Page 24 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

When I was younger, I was so proud of my heritage. We witches are a proud people, and I loved all the powers that had been bestowed upon me. The change came when I ventured out to start my own family. Your grandfather was a decent man, if distant. Even as much as I loved him, I never told him my greatest secret at first. After your father was born, things became more difficult. I aged much slower than humans, which forced us to move often. At first, the questions were simple ones, but as my husband grew older, he began to look at me strangely. He knew something about me wasn’t right. It drove a wedge between us. Part of me thinks that his fear of what I was might have contributed to his early death. I know for a fact it is what pushed your father to join the army and run. Both my boys were kept in the dark, and it ruined them. That is my greatest shame and regret in this life. I’d meant to keep them safe, but in the end, I did the opposite.

When I found out you were going to be born and you would be a girl, I prayed to the gods and goddesses that my gift would not be passed down. All I wanted for you was a normal human life. A life of love, happiness, and simplicity. A life where you would not have to hide, lie, or run. And most of all, a life you could share with the ones you loved rather than keeping them at arm’s length to keep your secrets.

I truly thought you would live the life I wished for you, but then the cancer came. Even witches aren’t immune to the ravages of disease. Our power can keep it at bay for a time, along with human medicine, but I know that this sickness will be the end of me. The doctors still hold out hop—as do you, dear girl—but I know the truth. It seems my powers do as well.

I was shown a vision, and that vision is part of why I am writing this letter. I have to tell you what I saw. It’s a vision my own mother saw many, many years ago. She said it was my daughter’s future, but when I only had a son, I assumed it was a mistake or a misreading of the future. Now I have seen the same thing, and I know it was not my daughter, but my granddaughter. The child who was as close to a true daughter to me as could possibly be without being born from my own body.

Kirsten, you must hear me. A man is coming. He will be drawn to you and is meant for you. That destined love will awaken the dormant powers within your mind and body. He will be unable to stay away and will be drawn to you the way a magnet is drawn to iron. He will be your greatest protector, and you will need him, for I see danger in your future.

I can’t tell you more. That, unfortunately, is hidden in shadow. I can see something dark and furious, but nothing more than that. All I know is that you must be careful and prepare for your powers to manifest.

I lie here now, on what I know is my deathbed, and my sorrow is overwhelming. I desperately wish I could have told you all this months ago, before my voice was taken from me. Even now, hours before I see the end coming, I am terrified of telling you this. Please don’t hate me for hiding these secrets. I was so scared that you would hate me, or disown me. Even as death marched slowly toward me, I couldn’t work up the courage to tell you. I am old in ways you are only now understanding, but in some ways, I am still but a child, afraid of reproach. I will use the last of my powers to put this letter here in this book of memories, in the hopes it finds you after my death.

Kirsten, you are all that I ever could have hoped you’d be. You are beautiful, kind, smart, and powerful. I am in awe of you, and I always have been. I love you, my dear. Be strong, and remember what I’ve told you here. Prepare, and be careful, my child.

–Nana Lola

I read the letter three times to be sure I’d understood every word of it, then my trembling fingers went slack and the pages fluttered to the ground. If it had only been a letter, I would have assumed it was the ravings of a woman deep in sickness, drugged and not in her right mind. Except there were the photos. Proof that my grandmother was older—much older—than she’d appeared. And then the strange sensation I’d felt when looking at the pictures, almost like something was reaching out of them to touch my mind.

Magic.

“Nope. No way,” I said and walked to the kitchen.

I grabbed a spray bottle, squirted cleaning solution on the spotless counters, and wiped them down aggressively. Instead of taking my mind off the insanity of the letter and the photos, it only seemed to focus my thoughts. Images of Wiccan séances flashed through my mind like a flipbook. I dropped my rag and braced my hands on the kitchen counter, closing my eyes and taking deep, steadying breaths.

How did you reconcile that your grandmother was a witch and the revelation that you, allegedly, were a witch, too? It wasn’t terribly outlandish for witches to exist. I mean, shifters existed. What was more magical than a man transforming into a wolf? Still, I had the distinct feeling that I was standing on some kind of precipice, waiting to be pushed over the edge. If I did go over, something told me there would be no turning back.

A man is coming. He will be drawn to you and is meant for you. Those words, more than almost anything else in the letter, had the heavy weight of truth. What man would that be? Who could I possibly meet that would—

Jace.

The name blipped into my mind like a strobe light, and I flinched. Jace? Really? That full-of-himself jackass?

Well, screw this. There was one way to find out. Plus, I didn’t want to be in the cabin for another second. I needed fresh air. I needed answers.

I’d also need some sort of proof, so I pulled several photographs from the album and tucked them into my purse. After they were secure, I snatched up my keys and practically ran out the front door.

Gravel flew into the air as I shot down the driveway. A thousand different thoughts crashed through my head as I sped toward Jace’s house. The way he’d been standing in the woods early that morning, watching. Drawn to you like a magnet to iron.

A storm of swirling anxiety fluttered in my stomach. His strange desperation and fear of me being near Eren. He will be your greatest protector, and you will need him, for I see danger in your future.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked the empty car, disturbed by how shaken I sounded.

A few minutes later, I pulled up at a guard shack at the end of the long driveway that led to the alpha’s house. The first time I came here, Waylan had led me through. Now, two large men stepped forward, flagging my car down.

“Can we help you, ma’am?” one of them asked.

“Yes,” I said, doing my level best to stay as calm and composed as I could. “I need to speak to Jace Stone. My name is Kirsten Holly. He knows me.”

The guy nodded and looked at the other guard. “It’s the human staying in the old cabin,” he said to him. “Heard the boss talking about her.”

Jace had spoken about me? Why did that fill me with a pleasant warmth rather than irritation?

“Hang on.” The other guard pulled out a radio. He spoke into it, but I couldn’t hear either side of the conversation. A few seconds later, he turned back and waved me on. “Go on up. He’ll be waiting.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled and drove forward, clenching my teeth and forcing my foot not to slam down on the gas pedal.

Jace stood outside his house, looking nervous, by the time I pulled up out front. After jamming the car into park and turning the engine off, I got out, taking a few steps toward him, not even bothering to close my door.

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