the soft grass, the sounds of the birds chirping, the crunch of the leaves. It’s just like I remember.”

I put down a blanket underneath the tree and pulled Ekon next to me as we enjoyed the serenity of nature. I didn’t even realize Alaska had such beautiful forests.

As I nestled into Ekon’s body, I began to feel a heat that I couldn’t explain. It warmed me from the inside out.

I suddenly found myself kissing him again, much to my surprise. It was like I couldn’t stop myself. Only, this wasn’t the chaste, soft kiss that I’d given him before…

This one was long and deep and... passionate.

Ekon took control and lifted me onto his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and moaned as our tongues explored each other.

His hands gripped my waist and pulled me closer, causing my legs to part until I was straddling him.

I felt my face flush, but I didn’t want to stop kissing him. It felt so good—a rush of emotions and euphoria—and I loved every second of it.

The heat inside of me was a fully burning fire now.

As his hand ran down my leg, I could feel his desire for me…

His hunger...

It was insatiable, and only I could satisfy him.

His hand slid up my dress and found its way between my legs.

I gasped at his touch and quickly pulled away, falling off his lap.

“No, don’t…” I said, pulling my dress back down.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were enjoying it.”

“I was, really, it was amazing. It’s just…”

This was happening too fast. I barely even knew Ekon, despite the fact that he was my mate.

In the same way that he wasn’t ready to open up to me about his past, I wasn’t ready to give myself to him either, not this part of me anyway.

I needed to know I could trust him.

“I just want us to spend more time together. Get to know each other better first,” I said carefully.

He considered my words for a moment. I thought he might reprimand me again, but instead, he leaned back against the tree and placed his hands behind his head.

“Okay, what do you want to know?”

Was he really going to open up to me? Maybe letting my own guard down had somehow inspired the same in him.

“Well, you mentioned that you used to come here with your parents. You’ve never told me about them.”

“My father was a general. He died in a rogue attack, shortly before the Great War, when I was only sixteen. I had to take over the pack at a young age.”

“And your mother?” I pressed.

“She died in the same attack,” he replied distantly. “She had a fondness for flowers, which was fitting since her name was Rosette. She had the most beautiful garden I’d ever seen. She used to say it was her magic touch that kept it so perfect.”

“She was a witch?” I asked.

Ekon looked surprised, and I covered my mouth, cursing myself for letting that slip. He wasn’t supposed to know that I knew.

“Yes…how did you know that?” he asked warily.

“I don’t know, must’ve just heard it in passing at the pack house,” I lied. “I was actually wondering why you don’t have a pack witch.”

Ekon’s eyes grew dark and stormy.

“I loved my mother, but I’ll never allow another witch into my compound,” he growled.

“Why?” I asked, startled.

“Because…it was a witch who stole my sight. With a curse,” he replied, his gruff words washing over me.

And then, before I could stop myself, I was wondering just how much more truth Ekon would reveal to me today.