Page 19 of Cursed Love
She thought back to her time growing up and of her brothers now. “I don’t recall there being a time when shit went bonkers with them. Not growing up or now.”
“How many brothers do you have?” he asked.
“Six, and I’m the baby of the family,” she replied. His eyes widened a fraction before she whispered, “Why?”
“You’re telling me you’re the seventh child and only female?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“Yeah w—”
Ryan rubbed the back of his neck as he turned from her. “When did your mother die?” He pivoted on his heels, and his eyes pierced hers. The intensity in them was a mix of awe and curiosity. People always thought it was crazy she was one of seven kids, but his expression was different.
“Does it matter when she died?” she asked, feeling stubborn over the morsel of information. Suddenly the desire to find her mother’s letter hit her. Imagining the beautiful script on the page, she found herself missing the woman she had never met.
Ryan closed the gap between them and sat next to her. “I’m not trying to be insensitive, Brandy. I’m only trying to understand what’s going on here. Since your birthday, things have gotten weirder than normal for our kind. A family your size with only one witch is rare. Did your father have powers? When did your father die? These questions might help me help you.”
Her vision blurred with tears. “She died giving birth to me. My dad died only a few months ago. I don’t know if he had any powers. If he did, we didn’t know about it.”
“I see. How did your father die?”
His line of questioning was beginning to feel more like an interrogation. “A bear attack,” she said after a long pause.
“A bear attack?” he asked with disbelief. “Was he camping or hunting?”
Brandy shook her head. “The house we grew up in backs up to the woods.”
“In this city?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued. “There are no bears in those woods.”
“The police—” Brandy shut up when Ryan’s eyes implored her to think about it. “If it wasn’t a bear…”
“My guess is your father went up against a were. Their attacks can be as savage as a bear attack. Humans mistake the two all the time.”
“But why would a werewolf attack my father?” Brandy whispered.
“You said you don’t remember him having powers. I need you to think hard. Was there any chance your father could have been a witch?” Ryan asked.
“The letter from my mother made it sound like he was. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t have mentioned it. Why not tell us? Why keep me in the dark about my birthday and the powers I would receive?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure they had their reasons.”
Brandy opened her mouth to speak but shut it when a knock sounded on the door. “It’s probably just the pizza,” she said, pushing to her feet.
Ryan motioned for her to stay where she was. “I’ll feel better checking. If it’s the pizza, it means they got in the building no thanks to one of your neighbors.”
Brandy heard his unspoken words loud and clear. She wasn’t any safer in this building than one without the locked doors. The tingling in her body amped up as her nerves became strained.
Ryan looked through the peep hole before unsheathing a knife at the small of his back. Alarm filled her as she realized it was there the entire time.
From her spot on the couch, she couldn’t see the person on the other side of the door. Ryan managed a manly grunt and mumbled a quick thank-you before grabbing the box and locking the door. “Pizza,” he said with a smile that made him more handsome, if it were even possible.
Her stomach growled, and her cheeks flushed. “Sorry.”
“Why? You haven’t eaten since yesterday, and I know your powers wiped you. You need to eat.”
Brandy ate five slices. She had not realized how hungry she was until the fourth. Ryan sat back while she ate and talked to her about tubars—how they could camouflage as a human and how to kill them.
He kept the information rather brief for her liking. “How about the other stuff?”
“There isn’t anything else you need to know. They hide among humans, but you can smell them and kill them. You’re not dating them.”
