Page 37 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

The smile on Waylan’s face vanished. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. And I don’t like it. Regardless of who Kirsten is, she’s still our responsibility. Her cabin is only a hundred yards past our borders. In my book, that means we need to protect it. He’s never come that close to our land before.”

“So, this is all just about Eren getting too close to our pack? Not about him maybe trying to move in on Kirsten?” Waylan asked, smirking at me.

“Can we not go down that rabbit hole again? For all I know, Kirsten is working with that fucker. This whole thing could be one big trick. Maybe I need to go talk to him. Figure out what his game is.”

“Nah, I don’t buy that. If Eren is sniffing around, it’s not because he’s in league with Kirsten.” He looked at me intently. “Hypothetically speaking, if the curse was lifted, who would you want for your mate?”

“Are you proposing right now?”

“Stop being a dick and answer the question. Honestly.”

“I guess, if I had to choose someone, I’d see if Stephanie was interested. She’s pretty and smart. She’s a member of the pack. Most importantly, she’s a wolf. And it’s obvious she has a thing for me.”

Another more forceful growl erupted from my mouth, and my head thrashed back and forth, seemingly on its own. My wolf was ready to jump out of his skin at even the mention of being with Stephanie.

Waylan laughed. “I don’t see that match working out,” Waylan quipped once he’d recovered. “Stephanie is great, but I know you. She’d bore you to tears. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great choice for an alpha’s mate, but are you really attracted to her?”

He was right. When I thought of Stephanie, all I could think of was the logistics. She was a round peg that fit into a round hole, nothing more. There was no stirring of lust, need, or desire when I was around her. Not like when I was around Kirsten, and fuck if that didn’t make me bitter.

I heaved out a sigh. “There’s no connection there. It’s nothing like when I saw Kirsten for the first time. The desire was immediate. It basically brought me to my knees. I felt it even before my wolf did. As much as I hate to admit it, there’s no denying it.”

“You came here for my opinion, right?” Waylan asked.

“Yes.”

“Then drop the negativity. You’ve spent a hundred years moping about what Dorothy did to you, and it turned you into this ball of hatred directed at all witches. But you need to get out of your head and realize Kirsten isn’t Dorothy. She’s her own person. She didn’t grow up as a witch. You should get to know the woman she is and forget about who her ancestors were.”

There was a kernel of truth there. Had I let my anger at Dorothy blind me to other things? Even if I had, I had to address whatever Eren wanted with Kirsten before I could go any further with her.

“I’m heading to Scottsdale,” I announced, standing up.

“Wait, what?” Waylan’s eyes went wide.

“Like I said, Eren’s getting too close to our land, and he’s got something planned for Kirsten. I need to figure that out. I’m headed there now.”

“You want me to go with?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. This will be a diplomatic visit rather than a threatening one. Even Eren isn’t dumb enough to try something on another pack alpha who comes for a peaceful parley.”

Waylan agreed, though reluctantly. Before he could push things, I got in my truck and headed toward Scottsdale.

I purposefully used the road that went past Kirsten’s cabin. The summer foliage was too thick for me to see more than the first thirty feet of her driveway, but I still felt that tug toward her. Remembering that Eren had been there the day before with God only knew what intentions sent a hot surge of anger through me, and I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal.

By the time I arrived in Scottsdale, my ire had cooled somewhat, but the tension in my muscles had become worse. I’d played the big bad alpha with Waylan, but when alphas ventured into other pack territories, things could go sour. There was always a possibility that things could get violent. That was less prevalent in modern societies than it had been in the past, but instinct still held sway over a lot of wolves, and Eren was much more dangerous than most alphas. My confidence in my fighting skills and the fact that it was the middle of the day were all that was giving me the confidence to do this.

Eren had a similar security set-up at his house to mine. A big, hulking guy I knew in passing stepped out of the small gatehouse. If I remembered correctly, he went by Poli. I had no idea if that was a real name or a nickname. He eyed my car with open suspicion.

When I rolled my window down, his look of surprise almost made me laugh. The shock quickly transitioned to hostility.

“Jace Stone,” Poli said, resting a hand on my door. “May I ask what the actual fuck you think you’re doing here?”

I gestured up the driveway. “I need to have a few words with Eren. Alpha to alpha.”

Poli sucked at his teeth, thinking, then shook his head slowly, maintaining eye contact with me. “Not gonna happen.”

“Why? Is Eren scared of me or something?”

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