Page 11 of Moon Cursed

“I was out for a run,” Nyx replied, not needing me to expound. “My wolf isn’t afraid of much, but he is afraid of—of my father. I thought a run would help us get the nerves out until we heard the sounds of a shovel... and our mate screaming.”

My throat tightened.

“My wolf went wild tracking your scent and trying to find you. We finally stumbled on a mound of loose dirt and— Well, you know the rest.”

“When...” I squeezed my lids shut. There wasn’t much moonlight coming through the trees and it was still stabbing my eyes. “When you heard him... burying me... What else did you hear?”

“Enough.”

I swallowed hard, shaking from more than the pain.

“Why didn’t you just tell us, Daciana?” Accusation slipped into his voice. “Why the games? Why the secrets? Why the lies? Maybe you have to be at war with the rest of the world, but you never had to be at war with us?”

No response came.

“Daciana, are you listening? Daze...”

Darkness claimed me, carrying me to a world with no pain.

***

“...SURE THIS WILL WORK...”

Soft, downy fingers cradled me, gently guiding me back from beyond.

“...hasn’t woken up yet...”

“Give it a minute, sweetheart, and then take some yourself. Are you okay, baby? You look terrible. No wonder your mate rejected you. Women aren’t attracted to that homeless look, sweet pup.”

“There’s that motherly love everyone told me about,” a wry voice replied. “Great to see what I’ve been missing.”

The other person laughed heartily, pulling me further from sleep.

I blinked awake, gazing up at the ceiling as I slowly took stock of myself. The pain in my head... was gone.

No ache. No agony. No feeling like my very thoughts were falling out of a hole in my head, or that a thick metal spike was making that hole. Only a faint and bearable throbbing behind my eyes proved there ever was a pain.

Rising up, I probed deeper, poking through the warm, sacred place within my soul where my wolf lived.

She snarled, snapping at me for waking her up, and I retreated with a snort.Oh yeah, she’s fine.

I rose up on my elbows, finding myself lying in an infirmary bed loaded down with blankets. On the other side of the room, Nyx sat at a small table covered with herbs and vials and a still steaming pot of something that smelled vile. But he wasn’t paying attention to any of it. He was too busy talking to someone on video chat.

I cleared my throat.

Nyx snapped up. He turned to me and did something I never would’ve expected in a hundred years.

He smiled. “Mom, she’s up. She’s okay.”

“Wonderful news.”

“I gotta go. I’ll call you back.” Ending the call, he rushed over to me, dropping down beside me on the bed. “Are you all right? How do you feel?”

I goggled at him like he was crazy. “Am I alright? How do I feel?” I repeated. “Did you get hit with a shovel too? What is with all this care and concern?”

He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be caring and concerned? Trust me, the air is clear between us, Daze. Now that I know everything.”

I stiffened. Nyx heard what I said to Badr while he was in the process of murdering me. I’d forgotten that little tidbit.

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