Page 19 of Cursed Love

“What do we want?” Hunter repeats. He takes a second as if he’s truly thinking, his tongue darting out to lick his lips before he speaks again. “Let’s start with this, Paula—you’re a fucking idiot. You tried to steal from us. The best in the goddamn business. But worse than that, you decided to play with the Valla. Men so close to their beasts, they might as wellbethem. And you thought that was a good idea?”

Paula’s lip quivers, but she tries to mask her fear with defiance, her voice trembling as she spits out, “So what? You’re going to beat me up? Is that it?”

I shake my head slowly, standing up and closing the distance between the both of us. Her wide eyes track my movements, her body tensing as I come to stand beside her. I lean down, resting my hand over hers where it’s tied to the chair.

“Paula,” I murmur, my growl rumbling just beneath the surface. “Valla might be vicious, but we do have finesse.”

Before she can respond, I snap her finger, the sickening crack echoing through the room. Her scream pierces the air but I slap my hand over her mouth before it can go too far.

“If our Omega hears you,” I growl, my eyes narrowing, “this is going to get a hell of a lot worse for you. Trust me, Paula, you don’t want that.”

She’s shaking, tears streaming down her face as she whimpers against my palm. I pull my hand away slowly, watching her carefully as she struggles to catch her breath, her sobs muffled and desperate.

I crouch down beside her, resting my elbows on my knees as I meet her tear-filled gaze. “Now,” I say softly, my tone calm but deadly, “you’re going to tell us who hired you to steal the information from our system. Because someone did, Paula. We both know you didn’t do this on your own.”

Her head shakes wildly, the tears falling faster as she stammers, “No—no one—I didn’t—”

Hunter snorts, pushing off the table and stepping closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over both of us. “Come on, Paula,” he says, his voice dripping with mock pity. “You’re too loyal to have just made a bad decision. Someone put you up to this. Someone paid you, threatened you, or both.”

Paula’s sobs grow louder, her head dropping as she mumbles incoherently, her shoulders shaking. I grab her chin, tilting herface back up to mine. “Start talking, Paula. Or we’ll keep this going until you do.”

Paula is a complete mess. Her tears are streaking her face, mixing with the snot dripping from her nose, and she’s shaking so hard it’s a wonder she hasn’t passed out yet. All five fingers on her right hand are bent at unnatural angles, swollen and purple. She’s biting back sobs, trying to keep herself together, but the way she flinches every time I move tells me she knows I’m about to start on the other hand.

And I would’ve.

But she finally breaks.

“Wait!” she screeches, her voice cracking as she yanks against the ropes holding her to the chair. “Wait, I’ll tell you, okay? Just stop. Please, stop.”

Hunter lets out a low chuckle from where he’s leaning against one of the beams, his arms crossed over his chest as he watches the scene unfold. I let my hand hover over hers for a moment longer, letting the tension build, before leaning back just slightly. “Start talking, Paula, and make it good.”

She’s gasping for air, her chest heaving as she nods frantically. “It was... it was Teplone Industries,” she stammers, her words tumbling out in a rush. “Another security company. They reached out to me months ago, said they’d pay me a lot of money if I could siphon certain information from Nexora.”

Hunter raises an eyebrow, his lips twitching in amusement. “Certain information?” he drawls, his tone dripping with mock curiosity. “Care to elaborate, Paula?”

“Client lists,” she blurts out, her voice trembling. “Payments. Just little stuff at first. Nothing big. Nothing... nothing harmful.”

I narrow my eyes at her, leaning forward again, and her voice falters. “And then?”

“And then they wanted more,” she whispers, her head hanging low. “They wanted actual data. And I... I tried to say no, but they... they offered me more money, and I—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head violently. “I got caught, okay? That’s when you guys found out. That’s when it all went to hell.”

My jaw tightens as the pieces start to fall into place, the full scope of what she’s done settling over me. This wasn’t a one-time mistake. This wasn’t a lapse in judgment. She’d been feeding them information formonths.

“You’ve been giving away data for a while now, haven’t you?”

Her silence is all the confirmation I need. I stand, circling her chair until I’m behind her. I rest a hand on her shoulder, leaning down until my lips are close to her ear. “I used to like you, Paula,” I murmur, my voice soft but deadly, my beast lingering at the edge of my words. “I thought you were loyal. I thought you could be trusted. But you never really were, were you?”

Her shoulders shake under my hand, a fresh wave of sobs wracking her body. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, her voice barely audible. “I’m so sorry. Please, just... what are you going to do now?”

Hunter pushes off the table, strolling toward us with a slow, measured pace. He crouches down in front of her, his blue eyes sharp as they lock onto hers. “What are we going to do?” he repeats, his tone mocking. “Well, Paula, first, let me tell you what you’renotgoing to do.”

She swallows hard, her wide eyes darting between us.

“You’re not going to go to the police,” Hunter continues. “You’re not going to say a goddamn word about what happened here. Because even if you try, even if you think you’ve gotten away, we’ll always be one step behind you. Always.”

I smirk, leaning closer to her other ear. “You’ll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, terrified, hoping it isn’t us coming for you.”

She’s shaking so badly now that the chair rattles against the floor. “Please,” she begs, her voice breaking. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just... don’t hurt me anymore.”

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