Page 141 of Red's Beast

I glance up at him. “You need to leave the village and let them move on with their lives. Your family’s reign is over. A new alpha should take over. Logan, you'd be great for the job.”

Logan sighs. “It should be you. You have always been stronger than me and they need you to lead. Lillian would want you to take over.”

“That’s what you don’t understand. If she’s gone, then life isn’t worth it. I’ve waited in the shadows all these years to be free from this curse and she is the one for me.” Tears stream down my face as I look down at her. “It’s all my fault. I caused this.”

Ma reaches out and touches my cheek. “You weren’t you. I think I heard her say the same. She doesn’t blame you, so please don’t torment yourself.”

Pa clears his throat. “You might want to ask her about how she feels.”

“What?” I glance down, but there is no sign of life on her face. The only thing that has changed is her skin has healed around the bite mark. “Wait, you don’t heal if you’ve passed.”

Pa shakes his head. “Nope, so she isn’t dead. Now, quit your sniffling and hold her.”

“But she was gone. I saw her take her last breath, and she hasn’t moved.” I gently move her a little and Ma backs away.

Pa shakes his head. “I know and I thought she was too, but just at the last minute, her skin healed. Even the deeper ones are mending themselves and that doesn’t happen when you’re gone. She’s just deep within herself, so it may take some time before she wakes.”

Logan pats me on the shoulder. “Quit being so hard on yourself. Everything will be better when she wakes up.”

“You’re not the one who clawed your mate up. Sadly, I didn’t even feel bad until after the bite. I don’t even know if she’ll ever forgive me for what I’ve done.”

Ma whacks me upside the back of my head. “We heard her tell you she didn’t blame you, but what’s done is done. Now, you just have to make up for it for the rest of your life.”

Pa chuckles. “Oh, here she goes. She still never lets me forget anything. The least thing I’ve done, and she never lets me hear the end of it.”

I hold back a laugh as I glance down at Lillian. They were right. I will make up for everything for the rest of my life and if she never lets me hear the end, I will be thankful because it means she is here with me.

She can be mad or upset, but at least she is alive and mine. Everything else will fall into place over time.

The first thing I am going to do is tell her I love her when she wakes and how happy I am that she chose me.

Lillian

Everything is dark, but it’s so warm. I feel like I’m floating on air. Something soft is against my back and I enjoy the feel.

I might just stay like this forever.

My eyes crack open and I’m in my room at the house. It’s bare like always, but my nose picks up another scent. I roll to look behind me and am surprised when I spy dark colored fur covering the other half of my bed.

“Lucian?”

His head jerks upright as he looks at me. He watches me for a moment, studying me closely before licking me up the side of my face.

“Stop it. You’re like an overgrown puppy.” As I pull away to look at him again, my heart sinks in my chest. “The curse wasn’t broken, was it? You’re still this enormous beast, though I admit some of your fur grew back. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

Lucian rolls his eyes and shifts, his bones snapping as he takes his human form. My eyes widen with amazement. “I’m very much able to shift again, thanks to you. The mating bite you tricked me into worked well and possibly saved your life.”

A smile spreads across my face. “It was the only thing I knew to do. I thought if you bit me, it might wake you up and you’d realize what I was to you. But I was fully prepared to die if that is what it took.”

My wolf huffs as she settles. The sight of him is driving her wild and she can’t wait to be set free to run with his wolf, even though he’s twice her size.

“Well, it worked and because you returned the bite, I have been set free. We broke the curse.”

Tears line my eyes. “What about Natalia?”

“So, there was a part of the curse I didn’t know about, but your grandmother did. When she placed the curse on me and tied theirs into mine, the requirements were to have a mate and kill them because of them being bonded. Or by blood from your family that breaks curses. When I bit you and consumed some of your blood, it fulfilled the requirements. Emmeline is alive, but Natalia is dead. The coven bond between them is broken because of your blood in my system. It fulfilled everything. So we are free.”

I throw my arm over him, and he pulls me closer. My breath hitches in my throat because of the pain in my side and he grimaces.

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