Page 100 of The Cursed Wolf King

The anger was almost enough to drown out the weakness in my body, the fog in my head. Almost.

I brought him here. I brought this on us. Eve has come back to the very place she escaped because of me. And now I am helpless, utterly helpless, in this state.

Heraclid wolves began to join us in the clearing, gathering small groups, curious and concerned, huddling along the perimeter.

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails biting into my palms as I forced myself to remain steady. The bond between Eve and me hummed faintly and I couldn’t let her see me falter—not now, not when everything was coming to a head.

I was on the verge of failure. The edge of the cliff was in front of me, awaiting my fall. I couldn’t believe it was because of Eve. Grayson’s talk of all our alphas being cursed hit too close to home.

I didn’t see a way out.

My knees buckled.

“Logan!”

Eve arrived at my side in human form, a cloak around her as she pulled my head into her lap.

The bond lit between us, her touch rushing through me like water to a parched man. “My Eve, my mate. I’ll be?—”

“Such a wonderfully emotional scene. It’s enough to make my stomach turn.” Grayson sighed and cocked his head. “Now is a good time for my friends to step forward. Allow your eyes to feast on the downfall before you. She is the one I think will interest you. Which is just as well, since our alpha friend’s hours are numbered.”

I raised my head to figure out what the fuck Grayson was talking about. First one, then more, figures emerged from the shadows, tentative. Shifters from the meeting I’d come here to uncover. Each carried an air of authority, but it wasn’t the kind that came from mutual respect—it was the kind born of fear, manipulation, and ambition.

These weren’t even packs with the greatest assets or numbers or power, which only made it more alarming. This sure as hell wasn’t a conclave. These were wolves who thrived in shadows, who fed on chaos and opportunity. And now, they were here.

I recognized them by their scent, and my blood simmered hotter. The Canisse pack, infamous for theirspeed and precision, known more as scavengers than leaders. They were cunning enough to hold sway in the darker corners of the Shadow Moon territories. One of their wolves—a wiry man with sharp eyes like a predator’s—hovered to the side of the clearing, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

Then there was Dorado, a pack that dipped so deep into human criminal elements they’d blurred the line between wolf and man. Indiscriminate violence was their weapon of choice. Their alpha, a broad-shouldered figure with a long scar from temple to chin, strode forward with the swagger of someone who’d sold more than his share of souls to survive.

And Musca. My stomach turned. Musca, a pack nearly extinct, wiped out decades ago after their failed rebellion against Shadow Moon leadership. Yet here they were, their alpha a gaunt, silver-haired woman with an expression so impassive it felt more dangerous than any snarl.

And I was in no state to protect Eve.

A Canisse wolf with a lean, wiry frame and a too-wide grin moved first. His steps were slow as he approached Eve with a vulture-like curiosity.

“What have we here?” he drawled. “An oracle wolf, untethered and misunderstood. Dangerous and powerful. And wasted.” His repugnant glare slid to me, his smirk deepening. “You’ve been hoarding something precious, haven’t you, Alpha?”

A growl rose in my throat, but my body refused to back me up. My legs felt like lead, my lungs constricted, and the fog in my head thickened. I couldn’t move, but I couldn’t look away either.

Eve.

She sat rigid as the Canisse wolf circled us, and I sensed her wolf’s hackles rising. He came too close, leaning in as if to inspect her, his movements exaggerated and condescending.

“Such a treasure,” he murmured, his tone dripping with mockery. “Too much for one pack to handle. It’s no wonder the rest of us weren’t invited to share.”

My wolf roared within me, our bond flaring painfully as Eve’s emotions bled into mine.

Eve leaned forward, her teeth bared in a warning growl that silenced the Canisse wolf. His smirk faltered, and that was all it took for her to assert herself.

“You will not touch me,” she snarled with a force that made even the surrounding wolves flinch.

I could have sworn it was an alpha command.

Could she be an alpha? Is that why Grayson has done everything in his power to reduce her, enslave her, damn near kill her?

The Canisse wolf took a measured step back, his hands raised in mock surrender, but his grin returned quickly. “Feisty,” he said, glancing at the wolves around us, as more Heraclids joined along the outskirts. We were attracting a crowd. “And bold. Imagine what we could do with her—if she were properly guided.”

Eve had only just discovered her wolf. If she was an alpha, it might take time for her to know how to harness that authority.

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