Page 29 of The Cursed Wolf King

But the fantasy shattered the instant I’d left the café. Logan had fulfilled his purpose in my life. He’d killed Damian. The Heraclids would come looking for me. Kenza’s loyalty belonged to the Heraclids, to Grayson, maybe even in a twisted way, to Damian. Anwen, sweet as she was, had enough trouble keeping herself alive—she could never leave the Heraclid lands even if she tried.

I was on my own.

I leaned my head against the cool brick wall, the hard surface digging into the bruises along my back. The wounds on my skin had gone numb, as if they’d absorbed all the pain they could handle. All I had was this night, this empty stretch of time where no one could tell me where to go, what to see, or who to become. My future was mine, every frightening inch of it.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks, hot and unrelenting. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let myself cry, truly cry. I hugged my knees, curling up against the chill, pressing my face against my arms. It wasn’t just grief. It was anger. Loss. The years of betrayal, of being used.

Damian was gone, but his ghost lingered, like a shadow trailing every thought and scar. I wanted to scream, to tear apart every bit of hurt he’d ever caused me and leave it behind, right here in this filthy alleyway. But it was all I’d ever known.

I rubbed the wetness from my face, staring up at the narrow slice of night sky visible above the rooftops. Stars glinted faintly, distant and cold. Somewhere, hidden in that darkness, lay the answers I’d been chasing for so long.

Shadow Moon Goddess, what is next?

I drew in a shuddering breath, pressing my back harder against the wall, wincing at the fresh pain.

And so this was freedom.

A faint “psst” pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see a young woman crouched at the edge of the alley, holding out a sandwich wrapped in brown paper. She extended it toward me, her eyes kind but wary.

She smiled, encouraging. “Go on, take it. You look like you need it.”

Reluctantly, I reached for the sandwich, clutching it tightly as if it might vanish any second. A part of me wondered if there might be poison in it. I didn’t know who to trust in this human city.

She studied me with an intensity that set me on edge. “You’re an oracle,” she stated. “From Crux, right?”

“Oracle, yes, assuming you know what that means. But Crux?” I asked. “Never heard of it.”

“Never, huh?” She pursed her lips and pointed at the sandwich. “You can eat that. I scented you hours ago but was waiting for you to seem less skittish. Your wolf was more restless than I’ve seen in anyone in a while.”

I nearly dropped the sandwich. “You can see mywolf?” My heart began to race. This young woman was turning everything upside down in a matter of moments.

“Not so much see as sense.” The young woman’s hand lifted, hovering as if she might touch me and stopping a few feet away. “You’re hurt.”

I pulled back instinctively, clutching the sandwich like a lifejacket. “I’m fine,” I muttered.

“Are you alone?”

Again, I avoided her gaze. What did it matter to her if Iwas alone? Damian was gone, and this kind of alone was the best I’d felt since… ever.

Except, not really.

“I’m fine. Traveling. On my own.”

She drew back slightly, as if seeing me anew. “Oh,” she breathed, “you’re one of thelost ones.”

My head snapped up. “What are you talking about?”

I didn’t want to care about what this random young woman had to say, and yet a part of me clung on to her every word.

She shook her head slowly. “I thought that was just lore… stories from the days after the Great Separation. But here you are. A lost one in the flesh and blood. Alive and—mostly—well. My name is Dahlia. What’s yours?”

“Eve.” It flew out of my mouth without my realizing. I should have said Andrea or Jane or anything else, but no. She now knew my name. At least, the name that everyone called me. But not the name my mother had given me at birth.

That made her eyes widen even more. “Eve. Eve. I can’t even…” She scooted closer to me. “I know you’re hurt. Will you let me touch you?”

“No!” I was suddenly ready to run. “No.”

Her hand dropped to her side, and she nodded. “I understand. I don’t know how to prove to you that I mean no harm, except you must feel something too. Something that exists between us that you haven’t felt before, right?” She held her hands out, palms up. “I think I can help you. I can be a healer to you.”

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