Page 37 of The Cursed Wolf King

They’d disappeared after the Southern Council meeting. I had sent them there to represent the Northern packs, and more specifically, the leadership of Orion. It had been a hostile environment, but I’d had every confidence in their ability to manage the situation. I couldn’t have known there were dark forces that would take them away from me. And I should have.

I’d been left to carry the weight of their disappearance alone. I still didn’t know today what exactly had become of them. But they were alive. Had to be.

I refused to believe any other possibility.

I closed my hand over the ink, feeling the familiar ache gnawing at me, the old regret I tried to lock away. Wyatt and Nash had fought as Orions through and through, true hunters. And I’d failed them. I couldn’t fail the rest of Orion now.

I had to find the curse-sayer.

I had tokillthe curse-sayer.

I barely noticed Rhys moving closer, catching the movement of my hand as it lingered on the tattoo.

“Logan,” he said gently, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I’ll start by going into Heraclid lands. Reconnaissance.”

The room fell into silence.

“You don’t have to do this alone.” I knew Rhys was seeing right through me, straight to the shadowed place I kept hidden from everyone, even myself. He had always been like that, a step ahead in ways I never admitted aloud. But this was something I couldn’t ask of anyone else.

I forced myself to meet his eyes. “I have to. It’s my responsibility.”

“You have to trust we can help. We are here precisely for that.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t about trust,” I said, though it sounded hollow.

“Alpha, we’re not just here to stand around. This is our fight too,” Blair said. Killian nodded silently beside him, the two of them communicating through the bond as if they were of one mind.

Killian finally looked at me. “We’re with you. Curse or no curse, this is about Orion. We stand together.”

I couldn’t shake the image of Wyatt and Nash, couldn’t drown out the voices that said I’d failed them once and I would fail again if I let anyone else take this on.

I forced myself to look at them, the faces of those who’d been by my side through every storm and scar. “This curse—it’s tied to our blood, to the alpha line. If it’s real, it’s something I need to face myself.”

“It’s my blood, too.” Rhys’s hand tightened on my shoulder.

“It’s decided.” I avoided looking at Rhys. “If I know anything about that old woman, she’s already on Heraclid lands, intending to exploit knowledge of this curse. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way. I am confident she’s there.”

“This is reckless!” Rhys threw up his hands in a rare show of anger. “I cannot stay here while my brother goes into enemy lands alone. I will not stand for it.”

The alpha command emerged without my willing it: “This is not your decision to make.”

Every head bowed in instinctual response. It wasn’t a move I liked to use, but they had to understand.

This wasmyfight.

The silence stretched longer than was comfortable, but they each lifted their heads. Raina was the first to speak.

“If you’re going into Heraclid lands, you’ll need to mask your scent as they do. There’s a stream on the northern edge of Raven’s Pass. Only take your bike to that point. That’s where you’ll cross.” Her eyes met mine, understanding the history embedded in the place without words. It was the same route the Heraclids used to creep into our territory undetected years before. And now, it would serve me.

Blair gave a quick nod. “We’ll keep patrols doubled at our borders while you’re gone. Killian and I will cover all routes in and out of Orion land. They won’t dare to move against us as long as they scent our cover.”

Rhys folded his arms, his face a study of tension and barely contained frustration, but his loyalty won out. “I’ll rally the scouts. We’ll keep a close watch on the northern and southern borders, and I’ll have our fastest messengers ready.”

They spoke in turns, each offering up their support, their skills, their absolute dedication to the pack’s safety. Their faith in me was my shield.

This curse would end, one way or another. And whoever had spoken it over us would regret the day they dared cross Orion’s path.

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