Page 28 of The Alpha Wolf's Bullied Bride

I take a step forward and freeze, the bag falling out of my hand when my fingers no longer have the strength to keep holding onto it. My body refuses to work right now, numbed over with no feeling in any of my nerve endings. Even my face turns to stone, my brows unable to furrow. I attempt to move my foot again, only to find that my mind doesn’t seem to have control of my movements. My mobility is obstructed by a force I can’t see or feel. A force that compels me to move my gaze, my eyes the only part of me I can control.

Panic rises inside me, crawling up my throat until it enters the cavity of my mouth. I can’t even move my throat to gulp. Even my breath catches when I try calling out to Valerie for help. All that leaves my lips is a tiny whimper when I see my reflection on the water's surface.

My eyes widen with horror as I witness the color seeping from my cheeks. Rendered immobile, I'm forced to stare intomy own eyes as the pools of blue crystallize and turn my vision inwards without needing to close my eyelids.

I know it’s a vision of some kind since the world around me fades into brighter colors not present in the meadow. I begin seeing a vortex of purple and gold that swirls and sways in a magnificent dance of bright hues. It's beautiful and terrifying all at once, fear coursing down my spine when that familiar ring skitters through my eardrums.

A sharp, distinct pain rips through my chest just as the ringing intensifies.

“You cannot escape…”a faint voice that sounds like my own echoes in my mind. “You will be cursed…your wolf will be eternally doomed…”

Without warning, the feeling in my body returns and crashes into me with a force that has me bucking forward. The colors in my vision disappear, and a gasp falls out like a shriek of surprise just as my body gets flung to the ground.

“Valerie!” I cry out as soon as I catch my breath, my palms braced on the grass in front of me. A hand flies to my throat, wringing at the remnants of the shackles that just had my entire being imprisoned.

“Lila!” Valerie comes rushing toward me, scooping me off the ground with every ounce of strength in her.

When I'm on my feet, I stare into Valerie's eyes but see the blue hues of my own reflected amidst the green swirls of hers, as if I could see a magnificent being reflected to me, a representation of a higher power shaking her divine head warning me against leaving Zafra.

I gasp as I look around me, the residual gold and purple lingering as tiny orbs in my vision. It fades away slowly, leaving the natural colors around us to emanate brighter.

It's almost as if I can see more clearly now, every blade of grass glistening as if it's been sharpened by the sun's rays. My sense of hearing sharpens too, picking up the sounds of chirping birds in the tallest trees that I wouldn’t have heard before.

“What happened?” Valerie shakes my shoulders, pulling me out of my daze.

“I—” I frown when the veil of distinct and raw colors seems to lift from my eyes and everything appears normal again. “I don't know, Val.” I exhale slowly, gulping as I shake my head. “I think the Moon Goddess finally spoke to me.”

“She did?!” Valerie exclaims, eyes going wide. “What did she say?”

“That I'll be cursed if I leave….”

Valerie and I stare at each other in disbelief for a long moment, a million questions racing through my mind until I break the silence with a nervous chuckle.

A ritual I performed two years ago has only now come to fruition. So much for wanting to connect to my inner wolf!

The Moon Goddess finally answered me, only to warn me against leaving. While I have no inner wolf and have always been shunned by the deity ruling the werewolves, I can’t completely ignore her. She is, after all, my creator.

I just can’t look past all my brooding resentment for Flynn.

“What now?” I ask. “I…I can't go back. I can't marry him. I can’t be his mate. I’ll have no future.”

Valerie bites her bottom lip in contemplation. “I thought the curse wasn’t real…you don’t have a wolf…”

“I…” A hand goes up to my neck with the memory of my restricted breathing a moment ago when I became frozen. I gulp, my throat working against my palm as I shake my head slowly. Something innate nudges me toward my conclusion. “I think this is the answer I was searching for all this time. It lies in me going ahead with this mating ritual. I just have to surrender, and trust the Moon Goddess’s word.”

Valerie tilts her head to one side in deliberation as she frowns. “Those are probably the wisest words I’ve ever heard you speak, Lila. Who are you?”

“Someone who’s heard the word of the Lord, Val,” I say warily, grabbing her hand and swiftly picking up the bag on the side. “We have to go back before they figure out that I was trying to run away.”

***

With the dirt from the woods hidden under the train of the wedding dress, I square my shoulders and take a deep breath outside the hall.

I have no reason to be loyal to this pack, yet something compels me to stick around. Perhaps I’d been wrong. Even without the inner wolf connected to my consciousness, it must be in there somewhere, preventing me from leaving so that I’m not cursed—preventing me from leaving so that I might finally walk down the path that leads me toward connection.

Miles appears from behind the corner, completely oblivious to my prior plans as he smiles broadly at me. He holds out his arm, and I slip mine through the support he offers.

“Are you ready, lil' sis?” he chimes cheerfully, clearing his throat and straightening up in front of the carved oak door.

---