Page 79 of Cursed to Be Mine
Wolves might not care about us. They might think we are just food to eat or toys to play with, but I knowthey still feel pain. Even plants give off a chemical when they are being eaten to warn others nearby. Pain is a universal feeling that connects us all – sup or plant or human, and I can’t help but be uncomfortable with torturing anything, even if it is a ‘monster.’ Death is one thing; pain stops. But to deliberately draw it out, to be the cause of it, to be deaf to one’s screams and signs of agony…
“Ma, please! Ma! Don’t do this.”
I snap the book shut, tears falling down my cheeks as I relive that moment over and over.
Khalid’s face appears in my mind again, his warmth trying to get through my pain, but he can’t help me this time.
Nothing can.
I fucking hate you, Ma. I’m glad you’re dead.
Twenty-THREE
HIM
I swing my legs out of bed and stand a moment before the door to my bedroom opens. Mother enters with a tray of tea.
“I’m heading out,” I say.
She blocks my way, a look in her eyes that tells me she will use her magic, her precious lifeforce at the moment thanks to Dad’s dying curse, to keep me here. “Varius gave you an order to rest, son. Now sit.”
“She’s hurting,” I growl, the bond to my girl vibrating with her pain.
“Is she in danger?”
My jaw clenches, but I don’t need to verbally respond for her to know the answer.
“She needs time to deal with everything, and she can’t do that if you’re constantly fixing things for her. Now sit.”
My hands fist. I glance over her shoulder at the open door.Magic electrifies the air, radiating from Mother, and I snap my gaze back to her. “I’m fucking sitting,” I snap as I plonk my ass back down on the bed. A whole childhood has taught me it’s futile to try to run.
She shuts the door for privacy, then places the tray on the dresser. She doesn’t bother asking me if I want any tea. She simply pours a cup and hands it to me.
Suspecting it’s laced with whatever she got Leno to put in it, I eye it warily.
“Take it, Kal. Varius needs you well rested.”
Exhaling strongly, I take it and throw the whole thing back. An instant warmth fills me, making my eyes heavy. I shake my head, wanting to stay awake, wanting to keep pushing comfort down the bond to Scarlett even though I’ve already used up one full kidney.
“Don’t fight it,” she says as she picks up the tray. “You kill yourself soothing her, and you know Maddox will kill her for it.”
“If he even thinks…” The magic of the drink takes root like a weed, and my thoughts scatter in deep sleep.
I jerk awake with a growl as someone raps hard on my door. Ignoring them, I focus on the bond. It’s weak, the drop of blood of mine in her system mostly gone, eaten away by the magic keeping us tied. A trace amount will stay, but it won’t be enough for me to feel her any longer. I need to continue the ritual, trade more blood for me to use.
But right now, I just focus on coaxing the small tether into something I can decipher. She’s not panicking any longer, but a pain lingers in her heart. I ache to soothe it, but doing so will hurt her – the magic requiring her blood as much as mine, and what bloodof hers is left in me is not enough for me to use.
“Get up,” Talon says. “We’re leaving,”
Swinging my legs over the bed, I roll my shoulders, then stand. As much as I don’t like how far she is from me, she is safe, and Varius requires my full attention.
Striding across my room, I open the door.
“You’re coming with?” I ask, wondering what in Hel’s name Varius is thinking. Talon’s presence at this meeting will be like if we all walked in with bomb vests on.
His jaw tightens as he sneers. “He thinks it’ll be a show of good faith.”
If Talon doesn’t attack Aleric, then yeah, it would be, but I don’t have as much faith in that as Varius clearly does. Still, it’s not my call, so I simply follow Talon’s back as we head downstairs to the kitchen. Varius and Mother are discussing in low voices around the sink but stop as soon as we enter.
