Page 91 of The Cursed Wolf King

The thought tasted bitter. I curled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as though I could shield myself from the thought.

I stared blankly at the wall, my mind spinning as fragments of my life flickered before me like the disjointed pieces of a broken mirror. Every shard reflected something I’d tried to ignore, something I’d tried to bury.

The Crux pack.

My mother’s haunted eyes as she left me with the Heraclids. She’d known what I was. She’d seen it in me before I’d even understood myself. Her decision had been one of sacrifice—abandoning her own daughter to protect me from something greater. But from what?

The Heraclids.

Years of manipulation, whispers of power wrapped in chains of control. The way Damian twisted me into something I barely recognized, and how even in his death, theechoes of his cruelty lingered. I’d been nothing but a doll to them. A weapon.

Logan.

I needed him. He needed me. But what if being together was going to end us? The marks on my arm were unrecognizable, neither Heraclid nor Orion, a reminder of what we’d begun but left unfinished. Of what I was doing to him. That perhaps his fight wasn’t just against the Heraclids or the alphas. It was against me.

I buried my face in my knees, the enormity of it crushing. Even the bond, the one thing that should have been pure, was poisoned. What kind of fated mate brought destruction instead of strength?

And yet, I wanted it.Desperately.

The thought made my stomach churn with shame. I wanted the bond with Logan, wanted his fire and steadiness, his love, even though I didn’t know if I deserved it. I wanted to believe that something in my life could be untouched by the curse.

That there could be something—someone—who wasn’t destroyed by me.

I wasn’t naive enough to think it was possible.

Could I save Logan fromme? How could I stop this bond from pulling him under when it had already begun to take hold? Did I even have the strength to sever it? Would he let me if I tried?

The questions were endless, a storm swirling in my mind with no end in sight. And I felt utterly powerless. Trapped. Alone.

The wolf inside me stilled, her energy trying to comfort me. Even her presence felt like a cruel reminder. She hadbeen freed, yes. But what did it matter if the chains around me remained?

A knock on the door came softly, jolting me out of deep thought. Before I could answer, Elder Raina stepped inside, scanning me with piercing eyes that seemed to see straight through my soul.

“Good morning,” she said. Her brow furrowed as she took in my disheveled state. She carried a tray with tea and a small plate of bread. “You look like you’ve been wrestling with a ghost.”

I tried to smile. It probably looked more like a grimace. “Something like that.”

She set the tray on the table and moved closer, her presence oddly comforting. “Get yourself out of bed and come sit with me,” she said. I obeyed without a word, too drained to argue.

Raina poured tea into a delicate ceramic cup, the earthy aroma of herbs wafting through the air. She handed it to me, her fingers brushing mine briefly. “Drink. It will help.”

I took a small sip, the spices alive on my tongue and warmth spreading through my chest. I sat there, staring into the dark liquid, trying to gather my thoughts enough so that I could be social.

“I feel many things written on your heart,” Raina said, breaking the silence.

“Do you?” In spite of myself, a huff of a sarcastic laugh snuck out of me. “Sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind, understanding, and frankly treated me better than most, but…” How could I begin to explain that anything she did felt like it was based on a fantasy of Logan and me as mates—one that was bound to implode?

“You know better than to trust kindness?” she finished for me.

I nodded. “It doesn’t seem wise on your part to invest so much in me.”

That made her smile. “Ironic, don’t you think? You telling me what you think is wise?” She leaned forward. “Every one of these wrinkles is a gift from decades of wisdom, more than you might allow yourself to imagine. And for my part, dear Eve, I find your education lacking.”

I bristled, despite knowing she was perhaps… likely… no, definitely, right.

She watched me, curious, her hands folding neatly in her lap. “Eve, the others are scared because they don’t understand. They’ve heard the stories, seen the destruction. I’ve lived long enough to know the Shadow Moon Goddess does not give power lightly. Oracle wolves have always had a purpose, even if it has been twisted by time and fear.”

“Purpose?” I echoed. “All I’ve ever done is bring pain. How could that be a purpose?”

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