Page 71 of Cursed Wolf

RAGNAR

Narah’s a tiny thing, curled up in bed and breathing deeply. Her skin has warmed up, color returning to her face, and her veins are not as obvious. I’ve been watching her sleep for the past hour, remembering how she shuddered in my arms, her breaths raspy, and my heart splintered.

If anything happened to her, I’d die, and I couldn’t do that to Harmony, which is why I insisted she remain in the Shadowlands Sector.

Sighing, I watch the way her chest rises and falls. How beautiful she is.

Narah’s my everything. With her, the world shines brighter, and I laugh more. I now have a purpose and a reason to look forward to my future. Something I discovered about myself only after she came into my life.

So, when she collapsed, we frantically got her to the nearest pack where we had allegiance and prayed Martell hadn’t destroyed or taken them over. The Goddess must have been shining down on us—we were welcomed with open arms.

Their medic was startled to see her in such a state, saying she was on death’s door. He prescribed lots of rest and food, saying she was suffering from malnutrition. She’d been completely depleted of energy, and while I partly agreed with him that she needed to regain her strength, it was for a very different reason than what he suspected. We let him believe we found her in the woods—a lost Omega—to avoid drawing attention from the Alpha.

Things are tense enough without bringing in an Omega with magic abilities, who used to be Martell’s fated mate, into their home.

“How’s she doing?” Nikos asks as he enters the room.

“Looking better,” I murmur, turning to leave the room. He follows me, gently closing the door behind him. “She’s healing fast, but that was a scare none of us expected.”

“Fuck, I almost had a stroke when she was pale as a ghost and so lethargic.” He swallows loudly. “It’s not an image I’ll get out of my head anytime soon.”

“Agreed.” Stepping into the kitchen of the home the Alpha gave us to stay in, Crius and Stone are digging into the wild boar stew, which one of the locals brought us after they saw how sick Narah was.

Half of it is already eaten before Nikos flops down on a chair, grabs a fork, and drags the whole dish over to him.

“I didn’t know using her magic on the zombies would impact her so severely,” Stone says, then wipes the crumbs from his mouth with a napkin.

“Or that she’d try to take on all the freaking zombies,” Crius says, smacking his lips. “Though I’m so fucking proud of her that she had the balls to do that.”

“I wonder who the fuck put the undead in those houses,” Nikos blurts out, always the astute one. “There’s no way they obediently filed into those homes and closed themselves inside. Sure, maybe one house, but not so many. It was a setup.”

“Bet it was Martell, leaving us a parting gift. It would explain why there were no pack members on our visit... alive or dead,” Nikos explains.

“Martell doesn’t strike me as a guy who would clean up the dead he leaves in his wake,” Crius adds.

“They’re most likely with the Alpha I asked to care for them.” I angle my head toward the doorway, convinced I’ve heard a sound.

“What’s our next step?” Niko queries, always the guy to get down to business and one of the reasons why I keep him close on my team. We’re very similar in that respect. “Do we let Narah continue resting and head out to hunt for Martell?”

“She’s going to be pissed,” Stone says what we’re all thinking.

“We’ll live with it.” I know it will come back and bite me hard in the ass, but the fright I got seeing her close to death was too much to ignore. “That was too close. I’m not putting her in a situation where she would place others in front of her own life.”

There’s a loud knock on the front door, and I tense. Crius leaps to his feet and marches out there. Moments later, he returns with Lortell, one of my men who had infiltrated this pack. He’s lean, taller than me, and has been loyal to me since he’d lost his parents when my father sent both males and females to battle. He lost his family in an agonizing heartbeat, and when he discovered I had every intention of opposing my father, he joined my pack.

I stand and give him a strong hug, smacking a hand on his back, then we step back.

“I heard you were in town, Ragnar. It’s been too damn long. I wasn’t sure when you were going to show up and was worried I’d have to call this pack my new family.” He breaks into forced laughter. “Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with them, and they have three unmated Omegas who have caught my attention, but these Alphas are no Viking warriors.”

I remembered now how much Lortell loved to talk. Getting in a word sometimes was excruciatingly painful.

“Fuck yeah, they’re not.” Crius hoots.

He grabbed a seat, and I joined him at the round family table.

“An urgent matter came up that couldn’t wait, but we’re back to eliminate Martell, so tell me everything. What’s been going on in the sector in the past two months? I need answers before Martell makes a show in this pack, too.”

He nods, then reclines in his seat, making himself comfortable. “We’ve heard the stories about Martell making his way to all the packs with an ultimatum… join his forces, or he’ll eliminate them. And trust me, when he comes to your door, it’s with a fucking army. So, everyone’s fucking caving. What else are they supposed to do?”

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