Page 94 of Red's Beast

“I guess I need to clarify what I mean by that. You have been out cold for a solid week, Lillian. I sent everyone out into the woods to scour every single inch of the forest to find him, all the way to the other territories. He’s gone, sweetheart. The curse has taken him.”

“Gone? He can’t be gone. That isn’t part of the curse, is it?” I finally sit up and stand, but then I fall to my knees on the floor as I try to remember what he told me. “This isn’t how it is supposed to go. He can’t be dead.”

Grandmother rises from the bed and leans over to pat me on the back. “I don’t think he’s dead, but there was more to his curse. What did he tell you?”

“He had two nights of freedom. One on the night of the new moon and one on the night of the full moon. But there were conditions that he didn’t clarify. I just know that he becomes trapped after that.”

Grandmother’s brow raises when I look up at her and I realize that she knows, but can’t tell me.

“Can I free him even after he uses up those two days?”

She doesn’t get a chance to answer as my wolf surges forward and takes over. Excruciating pain hits me, causing me to hunch forward onto all fours. Each wave of pain is pure agony.

Grandmother uses her cane to steady herself and squats down beside me to rub my back. “You shouldn’t be having another painful transition. I understand why your first one was, but I don’t remember anything about this happening.”

Mate. Must find a mate. Alpha. Must have a mate.

"Mate," I cry out.

“No, a mate has nothing to do with your shifts.” Her brow furrows as she thinks about it, then it all sinks in. “No, not this.”

I want the beast. I could go for him, scraping his teeth against the back of my neck right now. Anything to get rid of this pain.

“Grandmother, what is this and why am I suddenly really hot?” Sweat beads along my brow and drips to the floor. “Why am I so sweaty?”

“Mating heat. I thought you might have more time because normally this doesn’t happen right away after shifting, but youare twenty-four and an alpha, which means you are of age to take a mate. An alpha’s drive is worse than most, too.”

“You mean now that I have all my alpha abilities, I’m going to go insane until I take a mate? Are you joking with me?”

She only chuckles, but I can tell by her pained expression she knows what else is going to happen.

“Spit it out, Grandmother. Just tell it to me straight because my patience is wearing thin.”

“Yes,” she admits coldly. “Yes, you will, but I know how I’m going to help you.”

“Help me?” I ask as my voice becomes higher pitched. “What do you mean by that?”

She quickly walks to the other room and returns a few minutes later while I suffer from the mating heat. All I can see is a dusty stack of old books in her arms.

“I don’t know which one contains what you need to know, so I brought them all. It will help get your mind off the heat.”

Instead of laying them on the small oak table in her room, she sets them on the floor in front of me.

Suddenly, everything resides, and I breathe a sigh of relief. "I think it stopped, grandmother."

"It seems it has. We best work quickly through these and see what we can find." She tries to get comfortable beside me on the floor and opens the first book.

I quickly sit up and pull one over to me.The History and Myths of Dark Moon Pack.

The book isn't very thick and is well worn, though it is almost too dusty to read. I flip it open to the first page and take in the hand-written notes. I scan the names, but they don't seem familiar.

"Grandmother, who are Roman and Lydia Ryan? It says here they had two sons, Logan and Lucian and they were alphas as well, but Roman didn't want the pack, so Emily’s family led."

She glances up, her eyes lit up. "You are on the right track. Read further."

A picture of the cottage is on the next page, with what I assume is them. I find myself tracing the face of the older boy repeatedly. "Lucian. Why do you seem so familiar? Grandmother, is this your cottage?"

“Yes, that is the cottage we are in now. They lived here well before I was ever born or thought of.”

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