Page 59 of Wolf Cursed
“Remember Silas and his comment about having you fight?” she asked.
“Yeah. So?”
“So, it’s how we do things here. Newcomers fight, and it solidifies their place in the pack. Once you’re one of us, you also get things like pack protection.”
“Protection from what?” I asked, suddenly interested.
She shrugged. “Each other. Outside threats. Whatever. It means you have support.”
“Can I report douchebags like Devon harassing me at work?” I asked.
“Devon being a douchebag is nothing new,” she said. “But yes. Fighting for your place here would offer that kind of protection. As well as prove to them what you are. That you can be trusted. If you refuse to fight, you can’t stay.”
“Hmm. They do know this isn’t the Dark Ages, right?”
“I know it sounds barbaric from a human perspective, but wolves do things differently. It’s part of our animal nature to use our beasts to understand where we fall in the pecking order.”
“They want me to fight…as a wolf?”
“That’s the only way to survive,” she said wryly. “Considering your opponent will be a wolf too.”
Isaac grabbed my hand. “But you don’t have to do it. We’re going to protect you. They won’t fuck with us.”
“Can’t I just opt out and take the bottom place or whatever it’s called? Part of the pack but not a threat?”
Idrissa shook her head. “It’s more than hierarchy,” she said. “It’s like a rite of passage.”
“Can’t your alpha or council or whoever make an exception?” I asked.
“We don’t have an alpha,” Isaac said, and I swore he sounded almost sad.
“That’s what everyone keeps saying. I don’t understand. Don’t all wolf packs have alphas?”
“We’re a little different than other packs,” Isaac said.
“But you used to have an alpha,” I reminded them. “So, what happened after my dad left? Why was he never replaced or whatever?”
He and Idrissa shared a quick look.
“Great, more secrets,” I said.
Idrissa slid closer in her chair and lowered her voice. “It’s not…I can’t…” She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, they were lit with a painful determination. “There’s a curse,” she finally said.
“A curse,” I said.
She nodded.
Isaac leaned toward me. “Magic binds us,” he whispered. “We can’t…say much…”
“Magic,” I repeated, stunned.
He nodded.
“And you can’t tell me,” I realized. “Like, literally can’t.”
“We want to,” Isaac assured me.
Whoa.
