Page 41 of The Cursed Wolf King

“Deirdre!” he called, the sound echoing off the walls.

She hurried back in as if she’d been waiting to be called, her face pale. She moved to his side, refilling his glasswith trembling hands, spilling a few drops as she poured. Grayson’s hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist to still her.

“Careful, now,” he murmured. “These hands need more practice, more guidance. Like I told you before, Deirdre.”

Deirdre nodded. She slipped away as soon as he released her, retreating to the kitchen with quick steps.

Grayson lifted his glass once more, a smile curving at the edges of his mouth. “They say our kind’s needs are insatiable. Shifters, after all, are more than the sum of our instincts. Our hungers go far deeper. Insatiable, yes,” he murmured, swirling his glass thoughtfully. “I’ve come to believe that our desires—our urges—aren’t merely our own. They’re gifts. Primal gifts, bestowed upon us to remind us of what we truly are, beneath all of this…” He gestured vaguely around the grand dining room, at the finery, the polished silver, the gleaming chandeliers. “Civilization.”

I stared at my plate.

“There used to be this grandiose idea that afated matecould complete our soul, fulfill our every need, transform us into a higher being.” He chuckled. “Poetic, hmm? Too bad the Great Separation destroyed any remaining blind belief in that. If you ask me, it was outdated even before the wars began.”

I didn’t want to have a philosophical conversation with him. Didn’t want to be here. But I was in chains. I stared at the food in front of me, trying to imagine I was somewhere else.

“You haven’t finished your potatoes.” He cleared his throat and I pushed my face toward the plate, and I was again consuming it like a dog. “As it is, I’m debating ending theconcept ofmatealtogether in the Heraclid pack. We should go back to our roots, recognize the benefit of fulfilling our desires across the pack. But I’m undecided. I don’t know if this appetite I have is limited to myself as alpha, or if it’s truly part of the shifter condition. So many angles to the question I have yet to explore.”

I was going to gag on the potatoes. He let up on the command and I was able to raise my head. The sensation of food stuck to my cheek made me burn with shame. I felt even smaller in this grandiose dining room.

“A shifter’s appetites, you see,” he said, “can be for many things. Power. Obedience. And sometimes… for those around them to fulfill their purpose.” He burned with intent, the weight of his words settling heavier than the chains.

I gripped the edges of my chair, pulse quickening as his meaning began to crystallize, dread curling in the pit of my stomach.

Grayson smiled, leaning forward as if to share a secret. “Tell me, Eve… do you ever wonder what fulfilling your purpose truly tastes like? Or are you intent on dying without ever having done for me what I asked in all humility?”

I held my breath.

“No, no,” he waved his hand dismissively in front of him, “I won’t kill you. You know I can’t, given your special status with the Shadow Moon Goddess. Though it would certainly be easier if you were dead. I could try to be rid of you another way, but that would risk you falling into the hands of someone else who would manipulate your power. I can’t let that happen.”

A voice I had come to know too well spoke behind me. I couldn’t see her, but I didn’t need to—her rasping laughterand the acrid scent of decay told me exactly who had just arrived.

“You are wise not to trust her, Alpha Grayson.” I never thought I’d be relieved to hear the old woman, but I was.

“Mariyah.” Grayson let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Why aren’t you in prison?”

I stiffened, the chains digging into my wrists as I instinctively tried to turn toward her.

“See?” she said, smug and unfazed. “I told you I have powers you cannot understand. Perhaps you should reconsider and makemeyour oracle.”

Grayson’s growl rumbled deep—the kind that made the hairs on my arms stand up. “We already have our oracle right here,” he snapped, his tone a warning. “And you know damn well we cannot have two. The fates will obscure our future.”

Mariyah stepped into my line of sight, her piercing eyes locking on to mine with a predatory amusement that made my skin crawl. “And of course,” she drawled, “you can’t kill her yourself.” Her grin widened, full of teeth. “The wrath of the Shadow Moon Goddess would rain down on your precious pack for generations. She’s always beenveryprotective of her oracles. Even the naughty ones.”

Grayson’s fist slammed against the table, rattling the cutlery. “You’re testing my patience, old woman,” he growled, his wolf bleeding into his voice.

She chuckled, dry and unaffected. “I’ll get right to it then.” She looked back at me, assessing, before she turned to Grayson with an almost theatrical shrug. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

Graysonscowled. “Just say it.”

“The bad news,” she began, “is that your future is tied tothisone.” She gestured to me, her bony fingers cutting through the air like a verdict. “As long as she lives, you’re tethered to her fate.”

My breath caught, anxiety tightening around me like a vice.

“And the good news?” Grayson asked, his tone deadly calm.

“The alpha of Orion is headed this way.” Her grin turned almost feral. “And he’s coming to kill her.”

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