Page 102 of The Cursed Wolf King

Grayson’s expression darkened as he took in what he’d summoned. “That wasn’t the shift I commanded,” he said,his voice low and threatening, but there was an edge of uncertainty.

Eve’s wolf was still burning within her, her defiance stronger than ever. “You don’t own me,” she said with an authority that made even Grayson pause.

His hesitation didn’t last long. “It’s you against every other wolf here, your dying alpha excluded. Your future is already decided. The only question is whether you will go easily or if we’ll have to make it hard on you.”

“Leave her be,” I alpha-commanded, knowing its effect on Grayson while on Heraclid land would be minimal, but I wasn’t going to let this happen.

Even if death was simmering in my gut, a wrenching agony that was stepping ever closer to me.

Grayson’s head snapped to me. “Your bravado is amusing, Logan. But you’re no alpha here. You think you can protect her?” he sneered. “You’re a dying man playing at strength, and everyone can see it. Your bond with her is killing you, and you’re too blind to see it. You’ve already lost.”

I looked around at the wolves surrounding us. Hundreds of Heraclids were now gathered. The packs Grayson had invited to do Goddess-knows-what with Eve hovered nearby. Rhys was out of reach. Eve was close enough to touch but tremors in my core held me in place.

I was a lone alpha. I couldn’t protect anyone, not even myself.

I had lost.

Let me in.

I lifted my head to Eve. I could hear her speaking through the bond for the first time since she’dappeared here. It sounded like we were underwater, my ears clouded over even though she was right in front of me.

Let me in, I thought I heard. The message made no sense.Let me in.

I never shut you out, I replied, and I swear to the Shadow Moon Goddess, Eve’s eyes widened with such relief I thought she’d rush at me then and there.

Grayson is wrong.She spoke to me with such conviction.You have lost nothing, Logan.

A shifter chucked. I didn’t know why—perhaps because the idea that any of them could laugh at the despair we were facing was enough to fire up the rage within me—but I wouldn’t let it pass.

Grayson is wrong.

I didn’t know if it was her or me who thought it, the fog still not clearing from my mind, but there were a few things I was sure of. I was the alpha of Orion, I had found my fated mate, I would do everything to save my pack from extinction, and I would not back down.

“You have been a plague for long enough,” I said to Grayson with enough force to silence the murmurs of the gathered wolves.

I straightened despite the weight in my limbs. Each movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my body, but I embraced it, used it to fuel the storm building within me.

“I challenge you, Alpha Grayson of the depraved Heraclid pack,” I shouted, my voice ringing out in the clearing.

The sound of Eve’s gasp hit me hard, but she would understand that I had no other choice. I had been forced into a corner, and I was going to fight my way out.

Or die.The thought didn’t scare me,because I knew it in my bones—between the curse and the exhaustion that had taken hold of me since Eve and I had begun our bond, I was as good as dead.

I am the Orion alpha. I will fight for my mate and for my pack with dignity and pride to my last breath.

“I challenge you to a fight to the death.”

45

EVE

What the fuck is he doing?

The words screamed through my mind like a siren, drowning out the murmurs of the pack around me, the low growls of wolves shifting uneasily in the gathering crowd. My legs trembled, and no number of deep breaths could stop it. I willed my body to hold steady, my shoulders to stay square, my chin to remain high. When Grayson had forced me to shift into my wolf, I had found the strength within myself to shift back. With all my fated mate was facing now, I needed to keep that strength alive in me, and find a way to save him.

Logan stood there, impossibly tall despite the invisible weight dragging him down. Challenging Grayson. Like he wasn’t already hanging on by a thread.

Grayson barked out a laugh. “You challengeme?” he repeated, his tone disbelieving. “In your state? You can barely stand, Logan. What makes you think you can take me?”

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