Page 4 of Cursed Wolf

“We know he’s doing deals with the witch, so she must have somehow sent a message to them about us being here,” Crius says what I’d been thinking.

I let out a long exhale. “We’re in huge trouble, aren’t we?” My voice grows shaky as I stare from one man to the other.

Frustration flares behind Ragnar’s eyes, and he releases a deep sigh, confirming my worst fears.

Crius’ jawline twitches.

“We’re in danger out here. You need to leave this pack,” Ragnar states.

I blink at him, my stomach churning with unease, while my head plays catch up on what happened before I lost myself to heat.

“What do you mean, leave?”

He pulls back to zip up his pants, standing in front of me bare-chested and absolutely stunning, and partly ignoring me for a long pause. Crius hurriedly pulls on his clothes, his brow furrowed with clear trepidation.

“What do you mean?” I repeat a bit louder.

“Narah,” Ragnar starts, taking my hand in his. “Your heat can return at any time, and the moment other alphas are near you, they will kill each other to get to you, to rut you over and over. We need a way to explain to the pack alpha that his only daughter has been butchered, and it wasn’t us.”

“Jae...” I grasp his arm, trembling as panic slides through me. “I need to get Jae, then we’ll leave.”

“Narah.” Ragnar takes my hand, his thumb gently rubbing the back, and while normally, it might coax me into a false state of calm, now I’m too terrified to be anything else.

“I’m not going without her,” I reiterate.

His lips pinch tight, and I know there’s an argument on his mind, but it’s lost when the thump of heavy footsteps approaches us from the huts.

Nikos and Stone are running in our direction, one of them holding a duffle bag over his shoulder. They’re moving with the speed of being chased and are with us in moments.

My stomach lurches.

“We gotta go now,” Nikos snaps, and I see the worry in his eyes. “Your scent’s reached the homes, and there are men staggering out of their beds, starved to find the source.”

“B-But, I’m over the heat for now, so I can sneak in and get Jae.”

“That makes no sense.” He looks at me, confused. “That’s not how it works. I can still smell you,” Stone says.

“She doesn’t know much about going into heat,” Crius adds, then lowers his attention to me. “Even outside episodes, omegas still emit a faint scent that will call alphas in close proximity to her.”

“But I can’t leave Jae behind,” I murmur, my chest constricting.

“She’ll be safe” Stone reaches for my hand, and I soften against his hard chest. I hear the pounding of his heart matching my own. “We’ll make sure of it, but she won’t be protected if you get yourself killed.”

“Ragnar,” Nikos states almost with a warning. “There’s no time to waste.”

“Nikos and Crius, you take Narah to her mother’s house in the woods,” Ragnar says with a growl in his throat. “If you see the witch, keep your distance until we get there. Stone, you and I will try to salvage this clusterfuck, then escape with Jae and meet them in the mountains.”

My head reels with his plan, with how many things could go wrong.

Suddenly, the sound of voices comes from the direction of the huts, and I stare at where several men are roaming about. How long before they come this way and find the dead body? Before they attack to get to me?

I’m devastated. Lyra has possessed my sister, and now we’re leaving Jae behind again.

Ragnar gives Crius and Nikos instructions while Stone hands me fresh clothes and boots to change into. I do so quickly, my hands shaking.

“You’ll be alright, you’ll see. So will your sisters.” Stone’s reassurance gives me something to hold on to, a piece of hope.

I can’t fall apart now.

---