Page 22 of Cursed Beasts

This room looked like it held so much love at one point, like someone was expecting a big family. Who else had lived here with them? My curiosity had peaked, wondering if the spell ruined the possibilities that this room offered.

I clenched my jaw, feeling a little sorry for these guys but also a burning need to figure out what the hell had happened. Who cursed them? Did they deserve it? Were the other people who had lived here cursed too?

Well, from what happened last night I figured they might have deserved it. The clock chimed, signaling that I had ten minutes to get back to my room.

I backed out of the room, as sadness threatened to make me cry. Just seeing all these items made my own heartache feel too real. The room felt like a bad reminder of my own pain at not being able to have kids. Swallowing back my tears, I closed the door, jogging away from the room like it was a problem I could outrun.

I also did not want to be caught out here while three huge wolves walked around. My mind was made up and I was dead set on escaping, but the thought about learning more about their curse enticed me almost enough to want to stay.

10

ZEV

Iwoke up fighting my wolf for my body. It was a tug-of-war I was used to, but since the new Belladonna had showed up, my wolf did not want to hand over the reins to my human body. I shuddered as he finally let his hold on my mind go.

Getting up from the floor, I noticed I had woken up by the Belladonna’s roomagain. This was the third time in the last ten days that my wolf needed to guard her.

I stretched as I walked away, hopefully before Aeon or Lucien saw me by her room. They usually woke up outside together, I knew I had some time to get to my room before they walked in.

When I reached the landing, they walked in looking like they were in a heated discussion. They never fought. Lucien always followed Aeon like a lost puppy trying to vie for his attention. Aeon was usually a dick and ignored him or would say their relationship was only physical. Sadly, Lucien just took whatever Aeon was willing to give him, even though it wasn’t what he wanted.

Aeon and I were close in age and we grew up forming a tight bond. He wasn’t blood, neither of them were, but I considered them brothers. When we told Lucien we would be a pack, the bond slid into place easily, like the goddess blessed it herself. My father said that it was the sign of a good pack, one that would thrive and be strong enough to persevere.

I felt their attraction to each other immediately, but Aeon shut down the possibility of them being together quickly, breaking Lucien’s poor heart. It wasn’t until we got cursed, and the years of loneliness had taken its toll on us, that Aeon let something happen between them. I was jealous at first, wanting that connection, but I wasn’t attracted to them in that way. I knew they were both good-looking men, but they weren’t my cup of tea.

I wanted curves, hips I could hold on to while I lost myself in their warmth. My mind instantly went to the Belladonna just down the hallway, making me scowl. She had been invading my thoughts randomly during the time I was awake, getting me excited at the thought of her close by.

It had been a long time since I had been with a woman, or received any affection from the opposite sex. My wolf and I had been lonely for far too long, making me worry how much longer I could do this with my mind intact.

I didn’t want to be caught listening, so I climbed the stairs, but not before I overheard parts of their conversation.

“I’m not in the mood,” Lucien snapped, stomping away from Aeon, but I didn’t stay around to hear what happened next.

Lucien was finally sticking up for himself, and even though Aeon was going to be mad, I was proud of Lucien for standing his ground. I had told Aeon countless times that there was only so much Lucien was going to take before he tired of him.

That day came a lot later than I thought it would, but I guess in the one-hour days we had it probably hadn’t been that long. I ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, where my room was at. It was the biggest room that was supposed to be our room. The pack’s room when we had mated.

There was an enormous bed in the middle of the room, that was big enough that we all could sleep in, plus our mate. A seating area surrounded a fireplace, with a closet that was big enough for all of us. The bathroom was a new addition, since we learned that indoor plumbing was a new thing. It was something that kept me busy from the books Mr. Potter had gotten for us.

A tub of warm water was ready for me, so I could rinse off quickly. Since I wasn’t finding myself outside, I was surprisingly clean. It made me wonder how much of my time was spent outside of her door or just roaming the hallway around her room.

I submerged myself, hating this feeling of the unknown. Every time we had a Belladonna in the house with us, my wolf was extremely aggressive, wanting to snap at her, scare her and dominate her.

This time it felt very different, just like Aeon said, and I don’t think I liked this feeling at all. When my lungs burned enough, I pushed myself up, taking a deep breath. I finished washing myself, getting out and throwing on a pair of trousers and a shirt.

My hair was tangled and needed a good brushing, but I didn’t have time for that so I just tied it back. I rushed out the door before I even knew what I was doing. The need to see what she was up to was overwhelming.

I was about to walk down the flight of stairs when Aeon came barreling up towards me. As we locked eyes, I already knew I was about to hear about Lucien.

“She has him under her fucking spell,” he snarled. “He’s been acting weird ever since she came into this house.”

“How is he acting weird?”

“He’s been moody. He won’t even talk to me.” He ran his hand through his hair, looking more frustrated than I had seen him in a while.

“Do you think he is hiding something?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t been waking up together like we used to,” he said, looking at me like I would find all of this weird.

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