Page 42 of Cursed Wolf

“Well, apparently, before our parents got together, Father and Lyra were a thing.”

My mouth drops open. “Wait! What?” I’m sure I misheard.

“No way. He wouldn’t have dated a psycho. No, we would have known about that,” Jae rambles, her face paling.

“Would we, though?” I voice. We recently discovered how little I know about our parents. “They kept so much from us, so I wouldn’t put anything past them.”

Jae shakes her head in disbelief. “And?” she prods Kaira’s arm again. “Keep going.”

“Our mother had fallen in love with him. You see, he was dating them both at the same time, and when they found out, it was full-out war for who would claim him. Mother cast a spell on him to make him completely infatuated with her, then they vanished, and Lyra was left heartbroken. Oh, and Mother also spelled Lyra by siphoning a huge chunk of her magic, making Mother more powerful and Lyra weaker.”

“Are you kidding me?” I’m lost for words.

Jae’s shaking her head, blinking at Kaira in disbelief.

“I know,” Kaira says, her eyes huge, then she shrugs. She’s had long enough to deal with the news and accept our mother might be a far more horrible person than I ever suspected.

While my head is running rampant, learning this new information, I’m trying to piece together things that never made sense to me—why Lyra hated us and why she was desperate to get to our mother, even in her dead form.

Did she want her magic back?

I think about how Lyra slipped into Father’s mind when we were at the coven to rescue Kaira. She said she easily gained information about where Mother was from his memories–they’d had a connection. For the short time before he died, she could have easily restored his memories to bond and find out everything our mother had done.

I’m dumbfounded. Then the horrible thought hits me—I now understand why our mother never came back for us at the Storm Wolves.

She didn’t really want us, did she? With Father dead after she left, she’d been working all these years to bring him back for herself—without a care about what happened to my sisters and me.

I still have so many more questions, but I doubt Kaira has the answers. After losing our father, I told myself I would move on and not let our mother’s actions bring me more anxiety. I’m sick to my stomach, and I’m breathing heavily, my chest tightening to think Lyra had been driven to be the crazy woman she’d become. To have someone you love stolen from you… Goddess. It would make me insane, too.

How could our mother have done that?

“D-Does that mean our parents didn’t really love us?” Jae’s voice cracks.

My eyes prick with tears, hearing her heartache and from my mixed emotions.

“Of course, they loved us,” Kaira answers and smiles my way, as though saying she’ll take this one. “Why would they have three kids if they didn’t love and adore us?”

“But if Dad was under a spell…”

“Jae,” I begin, my voice soft, my insides shattering. “The spell was to make him fall deeply in love with Mother and most likely, forget Lyra, but it had nothing to do with the love he had for us. That was real.” My throat thickens because I don’t know who I’m trying to convince more, her or me. I want to cry but won’t in front of my sisters. I have to remain strong for them.

Kaira squeezes Jae in a hug as I hold her hand.

“All that matters is that we’re together. You two aunties will need to show all the love and attention to our new family member.” I glance down at my stomach, then back up at them with a genuine smile. My grin isn’t forced, despite learning the terrible truth of the things our mother has done. I won’t allow her decisions to bring us down.

“Family isn’t just those related by blood.” I take Kaira’s hand as well and hold on to both my sisters. “It’s those who love us more than our own real family ever did. Those who put us first, who never stop fighting for us. We have each other, as well as my four Alphas. They have fought by my side so hard to rescue both of you. Pretty soon, with little jellybean joining us, there will be eight of us in our newfound family. We’ll find a home, somewhere we’re safe. I give you my word… things won’t be as chaotic as they are now.”

I try not to think that the baby will be anything but a healthy wolf shifter, but at that moment, doubt spreads over my thoughts.

I got pregnant under a spell, while wrapped up in tree vines and experiencing a strange, induced dream. Does that mean I’ll give birth to a half-breed baby, part tree or some kind of monstrosity?

My heart beats faster, and I’m suddenly sweating, thinking about that nonstop. I can still feel the baby stirring, but it all happened so fast. I can’t let myself panic, or I’ll lose my mind.

“Are you okay?” Kaira asks.

Lifting my gaze, I nod as they both come forward, and we hug while the carriage jostles us about. I need to calm my mind.

The baby will be okay… jellybean has to be okay. There’s no other option.

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