Page 75 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

“Of course not. It’s a curse.” Kari’s statement was decisive, her eye more critical now as she studied Brielle as if she could see the curse hanging off her like so many cobwebs.

She was a witch, so perhaps she could.

“You can tell? Did you know that’s what killed my mom?”

Leigh gripped my arm, fingers digging in just shy of painfully as she watched the exchange at my side. We were all tense, and the touch helped take the edge off slightly.

“I did, unfortunately.”

“Is there anything you can do to lift it?” Brielle asked. “We were told that it can only be lifted by the witch who laid it.”

“Your source was partially correct. A curse of this nature can only be removed by the witch who applied it or by killing her and securing a removal from one of her coven, which is often incredibly difficult to do after you’ve murdered one of their kind.”

I bit my bottom lip. That sucked. I mean, I’d really hoped that her aunt would be able to just remove the thing.

“Oh. So, there’s nothing you can do.” Brielle glanced worriedly up at Kane.

“Can you identify which witch or coven is responsible for the curse? At least if we know the origin, we can keep working on the removal,” Reed said, politely not commenting on the fact that as soon as we left here, we’d be hunting down whatever witch she named, probably to brutally murder them.

Anxiety radiated through me, which had my wolf pushing forward once more. She didn’t know why this witch made meso nervous or that it was fear that she might not give up one of her own kind, adopted niece or no. She just knew I was anxious and fearful.

“That won’t be necessary… becauseIcursed your mother,” Kari said, grim honesty in her eyes.

FORTY-SIX

Dirge

Call it a sixth sense, call it supernatural. Whatever you called it, I knew Kane was about to lunge before he did. His eyes glowed, his fangs descended, and his fingertips were razor-tipped claws as our chests clashed. Somehow, I’d moved fast enough to block the other alpha from tearing the witch’s head off her shoulders.

He couldn’t do that, because we needed her to lift the curse. He’d realize that, I was sure of it. But however long that took to sink in, I was facing the full wrath of the high alpha, mano a mano.

And holyshit, did it not take long for him to pull on his pack bonds, because the wave of dominance he hit me with a half second later almost knocked me on my ass. Thankfully, Reed copped to the same thing I had and joined me in restraining Kane.

“Move!” The command thundered with so much alpha dominance that I felt all the women skitter back from his fury, unable to withstand the power lashing us. Reed and I together were nothing close to a match for him, and it was only Gael’s quick thinking to jump on his back that gave us a fightingchance. His thick biceps curled under Kane’s chin—not choking, yet, just applying enough pressure to get his attention.

“Alpha, please!” Reed tried to reason with him, while I tried not to get gutted by his claws. My wolf was howling for release, but I kept him locked down behind steel bars. We couldnotstart shifting in this small space, or one of the females could get hurt.

“That’s enough, Alpha. Allow me to explain, and all will become clear,” Kari said, taking her own life in her hands as she stepped forward instead of giving Kane space.

He strained again, but her own power crackled in the air, sending an unpleasant buzz over my skin.

Kane was still in our grip as she stood toe to toe with him. “I promise, if you don’t like what I have to say, you can rip my head off yourself before the sun sets on this day. But you’re not going to want to.”

He shook us off, still riled as he ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. Brielle was at his side in an instant, hanging on to him and leaking that lightning-struck stream scent I’d come to associate with her being stressed out.

It made me want to jump to her defense, even though rationally, I knew that wasn’t the move here. The witch was too calm, and if she meant her harm, why tell us?

Shay stepped up to my side as well, her fingertips ghosting over my chest as if checking I was in one piece before settling on the back of my arm.

“Please, have a seat. Would any of you like a cup of tea, before I tell you the story? It’s a long one, and not pretty.”

“No, thanks,” Leigh scoffed, arms crossed over her chest.

“Very well.” Kari inclined her head slightly, sadness clear on her sharp features. “Your mother was my best friend, a fact you well know,” she said to Brielle, like the rest of us weren’t here.

The witch was bold, ignoring a room full of edgy alphas.

Brielle nodded hesitantly.

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