Page 85 of The Cursed Wolf King

Rhys nodded, satisfied, still watching me with a wary, protective look. I turned back to the tablet, skimming over the lines and notes that felt like an impossible puzzle.

The human city. A meeting I wasn’t invited to. What was the Heraclid pack’s next move?

My mind spiraled, but no answers came. The fog in my brain thickened, and the ache in my chest grew heavier. I needed to focus, to strategize, but she dominated every thought.

I straightened abruptly, the motion sending a wave of dizziness through me. “We’ll leave at sundown tomorrow, after Isabelle has done a final check with our allies,” I said. I stumbled out the door and headed to take a freezing cold shower.

38

EVE

The morning air around me was alive with the companionship of my wolf. I stood at the edge of the forest, focusing my energy inward. The connection between us was there—I felt her pacing—but the moment I tried to pull her forward, it was like grasping at smoke.

I still couldn’t shift.

My shoulders lifted as I took a slow, controlled breath. The release of a shift didn’t come so I tried again. My wolf responded this time, energy racing through me. And then… nothing. My limbs felt heavy, my muscles trembling with strain as I tried to channel her power.

Come on, I thought desperately, pushing harder. My vision blurred as the connection between us flared, her presence blazing through my mind like a wildfire. For a heartbeat, I thought it might happen—the transformation that had eluded me for so long.

And then—gone. My wolf let out a mournful whimper, retreating into the depths of my mind. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the ground, my breath escaping in short, shallow gasps.

“Why?” I whispered as I beat the ground. “Why can’t I do this?”

My wolf didn’t answer. It was as if every failed attempt to shift was draining both of us, pulling us deeper into a void neither of us could escape.

I pressed my hands into the damp earth, my thoughts spiraling.

Cursed.

The word echoed in my mind like a cruel taunt. The old woman’s revelations replayed in my head.

You’re not just cursed, Evensong. Youarethe curse.

Was that why my wolf couldn’t come forward? Was my curse chaining her, holding her back the way it held me for so many years?

The weight of it settled over me like a suffocating shroud. Every vision I’d had, every moment of connection with my wolf since Logan had brought her back—it was all tainted. My curse was her burden too.

“Please,” I murmured, reaching for her again. “I need you.”

Her answer came as a soft growl. The bond between us pulsed weakly—she was still there, still fighting, but I couldn’t hold on to her. The harder I tried, the farther she slipped away.

Tears streaked down my cheeks as I slumped against the nearest tree, my body and soul drained. The truth wasundeniable: my wolf was suffering, and so was I. And if I didn’t figure out how to fix this, I was sure we’d both fade away.

The curse was a poison spreading through everything I touched. I thought of Logan, his strength, his fire. How much of it had already been snuffed out by being near me? I saw flashes of him standing tall, commanding his pack, then weakening, darkening, as if his very essence were being drained away. All because of me.

A sharp gust of wind cut through the trees, whipping my hair across my face. I shivered but didn’t move, letting the cold air bite into my skin. The forest seemed alive around me, the faint rustle of leaves and distant howls echoing in my ears. But none of it felt real. The bond between Logan and me—the strange, fractured connection—it wasn’t a thread tying us together. It was a chain, pulling us both down.

And then I felt him.

It was subtle at first, like a ripple of energy. His presence came forward and I turned instinctively, my body responding before my mind could catch up. I scanned the trees, searching for him, even as my heart raced. I didn’t know if I wanted to see him or not.

When he emerged from the trees, it was like the forest itself parted for him. Logan’s posture was rigid. I could see the exhaustion written in the lines of his face. He looked like a man fighting battles on too many fronts, and losing ground on all of them.

“Eve,” he called, and the sweetest of smiles came across his face.

I melted. This man had a hold on me beyond myunderstanding. Despite everything he knew about me from day one, here he was, with a look in his eyes like there was no one and nothing in the world except me.

I tried to stand, but my legs shook beneath me. Before I could make sense of what was happening, he was there, dropping to his knees. His hands gripped my shoulders as his eyes roamed over my face, searching for answers.

---