Page 43 of Cursed

I’m… relieved? Numb? In shock?

“She’s really gone?” I ask.

“Like I told you the day we first met.” Quade strokes my cheek. “People don’t come back out of there.” He looks over at Arden.

My druid lost his mother to that nightmare facility—and she was innocent.

My mother is gone.Really gone.

I hold my arms out, and Quade snatches me up in his strong embrace. “Thank Goddess she didn’t hurt you,” I murmur into his chest as he pulls me onto the bed and holds me.

Tears stream down my cheeks. I’m not even sure what emotion is leaking out of me. Maybeallthe emotions?

Arden places his large hands on my hip, grounding me.

My vampire and dragon crawl up on the bed behind me and rest their hands on my shoulders.

Landis’ shadow snakes around my waist. He weakly attempts to lighten the mood, “And four out of five of your mates know just how big of an asshole a parent can be. It’s like a club.”

I stroke his shadow appendage. “Too soon, babe,” I say, trying and failing to add humor as well. But he’s not wrong. The only one of us who had loving parents was Arden, and he lost them way too soon.

I sit dazed for who knows how long, my mind rebelling against the news of my origins, my siblings, and my mother. “Can we just dog pile for a little bit? I think I need to be near all of you while I curl up and process this,” I say softly, unsure how they will feel about being so close to each other.

But my worries are instantly vanquished as Branden pulls me backward onto the bed. He curls up on my one side with Rourke spooning him, and the dragon places a hand on my waist.

Quade rests his head near my elbow. Arden tucks in above him, his hand brushing back my hair in a soothing motion, giving me kisses on the top of my head.

Landis has moved between my legs and rests his head on my low stomach.

And even though my mind is sort of freaking out about the news of having a father and who he is, my heart and soul are calmed by my coven’s presence.

Their love and support surround me. I assume this is what it means to have a family. And I sigh in contentment, finally understanding the feeling.

14

SHIFTING

SHAYLA

Imust have dozed off with my guys and their love surrounding me. When I wake, Quade and Arden are both at my sides, and the others are nowhere to be seen in our tiny cottage.

I pout a bit.

“What isthisabout?” Quade thumbs my protruding lip. “Do you already miss the others?”

Feeling silly to need them close, I say, “It’s dumb.”

“No, it’s not,” Arden rumbles in his sleepy, deep voice. “You just learned some crazy things. And even without that, you’ll miss them when they aren’t around. I will ache every second you aren’t by my side.” His electric fingers skim over my hip, making me press my ass into his morning wood.

“What your druid said,” Quade jokes, giving my bottom lip a playful nip. When I look into his amber eyes, he asks, “Do you want to talk about it… what I discovered?”

“I have something to add—with whatI’vediscovered.” I grab Arden’s arm, now draped over my waist, and squeeze it. Glancing over my shoulder to see his forest-colored eyes, I feel grounded with the sight. “Uh…” I hesitate, since they will not take this well. It’s probably good that Branden isn’t around for them to attack. “So… I kind of… died.” I quickly add, “But only for a minute.”

“What?” Both of them tense and sit up, leaning over me. Shock and terror dance in their eyes, but they look ready to kill someone for my near-death experience.

I cover my face as I lay there, wondering how to make it not sound so dramatic.

Landis busts through the front door. “Itisdramatic!” he shouts as he crashes down on the bed at my feet and removes my hands from my face, forcing me to look at him.

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