Page 5 of Cursed
But she can’t tell him who she is, and apparently, she can’t lie. She simply cannot answer those questions.
Leaning against the bars casually, Beta Garek tries again, but this time with his best fake-nice tone. “Look, do yourself a favor and answer my questions. Otherwise, you can sit here and wait for the Alpha Prince to question you. And believe me, you do not want that. His Alpha Influence can be quite...uncomfortable.”
A chill spreads through Nori. Her hands shake involuntarily at the thought of meeting the Cursed Prince. Panic grips her as she shouts to Aylin, “Shit! Shit! Shit! What do we do?”
Aylin has an idea. “Ignore Rule #2. Instead, officially request asylum.”
Nori looks up, still not quite looking the male directly in his eyes, and straightens her shoulders. “I am officially seeking refuge in the Blood Moon Pack, and I request an audience with His Royal Highness, Prince Drakemoor.”
The Beta throws his head back and laughs out loud. “OK. OK.” He turns to walk back toward the exit. “It’s your funeral.”
Nori yells after him as he’s leaving, “What about the food? Or at least some water?”
His only response is the regular thud of his footsteps back down the hall and up the stairs.
A Guard comes by a few minutes later with a bottle of water and a sandwich, tossing them into her cell. So, they are not totally heartless here.
Nori drinks half the bottle straight away, then leans against the hard stone wall to eat the sandwich. “Well, that could’ve gone worse.”
“Yup, and we are still alive!” Aylin laughs softly, sounding smug.
With a small smile, Nori cheers, “Go us!”
chapter three
Worn out from her encounter with the Beta, Nori tilts her head back against the wall. He was extremely intimidating, but at least he sent the Guard to give her some food and water. Her shoulders drop, and the tension slowly leaves her body while she stares at the moss hanging from the stone ceiling.
Chewing on her bottom lip, Nori says, “The Cursed Prince is going to be a problem.”
“How do you know that? Who is this Prince?” Aylin asks with a tinge of worry in her voice.
“He is the Prince of All Wolves, son of theAlpha King.”
Startled, Aylin exclaims, “Oh, shit! That Prince Drakemoor?”
“Yes, the Royal Family. The current leaders of all wolf shifters around the world,” Nori replies.
“And how do you know he’ll be a problem?”
Nori sighs and tries to run a hand through her hair, but remembers it’s full of mud. “Our Alpha and the Prince don’t get along at all. I once overheard Alpha Draven and Beta Malrik talking about the Cursed Prince. Draven hates him and the King. Draven’s entire mission in life is to one day be King.”
Aylin’s angry growl reverberates through Nori’s mind. “Do not mention that Beta’s name again!”
Nori quickly says, “OK, Aylin. Sorry.”
Pulling her knees to her chest, Nori’s grip tightens on the blanket to keep out the chill. “The Prince probably has no love for Alpha Draven either. After all, the King accused him of provoking the Vampire Wars. The Prince will think we are some sort of spy for Draven.”
Nori exhales quietly and continues, “As soon as the Cursed Prince finds out my name and the name of our Pack, he’ll either kill us on the spot or worse, send us right back. And we are never going back! We need him to understand our situation before we tell him where we are from.”
“And how exactly do we do that?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Nori replies sadly.
With what sounds like curiosity in her voice, Aylin asks, “Why do you call him cursed? Who cursed him?”
Nori laughs and says, “Mom used to tell me and my brother that the Cursed Prince would take us away if we were bad. It was a scare tactic to get us to behave. Mom told me his story once, a long time ago. Who knows how much is true?”
“Just tell me what Mom told you, what you remember.”
