Page 18 of Cursed (Blood Moon Pack #1)

R yland meets Zayne one floor down, and together, they walk through the castle toward the dungeons.

Zayne grins at his brother. “How’s it going with the new fake Mate?”

Ryland stops and growls at him.

Zayne, shocked by his reaction, leans away from his brother and holds up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, man! You think this she-wolf who showed up out of the blue could actually be your Mate? Could she be the one to break the curse?”

Ryland blows out a breath. “Sorry. Sorry. The Mate Bond has never lasted this long, and I have definitely never spent this much time with a potential Mate before.”

They start moving again while Ryland vents to his brother. “I’m walking around with a perpetual hard-on for her. She’s so fucking beautiful, and her scent is making Bade crazy. She’s all I can think about.”

“You know…it was like that with me and Sadie. Honestly, Ry, thoughts of Sadie are still always in my head.”

Ryland stops again, looking at his brother. “Shit. Really?

“Yes, really.”

Ryland stares at his brother for a moment, then says, “This Mate Bond is so powerful that every cell in my body is telling me to bail on this interrogation and run right back to her. The worst part is I actually do have hope for the first time in eighty years.”

Growling angrily, Ryland runs a hand through his hair, looking at the ceiling.

“Fucking hope! I have hope that she will accept the Mate Bond, and it’s making me a little crazy.

I know she is only using the Bond because she thinks I’ll protect her from whatever trouble she’s running away from, but the Bond makes me want to protect her. ”

He hangs his head, sighing. “I cannot imagine that she is as affected as I am. When she ultimately rejects me, it’s going to be the most painful of all the other rejections.”

Zayne puts his hand on Ryland’s shoulder, thinking this is the most his older brother has spoken to him in years. They used to talk all the time before the curse, but ever since then, Ryland has been closed off, distant.

Frowning, Zayne says, “Shit, Ry. You need to get her to tell you the truth. You either need to Claim her and solidify the Bond or get her to reject you.” He pauses and says, “Maybe you should bail on the interrogation after all and handle this whole Mate Bond business.”

Ryland shakes his head. “No.” Then he smirks at his brother. “My blue balls and I need some space from her to clear my head. I think beating the shit out of a Rogue is just the thing I need.”

Zayne grins his best surfer dude grin. “Great! Let’s go beat the shit out of that Rogue!”

They continue their trek to the dungeons, down the main stairs, and out of the castle to the right. When they reach the door that leads down the stairs to the cell area, Zayne says, “Nori, huh? You know her name means ‘light,’ right?”

Ryland rolls his eyes. “Yes, so Bade has happily told me.”

They meet up with Garek at the Guard Station. “You guys ready for this?” Garek asks, grinning. He looks at Ryland, and his grin falters. “You look a bit...unhinged, Ry.”

Ryland grimaces, and Zayne laughs loudly. Teasing his brother, Zayne tells Garek that the new Mate has sent Ryland off the deep end. “That she-wolf has him so wound up, he’s probably going to rip the head off this Rogue. ”

While Zayne is still laughing, Garek gives Ryland a look of disapproval. “Dammit Ryland! You are going to have to ignore the Bond and get some answers out of that female! I know you can’t reject her because of the curse, but you need to quit tiptoeing around her.”

Ryland yells, “I know! I know, and I will get answers out of her. You have no idea what Nori’s been through.”

Zayne, still grinning, interrupts Ryland. “Her name means ‘light’; did you know that, Garek?”

Ryland shoves his brother, slightly annoyed by his teasing. “Look, Garek, I don’t know exactly who she’s running from, but I do know they abused her at her last Pack. Nori is skin and bones from not enough food; she has scars on her back from very likely being beaten with something silver.”

Garek sucks in a breath, and Zayne’s whole body goes rigid. “What?”

Garek is shocked when he whispers, “They beat her with silver? What the hell Pack was she at?”

“Yes, they beat her. I don’t know the name of her Pack yet, but she’s so terrified, she chose not to reject a Mate Bond with this,” Ryland says, circling his face.

He pauses, standing straighter, resolved in his decision. “So, yeah. I am taking my time with her. Now, can we get on with this interrogation? I have an idea about how to torture this Rogue. We are going to need to kill a skunk. ”

Garek, shocked at Ryland’s compassion for this unusual she-wolf, shakes his head. “OK, Ry. Let’s go hunt down a skunk.”

N ori hangs her head, exhausted from the conversation she had with the Prince. “ I can’t remember the last time anyone hugged me. ”

Aylin sighs. “ Well, he’s definitely our Mate, right, Nori? We are going to accept the Bond, right? ”

She frowns at how needy her wolf sounds. “ This is crazy! First, we had the worst Mate ever. Now, we have a Mate who will be a powerful protector, not to mention he is damned delicious, but he’ll hate us once he finds out we’re from Starfall. ”

Trying to convince Nori, Aylin replies, “ I think he cares for you, and I know you care for him a little. ”

“ He doesn’t even know me, and I can’t afford to care for him. We need to be smart about this. ” Nori runs a hand through her hair and concedes, “ I’ll admit I have some feelings. Hell, it was all I could do not to rip off my clothes when his nose touched my neck. ”

Aylin barks out a short laugh. “ Slut! ”

Nori and Aylin giggle like young girls and start inspecting the Prince’s rooms. Nori spends about twenty minutes wandering around each room of the suite to see what she can learn about him .

A tall, dark wooden bookcase stands in the corner of the sitting room. The shelves hold a variety of books on battle strategy, the history of wolf shifters, a couple of books about the Drakemoor lineage, and several brown, leather notebooks. Nori makes a mental note to return to the books later.

Papers, half-written notes and letters, a few photos, and a laptop cover the top of the Prince’s desk. Nori opens the drawers, which mainly contain supplies: extra pens, official seals, tape, a stapler—nothing of interest.

Aylin warns Nori. “ Maybe don’t open the laptop. ”

“ I wasn’t going to; it probably needs a password anyway. ”

Nori picks up one of the three photos on his desk.

It’s a formal photo of the entire Royal Family.

She recognizes younger versions of the Prince and his sister; he already has the scar in this photo.

Of course, she recognizes the King and Queen, but there is one more male. He must be the Prince’s brother.

The other two photos are more casual, one of Adele and the brother laughing; the other is Beta Garek and the brother, arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Nori looks around, but these are the only three photos in his rooms.

She moves into his enormous closet, gaping at the array of weapons that hang on the wall to the left—long swords, knives of various sizes, crossbows, and a whole lot of guns.

Nori walks around the rest of the closet, browsing through the shirts, pants, suits, jackets, boots, and shoes.

She leans back and chuckles, noticing his clothes are mostly black.

In the bedroom, Nori opens a few dresser drawers, which are filled with neatly folded clothes.

Once she’s had her fill of snooping, she tells Aylin, “ He’s neat, orderly to the extreme, except for the top of his desk. He only has those three photos. It’s like a room in an inn, rather than his home. ”

“ If you are done snooping, we could try out that shower again. ”

Nori smiles and walks to the enormous bathroom. “ Excellent idea! ”

After the shower, Nori grabs a couple of books about the history of wolf shifters and wraps up in the blanket on the sofa to read. She’s on her second book when there’s a knock at the door.

“ Maybe it’s lunch, ” Aylin says happily.

Nori laughs at how quickly they are getting used to regular mealtimes. She opens the doors, and her smile fades when she sees the Prince’s sister waiting outside.

“Oh, don’t look so disappointed, Nori. I brought lunch.” Adele swoops into the room, followed by three kitchen staff with trays of bread, meats, cheeses, fruits, desserts, and pitchers of water and sodas. They remove the breakfast plates and drinks and replace them with the lunch items .

Aylin snarls to Nori, “ Oh, great. The mean one has returned. At least she brought food. ”

“Ryland told me he wouldn’t be back in time for lunch and asked that I visit with you for a while.” Adele continues, snarkily, “He also told me your name; thank you for sharing that tiny bit of information.”

Nori stands a little taller and replies, “I’ve shared more information than my name with him. Thank you for bringing lunch.”

The two women fill their plates in silence and sit down at the table across from one another. As soon as they are seated, Adele starts her inquisition. “Why don’t you tell me where you are from?”

Nori glares at her briefly, then replies, “No.”

Adele sighs, rolling her eyes. She mutters, “Well, this lunch is going to be so much fun.”