Page 17 of Cursed Love

Then she does something that I’m not ready for—she tilts her neck to the side, unconsciously baring it to me. It’s subtle, a small movement, but it sends a bolt of primal need straight through me. I fight the urge to bury my teeth in her skin, to claim her right here and now because that’s not what this is about. This is about her. About making her feel safe, cared for, and wanted.

And yet, we still have to talk about the one man I’d rather forget. I don’t want to push but the longer we go without saying something, the harder it’s going to be to let her go if it comes up that she was never ours to have in the beginning. “Koa,” I start, hating myself for having to ask. “Who is Damien to you?”

She stiffens in my arms, the trembling growing worse, and for a moment, I think she’s going to shut down completely. But then she exhales, her breath shaky as she leans further into me, like she needs the support to get the words out.

“He’s my brother,” she says finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “My older brother. He’s... he’s the Alpha that runs our family. Took over after my mom passed away.”

Her words are clipped, hesitant, like she’s afraid to say too much. My hands keep moving, the soap lathering over her arms in soothing motions. The pieces from last night start to make sense but I let her continue, hoping she’ll explain the rest on her own.

“I hated it there,” she admits, her voice cracking slightly. “I hated having to pretend. To act like I was the perfect Omega. Like I was okay. Especially after... after everything that happened.”

My hands still, the soap forgotten as her words sink in. A low growl rumbling starts up in the back of my throat before I can stop it. “After what happened?” I demand, a sharp, possessive edge to my tone.

She shakes her head quickly, her wet hair brushing against my chest. “No, no” she murmurs, her voice shaky. “I don’t want to talk about that. Please don’t make me.”

The broken desperate whine that follows forces me to pull back and let the question drop. She’s not ready and I’m not about to push her into something she’s not ready to face. Instead, I lean down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “It’s okay, sweet girl. You don’t have to tell me. Not until you’re ready.”

She relaxes slightly, her body sinking deeper into the water, but the tension in her shoulders doesn’t fully ease. Her voice is quieter now, almost like she’s ashamed. “I’m sorry for using you,” she says, her fingers playing with the bubbles on the surface of the water. “I didn’t know what else to do. The only other option was going home, and... and I would’ve ended up mated to someone I didn’t… who wouldn’t…” She trails off, not finishing her sentence.

I let out a soft exhale, my hands resuming their slow motions over her arms. “Sweet girl, I would’ve let you come home with us a thousand more times if it meant you were safe. You don’t have to apologize for that.”

She’s quiet for a long time, Koa relaxing further against my chest as time passes but when she speaks, her voice cuts through the quiet like a blade. “If I were to stay, I wouldn’t be a kept Omega. I wouldn’t stay at home and cook and clean,” she says, her tone growing stronger, more certain. “I want to learn. I want to explore. I want to figure things out for myself.”

The confidence in her voice catches me off guard but in the best way. It takes a strong Omega to ask for things like that in this society, to stand up and demand more in a world that expects them to be nothing but soft and submissive. She’s stronger than she realizes. I press a kiss to her temple, my purr humming against her skin, but I don’t interrupt.

“Even if you don’t… love or cherish me,” she continues, her voice faltering slightly, “so long as I have my freedom, I’ll be fine.”

Her words have me frowning. “Why don’t you think you deserve to be loved?” How she could ever think that tells me that there are people in her life that have poisoned her self-confidence.

She stiffens slightly in my arms, but she doesn’t pull away. I noticed it last night too, in the way she spoke, the way she carried herself—like she thought she was lesser. Like she believed she didn’t deserve the things everyone else takes for granted.

I hold her tighter against me, my hand moving to cup her cheek as I tilt her face up toward mine. Her eyes meet mine, wide and hesitant, and for a moment, I just look at her, letting the silence stretch between us. Then, slowly, I lean in and press a soft kiss to her lips. She melts against me, her body softening as she responds. It’s a gentle embrace but it lingers just long enough to make her shiver before I pull back, resting my forehead against hers.

“Sweet girl, I can guarantee that anyone who told you your worth is determined by what you can give them is wrong. You are wortheverything,Koa. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.” Her breath catches, her eyes searching mine, and I press another kiss to her lips before continuing. “You won’t be stuck here. That’s not what we want of an Omega, either. But it’s not a mutually exclusive situation, sweet girl. You can have freedom and love if you choose it.”

Her lips part, like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t. Instead, she just curls up in my arms, her lids falling shut and that’s the strongest evidence of trust from an Omega I’ll ever get. Koa might not yet believe what we can offer her but I’m going to prove it to her every damn day.

Moses

Hunter’s glued to his laptop, his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, his fingers flying over the keyboard in that chaotic, brilliant way only he can manage. He’s in work mode, fully locked in, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he’d already forgotten about last night. But I do know better.

There’s something different about him. Softer. His shoulders aren’t as rigid, a subtle calm in the way he moves, the way his lips twitch like he’s fighting off a grin he doesn’t even realize is there. It wasn’t there yesterday, that softness. It’s new.

I lean back in my chair, my eyes narrowing as I study him. He doesn’t even glance up, too focused on whatever numbers or programs he’s running, but I can see it in his posture, in the way his beast is quieter today. And then it clicks.

“How did it feel?” I ask, my voice cutting through the quiet hum of the office.

Hunter pauses, his fingers hovering over the keyboard and his head tilts slightly, like he’s processing the question. “How didwhatfeel?” he asks, not looking up, but I can hear the edge of amusement in his voice.

I grin, leaning forward, resting my elbows on the desk. “Being inside her,” I say, blunt as always.

That gets his attention. He stops typing, his hands dropping to his lap as he turns to face me. And then he grins, slow and wicked, the kind of grin that makes me want to roll my eyes and laugh at the same time.

“She’s a goddess,” he purrs, his voice reverent of the woman that had been in his arms last night. “Being with her was different. It wasn’t just physical, you know? It felt like everything shifted, like the entire world tilted on its axis and all that mattered was her. Keeping her safe, making sure she was happy, protected.” He pauses, his grin softening into something more thoughtful. “It was grounding, I guess. Like she’s the anchor I didn’t know I needed.”

I raise an eyebrow, surprised at his honesty. Hunter isn’t one to get emotional, not like this, but I can see it in his eyes. He’s not just talking—he’sfeelingit.

He turns back to his laptop, but he doesn’t start typing again. Instead, he keeps talking, his voice quieter now. “My beast is still there. I still want to rip things apart, to destroy anyone who looks at her wrong. But it’s not the same. It’s not just rage for the sake of it anymore. I want to rip things apart, Moses, but only tomake sure the world is better for her. Safer. Like... she gave me a reason. A purpose.”

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