Page 11 of The Cursed Wolf King

Rhys’s eyes narrowed, a hint of suspicion flickering there. “Uh-huh.”

Without a word, he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and letting the silence settle between us, a silent nudge oftell me the truthreaching me through our bond.

I kept quiet, and his mouth quirked into a half-smile that said he’d wait as long as he needed.

“Really, I’m fine, Rhys,” I muttered, pushing a stack of reports aside with more force than intended. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

He squinted at me, unconvinced but unwilling to push harder. “Right. I’ll let it go, but you’re not fooling me.” He tapped his fingers on the desk and I knew I wasn’t going to be rid of him soon.

I cleared my throat, pushing back the restless energy that had settled under my skin. “With the news about the pipeline,” I said, standing and stretching out the tension in my shoulders, “I could do with another run before I go into the city. I barely covered a few miles of the border last night.”

Rhys’s eyebrows shot up, surprise flashing across his face. “A few miles? You were gone for hours.”

I shrugged, doing my best to keep my expression neutral. “All the more reason to continue today. I’ll focus on the borders near Heraclid territory.”

Rhys stuttered. “Wait, wait, wait. So you’re saying youwon’t let me help and yet you spend hours on one small patch of border territory? There are hundreds?—”

I didn’t give him a chance to finish. Before he could start digging into my reasons, I was already out the door.

“Later, bro.”

I shed my clothes, feeling the bite of the evening air as I let my wolf rise to the surface. My bones shifted, my muscles stretching into their true form, and within seconds, I was rooted to the ground in the way only paws could do.

The earth was steady beneath me, grounding, like an anchor back to my instincts. I took off, my wolf hungry for movement, charging over the uneven, rocky terrain that surrounded the village.

The land here was all rough edges and jagged stone, a natural barrier that protected us as fiercely as any wall could. I bounded up and over craggy outcrops and broken paths, my claws scraping the rough earth, leaving new marks over old ones. These stones had seen countless challenges, the gouges from past scuffles still carved into the boulders, a reminder of every battle we’d fought.

Today, they stood silent, watchful. Waiting.

I passed by the Old Town, each vacant building whispering of how far we’d fallen. Walls crumbled, a few windows broken, the scent of rust lacing the air.

When I was a kid, elders told stories of how these streets bustled with packmates, of how our strength could be felt even in the smallest corners of our lands and beyond. Now, the place looked like a graveyard, vines and moss starting to creep in, overtaking cobblestone paths and asphalt.

The silence here was heavy, and I thought of what itwould mean to see these streets alive again. But I didn’t hang around. I was here for something else.

For someone else.

There was no reason to believe I would see her again, but even a chance at picking up that scent would be enough—I hoped—to calm my agitated wolf.

I moved into the dense forest surrounding our lands, my wolf’s ears pricking at the sudden shift in the air. The trees closed around me, towering, ancient pines and firs that held the forest’s secrets. Every step further in felt like shedding layers, getting closer to the raw heart of Orion. The ground softened beneath me, moss and earth muffling each step, the scent of pine and damp bark filling my lungs. The canopy above was so thick that even the sun struggled to break through, leaving a soft, greenish glow.

This forest wasn’t merely land—it was memory. Trails twisted and curved, winding through roots and branches. The paths demanded focus, the underbrush thick and tangled, reminding anyone who came through that nothing was given freely.

I let my wolf push harder, weaving through the narrow trails leading toward the border, the place I’d been the day before. It took hours, leaving my scent along the trail, following along the edges of our land. Darkness took over, a cool settling in after the sun set. As I continued, forcing myself to go slowly, to embed my scent along the entire border, the pull grew stronger. Insistent. My wolf knew, even if I wouldn’t say it out loud, that there was something waiting beyond the edge of where I’d stopped yesterday.

And today, I wasn’t turning back.

I froze, my wolf’s senses catching something different inthe air, a scent that pulled me away from my path. I turned, heading along the edge of our border with the Heraclids, moving faster as the pull grew more magnetic. I broke through the edge of the forest and stopped.

I know this place.

The edge of Orion pack lands came up like an invisible wall, as I stared at a space that should have been ours and wasn’t anymore.

Even though I’d never fought for it myself, I felt its absence like a phantom limb, a wound that never healed in the heart of Orion. This land had beenours, generations ago, until we’d lost it in an ambush so brutal it left a smudge on our honor, a crack in the unbroken power we’d once commanded.

My father had always spoken of it with regret, a loss he’d sworn we’d never repeat.

Alaric, my former beta, had a different view of that story. To him, the loss had been a shame we couldnotlive with. A stain that demanded we reclaim what was ours.

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