Page 96 of The Cursed Wolf King

Rhys turned to me, his expression dark. “Logan, they’re planning to make us the target. If we don’t get ahead of this?—”

“Wearegetting ahead of it,” I cut him off. “That meeting is the key, not these grunts.”

“Fine,” Rhys said. “But if this backfires…”

Everything in me was on edge, every sound amplified in my ears—the crackle of the fire, the shifting of boots on dirt, the distant howl of a wolf in pain.

“It won’t,” I said through gritted teeth. The weight of the situation pressed down on me, and doubt crept in. This hadn’t been the plan. We were surrounded, deep in enemy territory, and every step felt like we were walking a razor’s edge. My head throbbed, an ache flaring with each pulse of my heart, as if Eve’s absence had carved a hollow into my chest.

I pressed my fingers against my temples, trying to steady myself.Focus, Logan. Stay sharp.But the bond with Eve roared back to life like a flame starved of oxygen, burning hot and demanding. It was disorienting, like trying to keep my balance on shifting ground. I needed to hold it together, for Rhys, for Orion, for?—

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?”

The voice cut through the air like a blade, cold and laced with mockery. I froze, my wolf snarling as I turned to face it.

Alaric stepped out of the shadows, his expression carved from stone but his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction. “Logan.” He smirked with a smugness that made me want to kill him on the spot. “This is unexpected.”

Seven enforcers flanked him, stiff and serious, their faces grotesque in the flickering firelight. They screamed one thing loud and clear—our arrival had been entirelyexpected.

Rhys cursed under his breath, his fingerscurling into fists as he moved closer to me. “Shit,” he muttered. “They’ve got numbers.”

I squared my shoulders, forcing my wolf to the surface—not to attack, but to project control, authority. Alaric couldn’t see the weakness running through me, couldn’t know the ache for Eve was clawing its way into my resolve. My alpha flared, sharp and commanding, even as the bond with Eve twisted in my core, a desperate pull that left me raw.

“Alaric,” I said evenly. “If I’d known you were waiting, I’d have brought a gift.”

His lips curled into a thin, humorless smile. “No need. Your presence is gift enough.” His tone dripped with mock civility, but the challenge in his eyes was plain as day.

The enforcers adjusted themselves subtly, their movements predatory, closing the space between us by a fraction. My wolf growled. I held him back. A fight now would be a death sentence, and everyone here knew it.

“You’ve always had a knack for showing up where you don’t belong,” Alaric continued. “But this is bold. Even for you.”

Rhys stepped forward. “We’re just passing through,” he said, his tone deliberately casual. “Didn’t know Heraclid threw such a warm welcome for tourists.”

Alaric’s smirk widened. “Tourists, are you? Funny. Tourists usually don’t come armed, reeking of Orion arrogance.” He took another step closer, his enforcers following suit.

“You sold out your own pack for this?” Rhys gestured around, fury mounting in his tone. “You’ve got young and old being worked to the bone while anyone who speaksbadly of your precious alpha finds themselves on the wrong side of near-torture?”

“Sold out?” Alaric laughed, a bitter sound. “I didn’t sell out. I took what I deserved. Grayson gets that survival isn’t about loyalty or honor—it’s about power. And that’s something Orion has never understood.”

My wolf snarled. “You’re a coward,” I said evenly. “And when this is over, you’ll have nothing.”

“We’ll see about that, Alpha. For now, I’d worry less about me and more about surviving the next hour.”

The throbbing in my head spiked, the bond with Eve lashing through me with a force that nearly buckled my knees. My wolf howled inside me, but I shoved him down.

“Do what you have to do,” I growled. The alpha command rippled out of me. “Orget the fuck out of my way.”

For a moment, the only sound was breathing, the group of enforcers affected by the power of my words, as I knew they would be.

Alaric chuckled softly, a sound that nearly sent me mad with rage.

“Oh, Logan,” he said, his voice dripping with false sympathy. “You have no idea what you’ve walked into.”

43

EVE

This is freedom.

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