Page 6 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“I get it, Brad. I really do. I’ll tell you what, I’ll think more about it this summer. Maybe you’re right. Maybe, uh, maybe fate needs a little help from me. We can readdress it this fall. Sound like a plan?”

Brad’s face broke into a relieved smile. “That would be great, Jace. It would ease a lot of minds.”

One more lie. But what was another rock added to a mountain? It would buy me four or five months, but then what? I’d be right back in this room, having this same conversation. Dodging questions and hiding my secret.

Brad departed, happier and more relieved than before, and I headed for my house, feeling heavier with guilt and more cornered than before. Waylan stood waiting in my living room when I stepped inside.

“Well? Was it as bad as we thought?” he asked as I flopped onto the sofa beside him.

“Yup,” I grunted.

“They haven’t figured it out, have they?”

“No. It looks like they’re still buying the same story I’ve been pawning off for the last few decades.”

“Maybe you should own up to it? Every year that goes by, I can see how much this curse is weighing on you.”

“Absolutely not,” I hissed, sitting forward. “If it gets out that I’ve been cursed, it’ll be just as bad as dying with no heir. Chaos and danger everywhere. No way.”

Waylan sat back and blew his cheeks out. “Look, some witch shouldn’t cause your whole life to be one big lie, Jace. It was, like, close to a hundred years ago.”

The memory floated to the front of my mind. The forest, the woman, a single bad decision on my part, and then the end of everything. My life had been one long problem ever since. Cursed to never find a mate, to never know love. A life without a partner, without children, without peace. And to think people thought witches were nothing more than fairy tales. Hell, if I did tell the truth, would anyone believe me?

“We can still try to find a witch,” I said, hoping the desperation boiling inside me wasn’t leaking into my voice.

Waylan shook his head, pity written all over his face. “We’ve looked for years, bro. Witches are rare as all hell. They don’t get found unless they want to be found. Or, you stumble across one in a one-in-a-million chance, like someone I know,” he said, looking pointedly at me. “For all we know, they really have died out. Extinct, like everyone else in the world thinks.”

“No,” I said vehemently, to the point of startling myself. “I refuse to believe that. We will find one. I’ll pay them whatever they want if they can get this curse off me. I’m not giving up.”

Waylan held his hands up in surrender. “All right, all right. We can keep looking, but I’ve pretty much exhausted any contacts I have outside the pack. I’m not sure where we go from here.”

Every time we talked about this, I became more and more frustrated. Waylan was a good friend, the best I could ask for. Not only did he keep my deepest secret hidden, he also dealt with me when I got like this. I hated talking about the curse, I hated not knowing how to break it, and I hated that a foolish mistake so many years ago would haunt me for as long as it has. All I wanted was a mate to love and care for. Someone to complete me.

“I’m going for a run,” I said, standing and heading toward the door.

“Want company?” Waylan called.

“Nah, I need to think.”

Without another word, I was out the door. The sun had vanished below the horizon, casting a red-orange glow in the sky. I wasn’t even out of my yard before I shifted and sprinted towards the forest that surrounded our pack lands. Within minutes, the stress of the day began to fade, leaving me calm and relaxed as my paws skimmed over the dirt and grass beneath me.

To really let loose, I pushed my wolf body as hard as it would go. The inner wolf part of my mind leapt in joy. At one point, we howled like mad, and the forest erupted with noise as birds, squirrels, and deer fled. I’d almost forgotten about the curse, about the pack wanting me to take a mate, until I realized where I’d ventured.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, I found myself on the outskirts of the property where my life had changed forever. The scent and power of the magic that surrounded the small house ripped me from my reverie. Despite myself, I padded forward, wending through the trees. For some reason, I wanted to see the cabin.

The closer I drew, the stronger the magic, and the more I was reminded of how my curse came to be. A warm summer night like this—in fact, it was almost the exact same time of year. I hadn’t seen the place in forever, had avoided it like the plague.

The curse not only kept me from finding a mate or falling in love with any woman, it also prevented me from crossing the boundary of the cabin itself. A final ward to keep me from coming back for revenge, maybe? I didn’t know the reason, but whatever it was, I’d found the barrier. A tacky, almost static hum surged through my bones, and I took a step back until the pain faded. If I pushed it too far, the pain would be unimaginable. Sitting back on my haunches, I gazed through the forest at the house.

It had been vacant for years. If memory served, the last people who’d lived there had been an older lady and a young girl, perhaps a daughter, but most likely a granddaughter. I vaguely remembered Waylan talking about them, but I’d never laid eyes on either one. The cabin was on the very outskirts of our official pack lands, and I despised seeing the place.

A small growl rumbled in my chest at the sight of a light on in one of the windows. Someone was here? After all these years? Almost as an answer, the silhouette of a human passed by the window, hidden by the curtain across the glass.

Pawing at the ground, I wondered if the old woman had come back. Or perhaps the girl, now grown, was visiting. Strange that she’d be gone so long only to return now.

The front door of the cabin opened then, snapping me out of my thoughts. Whoever was inside didn’t come out for me to see them. Instead, they tossed a full-to-bursting garbage out onto the porch. I didn’t care about the bag, though. As soon as the door opened, a strange scent filled my nose. Delightfully bitter and strong—the best smell in the whole world. Strong brewed coffee with a hint of cream, but something about it told me it wasn’t just a smell from inside the cabin. It was the person in the cabin itself.

What?

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