Page 29 of Cursed (Blood Moon Pack #1)

R eading another one of Ryland’s books on the history of wolf shifters, Nori is actively searching for anything about powers with golden lights. She’s so caught up in the book, she lets out a yelp when Adele breezes into the room.

Adele sighs, making a face. “Relax, Nori. I’ve brought dinner and Garek.”

Setting the book on the coffee table, Nori gets up to greet them. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. Thanks for bringing dinner.”

After the kitchen staff lays out the food and drinks, the three of them take their seats and fill their plates .

Nori looks at Adele and Garek with a slight smirk on her face. “So…let the inquisition begin.”

In between bites, Adele says, “Great! Did you actually kill your parents?”

Garek chokes on his food. “Damn, Adele! You told me not to upset her!”

Nori waves him off. “It’s fine; I’ll let you know if there’s something I don’t want to talk about.” She looks at Adele. “The short answer is I don’t really know because I don’t remember.”

She continues eating while talking. “What I can tell you is that I loved my parents, and I was heartbroken for many years following their deaths. I honestly can’t believe that, at ten years old, I could have possibly killed two such powerful wolves. But they had witnesses, so that was that.”

Garek takes his turn. “I don’t want to sound callous, but usually that kind of crime is a death sentence. Why did they let you live?”

“I don’t know that either. Draven has certainly killed pack members for lesser offenses.

” Nori drums her fingers on the table. “I remember a trial, but it’s all very hazy.

I remember when Draven was accepted as Alpha.

He kicked me out of my room in the Packhouse.

He told me I would suffer for my parents’ deaths for the rest of my life. ”

Garek leans forward with his arms on the table. “Why didn’t you run away from that Pack sooner? ”

Nori laughs, shaking her head. “Oh, I ran. This was my fifth and only successful attempt.” She puts her fork down and leans back in her chair. “How much detail would you like over dinner?”

Garek looks at her thoughtfully. “How bad is it?”

“Bad.”

“OK, I’ll take the glossed-over version during dinner.”

Nori nods. “The first time I ran, I was twelve. I never even made it past the boundary before the Guards caught me. They brought me before the Alpha, who knocked me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly. After the beating, he threw me in a jail cell for a week.”

Garek and Adele share shocked expressions. “This is the glossed-over version?” Garek asks.

“Yes. That was the least severe punishment. I tried again at fifteen, sixteen, and eighteen. Each time I was caught, and each time the penalty was worse than the time before. After the fourth time...” Nori swallows hard. “Well, let’s just say, I didn’t run anymore after that.”

She collects herself, trying not to succumb to the memories of those terrible beatings. “That is, until the whole Mate Bond rejection with the Starfall Beta. I had no choice but to run again after the Bond flared.”

“How did you kill those two Rogues by yourself?” Garek asks the question that’s been troubling him since she arrived .

“For the record, I have already discussed this with Ryland.” Nori looks at him pointedly.

She crosses her arms, considering the best way to explain her ability to the Beta.

“Although we haven’t had any formal fight training, Aylin and I have spent years reading body language.

We are experts at being able to anticipate when and where someone is going to hit us. ”

She lets that information sink in. “The Rogues we faced were easy to read. A shift in their weight told us when they were going to strike. The tensing of a shoulder muscle told us where they were going to strike. The two Rogues we killed were also not very fast, not nearly as fast as the Starfall Alpha or Luna.”

Nori notices Garek sitting frozen with his fork in mid-air. “Does that alleviate your suspicions, Beta Garek?”

He clears his throat and lowers his fork to his plate. He now understands that the years of abuse have made her an excellent fighter. “Yes, Nori.”

He raises one eyebrow and looks at Adele. “We should train her to fight properly. It sounds like she already has excellent defensive skills. I bet it wouldn’t take long for her to be proficient at offense.”

“That’s a fine idea, Garek, but we’ll need to run it by Ryland first.” Adele then turns to Nori, frowning. “Starfall is a wealthy Pack, Nori. I see the financials from all the Packs every year. How is it that you didn’t have enough to eat? ”

Nori eyebrows knit together, and she clears her throat. “I worked twelve-hour days doing whatever the Pack Leaders told me to do. Mostly, it was cleaning, but I was only allowed two small meals a day.”

“And there was no one who remembered your parents? No one who would help you?”

“I’m sure there were pack members who remembered my parents, but none of them would go against the Leaders.” A bitter laugh escapes from Nori. “Draven’s bad, but the Luna is a raving lunatic. Pack members were terrified of her. She sternly warned the kitchen staff not to give me extra food.”

Nori takes a drink of water and clears her throat. “If I got really hungry, I would sneak down to the kitchen and steal whatever was lying around. But that was incredibly dangerous. Not to mention, their main form of punishment was to lock me up for a few days without food.”

“Are there other slaves at Starfall, and are they mistreated like you were?” Garek asks.

“Yes, there are other slaves. I have witnessed pack members being beaten over the years, but honestly, I’m not sure what their situation is. I was not supposed to speak to any of the other pack members.”

Garek rubs his jaw, starting to appreciate how awful her situation was and why she would choose death rather than return .

Nori resumes eating, and after a few minutes of silence, she looks up and smiles.

“My turn. I’ve been reading Ryland’s books about the history of shifters.

Originally, it was just for fun, but now, I am actively looking for descriptions of shifter powers.

Have either of you ever heard of or seen anything like what happened to me last night?

You know, with the golden, flashing light? ”

Both Adele and Garek say they have not. “It was kind of freaky though,” Garek says around a mouthful of food.

“Do you have a Seer or an Empath at the castle?” Nori asks. “Two of the books said that they are able to sense wolf shifter powers.”

Adele grimaces and shivers. “We have a Seer here.”

“What’s the problem, Adele?”

“Well, being around her aggravates our wolves. Seers are a combination of wolf and witch with some strange magic thrown in the mix. That’s what makes them Seers,” Adele says.

“None of the wolves want anything to do with her. I can take you to see her, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to talk to her. Aylin may not allow it.”

Nori smiles, excited by the possibility of learning what her power is. “I would very much like to speak with her if she can tell me anything about this power—what it is and what I’m supposed to do with it.”

“OK, we’ll go tomorrow after lunch. It’s a short walk; you can get out of the castle for a bit.”