Page 83 of Dawn of the Pack

Previously, Nielsen was dragging me around by walking backwards and hauling my body across the pavement. Apparently tired of that maneuver, he tried strutting forward and allowing my body to drag alongside him.

But now, obviously tired of the awkward positioning and absolutely convinced he’s already won, he lifts his head further and straddles my body so he can haul my limp form more easily.

With a vicious snarl, I clamp my teeth on his ear and kick my legs out, clawing at his chest and his soft underbelly. My sharp claws dig in, and hot liquid coats my paws as I keep kicking viciously.

Nielsen has no choice but to release me or lose his entrails. Even rapid healing can’t prevent that with the level of injury I’ve dealt him.

When I pop to my feet, a chorus of howls rises all around me. My pack celebrating with me. In the distance, the wolves who’re too far away to witness directly take up the howl. My eyes never leave Nielsen, but I can feel the shift in the air, the other pack suddenly uncomfortable.

I can’t give my opponent time to recover, so I attack him savagely. He tries to counterattack, but he’s still protecting his shredded belly and waiting for the skin to knit back together, so there’s not a lot he can do.

In a matter of minutes, I’ve got his throat between my jaws.

How the tables have turned.

Sinking my teeth in, I order him, “Concede.”

“In your dreams, Harridan.”

“I can see your guts, Nielsen. One more pass with my claws and all of your insides will be outside. You’ve lost.”

“Then I guess you’d better end it, because I will never concede.”

I huff my frustration into his furry neck. “Why does it have to be like this? All I ever wanted was to lift the curse your witch put on my family ages ago. Why should I suffer because your ancestors left mine? Why should my mates share in the burden of being tied to our territory for the rest of our lives? There’s no reason for us to hate each other this way. I’m trying to end that, don’t you understand?”

Nielsen’s coarse laugh grates at my senses. “I can’t believe you idiots still believe that lie. We’re not the problem, princess. You are.”

A snarl rips through my chest, and I shake him, tightening my jaws.

“What do you mean ‘we believe that lie’?”

“The curse that keeps you from leaving Smoky Falls. There is no curse, it’s a fairy tale.”

“That’s a lie. The curse killed my great aunt.”

“Your great aunt killed herself, princess. Your pack blamed it on us, and here we are.”

“I don’t believe you,” I snarl mentally, and give him a savage shake for good measure.

“Believe what you want. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Why would she do that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’re a teenage girl. It should be obvious to you. She was in love with one of the men who left Smoky Falls. She couldn’t handle being rejected by one of her fated, so she took her own life. It’s hardly unusual, even for normal humans.”

My head spins with this take on events. “But I know there’s a curse. I haven’t been able to shift whenever I want, like you all can. That’s real!”

Nielsen chuckles again. “Well, yeah, that’s true. The witch who cast the spell splitting the packs was petty. In Smoky Falls, there was a curfew of sorts. No one could shift between midnight and dawn; they were a bit more superstitious back then, and believed it would turn them into feral wolves, permanently. So, as a parting gift, she made it so they could only shift after midnight. Not what I would have done, but it wasn’t my choice. I’d never punish the pack for shitty leadership.”

There’s no way for me to verify his version of events, but something deep in my gut believes it. My stomach flips sickeningly as realization after realization passes through my thoughts in rapid succession.

“They knew, didn’t they? My family. They knew it wasn’t a curse, that she did it to herself.”

“Of course they knew. She left a note! They just wanted your pack to hate us for all time, and to make sure none of their descendants ever tried to reunite the packs again.”

“Of course they did,” I sigh mentally, but it comes out of my wolf's snout as a huff. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“You may not like me, or my methods, but I’ve never lied to you, Harridan.”

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