Page 21 of Cursed Wolf

She’s right. Roots jut out of the ground all around the tree and seem to be rocking out of the foundations.

“What are you doing?” I call a bit louder. “Please tell me it’s not a repeat of those attacking trees in the Poisonous Woods.”

“I’ve got this,” he hisses. “The only way to end the curse is to kill the tree, which means cutting off its life force.” He’s basically digging the tree out of the ground.

The cold dread of fear twists in my gut that this could put Narah and my men in greater danger.

“Okay, you heard him.” As much as I feel hopeless, I need to trust Stone.

Drawing Jae a few steps away, we wait and watch the three of them sway from the branches. With the tree halfway out of the ground, there’s a loud crack.

The branch Crius is hanging from drops, and he hits the ground. I lunge toward him with a blade in hand. Crius moans, but the damn vines remain tight around him. Grabbing the axe from his belt, I slash at the vines running from the tree to him, needing to sever the connection. The branch might have snapped, but evidently, it’s not enough.

The more I dismember, the more Crius shoves against the restraints. I’m hacking madly when I hear another splintering of wood, and Nikos is thrown to the hard ground. A final chop and I sprint over to Nikos.

The whole time, Stone’s murmuring words, his eyes fluttering backward, his eyes completely white.

Nikos is awake, swearing like a beast and thrashing. “Narah. Get Narah,” he growls at me.

“Crius,” I yell out.

The guy’s stumbling toward me, unable to walk a straight line.

“Give it to me. I’ll do it. Go get Narah.”

Nikos’ eyes bulge when Jae takes the axe, but I don’t have time to argue.

With most of the tree out of the ground, I dart under the tree, frantically chasing a swinging Narah. My heart’s thumping, the air thick with magic. A growl slips from my lips with urgency and frustration.

When the thunderous snap of wood resonates, a jolt of panic strikes me. The branch with Narah swings left behind the tree. I charge in that direction just as the branch breaks away from the tree. I jerk my arms out and lunge to where she’s coming down.

Her terrified cries suddenly fill the air.

She hits me hard, driving me to my knees, but I grasp her with all my strength and lean backward to take her weight, anything to not drop her.

My little fox feels so warm against me and so much bigger, which tells me more vines are tied around her.

“Hello there, gorgeous. I’ve got you.”

“Ragnar?” she groans, then winces.

Standing, I rush out of the shadows into the open. I quickly place her on the lawn, and Jae’s there, giving me the axe.

Something looks wrong.

She’s crying with pain, and her body’s wrapped in the vines, but why are there so many around her?

Frantically, I cut the vines, with Jae, Nikos, and Crius on their knees, pulling at the massive mess.

“We’re here,” Nikos says.

Crius is cooing something about a jelly bean, but I’m not paying attention. Finally, I hack the last connection, and we rapidly tear away the vegetation.

I freeze, startled.

Narah’s on her back, whining, her hands clasping a massive, round belly.

I had expected to find her bruised and hurt from being tied so tightly… but no one could have prepared me for this. No one.

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