Page 45 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

“I’m sorry, but there’s something I have to do.”

I’d chosen to tell Rory the truth because I thought he would listen. But now he was being dismissive, saying he had to go even though I knew he had been planning to stay the night. I thought I was prepared for what it would feel like if he rejected me—if he ran in fear—but I wasn’t.

It hurt way more than I could have ever imagined.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. “Fine,” I hissed. “Go. What the fuck do I care? I don’t need you!”

“Katrina—” he said, but his voice was low and hoarse with frustration.

“Don’t talk to me like that, all patronizing. Get out,” I snapped. “I don’t want you here. You said you had something you needed to do, so go do it!” I went to the door and held it open for him. “And while you’re at it, why don’t you go ahead and lose my number. Forget my name, forget everything I told you about myself because I never want to see you again.”

He headed for the door but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “I understand that you’re upset. I just?—”

“You have no idea what I’m feeling,” I said with narrowed eyes. “Now go.”

He stared at me for a moment longer, then hung his head and left. I slammed the door closed after him, but the anger dissipated the second he was gone. I wasn’t even halfway back to the couch, and tears were already rolling down my cheeks. I threw myself down on the cushions and ended up crying myself to sleep.

It was after midnight when a noise outside the apartment ripped me from an unpleasant dream. I had been running on all fours in the dream, barreling down the streets of downtown Solara Bay as a wolf, terrorizing the town’s folk and causing a scene. I was pulled out of slumber right as I was about to collide with a woman walking out of the market with arms full of grocery bags.

In a way, I was relieved to no longer be asleep, but the sound, which I heard again upon waking, gave me pause.

Creaking floorboards. That’s what I’d heard.

At first, the sound had been somewhat distant, but perhaps that was because I was mostly asleep when the noise echoed through the small apartment. Now, however, the sound was much clearer. My chest tightened when I heard it a third time.

Someone was inside the room with me.

I whirled out of bed and got to my feet as quickly as I could. “Who’s there?” I shouted.

All was quiet for a second. I stared straight ahead at the door leading to the outside staircase and was about to make a run for it when a flash of movement made me spin around on my heel. As I did, a strong arm wrapped around my waist while something soft and wet was pushed against my nose and mouth. In the dark, I couldn't see who my assailant was, but as my eyes rolled back into my head, I saw ringlets of long, silky hair and the spark of a gold earring.

I couldn’t be sure, but if I had to wager a guess, I would’ve said the person who was about to knock me out was a woman. Before I could think to look for any more clues, however, my vision started to blur, and within seconds, I blacked out.

CHAPTER 19

RORY

Itook the long way home, trying to work through some of the many emotions that were rattling around inside me after leaving Katrina’s apartment. Unfortunately, I was feeling just on edge, if not more so, when I arrived home an hour or so later. The whole crew was sitting in the living room, therefore shattering any hope I had to try and calm down before explaining to them what I’d just learned. I stormed through the door, letting it swing wildly, and hit the wall with a loud bang. Nic jumped up from her place on the couch and growled, ready for action.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I seethed. I hadn’t planned on telling them right away and was desperate for some more alone time. I needed to clear my head.

Matt laughed. “Yeah, we can tell.”

“Does it have something to do with that woman?” Cornelius asked. Despite how frustrated I was with Katrina, I didn’t like the way Cornelius said ‘that woman,’ as if she was just some rando who I hooked up with once. “Nic was just telling us that she’s not who she says she is.”

“I know.” I paced back and forth, hoping the movement would burn off some of my anger. “There are a lot of things about her I’m only just now learning.”

“She told you the truth?” Nic sounded dubious.

“She told me something.” I could feel all of them staring at me, waiting eagerly for an explanation, but I didn’t know where to begin. I had no idea how they would react, and I still felt the strong need to protect Katrina, even though I was upset with her. After a few more paces, I realized the movement was only revving me up more, so I went and took a seat on the couch next to Nic. I rested my elbows on my knees and sighed. The group was going to find out soon enough anyway, so I decided just to rip the Band-Aid off.

“She’s a fucking werewolf.”

“What?” Nic gawked.

“There’s no way she’s a shifter,” said Cornelius. “We would’ve smelled it on her a mile away.”

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