Page 3 of Cursed

With only a moment of his sister resisting their father’s command, she cries out as she reaches around and slices across Branden’s stomach from behind.

Branden grabs his low abdomen, holding in his guts, and collapses to the floor.

His father chuckles and pours iron powder over his wound.

Then I remember…Branden’s scar.

Thisis how he was so grievously injured that it marked him for life.

His sister screams and frantically tries to remove the powder, but it only makes the mess of the damage that much worse.

Their father pulls her up by the hair and drags her from the room, leaving Branden to bleed out on the dirty dungeon floor. A metal gate slams shut. “If you survive, then you’re worthy of my name.”

Branden’s alone. We’re alone.

This is my chance to break through into his subconscious.

I drop to the floor next to him, taking in the sight of this beautiful yet tortured soul. It’s a wonder he isn’t completely ruined from his childhood. He really is like me… like the rest of us. All with such dark and tragic pasts.

“Branden?” I call cautiously. I will myself to become visible to his mind. “It’s me… Shayla. I’m here to help you. Get you out of this nightmare.”

“Shayla?” he asks, appearing as if he is struggling to remember where he’s heard my name before.

“Tu Sangre Amor,” I risk saying. “Your mate.”

“I don’t have anyone. I’m alone.”

So this must have happened right before he got together with Rourke.

“In this moment in the past? Yes, you are alone, but you will find your love. A friend, a lover, someone who will help you get through all this…”

I pause, truly appreciating that Rourke and Branden must have helped each other through so much. And I almost can’t believe Branden would risk his relationship with Rourke to be with me. But perhaps he’s an optimist, believing we will work it out now that the dragon and I are bonded even more through our connection with him.

I continue, “And I’m here, now… This is just a horrible memory. But I’m in your arms right now in Rourke’s lair. We’re mate bonded.”

The obsidian orbs of his eyes open, and I know they lock onto me even though they are completely black.

“Iloveyou?” he asks, sounding unsure of such a claim.

“Uh, I guess we really haven’t said it in words. But yes… I love you.”

I swallow down my confusion that we mate bonded without saying how deeply we care about each other first. But I felt his love when our mate bond tied our souls together. I suppose the whole crazy thing about my life right now is that I’m in love with more than one guy… And I’ve only known one of them for longer than a few months.

“You love me… we are mate bonded,” I say.

Branden’s blood-covered hand clasps around my throat. “I don’t know what you are, but you look delicious. Sparkling darkness. I need it… I want it…allof it.”

Shit. Is he going to bite me and drain me? And if he does, will he do it in real life?

“Branden, please. You need to wake up. You’re hurting me.”

“I hurt everyone, even when I don’t want to.” He slowly pulls my neck to his mouth, his fangs descending.

I feel his breath on my skin… I believe it’s in thewakinglife. I hear shouts…

Rourke?

I didn’t want to use my chaotic magic since I still don’t know how to use it properly. Fuck, I don’t even know what I can do. I might hurt Branden. I might hurt Rourke. I might hurt myself, breaking us out of Branden’s mind and waking him from this nightmare.

---