Page 71 of The Cursed Wolf King

This kiss was a promise, a plea, abond.

Eve.

When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathless, our foreheads resting together. I didn’t care if she saw everything I felt.

She was mine.

“You sound so sure.” She bit her bottom lip, and it was all I could do not to claim her right then.

“I am.”

“I could almost believe you.”

“Believe me,” I growled. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

The most subtle of smiles pulled at her mouth. My mate had been so hurt, so disrespected, so used that it made me want to finish the Heraclids without a second thought for the consequences. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I knew every fiber of my being would commit to her, to making sure she finally lived the life she deserved.

Eve gasped.

She swung around, searching for an invisible enemy.

“What is it?” I asked, my wolf suddenly changing tack and seeking out whatever danger she had latched onto.

“She wouldn’tdare.” Eve looked intently, as if someone were about to emerge from the trees, but I sensed nothing. “On Orion lands? You can’t be serious.”

I searched around, scenting nothing, wondering what kind of black magic had taken hold of her.

The air shifted.

Eve growled, and if I hadn’t known better, I’d have said it was her wolf. “Come out, you manipulative fucking wench.”

As if made of the leaves herself, the old woman emerged from the surrounding forest, clapping her hands slowly, a mocking audience.

“I always did love a possessive alpha. I guess your little dove with her forbidden wolf hasn’t shared all her secretsyet, hmm? I suspect that kiss would be rather less enthusiastic if she had.”

The woman raised an eyebrow at Eve, who looked like she was about to breathe fire. As for the old woman, I was on the verge of killing her on the spot. And wouldn’t have regretted it for a second.

But something in me said I had to hear her out.

The woman cocked her head, with a wicked glint in her eye. “Shall we play Show and Tell?”

32

EVE

Iwasn’t sure if I was about to shift, collapse, or throttle the old woman right here on the Moonstone Plateau. A biting wind rose, making my loose hair fly around me, and I was momentarily blinded.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin, a faint hum that spread through my limbs. It wasn’t strong—more like a distant drumbeat—but it was enough to make my head spin. The kiss, Logan’s promises, and this witch of a woman, standing here threatening everything I didn’t even realize I wanted until now—it was too much.

“Seeing as the alpha is alreadyshowingrather a lot,” she said, gesturing to Logan’s nakedness, “how about I start with a tell?”

I forced myself to breathe, to focus. “You are such a fucking bottom-feeder, Mariyah,” I snapped. “You always have a motive, so why don’t you spit it out already?”

“Feisty today! His alpha energy has emboldened you, hmm?” She turned to Logan. “I can tell she hasn’t toldyou,” she said, with mock pity dripping from her lips. “Dear Alpha, you don’t understand how curses work, do you?”

Logan stiffened beside me, his jaw tight. “Enlighten me,” he growled.

She spread her hands as if addressing an audience. “It’s simple, really. There are those who speak a curse, and then…” She tilted her head toward me. “There can be one whoisthe curse herself.”

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