THE WOLF’S CURSE

Chapter 14

Ava

He stares at me with confusion, his eyes wide and filled with terror. But it’s his pupils, fully dilated, that tell me everything I need to know. Besides the severity of his wound, one of two things is going to happen to him. Either he’ll turn… or he’ll die.

Given the fact that no human has ever survived a bite, the latter is no doubt his impending fate.

“What do you mean you live here?” His words pull me out of my own thoughts. His voice sounds like something I’ve never heard before—raw, desperate, and laced with fear. I can’t place it, but I’m drawn to him in a way that doesn’t make any sense.

“The forest,” I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. “I grew up here. I’m not lost, but you shouldn’t be here. I tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen.”

He blinks at me, his expression a mix of frustration and disbelief. “What does that even mean? How did you expect me to listen when you show up out of nowhere and then run off whenever I try to talk to you?”

I swallow hard, lowering my eyes. He’s right, of course. I’ve been cryptic, elusive, and now it’s too late to explain everything. Before I can think of how to respond, he speaks again.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter. I need to get to my bag. I have a satellite phone inside. I’ll get them to airlift me out of here.”

My eyes shoot up to his, wide with panic. “No! You can’t.”

He frowns at me, his jaw tightening. “What do you mean I can’t? I have to get out of here. There are big-ass wolves out there, Ava. I got attacked last night. I nearly lost my life. I’m in no shape to do another three-day hike back down this mountain.”

I clench my jaw, my mind racing. How do I explain this to him? How do I tell him that the reason he can’t leave is because he’s been bitten by a werewolf? That I know this because I am one of them? How do I tell him that if he leaves, and the other humans find his body, they’ll know something isn’t right?

Instead, I swallow hard and say, “You just can’t.”

He narrows his eyes at me, staring for a long moment before smirking. “You can’t stop me from leaving.”

He goes to push himself up, to stand, and pure instinct takes over. I shove him back, my hands pressing against his chest. He falls back down, glaring up at me as I rise to my feet, towering over him.

“What the f**k?” he grinds out, his voice sharp with anger. “Get out of my way!”

I shake my head, my heart pounding. “I can’t let you leave. I’m sorry. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. Now it’s too late. You can’t leave.”

Anger and confusion flood his face, disbelief etched into every line. “The f**k I can’t.”

He goes to get up again, and I do the only thing that makes sense. My eyes dart around, and I notice a rock, bigger than my hand, lying close by. Before he can react, I grab it, swing my arm, and connect the rock with the side of his head.

For a moment, I just sit there, staring at him with a sense of awe. He’s beautiful. His features are soft in the dim light of the cave, his dark hair falling across his forehead, his lips slightly parted. He looks so peaceful and calm in this moment—a complete contrast to the raging, desperate man he was moments ago.

A moment later, I notice a figure enter the cave. I don’t have to look up to know it’s Raurk. My brother.

He comes to stand beside me, his towering frame casting a shadow over Alec’s still form. “He dead?” His voice is cold and disconnected, like he’s talking about a piece of trash and not a living, breathing person.

I tilt my head, my jaw tightening as I glare up at him. “You didn’t need to attack him. I would have gotten him out of here.”

Raurk looks at me and snorts, his lip curling into a snarl. “He came into our territory, little sister. Meters away from our pack’s camp. He sealed his fate the moment he did that.”

I rise to my feet, my jaw clenching as I stare him down. “He wasn’t a threat. Didn’t you see why he had come here? He had the remains of someone close to him in a container. He poured them out on the mountain. He would have left and never come back.”

Raurk narrows his eyes at me, disgusted that I would even stand up for this human. “He desecrated our territory by throwing out the ashes of a human on our lands,” he grits out, the words burning like acid in his throat. He glares at me, his voice low and dangerous. “He’s a human. He had no right.”

My jaw tightens, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “Attacking humans and killing them, brother—it’s cowardly. They’re defenseless against us. What you did… sealing his fate by biting him… you had no right.”

Raurk smirks at me, brushing off my words like they carry no weight. “If he’s not already dead, he will be soon enough. Seeing as you’ve taken a liking to a human, little sister, you can dispose of the body.”

He turns on his heel and walks out of the cave without looking back, his footsteps fading into the forest.

I stand there, frozen, my chest heaving with anger and frustration. When I finally snap out of it, I crouch beside Alec again, my eyes scanning his face. That’s when I notice it—the sweat droplets rolling down his forehead, his skin pale and clammy.

It’s already begun.

My jaw tightens as I press a hand to his forehead. He’s burning up. The fever is setting in, and I know what that means. Within less than 24 hours, it won’t matter anymore. He’ll be dead.

Unless—

I blink, my mind racing as an idea springs to life. What if I can keep his body cool? What if I can slow the fever, buy him enough time to survive the transformation?

I chew on my bottom lip, my eyes darting to the cool, damp soil beside him. I place my hands against it, feeling the soft, loose earth beneath my fingers. It’s cold, almost icy, and the idea takes shape in my mind.

Maybe, just maybe…

He goes down, hitting the ground with a thud, lying on his side, unconscious.

I stand there, staring at him for a moment, my chest heaving. Then I drop the rock, my hands trembling.

I lower myself beside him, my breath shaky as I gently move a strand of his dark, wavy hair away from his face. He’s not dead—not yet. I just knocked him out.

But the truth is, he might as well be.