Page 34 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

Stepping back inside, I locked the door, heart thundering in my ears. The ward was fine, but I had more experience with traditional security measures.

I shuffled to the kitchen and grabbed a large tumbler from the cabinet, then filled it with the boxed wine I kept in the fridge. I needed something to calm my nerves after talking to Eren. Jace’s description of the man rang truer than ever now.

Once my nerves had settled, I went back to the books. Instead of starting with the paperback, I opened A History of Witches. Sipping my wine, I scanned the first few pages. An entire chapter was dedicated to shifter and witch lore. The story was remarkably similar to the one Jace had told me, although it did have some differences. In this story, the wolf-turned-man betrayed the witch, using her love for him to steal what she held most dear: her magic. He impregnated her, and their child was the first true shifter. The witch showed others of her kind what could be created through the union, and so began the initial blending of the magical races of earth. In time, generations of shifters had been born, expanding until they far outnumbered the witches. The shifters tried to enslave the witches, who, in turn, went into hiding. After a while, the witches had hidden themselves so well, they were nothing but a myth to humans and rarities to shifters.

Hours slipped by as I read, my glass of wine empty and forgotten as I learned more and more about the people my grandmother had come from—the people I had come from. One passage I found in the wood-bound book caught my attention:

Shifters desire the magic of the Wiccans. A witch must always be prepared to defend herself from attack. If a wolf tries to steal one’s magic, there are several punishment spells a witch can use to defend and avenge herself.

The most powerful curse can bind the wolf into a life of unending loneliness. They will be unable to bond in their way, and in so doing, will bear no children and die alone. Only a stronger magic can break this ironclad spell.

A life of loneliness? Was this why Jace had asked about my great-grandmother? Had she cast that spell on Jace? He certainly looked lonely to me. No mate, as far as I could tell. Didn’t shifters usually mate soon after reaching adulthood, especially alphas? If she had cursed him, did that mean he’d done something to warrant such a punishment?

I continued paging through the books, but that question kept nagging at me. Unable to quell my curiosity, I grabbed my keys and headed out to the car. Even knowing the ward was protecting me, I still eyeballed the surrounding forest, checking for Eren.

Ten minutes later, and after speaking to the gate guards once again, I pulled up in front of Jace’s house. This time, I burst through his front door before he could meet me outside.

“Kirsten? What’s wrong? You look…” he trailed off, staring at me as I paced back and forth through his living room. “Uh, you look spooked.”

“I read something today. I need you to hear it, and I want your honest answer,” I said, pointing at him.

“Honesty. Sure.”

Before I could stop myself, I plowed into what I’d found in the book and the reason a witch might want to curse a wolf. I kept my eyes on him, watching his reaction. He tensed as I described the curse, a dark and pained look flashing across his eyes.

“Is that what happened?” I asked, failing to keep the accusatory tone from my voice. “Did you try to steal my great-grandmother’s magic, and she cursed you? Is that what all this is about?”

Jace’s hands curled into fists, and the muscles in his jaw twitched. He didn’t look angry at me, but he appeared to be struggling with something deep inside. The atmosphere around us changed. A strange energy radiated off him. The power he held inside was scaring me a little.

“I made a mistake,” Jace finally said through gritted teeth. “A long time ago. I was overwhelmed with grief and had drowned my sorrows in alcohol. My parents had just died. It was tragic and abrupt, and suddenly, I was alpha of my pack decades before I was ready.

“The night I was sworn in as alpha, I left the ceremony as soon as it was over and fled into the woods, trying to escape the responsibility. I came upon your great-grandmother in the forest while she was conjuring a spell of some kind. It was the first time I’d ever seen a witch. You can’t imagine what it was like to be near that kind of magic as a shifter.” He paused, taking a breath and shaking his head. “Things got out of hand before I could stop myself.”

Jace flopped down onto the sofa and stared at the ground. “Magic, especially magic as powerful as hers, has an almost drug-like effect on shifters. It called out to me like a beacon, pulling me forward. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for it. It was as though a gaping chasm had opened in my chest and magic was the only thing that could fill it. I rushed forward, demanding to feel the magic, and caught her off-guard. At first, she couldn’t speak. Still out of my mind with sadness, drunkenness, and the bliss of the magic, I kissed her before she could run.

“My tongue flashed like it was both on fire and frozen. That magic flooded my mouth and snapped me out of whatever trance I’d been in, but it was too late. She cursed me. I’d never seen someone so furious. The rage in her eyes at my attempt to take what wasn’t mine still makes me shiver to this day.

“From that night forward, I have been unable to find a mate, and I can’t make any connection to a woman at all. All these years, I’ve lived alone, regretting every moment of that damn night with that damn woman. I’ll never know love, never sire children. My life will be nothing but loneliness.”

He spoke with such venom that my blood ran cold. I connected the dots in my head. He didn’t just hate my great-grandmother; he hated all witches. Blamed them for his situation.

Honestly, I couldn’t fault him for it. My great-grandmother’s curse did seem a bit harsh for one stolen kiss. A swift kick in the balls should have been sufficient punishment.

“That was,” Jace went on, “until I met you.”

“Huh?” I stared at him dumbly. “What does that mean?”

“You’re my fated mate.”

I burst out laughing, but it quickly faded, dying like a fire doused with water when he didn’t smile in return. The grave look on his face told me he was serious.

“Wait, you’re serious?” I asked, flabbergasted. “How is that possible? You can’t be serious.”

“Trust me, I wish I wasn’t,” he said. “I felt it the moment I saw you. You are the only one who might possibly remove this curse from me.”

Curses, witches, century-old grudges? I’d somehow slipped into a goddamn fairy tale. How had this become my life?

“How can I remove your curse?” I asked, thinking I was crazy to even be saying the words.

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