Page 47 of Curvy Alpha Bride
Die, you foul thing, and release me—or starve until you are too weak to threaten us!
Even though my curiosity has grown, I feel reluctant to keep reading. The tale is so frightening and devoid of hope, it would be difficult to read under any circumstances. But I scan these pages, knowing that my father is dead.
He lost his life to it. Whether it killed him or he died naturally, as they said, it stole his life. He was trapped here.
My father’s entries get shorter as I flick through the books, looking for the next date. His notes betray how erratic he’s becoming, sometimes writing more than once a day, then not writing for weeks.
I know its name. I’ve known it since the moment it tore Triss from my arms. I will not speak it. I will not grace it with acknowledgment! It is a beast, a thing. It does not live as we live, no matter what sweet songs it whispers to me. I have had to cover the windows so I can see its eyes, see its hand beckoning, oh, so desperate now, starving, starving to death, as I shall be soon. I swear I will take you with me!
After that, no dates match up. I start to panic, hoping that wasn’t the last entry.
I need more information! Dad, please! It’s back, and it will destroy us! Surely you left me some clue—
Then I find it, a date that ends with just last year. Twenty years of entries, twenty years of indescribable pain.
Peace… come at last? The villagers came, and they tried to break down the door. With the last of my strength, I opened it for them. They never gave up on me, none of them, but especially my loyal friends Eileen, Rhiannon, Ninette, Hector, Ivan… and my dear sister Serra. She has heard nothing of Finnah or Xavier, and for that, I am glad. He must be safe. We are all safe… the thing is gone, starved, beaten. If not, surely it would attack. I hear that sentries in the hills are moving away, and perhaps we can take help from the Eyrie, now that we no longer have to protect them from the beast.
Never before have we starved her for so long. I can’t remember the last time I felt her in my dreams. If she had any strength left, then she would come for me now, I am sure of it. I give my life for this—but I am taking her with me.
I let my friends tend me now as I prepare to leave this world. I pray I see my Triss on the other side, and that we leave the valley in safety for good.
I put the book down slowly, aware that there is more to read, but unable to mentally or emotionally process any more. A lot of my father’s observations will be useful—detailing how plants and animals react to this beast—but his personal notes have cut my chest wide open.
Did he intend for me to read it? Did he think anyone would? Maybe he wrote it for himself and never thought of an audience.
I feel a trickle on my face and realize a tear is trailing down my cheek. I still have so many questions, but I know even if I could find them in the books, my heart simply couldn’t cope.
I hear a step in the hall. Mabel is coming. There are no windows in the study, but I assume it is fully dark outside by now.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot leave the cabin, and the elders are protecting us. Furthermore, they’re putting themselves at risk by standing guard over us.
I wipe the tears off my cheeks, feeling a rising frustration. I came in here to try to make sense of the situation, and I still don’t have any clear answers or a way out.
What the fuck am I going to tell Mabel?
Chapter 17 - Mabel
After marinating in my own self-doubt for far too long, I finally decide to go down the hall and see what Xavier is up to. Night has fallen outside the cabin. The darkness seems so absolute, it’s impossible to penetrate it with any light, and it’s freaking me out.
Ivan and Hector are still outside, standing close to the windows. I wanted to close the drapes, but the idea of them being out there and not seeing what was happening felt worse than leaving them open.
When I reach the door of the study, Xavier is looking towards it, waiting for me.
“Did you find anything?” I ask.
Xavier nods. There is a haunted look in his eyes, and his body is taut with tension. I’m guessing this ride down memory lane wasn’t a pleasant one.
“Was it helpful?”
Xavier sighs. “Yeah. Some of it. Come on, let’s go back to the living room and talk about it.”
I watch Xavier come towards me, and I’m struck by the aura of seriousness that surrounds him. Even though he lost a lot of his lighthearted nature after becoming alpha of this place, he looks like a different man altogether.
He keeps his brooding look as we make tea and take one of the gift baskets to the fire, sitting down in front of it on a big, soft rug.
A carpet picnic in front of a roaring fire while icy storms blow down from the mountain… this could be so romantic otherwise.
Xavier sighs, looking into the fire. His eyes look bright and deep, as if pathways have opened up in his mind that were previously unimaginable. Whatever burden he now bears, it’s changed him, and it scares me a little.
