Page 55 of Curvy Alpha Bride
I shift into my wolf shape and start to run across the yard, but I immediately feel so exposed and vulnerable that I go back to the house. I’m not far from the cars parked in the driveway, but my instincts are screaming at me that I’m not safe out here.
Fighting the sensation, I walk to the edge of the lake and look out across it. A breeze rustles through the forest and whips across the water, ruffling my fur. I put my nose to it, expecting the scent of fresh pine, game, and clean snow.
Instead, a horrible, coppery stench fills my nostrils. Like pools of clotted blood left on a barely alive corpse, too thick and warm to dry, percolating into an unnamable pestilence while the poor animal it came from slowly dies.
As I turn and run back to the house, I hear a faint cackle in the wind. It sends shivers of fear running through me that chill my blood and shrink my chest.
Okay, I get it. Whatever’s out here is really bad, and I don’t want to fuck with it.
I leap across the porch and through the door, shifting back into my human shape so I can slam it shut and press my back to it. The girls are busy in the living room, stacking wood and arranging their things, and don’t pay me much attention. But Finnah is sitting at the kitchen table, watching me with a knowing glare.
“You can feel it, can’t you?” she whispers.
I nod, still too afraid to speak.
“It’s okay,” Lyssa says, coming over with a blanket and wrapping me in it. “We’ll be safe here together, I promise you!”
She puts an arm around me, and I hug her back, grateful for the company. She grips me even tighter, and a soft sound like a sob escapes from her lips.
“Lyssa, are you okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head a little. “We all just feel so selfish. I’m so sorry, lady luna.”
“Why?” I ask, confused.
“Because we wanted a luna so badly!” she almost wails, keeping an arm around me. “The power of the pack is not complete without a luna, and it had been so long since we had one. We really believed the danger was past, and that you’d lead us into our true strength. Now you’re in danger, and so is the entire Range.”
“That’s why everyone was so weird when I first arrived,” I mutter, stroking her hair comfortingly. Lyssa nods.
“The moment you were wed, all of us could feel it. It was the turning point for us, that we were finally safe, and free—ready to live normal lives!” Lyssa says.
“But the witch felt it, too,” Finnah mutters. “She must have been biding her time, keeping the very last spark of her consciousness alive so she could attack the moment we let our guard down.”
“And now you’re trapped,” Lyssa says, softly. “We’re so sorry, all of us. We just wanted a normal life.”
My heart breaks a little for her and every other person in this pack. I hug her even more tightly, fighting tears.
“And you should have one,” I tell her. “You weren’t selfish, okay? I know you were protecting yourselves and me. There was no reason to talk about the witch, because you were all just hoping so much that she was gone for good. I understand what you did, and I don’t blame you.”
“My dear girl,” Finnah says. “On that note, you should know that Xavier didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t!” I say, pointing my finger at her in warning.
I can understand the actions of these poor young girls, and even the desperate townsfolk, but Xavier is another matter entirely! He makes promises that he has no intention of keeping!
“He did the only thing he could—”
“I will not talk about it!” I say, my voice rising uncontrollably. Turning my back on Finnah, I let Lyssa lead me over to the fire, where the girls are toasting marshmallows and setting up for the evening.
I get it. I really do. There are things going on here that are bigger than my feelings. But it doesn’t change the fact that this is the second time Xavier has betrayed me.
Chapter 20 - Xavier
The elders let me bang on the door for some time before Finnah comes and gently puts her hands on my shoulders. The strength goes out of me, and I lean forward, barely holding myself up.
“Come away now, son. Trying to break down the door isn’t going to help anyone.”
“I have to talk to her!” I gasp, rapping the wood with my fist. “You don’t understand, Mom. I made her a promise, and I broke it—again!”
