Page 96 of Cursed

After wiping her tears away, she smiles. “Yeah, but I didn’t return fast enough. I hear you snagged all the hot guys before I could even wake up,” she teases.

To hear her joke gives me hope. But she always had a lighter heart than I did.

“Oh, you wouldn’t like them anyway,” I wave her off. “Obnoxiously hot. And smart. And brave. You know, the type that melts brains and panties.”

“Yeah, ugh. Who needs all that? Sounds dreadful.” Myra rolls her eyes and smiles sadly. “However, I wish I had been there for you. But you deserve to find mates like that.” She clears her throat and frowns. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t the best sort of friend. I was always trying to outshine you. Get all the attention. You were just so… amazing. When we went to parties, I thought if I could grab all the hot guys before you did, then I might be as special as you were.”

“What?” My mouth drops open. I knew she loved attention, but I never realized it had been a competition for her. “You were the amazing one—so easygoing in crowds. Fun. I was the damaged one, in the corner and dancing by myself.”

“Yeah. That’s what I mean!” I give her a ‘you’re crazy’look, and she continues, “You don’t care what people think of you. You aren’t driven by your ego. You’re resilient. You’re strong. And now, from what I hear, you have all these strong guys who see what I see in you.”

“Thank you, but you’re amazing in your own way. You helped me through so much.” I hug her again.

“AndArden? He’s your secret crush!” She grins widely. “I can’t believe you finally snagged that cutie.”

I shake my head, letting that reality hit me again. “Life’s been weird. And he’s better than I ever dreamed possible. I honestly didn’t know that love like I have with all of them could be real.”

“I’m so happy for you.”

When I see her energy is already waning, I tuck her in to let her get some rest.

* * *

When I exit the tiny room, Rourke is waiting for me. He bites his lip, looking nervous as hell.

His anxiousness makes me edgy in response.

“Uh… What’s up?” I glance at the other guys, and they only hide sly smiles. Okay, so nothing life-threatening.

“I was… uh, hoping we could spend some time together tonight… alone.”

Another wave of nervousness hits me. I don’t know why the thought of mating with Rourke is exciting and panic-inducing. Maybe because he rejected me.

“I think you will like it,”Landis communicates through our mental link.

“Of course.” I give Rourke a big grin. When I see everyone here looking comfortable, I don’t think he will be taking me far. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He blushes, and a giddy feeling washes over me. He holds out a sweater for me to slip my arms in.

“Well now, I’m getting the gentleman’s package tonight.” Then I blush when I hear what I’ve said.

All the guys smirk at me.

“If you’re lucky, you’ll really get the gentleman’s package.”Landis winks.

I step toward the door, but Rourke softly catches my arm. “Uh, not yet. I’ll be going ahead in a bit. And Arden will bring you to me. Okay?”

“Sure.” I’m not nervous about the surprise like I would have been just weeks ago.

Branden pulls a guitar-looking instrument from the corner of the room and begins to play. Why didn’t I know he could play music?

Geeze, there’s so much I don’t know about my mates yet. I look forward to discovering every detail.

Quade starts slapping on a hand drum.

Landis and Arden sidle up to me and begin to dance.

I look to the room where Ms. Boyd and Myra are, worried we will wake them.

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