Page 97 of His Curse

Mary nods. “She did. I started going on about how Havok and the rest of the core clan should just kick you out of the inner circle, how you’re nothing but a cursed, well, you know. And once I got to running my mouth about how you should never have any pups of your own because…” I wince as an involuntary growl bubbles up from my throat and my sister bows her head in submission. “That was Lark’s reaction, too. That, and she slapped me.”

My head whips in her direction as my eyes all but bug out of my head. “My mateslappedyou?”

“Yep. I think she wanted to punch me, but I have a feeling she toned it down since Ronny was standing right next to her.”

“Wow…” I blink and try like hell to pick my jaw up off the ground. “What happened after that?”

“A lot of yelling, then a lot of growling, then my wolf made me submit to our Luna and I started crying. Which is when we were able to finally talk.”

“Yeah?”Gobsmacked.I am fucking gobsmacked right now.

“I’m not sure if it was the smack to the face or having a real, true Luna in my house for the first time since Mama died, but it was like suddenly everything started to make sense.” Mary scoffs, more at herself than anything else. “Probably helped that Ronin and Lark were ganging up on me pretty hard, too.”

I sigh and scrub a hand over my beard to hide my smile. “I didn’t ask them to do that.”

“I know. They did it because they love you, because you’re their Alpha. You’re my Alpha, too, Colt, and I should never have allowed anything to come between us. It hurt far more than I thought it would to find out about your mate like that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure what you want me to say to that, Marigold. I never thought I’d find her in the first place, and I wasn’t exactly proud of what I did to her when our paths crossed the first time. Not to mention, you’ve had little to no interest in anything to do with me for a very long time. I didn’t exactly think you’d jump at helping us plan the mating ceremony.”

My sister nods and sniffles again. “I know. And I honestly didn’t think I’d care if I found out you mated and never told me, but having your mate standing in my kitchen, exuding your energy and wearing your scent… it hurt a lot more than I was expecting. Mama would have been so mad at me for it too, for shunning you the way I have, to the point not wanting to share something so important with me. Ronny didn’t even tell me until he brought your mate over. I was completely in the dark and once I realized how it affected me, and I stopped seeing stars after Lark slapped me, we had a really serious talk.”

“About?” Because, once again, this conversation is all over the map but long overdue and if I let my sister lead then maybe we can get back to a place we can build from again.

“You. They were worried. They explained everything again after I was more rational, explained what happened at Havok’s house, and they said you took off because of how upset you were, and neither of them could get through to you.”

“I needed some space.”And to destroy things in the safest way possible.“I wasn’t going to stay gone, but I needed to sort through my thoughts before I dealt with anyone else.”

Mary nods with a grin. “More because you needed to understand why Lark could control the beast, and less because of what he actually did.”

It’s amazing that she still knows me that well.“It didn’t make sense, especially when I was so angry I couldn’t think straight, and while I still don’t completely understand it, what Lark told me seems to work.”

“I agree.”

“You do?” I arch a brow as I turn to face her. “You actually think my evil can be controlled?”

“I do. Ask me a few days ago and I would have said no, but your mate and Beta made a pretty solid argument. Which is why I came out here to find you.”

“What, so you can tell me you agree with them?”

Mary shrugs. “That, and that… I wanted to tell you… I’m sorry, Colton. I know it doesn’t make up for all the hurtful things I’ve said and done, that it doesn’t make up for all the time we missed, but I am sorry for all of that and I’d really like it if…” She shakes her head but doesn’t finish.

Which is not something I’m going to let happen right now, not when I feel like we might actually be making progress. “What, Mary?”

“I’d, well, I guess I’d like it if you could find it in your heart to forgive me for the last century or so, and maybe… maybe we could work toward being a pack again.”

When I don’t respond right away, my sister cringes, her shoulders bunching to her ears the way they used to when we were pups and she’d ask me to smuggle her extra sweets after dinner. And that has my heart softening even more, but I don’t put her at ease just yet. No, I wait until Marigold looks up at me, her dark eyes expectant and full of hope—and a touch of annoyance—when they meet mine. “Took a lot for you to say that, didn’t it?”

“Colton,” she huffs, rolling her eyes and looking away as her back goes ramrod straight. “I came all the way out here to try to make amends, to try to talk you into coming home because your mate and your Beta are worried sick, and instead of acting like the grown ass alpha male you are you just—”

“I’d like that.” I grin as I bump my shoulder into hers. “I’d like to see if we can get past the bullshit and work toward being a pack again, but you know it isn’t going to be easy, right?”

“I know. Nothing is ever easy when you’re involved, and Lark filled me in on this suicide mission the lot of you are about to embark on.” She sighs before mumbling, “And I’mreallynot a fan of that but it doesn’t seem like I have any say.”

I throw my arm over her shoulders and give my sister the first hug I’ve attempted in forever. “You don’t. We’re doing this one way or another, and if I survive it, I promise you can grovel as much as you want afterwards.”

“Ass.”

“Maybe, but I’m only half joking. This little chat, while it’s appreciated and was mildly confusing, doesn’t magically fix everything that’s been wrong with us, Mary. And there’s been a lot wrong for really long fucking time.”

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