Page 4 of Cursed Love

I look away, staring at the pillow I’m clutching. “This is it, Amelia. My last night of freedom. Tomorrow, Damien will have me signed, sealed, and delivered to whoever he’s decided is worthy of the family name. I don’t even get a say in it.” I would have gotten a say in it if I just chose someone but the few people I’ve been interested in didn’t want an Omega who couldn’t have kids. I’ve learned to deal with it.

Her face twists with sympathy, but it’s not enough to dull the ache in my chest. “Koa, I’m so sorry. That’s not fair.”

I laugh bitterly. “Fair? You know that word doesn’t exist for Omegas like me.”

Amelia leans back, her head resting against a cushion that looks softer than anything I’ll ever own. “It’s notallbad, though,” she says carefully. “Maybe you’ll get lucky. Maybe you’ll find a Valla to take care of you.”

I freeze, frowning at the screen. “Why the hell would you wish that on me?”

She giggles, and it’s so light, so carefree, it almost pisses me off. “Because all those stories? The ones about Valla being nightmares? Total bullshit.”

My frown deepens. “What do you mean ‘bullshit’? Everyone knows what they’re like. They’re brutal. Dangerous.”

“Dangerous toeveryone else,maybe,” she says, grinning now. “Not to their mates. One of my Alphas is… well, he’s a Valla, Koa. Not an Alpha”

I blink, the words not registering for a moment. “Wait... what?”

She nods, her smile softening. “Yeah, Ezra. He’s fierce, sure, but he’s also the most loving, doting mate I could’ve asked for. He worships the ground I walk on, Koa. They’re not monsters—not to us. Valla protect what’s theirs. And when it comes to their Omegas? It’s literally against their biology to do anything but cherish and adore them.”

I stare at her, my mind spinning. “So, all the stories about them—about how they abuse their Omegas—”

“Exaggerations,” she cuts in. “Sure, they’re beasts, but that’s only if someone threatens what they love. And honestly? You’ll never be loved better. They’re... intense, but it’s the kind of intense that makes you feel safe. Seen.”

I’ve never heard that version before. Never. The Valla I’ve been taught to fear are nothing like the one she’s describing. For a moment, I let myself imagine it—a love so fierce it burns away every shadow, every scar. But then I shake my head, shoving the thought away.

“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter. “No one will want me anyway. Not when they find out I can’t have babies. It’s the same every year.”

Amelia’s smile falters, but only for a moment. “Koa,” she says softly, “you don’t know that. And even if it’s true, it doesn’t make you any less worthy of love.” I scoff, but she presses on. “Listen to me,” she says firmly. “I know your situation isn’t great, but you’ve always had this... strange kind of luck. Like no matter how bad things get, something always comes through for you.You just have to believe in it. Trust that everything will work out.”

“Maybe,” I whisper, though the doubt lingers.

She smiles, bright and full of hope, as if her belief alone could carry me through tomorrow. “It will, Koa. You’ll see.”

We talk for a little while longer as I push her to show me more of the paradise she’s been stolen away to. She happily bounces between rooms, showing off the lavish curtains and marble floors and dance halls that just don’t make sense. And then the squeals come as one of her mates sweeps her up in his arms, Amelia telling me through giggles that this man is Ezra.

I’m not sure how I never figured it out. He’s so much larger than Amelia’s other mate but we rarely talked about her mates, just that shewasmated. Even so, nothing about Ezra screams ‘monster’ or ‘nightmare’ and the way he’s holding her against him is so gentle. However, the kiss he gives her in the next second is the very definition of intense and I quickly end the call as a tendril of heat bleeds through me.

In no world does a love like that wait for me and I’ve made my peace with it. Mostly. I sit up and stretch, frowning when that little bit of heat starts to bloom in the pit of my belly. My heart starts pounding a little faster, my instincts on overdrive as a slow whine peels from my lips. It’s a feeling I’ve staved off for years. What was it about luck because that was bullshit.

“No, no, no,” I whisper, panic clawing at my throat.

I start tearing through my nest, pillows and blankets flying as I search for my heat blockers. They were here. I know they were here. I keep a stash hidden in the corner, wrapped up in an old scarf because Damien would kill me if he found out. But it’s empty. The scarf is there, crumpled and useless, but the blockers are gone.

A cold dread seeps into my chest, cutting through the growing heat. I stumble out of my closet, tears gathering in my eyes,hoping that I just misplaced it somewhere else in the room. Unfortunately, that’s when I realize Carla is standing in my doorway, arms crossed over her chest, her expression a mix of pity and disappointment. Like she’s the long-suffering martyr and I’m the rebellious child who just can’t get her act together.

“What did you do?” My voice is hoarse, shaky. Being on too many blockers for so long, I didn’t even notice her scent in my nest. I should have.

She sighs, exhaustion marring her features. “Stop acting like a child, Koa.”

“Where are they?” I demand, my voice rising. “Where are my meds?”

Her lips press into a thin line. “They’re gone.”

I stare at her, the heat bubbling under my skin making it hard to focus. I forgot how annoying an Omega’s heat is, how impossible it is to do anything other than prop my ass up and beg for a knot. “What do you mean,gone?”

“You shouldn’t have been taking them in the first place,” she snaps. “It’s not natural. Suppressing your Omega urges—what were you thinking?”

My chest heaves and I dig my nails into my palms to keep from screaming. “I’m thinking that I’m going to go into heat, Carla! Without those meds, I can’t—”

---