Page 76 of The Cursed Wolf King

Voices overlapped, the arguments growing louder.

“Stop,” I growled, the alpha force in my tone slicingthrough the chaos. The room stilled immediately. “Isabelle,” I said, turning to her. “What else do you know?”

She nodded quickly, gathering herself under the weight of the pack’s scrutiny. “Not much yet. The location hasn’t been publicly disclosed, but all signs point to somewhere in our region. The timing aligns with increased activity among Heraclid scouts?—”

“Of course it does,” Alden muttered darkly, shaking his head. “Grayson’s trying to box us out. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Isabelle’s expression tightened. “I’ll keep digging. I’ll find the exact location and as many details as I can.”

I nodded. Rhys spoke before I could respond. “This isn’t just about the Heraclids anymore, Logan.” His expression was hard as he leaned forward in his seat. “It’s aboutus. We’re not invited because of her.”

Eve’s shoulders stiffened, and through the bond, I felt a sudden wave of shame and anger. She didn’t say a word, her chin lifting slightly in defiance, but I could feel how deeply his words cut.

I forced myself to remain calm, even as my wolf snarled at the insult. “You don’t know that.”

“Don’t I?” He gestured toward Eve, his tone gaining strength. “Word about Damian’s death has spread. Everyone knows you killed him, and everyone knows she was there. Whether or not it’s true, they think she had something to do with it.”

Eve flinched, the movement so slight it would’ve been imperceptible to anyone who wasn’t watching her as closely as I was. I could feel her trying to hold herself together under the weight of the room’s judgment.

“We can’t ignore this,” Rhys continued. “As your beta, it’s my job to advise what’s best for the pack. And right now, that means sending her back.”

I met Rhys’s gaze. “That’s not an option.”

“It has to be!” Rhys snapped, slamming his hand on the table. His wolf flared, the anger in his eyes matching the frustration in his voice. “Logan, think about it. Her presence is a threat—to all of us. You’re risking everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve fought to rebuild?—”

“You think I don’t know that?” I growled, my wolf surging against the confines of my control. “You think I don’t know what’s at stake here?”

Rhys stood abruptly. “Then make me understand! The packs see her as a danger. The Heraclids want her back. You can’t keep her here and expect us to survive this?—”

“Stop.” My wolf was clawing at me, demanding I put an end to this argument. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it!” Rhys’s temper was on the verge of boiling over. “Because all I see is you risking everything for someone whose black magic has already damaged us, possibly worse than?—”

“Because she’s my fated mate!” I roared.

And the room fell into absolute silence.

34

EVE

Fated mate.

The words slammed into me, sending shockwaves through my entire body. My vision narrowed until all I could see was Logan standing there, chest heaving, his wolf crackling beneath the surface. The room around me dissolved into a muffled blur, gasps and murmurs from the others dulled like I was hearing them underwater.

I couldn’t breathe.

My fingers curled tightly in my lap as I tried to ground myself. Fated mate. Of course, I’d heard the term before, whispered in stories and half-forgotten legends about the Shadow Moon packs before the Great Separation. To believe in fated mates was like taking a myth for truth.

Except it didn’t feel that way anymore.

He’d said it. Aloud. With a conviction that left no room for denial. And the bond humming between us, the one I’dbeen fighting to ignore, suddenly roared to life like a fire catching wind.

No, no, no.This couldn’t be real. Not after everything I’d lived through.

Fated mates. And one of them was cursed.

Me.

---