Page 29 of Moon Cursed

Paxton didn’t say anything as I tore away from him. He was so silent, I would’ve thought he left if it wasn’t for his scent following me through the woods.

The unsettling silence continued until I broke through the trees, and then the one to speak was me.

“Wow...” My whisper floated through the air, carried away to the waterfall.

It was beautiful.

Rain hadn’t blessed us much in the last few weeks, so only a gentle stream played among the rocks as it fell into the basin—filling a placid pond with fresh, clear water. Resting beside the water was the picnic Paxton promised me.

Werewolves weren’t dainty eaters, so Paxton didn’t mess around with the menu. I smelled seasoned grilled steaks, baked potatoes with bourbon butter, and roasted bok choy. My wolf was salivating—proving I didn’t understand this Luame-given illness. That morning she had no appetite, and now she was about to chew through my stomach to get at that steak. But as distracting as my wolf was being, nothing could draw my eye away from the water.

“Oh my gods,” I breathed, slowly moving closer. “What are they?”

“They’re me,” Paxton replied, making me jump. I almost forgot he was there. “My magic.”

I dropped to my knees, wide eyes fixed on them... as they danced.

Tiny, beautiful, impossible creatures flitted across the surface of the undulating water, dancing under the moonlight refracting through their bodies. Under my eye, one of them turned and blew me a kiss.

It was hard to describe them. What words existed for creatures that didn’t exist? The best way to say it was they looked like little nude Tinkerbells with bodies made of moving, living glass.

“They’re sprites,” Paxton said, making me wipe my smile away just as quickly as it appeared. “They’re not alive in the true sense, but whenever I’m near a body of water, they appear. Almost like the water is welcoming me. Reaching out to me.

“One of its own.”

I spoke unbidden. “I didn’t know magic like this was possible.”

“It’s incredibly rare. Only half a dozen water wolves in history have been able to summon sprites.” He shook his head. “It pissed my clan alpha off to no end that I’m one of them.”

“Why?”

“He’s a water wolf too, of course, but he’s weak as shit. The guy can barely summon water when it’s raining.”

My brows shot up, and not just because a few of the mischievous sprites were beginning to get pornographic with their dancing. “If that’s true, how did he become alpha of an entire clan?”

“The way most of them do.” Paxton’s lips twisted in a wry grimace. “He was the only child of a former clan alpha, and the woman wasn’t going to pick anyone else over her own kid. Nepotism strikes again.

“But that’s not the only reason he hates me,” Paxton admitted. “My whole clan knew about me and my impressive power. When that jerk was chosen, they protested the choice. They said a strong water wolf needed to lead a water clan, and I was the strongest there is.”

My brows rose higher. “Your clan wanted you to be the clan alpha? Even though you’re... not one?”

He nodded, smiling mirthlessly. “The first clan omega in history. They even held a vote and I won the majority among the omegas, epsilons, and betas. The alphas didn’t pick me, of course, but even without their votes, I had the support of seventy percent of the clan.” He gave me a look. “Want to guess who won?”

I snorted. “That weak-ass nepo baby, naturally.”

“Naturally.” Paxton rocked back, sighing. “That same nepo baby led the mob when I was chosen as your mate. Not only did my clan choose me over him, but Luame chose me over everyone. No doubt he was scared I’d finally have the support to take the clan from him, so he made up some crazy nonsense about me leading a secret resistance against the alphas, and planning to slaughter them all and create the first omega-only clan.”

I stopped breathing, holding very still. Paxton was accused of the very treason my mates and I were destined to commit? Was that coincidence, or was Luame trying to tell me something about fate?

“With his beta second-in-command using her power to spread the rumor, I didn’t have a chance,” he said, eyes blank. “The mob almost killed me. The secret police sent to pick me up and relocate me to the safe house had to drive their pickup through the mob just to get to me.”

“Fucking hell,” I cried. No one had mentioned that part of the story to me.

Paxton gave me a mirthless smile. “I’m not empty, Daciana. I’m not fake or plastic, but... yes,” he whispered. “I wear a mask and I don’t bother taking it off because I learned a long time ago that there’s no point in being real. Why open up? Why hope? Why work hard? Why bother with any of it when the whole world is a game that’s rigged for you to fail.

“But,” he said, gazing into my eyes. “None of that is an excuse for what I did to you and your mom’s letters. Luame gave me nothing but a shitty hand... until she gave me you. Screwing that up isn’t on anyone else but me, and I know that, Daze. I truly do want to get you back.”

“So that you can be famous again,” I shot back.

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