Page 30 of The Cursed Wolf King

Hesitating, I finally let out a breath, nodding.She reached out and touched my arm, her fingers light as a feather.

The effect was immediate.

Warmth spread from her touch, flowing through me like a hot spring, soothing and powerful. I gasped, feeling a strange energy awaken inside me, alive and sparking. It was as though my wolf had stirred from a long sleep, stretching against the constraints that had held her down for so long. The wounds on my back began to close, the skin mending with a speed I’d only ever dreamed of. I could feel it—bone and sinew knitting together, the searing pain transforming.

I was barely able to speak. “How did you do that?”

A trace of pride lit her features. “Because, Eve, we are from the same pack.”

15

EVE

“Heraclid?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Dahlia shook her head, a quiet dignity replacing the tenderness in her expression. “No. Nothing like them.” She raised her chin. “We come from a pack down in the Southern Council, a pack that was sought and used for our abilities, often chained in literal and spiritual ways. Even so, we never falter when finding one another because our bond transcends all else.” She smiled through the tears that glistened in her eyes. “Eve… we are from the Crux pack. We’re a pack of female wolves with oracle powers, but our members have been scattered and hidden now, across the various Shadow Moon packs.”

The words sank in, filling a hollow inside me I hadn’t realized existed. “But… how do you know all this?”

She sighed, a bittersweet smile gracing her lips. “Because I was one of the lucky ones,” she murmured. “I was born on what used to be our pack lands, raised with our history. Most of us don’t have that luxury. And the lost onesdon’t even know where they came from.” She paused, her gaze turning wistful. “There’s something in our scent… something that always binds us together, no matter where we go. If you know to look for it.”

She took a long, deep breath, inhaling as if to take all of me in, eyes closed as she savored the connection. When she opened her eyes, they shimmered with emotion.

“I knew your mother, Eve. She was our alpha.”

Questions flooded my mind all at once, jumbled and urgent. The warmth from her touch still lingered on my skin, grounding me in a way I hadn’t felt since—well, since my mother. I hadn’t let myself think about her in so long, hadn’t dared to remember her for what she really was. Kind, calm, fierce in her own way. She’d taught me how to hide, how to listen without anyone noticing, how to survive.

A wolf must always know her worth, Eve, she’d said.We may be scattered, but we are never alone.

Never alone. She’d said that so many times, but I’d always felt like I was. It was the only feeling that had made sense.

I shook myself from the thought, feeling the burn of unanswered questions rising like a tide inside me. “Wait,” I managed, shaking as I reached out to the woman before me. “How do you know my mother?”

“Your scent, Evensong, is so much like hers, and my nose never lies.”

She knows my birth name!

No one had called me Evensong since my mother left me at the Heraclid border.

As soon as the words left her mouth, her face changed. Her nostrils flared, and her gaze snapped over hershoulder, her entire body going taut with a fear so intense it chilled the air around us. Her wide, panicked eyes met mine, and whatever connection we’d forged vanished in an instant.

“I can’t stay,” she whispered quickly.

“Wait, please, don’t leave me,” I begged, the words spilling out before I could stop them. I reached out instinctively, desperate to grab hold of whatever small link we’d managed to form. “I need to know?—”

“No!” she hissed, her voice suddenly fierce. “I can’t stay. If they find me here…” She shook her head, panic flaring in her expression.

My heart clenched as I saw her fear, as real as my own heartbeat. “Who’s after you?”

“The Musca pack. I’m up for auction next week, and I know who the bidders are. I’ll be damned if I let any of them lay a finger on me.”

“Please,” I whispered, desperation leaking through every syllable. “I don’t know where to start. I need answers. I can’t go back to them.”

Her expression softened, but she was resolute. “I’m sorry, Eve,” she said, with enough anguish in her voice that I knew she meant it. “I hope our paths will cross again.”

Dahlia’s every muscle tensed, like a wolf ready to bolt. When she spoke, I could tell every word was the truth.

“We’re scattered, Evensong. Most of us live across the Shadow Moon packs, hidden and ignored, forgotten by those who don’t know what we are.” She glanced back over her shoulder, her expression hardening. “But the Musca pack—they know. They’ve always known. I’m… extra valuable to them because…” Her voice faltered, but her resolve was clear. “Because I’m a virgin. They think they can sell me to the highest bidder, refill their coffers with a Crux-born oracle as their prize.”

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