Page 99 of The Cursed Wolf King

“Leave her be,” Logan said, cutting through the tension like steel.

Grayson’s smile darkened. “Leave her be? Oh, Logan. I haven’t even begun.”

Logan’s eyes met mine, and the shame and the exhaustion fell away. All that was left was the connection between us, a bond no taunt or curse could sever. I had to let him know what I’d learned, to communicate that I was here, that he needed my strength—somehow—even if I didn’t yet know how to give it to him.

A smile played on his lips and I heard him through our bond.

Your wolf. Your beautiful, powerful wolf. I knew you would find her.

It was all there: his exhaustion, his pride, his determination to stand even when everything inside him was breaking. I didn’t need words to know what he was feeling. The bond laid it bare, unfiltered.

I’m here, I tried to project through the bond, unsure if he could hear it. He’d built a wall so high that penetrating it seemed harder than taking on all of Grayson’s enforcers at once. My wolf’s energy wrapped around me like a shield. She was desperate to run to Logan, to mend what was breaking, but we were both trapped in the same cage, clawing at bars we couldn’t see.

Instead, I tried to reach him through our bond.

Feel how I feel for you. Sense it. Rely on it. Put aside your stubborn need to do everything yourself and recognize that I am here for you.

Logan faltered, his knees buckling slightly before he caught himself. My instinct was to run to him, to shield him with my body, my soul, anything I could offer. My paws were frozen to the ground, my heart hammering as if it were trying to claw its way out of my chest. Watching him like this—his strength drained, his fire dimmed—was worse than any pain I’d ever known.

The sharp edge of Raina’s voice echoed in my mind, her words cutting through the storm of emotions.The bond can make you stronger if you let it. But only if you find a way to give yourself to it fully.

How? How could this connection that was tearing usapart be the key to our survival? I couldn’t let myself believe it, yet my wolf seemed to know something I didn’t. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t waver in her certainty. She believed in him, in us, even when I couldn’t.

I knew I needed to trust the bond, trust in Logan, trust in myself.

Trust. The word hit me harder than I expected. This wasn’t about enduring the pain or weathering the storm. This was about diving headfirst into it, letting the bond consume me and him completely. Finding the strength in our shared weakness.

My love for him rose like a tide, sweeping away the doubt, the fear, the anger. It wasn’t a choice anymore—it was instinct, a primal truth that had always been there, waiting for me to see it.

I loved him. Completely. And that love was ours, woven into the bond that connected us, fragile and unsteady as it was.

The world narrowed until we were the only ones left. I let my wolf guide me as I promised silently, to myself, to him, to the bond that bound us.

We must give in to each other to conquer the rest.

I had to get through to him.Had to.I couldn’t watch him suffer like this, not when I knew—deep down, in the marrow of my bones—that there was something in me that could help.

The bond hummed and I clenched my jaw. Whatever this was—this curse, this connection—it was either going to bind us forever, or kill us before the day was through.

44

LOGAN

Eve.

Even in the chaos of the Heraclid lands, the world seemed to still the moment my eyes found her. Her wolf form was striking, with grace and raw power that I hadn’t expected but should have known was there all along. Her coat shimmered faintly in the dim light, brilliant white that caught the eye like moonlight on water. It wasn’t just her appearance—it was the way she moved, her head held high despite all she carried.

Seeing her like this, a piece of her that had been locked away for so long finally set free, did something to me. The ache in my chest, the one that had been wearing at me since the moment we bonded, softened enough for me to catch my breath.

My wolf stirred, weak but awake, his growl low and possessive.Ours, he rumbled, the word less a declaration and more a truth so deeply rooted it shook me to my core.

Even as warmth spread through me, my gaze shifted, landing on Rhys.

He was on the edge of the clearing, flanked by a group of Heraclid enforcers. His stance was tense, his arms crossed, his head constantly swiveling as he tracked every movement, even as his own life was on the line. I felt his anger simmering, could see it in the tight set of his jaw and the way his wolf lingered just beneath the surface.

And itenragedme.

I wasn’t angry at Rhys—he was doing what any beta should, ensuring the safety of his alpha. But the fact that he had to be here at all, in this den of vipers, with enforcers who should have been defending Orion, not walking headfirst into the lion’s mouth, lit a fire in my chest. My pack had been forced into this because of Grayson, because of the Heraclids’ manipulations and the curse that had been hanging over us like a shadow for years.

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