The Hemming Curse

Stay small and quiet. It was the last warning she had gotten from her mother. The last thing she had been told when they had left her here five years ago. Stay small and quiet- it would keep her safe. There was no other advice her mother had had for her, this had not been the fate any of them expected.  As a werewolf, it was difficult to be small or quiet about anything, but she had trained herself well. She had done it to survive in the human world. She looked at the manuscript on her computer and let out a sigh. She was glad for her job, but hated it at the same time. There was so much more to the world than the stories that were placed in front of her every day. “Unrequited love is bull sh*t,” Tabitha murmured as she set aside- yet another- hopeful author. Why was this a theme that so many authors decided to explore? She hoped that it was not because they were trying to make a world where the unrequited love came back to them. She looked up and saw another editor standing in the doorway. s**t. She’d been caught.  “It sells millions of novels a year, maybe you should try it,” Alexis stated as she moved to sit on the couch. They had come up in the publishing house together and Alexis knew a bit about how crappy Tabitha’s love life had been, but she did not know the true depths of the pain she had been through. The rejection that marred her life. “I mean in writing- not real life.” “No thank you. This is part of the reason so many girls believe that a man should basically ignore you and they should be there for him, be that good woman and one day he’ll ‘open his eyes’. Hell will freeze over faster. Tell me that story- tell me the story of the girl who saves herself,” Tabitha stated as she opened an envelope and looked down at page one. She silently turned the envelope over and grabbed her bag. She’d had enough for this week.  “Another one?” Alexis asked and she barely nodded. The first words on the page made her want to gag. If only humans knew that love was something they rarely had control over. Werewolves grew up knowing that their love was fated.  Her fated mate. Her former Alpha and the reason she was hiding in the human world. How she came to this place was almost as shocking as her true, supernatural form. Her mate did not want her and even went as far as to reject her. While she accepted the rejection, the Moon Goddess had seen it prudent to rematch them. She still didn’t know why she hadn’t rejected him that time. She wanted him- badly and he wanted her. It was why she loathed seeing love story after love story that made THIS romantic. This was not romantic. This was torture. Anyone in the werewolf world knew it. Why couldn’t humans accept it?  She glanced around as she felt a tingle go up her spine. She sniffed the air and closed her eyes. He was here again. Why was he here again? Why did he continue to do this when he did not want her? She moved towards her car and gripped her keys tightly. She did not want to deal with his bull s**t tonight. She just wanted to be left alone.  “Tab…” his voice sent a shiver down her spine. It had been two years since they had rematched and he still had such an effect on her. She then heard the rest of them approach and sighed. He had brought an audience tonight. That was a first. He had never deemed this necessary in the past. “Come home.” “Home? Elijah- it hasn’t been my home- nor you my Alpha- for years. That was all your choice- I can’t help that the Moon Goddess rematched us. Do us both a favor and drop it,” Tabitha jerked around to face him, her careful tempering lost. For a moment- she was lost in the sight of him. The piercing blue eyes, the jet black hair, the thin scar that ran across his stubbled jawline. She met his gaze and saw the small smirk, the realization that he still had so much control over her.  She then caught a glimpse of the rest of the group and bauked. The Beta, Gamma, and Delta were standing behind him. What the hell was going on here? She then took a good look at him and saw the worry in his eyes. Eli had never been worried before. Begging forgiveness? Yes. Worried? Not in a million years.  “What’s with the audience?” Tabitha insisted and Eli slowly moved towards her.  Eli held out his hand and she quietly grabbed the piece of paper. She gritted her teeth as the sparks spread through her body as their fingers barely brushed. Moaning would not be appropriate, but it took all her willpower to stop it. He had rejected her. He was the reason they were in this mess and in the past few weeks he was suddenly reaching out, wanting to talk. She had never thought he would come here when she ignored him.  Elijah might regret what he had done, but he had never been a desperate wolf- why had things changed? Those notes weren’t from me. You’re in danger here. Come home- let me explain.  “Like hell,” Tabitha murmured and she moved to get in her car. The Beta, and her brother, silently blocked her from the door and she glared up at him. How could her own brother side with Eli after everything she had gone through? How had any of her family stayed with the pack and abandoned her? “Jacob- move.” “Tabitha- no bull sh*t. I’ve never sought you out and accepted the mess that we’re all in. I’m here to take you home,” Jake stated and she felt her eyes flash with anger. She knew that fighting her way out of this was nigh on impossible.  It didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to try it. There had been a time when only Eli could take her out of this group and she was willing to bet that most of them still couldn’t take her on. “Tab, don’t be an idiot.”  “He won’t hurt me,” Tabitha nodded towards Eli- it was the only edge she had had on him in training. She doubted that time away had made him want to hurt her more, it certainly didn’t make her want to fight him. “And the rest of you- well- I was always a better fighter.” She tensed and flexed her muscles as she thought about shifting. It had been so long since she had been able to and her wolf welcomed the opportunity. She didn’t notice the bracelets Jacob held until they were around her wrists and she glared at him. They might look ordinary, but they bound her to human form.  “k********g?” Tabitha seethed and she watched all of the men aside from Eli gulp. They at least had the sense to look remorseful. Eli looked like he was just glad that she would be forced to come with them now.  “We need to get you back to pack lands. A lot has changed Tab,” Jake murmured as he moved closer to her and she then spat in his face. He would pay for this- they all would.  “You promised me…you…” Tabitha trailed off as she saw the pain flicker across his face and then took in his appearance even further.  His eyes were puffy and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. As she glanced at Eli, she saw that he looked similarly disheveled. The two of them never looked like this, especially not in front of other pack members. She had only seen it a handful of times in her life and every time something bad had happened. “E…why…J…Mom…Dad…” “They tried to keep you safe. We don’t know what they got out of them- that’s why I’m here- to keep the promise I made them,” Eli whispered as he moved between her and Jacob. She searched his eyes for any hint that this was a cruel joke and only saw the pain there. She felt her knees give out and was shocked as Eli pulled her against him. Her parents. Her parents were gone. She didn’t register how quickly the group moved towards the waiting cars or being tucked into Eli’s side.  All she knew was some degree of comfort as her world completely shattered. She had longed to know what having her mate here in the tough times would be like, but she had never imagined this would be how she found out.