Page 102 of Cursed Beasts

As much as I wanted to stand guard, I needed space from her to remember my hate because I wasn’t going to fall for her acting. Our lives depended on being smart and even though I felt that draw to her, I couldn’t fall into her trap. We had about eight months left, then she would be gone. And that thought almost killed me.

41

KATARINA

“Are you comfortable up here?” Mr. Potter asked me for the tenth time.

“I’m fine,” I responded again. “It’s actually really cool up here. I kind of wish I had found this sooner.”

The small area Zev brought me to above a few shelves was big enough to have a bench up here by the window and could probably have a chair and coffee table. My swinging egg thing from home would be perfect up here too.

“Zev’s sister and mothers used to love coming up here to get away from the boys.” Mr. Potter said, laying my bag next to the tray of food he brought me an hour ago. The sun was peeking out behind a mountain and the big window gave me the perfect view.

“I imagine Zev’s mother—Wait, did you say mothers?” I asked in shock.

“Madison and Freya were absolutely amazing women. They were complete opposites, but they were great mothers to their children and the pack.” He looked out into the distance. “My mate was great friends with them.”

“Was Zev always this angry?” I asked, looking down below, thankful there was no sign of him.

Mr. Potter took a deep breath, and I didn’t know if I wanted him to open that can of worms.

“Being an Alpha isn’t what everyone always thinks it's made out to be. You’re responsible for the pack and even though he had Aeon and Lucien, it’s a lot of responsibility. When you factor in that his future is the one on which hangs the fragile peace and balance between two families, especially with war always on the horizon.” He looked sad when he sat down on the bench. “Zev had a lot riding on his shoulders. He was an honorable, caring man and he loved his pack more than anything. When they were cursed, he took that solely on his shoulders and didn’t let his pack carry it on their shoulders too. Zev’s constant need to take care of everyone was exhausting and after the curse, his father passed away and the pack slowly dwindled away until war came knocking on their doorstep.”

“Two years of bearing the weight of disappointment does something to a man. He doesn’t even know what he did wrong. She cursed them or the family cursed them, and we don’t even know why.”

I looked at the bag that had Vivienne’s journal, thinking I needed to read more to find out what happened. What did he do, or what did she do?

“He’s a good man, Katarina. They are all good men that deserve a chance. I think they could make you very happy.” He smiled as he got up.

“They?” I asked, thinking he said the wrong thing.

“Yes, they. All of them were betrothed to a Belladonna. Now I think maybe it was the wrong one.” He nodded at me before he disappeared, leaving like he hadn’t just left me a bomb of information to think about.

Could I be mated to all of them? Did I want to be mated to all of them? Why didn’t that idea sound as baffling as it seemed?

From the first day, I felt that connection, I wanted it and I have to say, I craved it. Was I this emotionally damaged that I thought I needed three men to be bound to me? Was I that starved for love?

My mind went down a spiral of self-hatred and unworthiness. I was barren and emotionally damaged, nobody wanted that.

Sleeping on a bench wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I was safe, and I was able to read a little bit of Vivienne's book. The more I read, the more I felt bad for her and the guys. The weight of changing the pack and Coven was resting on their shoulders, and she wasn’t dealing with it well. They had put off bonding due to age differences and war.

It seems that was only hurting them, but it also felt like someone was delaying their bonding and I couldn’t figure out if it was my family or their pack. Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

I stood up stretching my back, looking at my watch, seeing it was just before three. The view was amazing from here even in the night, giving me the perfect view of the full moon. The past few weeks had been exhausting and the weight of this curse was crushing me, too.

They were drowning from the weight of it. The need to save them was getting stronger every day, making me think of what Mr. Potter said. Could I be their mate?

If my life consisted of hanging out in a library all day, getting chased through the woods and orgasms galore I think I would be in heaven. It would be a dream come true, but as much as I wanted it to be my future, it did not look that bright.

I looked down to see Zev’s wolf pacing before he transformed into a man right before my eyes. He looked at me with a flat expression.

Taking a deep breath, I figured I might as well say thank you for last night. Climbing down was a lot harder. I felt Zev’s eyes on me, making me nervous but also making me squirm at how sexy he was. I was still feeling the effects of yesterday’s chase.

Something was seriously wrong with me if a near-death experience was making me horny. When I finally made it to the bottom, Zev had put clothes on, and I was a little disappointed.

He walked up to me as we stared at each other, giving me a moment.

“Thank you,” I said.

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