Page 78 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“I’m gonna order a pizza. Are you down?”

I’d never been so hungry in my life, and I wondered if it had to do with my magic being drained out of me. “Sounds great.”

An hour later, the pizza arrived, and we devoured it in record time. Then, I collapsed onto Tinsley’s spare bed. It wasn’t even nine o’clock, and I was out in seconds.

The next morning, I woke at eight, having slept nearly twelve hours—not counting the four-hour nap in the afternoon. Even with all that, I still felt sort of run-down and tired, but I was close to being back to normal. I had no fear of crashing my car on the way home from exhaustion, at least.

“Good morning,” Tinsley said as I trudged into her kitchen.

“Is that coffee?” I asked, staring at the pot in her hand.

“It is. Very strong, and I may have added a few little magic enhancements to it. If you feel as tired as I do, you’ll need it.”

“Hand it over. I’ve got a two-hour drive ahead of me.”

Downstairs, we checked on the potion. The cauldron was nearly empty, only holding three or four tablespoons of liquid. It had gone from a light, almost transparent blue to a dark and thick purple.

“It’s a success,” Tinsley said with a smile. “Hand me a spoon.”

I handed her a small spoon and watched as she delicately ladled the potion into two small glass vials. All those ingredients and what was left wouldn’t have filled a teacup. Tinsley sniffed the potion once it was in the vials and smiled.

“This is very potent. It was done with good intentions, which will always impart more magic, but I think some of it also has to do with the strength of your magic, Kirsten. You’re gonna be a really powerful witch once you have full control of your magic.”

She handed me the two vials. I wrapped them in some tissue paper and tucked them into my purse alongside the potion for Eren.

“Come here,” Tinsley said, pulling me into a hug. “I feel like you’re my own granddaughter. Such a good witch.”

I allowed the embrace and hugged her back. It was still hard to believe this young woman holding me was old enough to be my grandmother. I’d lost Nana, but I’d met some pretty incredible people since then. It was still heartbreaking that she was gone, but I was happy to have made friends who could replace that small part of my heart that had been torn away.

Chapter 22

Jace

When Kirsten called to say she was on the road, I left for her cabin. I’d rather wait two hours there. That way, I’d know when she arrived. She’d terrified me the day before when she hadn’t called or been home when I went to check on her. A thousand ideas had bounced through my head, from a wreck on the highway to Eren’s men running her off the road and kidnapping her. When she’d finally called, I’d almost pissed myself from sheer relief.

The car pulled in, and I had to force myself not to sprint forward to meet her. Instead, I stood from where I’d been sitting on her steps and took her in my arms when she walked up to me.

“I missed you,” I said.

“I was only gone a day,” she said, smiling up at me.

“Still too long. How’d it go?”

Kirsten reached into her purse and pulled out a jar of some sort of greenish liquid. “We made a cure for Eren... er, sorry, Eren’s friend. It should fix his little problem once and for all and hopefully get him off my back. We just need to get it to him.”

The thought of her venturing into Eren’s pack lands was not something I could bear to think about. A growl rumbled in my chest. “No way in hell are you going anywhere near him.”

“Thanks for that, but I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m also not an idiot,” she said. “The guy’s bad news, and I’ve got no intentions of delivering this to him by myself. He might want to keep me locked up or something. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me spreading the word about his little problem. Speaking of, did you know he was having trouble making a baby?”

“I know he doesn’t have an heir yet or a mate. Not terribly surprising at his age, though. He’s only seventy. That’s young in shifter years. It’s quite common for them to not have mates or children yet.” I thought for a moment and grunted in irritation. “Me, on the other hand? I’m a couple decades past when I should have had an heir. The questions have already started. Some of the pack elders had been pushing me on the subject before you showed up.”

Kirsten eyed me warily. “Am I gonna have to worry about popping babies out soon? I’m not quite sure about that.”

“Don’t worry.” I chuckled. “I’m not planning on knocking you up anytime soon.” I raised an eyebrow. “Practicing? Sure.”

She punched me lightly in the stomach. “Smart ass.”

“You still look tired,” I said, brushing my thumb over the dark circle under her left eye. “You should take a nap. After that, you and I and Waylan will head up to Scottsdale. We can kill two birds with one stone. I need to officially challenge Eren.”

---