Page 66 of Wolf Cursed
But even as I asked the question, I knew there was no way this could be good. If it were, my dad wouldn’t have hidden me away my entire life.
Kai shook his head. “Legend says the curse breaker will be the next alpha. You’ve met Silas and the others. They aren’t the type to let that role go to an outsider.”
“But…I don’t want to be an alpha. Even if I did manage to break the curse, I’d just give up the role,” I said, stepping forward. Reaching for him.
But he backed away. “They would never let you live long enough for it to get that far. You’re not safe here. You need to go. Now.”
Panic clawed at me. I was so stupid. Walking right into the danger I was supposed to be runningfrom.
“You just told me I couldn’t leave or the pack would hunt me down.” My voice rose as frustration built. “This whole thing is insane. A cursed pack. Killer wolves. What the hell, Kai? What am I supposed to do now?”
“Dammit, Ash, I don’t know,” he yelled. “I don’t have the answers. I just need you to live.”
“Why the hell do you even care?” I demanded.
We were yelling now. Taking our anger out on one another. It was toxic as hell, but I was past caring.
“You don’t even like me,” I pointed out.
“Fuck, Ash. Of course I like you. Don’t you get it? That’s the problem.” He was in my face now. His breath hot on my lips. I backed away until my shoulders hit the tree again.
“And now we’re back to this being all my fault somehow,” I said. “Well, I’m so sorry I’m here ruining your life,” I ranted. “Maybe you’re the one who should leave.”
He blinked. “Maybe I should,” he said softly, and the words were so heartfelt I immediately wanted to erase them.
“What?”
“But I can’t.” He hung his head, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again and looked right at me. “You’re all I see, Ash Lawson. You have been from the moment I laid eyes on you.” He laughed humorlessly. “It’s insane how far gone I am, considering the curse prevents the mating call from ever happening, but here we are. I can’t leave you, and I can’t let them kill you.”
“Mating call?” I squeaked, confusion and disbelief coating my words. “I thought that wasn’t possible.”
He shook his head. “It shouldn’t be,” he agreed. “I mean, it’s not. Fuck, I can’t figure it out, and it’s been driving me half crazy ever since you arrived.”
“What has?”
“This…thing between us. I know you feel it too. The pull.”
I bit my lip but then nodded. “I do,” I admitted.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Our pack can’t recognize a mate, so it doesn’t make sense, but from the moment you showed up, nothing has been the same for me.”
“You’ve felt this way since I got here?” I asked.
Anger, surprise, pleasure, and desire all slammed into me at once. For someone who claimed to be interested, he had a damn funny way of showing it.
“I wanted you the minute you walked into the Throttle,” he said. “Of course, I chalked it up to lust, but then the next day, I caught your scent, and well, let’s just say my wolf agrees with me.”
My thoughts drifted back to that moment when he’d backed me against the wall in the front office. I’d watched, no,felthis whole energy change. He’d gone from irritated at my very presence to interested to completely confused before he’d slammed out the door. Now I knew why.
“What does this mean?” I asked.
“I wish I knew. My wolf feels strange. Like it doesn’t know what to do with you. It can’t recognize you as a mate, but it can’t let you go either.”
I didn’t understand any of the mate-talk, but I knew how he felt about not wanting to let go. Even if it did mark me as insane. Who fell for a guy they’d just met?
“And what about you?” I asked quietly. “Your human side or whatever?”
His eyes darkened, a storm of unspoken emotions swirling in their depths. “I’m yours, Ashes. Even if you don’t want me.”
