Page 68 of WitchCurse
I barely held back my smile; he obviously hadn’t forgiven that tease. “He was delicious,” I said adding flame to the fire of his irritation. “Needed me to take the wild from him, worried the effect it would have on your pack. I am honored to be of service.”
“I’m working on growing the pack,” Liam said, not letting me pick at him. “I never wanted to be king of the werewolves, but funneling his strength into all packs might be the only option we have left. Oberon thinks that’s what Xander did for years to keep the kitsune at bay. It actually may be what drove some of the alphas mad, but don’t tell Sebastian that. It wasn’t his fault the alphas were easily corrupted.”
“Kitsunes are life and death, destruction and creation,” I said. “Find something for him to create or it will all implode. Build an actual realm, a world within this world.”
“I don’t know how we’d even begin to do that.” He stared into the distance in silence for a few minutes. “I saw the damaged part of the forest, you fixed that?”
“Shadows were feeding on it.”
“I could see them, but not touch them.”
Interesting. Was it because they had a hint of the wild in them? “It was a delightful bounty. Are there other such locations in which the dark feast?” I thought stalking them would help this world as well as provide an answer to my continued hunger.
“Not here…” Liam paused and frowned. “The spot where Nick’s house used to be, and where the Volkov shifted and Felix died…it’s dark. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be the same since neither of those were touched by the fae, but the shadows linger, drawn to the power surge? Not actual shadows from the light, but something dark. There’s a local witch I had come out and look at it, she could sense them, but not see them. Mostly we keep people away.” He hesitated, “I kept Sebastian away from all of it.”
“His heart is easily burdened with the struggles of others, even if they are but memories.”
“And his own memories. He killed a man in one of the locations. A former lover. He still has nightmares sometimes.”
“But you are there to guide him back to peace and hope, yes?” I asked.
Liam’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, mostly. But a permanent solution is preferred. To clear the disease from the land, if possible. I am hoping to extend our realm to include the entire area. Give the pack room to grow. Build new memories instead of lingering on the old.”
“If you would mark a map and I will attend the locations without my scions.” Nick had a lot of issues with memories of his very short childhood in this world. I didn’t blame him for wanting to leave that darkness in the past. “The forest was a bountiful feast, if these other locations are worse, they might be all I need to heal completely.” Not that I thought that was a good idea either, but if I could provide some service by clearing space for his pack to live comfortably, I would. It was little enough I could do in honor of him freeing myself and my scion from the death of Underhill.
Liam rose to his feet, pulled out his phone and took pictures of the drawing. “I’ll ask Sebastian about the symbols, maybe he’s seen them in a book? My memory isn’t as good as Nick’s to recall all of this at a glance.”
Nick’s memory was only divine because it was burned into the magic of our bond. I flinched at the idea that he was likely still at our camper enjoying the company of the wolf. Would I ever find comfort with a creature of fangs and cold like theHunt? I knew he was more than that, part awkward human, young and still learning, with the wolf side of him much more demanding. My irritation with him came from seeing a lot of my young self in his eyes, and fearing that I would be adding to his pain and cynicism.
“I apologize for taking the wolf,” I said.
“Toby may not be mine anymore,” Liam began as he handed the drawing back to me, “but I will still protect him as befits an alpha. Do not hurt him.”
“And if he hurts me?” I wondered out loud, thinking of how the wolf dug claws deep to remove the curses even when he suspected it might kill us all. “He is not a child, and treating him thus angers the beast inside.”
“I know,” Liam said. “There was a lot I didn’t know until recently. Like the pack member who turned him after the accident, then left the pack, was a lover. I had no idea. I don’t oppose same sex relationships, or even those between the wolves and non-wolves, but that level of betrayal was beyond what I expected. That he was able to lie to my face is concerning. Did Toby tell you more?”
Not exactly, but there were things I knew he wasn’t ready to share. I said nothing.
Liam sighed and rubbed his face with his hands like he was tired. “I’ve contacted that wolf’s new pack, let them know he might be a danger. We don’t just turn people, even if they are lovers. And to abandon him afterward is unacceptable.” He hesitated. “Sebastian thinks there’s more…but I can’t bring myself to ask. I don’t want to break him further.”
It hadn’t been the transition that had sundered the wolf’s spirit, rather the betrayal of a former lover that had broken something inside of him, abuse? I’d only caught glimpses of it from the pool of raging memories that had divided him from his wolf. Had he faced that yet? I tried to give him time to gain strength by binding the worst of them deep, but the only way to heal would be to understand that life would always be touched by the memories, some of pain, some of joy. Navigating day to day was the hard part. “He is healing. You were a fine alpha to him.”
“But still, he sees me as a threat, desires my mate?” Liam shook his head. “Sebastian is mine. My beast does not share. It’s difficult to allow the pack much time with him as my wolf begins to rage. It’s irrational how strong the matebond is.”
“Legends in song and story,” I teased, “rarely give word to the true twists of fates. Much as a seer’s words are riddles, as are the bard’s song of warriors and love.”
“And you have your own songs to navigate, yes?” Liam asked, his gaze falling behind me, and I felt the sudden nearness of my scion, not the wolf this time, but Nick. His presence renewed the lingering edge of anger I’d tried to squash. “If you fight, can you contain it to your realm?” Liam asked.
I put a hand over my heart. “As best as possible, my liege.”
He sighed and turned away, heading in the direction of the house. “Why does that always feel like a curse?” Because I planned to never serve another court as long as I kept my sanity, but I didn’t share that with him. There was safety in silence.
He vanished beyond the wards, and I wandered in Nick’s direction, passing him without comment, but trying to control my anger. Would he smell of sex and Toby? Betrayal and darkness? Why did everything hurt so much? I would have given a lot for emotional numbness in that moment, even if my body thrummed with life, the pain of the soul ached deeper.
“I love you,” Nick said quietly as he followed, making me miss a step and half flounder to keep my feet. “Even when you’re arrogant, or self-righteous, or self-sacrificing as seems to be your norm. You drive me mad, but I still love you, worry every moment of every day for you. Toby’s bond to us doesn’t change that.”
I continued to walk, keeping my back to him as tears stung my eyes. It was unfair to speak of things we could never really have when death stalked our every breath. Centuries I’d tried to keep him close, safe, and distant enough to protect us both from the darkness.