Page 53 of Protected By Her Mate

“What is the curse?”

“You don’t know?” Vanessa’s eyebrows go up in surprise. “It’s all over the internet, especially now that King Lock is gaining so much attention internationally.”

I shake my head in answer to her question. I’d Googled Lennox, of course, but I didn’t delve into his family history beyond confirming his princely status. I was more interested in his police work over the past few centuries. Even that kind of information was sparse and I hadn’t come across any mention of a curse.

“Tell me,” I demand. “I want to know.”

She looks pleased at being the one to divulge the juicy family gossip. “Well, it all started when the Lunatic King found his mate.”

“The Lunatic King?”

She nods, her eyes shining. “He’s the oldest of the five brothers. I haven’t met him yet, but Mags says he’s mellowed into quite the lapdog. In the old days, when he was in charge of Wolf-Haven, the pressure got to him and he began making erratic decisions that weren’t in the best interests of the people. Under his stewardship, fields grew fallow, businesses failed, and famine threatened. Many wolf shifters fled to other parts of the world to rebuild what they once had. When Fallon, sorry that’s his name, found his mate, he got even worse, became protectionist. He closed borders and surrounded the castle with his soldiers. He was obsessed with ferreting out traitors and many innocents were accused of plotting against him. His bride hated him on sight, or so I imagine. I don’t really know because historical records are vague on what it was like for her to live at the castle under his guardianship. What I do know for sure is she rejected him repeatedly, turning down his marital proposals pretty much daily, which drove him into a frenzy until he attempted to force her to mate with him.”

Spellbound by Vanessa’s vibrant storytelling, I’m helpless to say anything except, “What happened next?”

“Lock, Rush, Keenan and Lennox tried to calm the situation, but it got worse by the day. Lyra, sorry, that’s Fallon’s mate’s name, is a witch who had crazy amounts of natural power. Before the incident, she was a Guardian Witch, a highly regarded designation in witch culture. I think she was stripped of the title though and might be an ordinary witch now. I’d love to know more about her, but she left immediately following my revival.”

I’m stumped by half of what Vanessa is saying, but I can follow the core of the story. “So the powerful witch got pissed when King Fallon tried to touch her without permission. Am I getting this right?”

“Something like that,” Vanessa says, then continues her story, “So on the day he tried to force her, Lyra’s emotions were extremely high which intensified her magic exponentially. She cast a spell while in this heightened emotional state that became amplified beyond her control. To all accounts, she was terrified by her own magic more than she was frightened by Fallon and begged for his help. When he tried to reach her, the amplified spell hit not just Fallon, but all five brothers. It wrapped her in dark magic and nearly killed her. In fact, for many years, the brothers believed she was dead, but we know now that she’s not. The Oracles punished her for disrupting the natural order by calling up dark magic. Only Rage Witches can use dark magic and even then, they must be extremely careful.”

I mentally file the phrase Rage Witches to examine later. “Poor Lyra! She didn’t mean to call up that kind of magic,” I say heatedly. “How was she punished?”

“She was sent to a penal realm where her magic is bound. She’s meant to serve out the rest of her days there. The Witch justice code doesn’t make room for unintended consequences. I think in their minds, all witches should have supreme control over their magic, especially Guardian Witches, whose job is to protect everyone from rogue operators.” She beams proudly. “I spent a few days in the Shadow Realm while Mags was studying a way to save me. I learned a lot while I was there.”

I stare thoughtfully at the glints of sunlight playing among the tiny ripples of water in the pool. “What was the spell she cast?” Whatever it was, it’s the reason Lennox doesn’t want to accept me as his mate.

Vanessa’s expression is serious as she says, “Lyra’s exact words were, ‘For the crime of trying to force me into an unwanted bond, I doom you to a life without your mate.’ The natural order wouldn’t allow the spell to stand so it went haywire, and due to the extra energy caused by her emotional state, it rebounded onto all five brothers.”

A shiver goes through me. “Meaning the spell impacted all of them, instead of just the target?”

She nods. “It’s meant to separate the Wolven-North brothers from their mates. And it worked. Rush lost many reincarnated mates before he found Mags, who survived the spell by changing from a Good Witch into a Rage Witch. I bypassed it by changing too.” Her solemn gaze remains steady on me.

I have questions about the reincarnation bit, but I try to focus on the message at hand. “Lennox won’t mate with me because he’s protecting me from the spell.”

“Yes, exactly,” Vanessa says. “Though why he didn’t just explain all this to you is beyond me. These silly enigmatic wolves are too much for me sometimes. Just out with it so we can get on with our lives, am I right?”

I can’t help but laugh weakly, despite the heavy feeling pressing on my chest as I realize I might never be able to be with Lennox.

“Of course, I wouldn’t let some family curse stop me from loving the man I was born to be with. Even if I’d stayed dead, I wouldn’t change anything. The months with my husband before the bombing were the best in my life.”

I’d love to be able to say the same, but I can’t. I have a son who means more to me than my life and Lennox’s put together. I will never put a curse before Luke. Lennox was right to stay away from me.

I lift my eyes and see a shadow move in one of the house’s windows. All the windows are tinted, but I know who it is. Lennox knows that I know and his despair hits me like a ton of bricks.

“Do you want to see me shift?” Vanessa asks excitedly, her bright enthusiasm at odds with the suffocating feelings bubbling inside me.

I smile slightly and nod, “Sure, let’s see it.”

Chapter 20

On ice

LENNOX

After leaving Keenan and Vanessa’s, we drive to the airport and board our plane in silence. I can’t hear her thoughts and it’s killing me. I have no idea how she’s blocking me, but she is. She’s slumped in the seat next to the window on the jet taking us back to New York. Her distant gaze is on the clouds as we pass them by, her jaw moving rhythmically as she chews peppermint gum.

I want to beg her to talk to me, but what’s the point? She knows about the curse, knows that we can’t mate because of it. She understands, so then why the silent treatment?

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