Page 53 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Emergency meeting?” Waylan sounded nervous and confused. “What’s going on?”

“It’s time to tell the town what’s going on.”

“Your curse?” Waylan barked. “You’re telling them?”

“Oh shit, no,” I said quickly. “About Kirsten being a witch, I mean. I want to give her access to the town. I can’t tell them about the curse. Not now, because Kirsten might be able to help. If that doesn’t pan out, then…” I trailed off. “Maybe then I’ll own up. For now, it’s just about Kirsten. Get Stephanie and Abigail to help. Make sure Langston’s there, too, in case there’s any uproar. Hopefully not, but it’ll be good to have him on hand.”

Langston Monroe was the final member of my town council. The hulking enforcer had taken over as the sole police force in Crestwood when his father, Tatum Monroe, retired. As the alpha, I dealt with large-scale issues and problems, but I was only one person. Smaller things—bar fights, domestic arguments, shoplifting, things like that—I left to Langston. He was more or less the de facto sheriff of Crestwood.

“All right,” Waylan said. “I’ll talk to them, and we’ll start making calls and sending texts.”

“Good,” I said. “I want this done, and soon.”

A few hours later, Waylan and the others proved they could do the impossible. Nearly the whole pack was jammed into the rec center, wall to wall and front to back. The only ones not in attendance were folks who couldn’t get off work on short notice or were out of town for vacations or business. But from the looks of it, ninety-five percent of the pack was here.

Waylan stood near the back door beside Langston. Stephanie and Abigail flanked either side of the room at the emergency exits. I stepped up to the lectern at the front of the room, and the murmurs of conversation died almost instantly. Everyone was excited and nervous to hear what was so important.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” I began.

There were some mutterings in return, but silence took over once again. With all those eyes staring back at me, I decided it would be best if I came right out and said what was going on. No beating around the bush. Just rip the Band-Aid off.

“I had our council members call you here so I could give you some information. I think most, if not all of you, know of the old cabin just on the outskirts of our territory? A woman named Lola Holly used to stay there on occasion and sometimes brought her granddaughter along. Her granddaughter is now an adult and is staying at the cabin for the summer. Her name is Kirsten Holly, and she’s a witch.”

I’d expected a huge eruption of questions, accusations, and fear. What I hadn’t expected was the initial two or three seconds of dead silence. After that, the noise came, a wall of sound as pack members broke into conversation and raised their voices to ask questions.

At the back of the room, Langston leaned in to whisper in Waylan’s ear. From the big man’s shocked expression, Waylan had kept the secret well. Abigail was staring at me with open-mouthed wonder. Stephanie, however, was frowning at me and looked a little upset at the news.

Once the noise began to subside a bit, I raised my hand to quiet them. “I know this is a shock. That’s why I wanted this to come out now rather than to have it slowly spread and cause chaos. I want to allow her access to the town to shop, dine, what have you.”

“Why’s she here?” a woman up front called out. “Is she spying on us? Does she want to curse someone? We all know witches hate shifters.”

“Good questions,” I admitted, and Waylan raised an eyebrow at me. I wasn’t going to admit that I’d already been cursed by a woman who lived in that house a hundred years ago. “Ms. Holly had no knowledge of witches until a few days ago. She’s a latent witch only now coming into her powers. There is no fear that she has ill intent.”

“Bullshit!” a man near Abigail shouted. “Witches get their power at sixteen. If she’s saying otherwise, she’s lying. And if she’s lying, then she has something to hide.”

“I think this is a great thing!” an older woman called out, shouting down the other man. “Shifters and witches have been enemies for too long. Why can’t we welcome her? We could be the first to mend the relationship.”

The argument went back and forth. Many for Kirsten being able to visit, a small minority wanting her to stay away, and an even smaller group wanting us to actively encourage her to leave all together.

“I’m with Devin,” someone said, pointing across the room. “She has to be lying. No offense, Jace, but I think she’s pulling one over on you by saying she’s a new witch.”

“I don’t think we can trust her,” a familiar voice said, and my stomach dropped. Stephanie had stepped forward. “She’s a witch, Jace. How can we ever trust her? I don’t like it.”

“I vetted her,” I said, and my anger rippled through the words. Stephanie flinched. “I spoke with her, and I put my reputation on the line. I say she’s telling the truth.”

“That’s what I mean, though,” another pack member, Brock, said. “Jace, she can say all she wants. But in the end, we can never know whether it’s true.”

Langston stepped forward, then. “Are you saying our alpha is incapable of telling when someone is lying? Is that what you’re saying, Brock? Stephanie? Because I don’t like where those comments are heading.” He gestured at me. “If Jace says he vetted her, then that’s that. An alpha’s word is law, and our alpha has honor, unlike some others. My vote is that she has free rein in town.”

Hearing that from a council member, as well as a giant and formidable man, hushed most of the dissenting voices.

“I don’t rule with an iron fist,” I said. “I won’t do anything without my pack voting. So, all for Kirsten Holly being able to come to town, raise your hands.”

A large majority raised their hands, and inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. On the surface, I kept my face passive and calm.

“And all those against?” I asked.

A smattering of hands rose, but only a few. Unfortunately, Stephanie was one of them. I met her eyes as she raised her hand, and the look on her face was one of distrust and hurt. Maybe she thought I should have told the whole council what the deal was before the meeting. In hindsight, that may have been the best way to go.

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