Page 72 of Cursed
The air shimmers briefly as Nori instantly transforms into her wolf, her clothes ripping from her body. Aylin backs into a defensive stance and watches the Rogue stalk around the horse toward her. Oddly, instead of attacking or turning into a crazed beast, the Rogue calmly sits down on the ground in front of her.
Aylin whispers to Nori, “Should I attack? What the hell is happening?”
When they hear a hoarse, feminine voice in their minds, Aylin and Nori stop. Frozen.
“Nori? Aylin? It’s me, Mom.” The Rogue shifts her weight forward to get up, and Aylin growls and steps back.
The Rogue sits back down with a huff. “Seriously, girls, it is me. Draven cursed me and your father, transforming us into, well, this! All Rogues are really wolf shifters who Draven has cursed.”
Aylin pushes her thoughts to the Rogue. “How can I hear you in my head? Why aren’t you attacking me?”
The female Rogue looks to the sky, trying to figure out what to say that will make the girls believe her. “Sunshine! We used to call you Sunshine!”
Aylin practically falls over at hearing her nickname. “Mom? They told us you and Dad were dead! Is that really you? Alive?”
Rogue-Mom sighs in Aylin’s mind. “Yes, my beautiful girl! Yes, it’s me. Your father is alive too!”
Aylin runs up to her mom, who looks like a Rogue, nuzzling her. “What? I can’t believe it! Oh, Mom, we’ve missed you so much!”
Rogue-Mom cradles Aylin’s head and looks her in the eyes. “I’ve missed you too, love, but there is no time for that now. I need you to break the curse and heal me, Aylin.”
“Me? How in the world do I do that?”
“Use your power. Surely, you’ve discovered you have a massive power by now?” Rogue-Mom asks.
“You mean the blazing light? I know about it, but I don’t know how to use it yet.”
“Yes, yes! You’ll need both of your powers to break this curse. Reach for your powers at the same time, then push the power out of you toward me,”Rogue-Mom says excitedly.
Aylin tilts her head, hearing hooves pounding the ground, still a few miles away. She catches Bade’s scent on the wind. “That would be my Mate coming for me. Maybe we should wait. He can help.”
“No, Aylin, please. They will not hesitate to kill me, no matter what you say, because I am Rogue! You must use your power to lift this curse before they arrive. Please, daughter!”
Aylin tilts her head and says to Nori, “Are you ready for this? Mom is probably right; they will attack her as soon as they see her.”
Nori, still shocked that her mom is alive, agrees. They should try to help her before the others arrive. “We can do this!”
Aylin steps back, silently thanking the Goddess that she and Nori have practiced accessing their powers nearly every hour since they first discovered them. Together, they call forth both of their powers. Aylin’s entire body shimmers with a bright, golden light, glittering like stardust. Following their mother’s instructions, they focus on pushing their powers into her.
A stream of light from their combined powers slams into Rogue-Mom, knocking her to the ground. A brilliant burst of golden light erupts around her, lighting up the forest in every direction. A tortured howl rips from Rogue-Mom’s throat as she writhes in agony. When the flash fades, a soft, sparkling light blankets her body. Slowly. Excruciatingly. The monstrous form begins to fade, and the transformation from Rogue to she-wolf begins.
chapter forty-four
Racing through the forest, Bade feels the Mate Bond flare as soon as Aylin calls him her Mate. He grins with his tongue hanging out. “You feel that, Ryland? She’s accepted the Mate Bond.”
Ryland, on the other hand, refuses to let himself fully believe it. “She still has to say the words, Bade.”In the next moment, Ryland’s voice becomes urgent.“We’re close!”
Bade and his accompanying riding party abruptly stop. An explosion of golden light in the distance illuminates the forest, followed by a massive surge of power that crashes over them.
Bade howls and pounds through the forest faster than before, convinced that his Mate is in terrible trouble. Adele, Garek, and Zayne glance at each other nervously. The last time they saw that light, Nori had died. They kick their horses into a gallop to catch up with Bade. Within minutes, all four of Nori’s rescuers skid to a halt, completely unprepared for the scene in front of them.
Standing in the clearing is a magnificent she-wolf, her luminous white fur glowing under the moonlight. The only blemish in her pristine coat is a small black marking on her right hip—a crescent moon with a single star.
Recognizing Aylin’s mark, their mouths fall open. Adele covers her sharp intake of breath with her hand, and Zayne whispers, “She’s Goddess-blessed!”
Almost reverently, Bade says to Ryland, “I was wrong. She isn’t lovely. She’s glorious!”
Their gazes snap to a figure on the ground, howling and snarling, surrounded by a golden light. Aylin, wobbling a little on her feet, nudges the figure with her nose.
