Lessons in Love

Chapter 77: Anam Curse

POV: Beta Ben Westlake

“What is it?” My tone changed immediately. Her eyes were locked on Rick. Her sadness was palpable. “What is it?” I demanded more roughly than I intended. Rick growled behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him, thinking he’d growled at Lulu, but he was staring at me. At least he was before I made eye contact. He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Lulu said, drawing our attention back to her. “There’s good news and bad news.” She said. I held my breath. She looked between Riley and I and smiled. “You two are, without question, mates.”

I grabbed Riley, pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank the Goddess.” I whispered against her hair.

“Everything I know about power bonds suggests that you two are the real deal.” Lulu said.

“The bad news?” Rick asked. Riley pulled out of the hug so she could look at Lulu but kept her arm around my waist. I held her around her shoulders with one arm and waited.

Lulu turned to Cindy. “Did it react?” She asked.

“Just like you thought it would.” Cindy replied.

“Damn,” she spat. Lulu started muttering to herself. She was quiet, making it hard to hear what she was mumbling. She made a very human growling noise and turned abruptly to us. “The stone is for you,” she said to Rick. I growled viciously and cursed.

Riley flexed her aura around me to calm me down, and Rick grunted, taking a step back. Riley reigned it in immediately. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly to Rick.

“It’s okay,” he said, straightening up a bit. “Can you break it?” He asked Lulu.

“I can stall it, but I can’t break it right now. There are ... too many things in the way.” She replied cryptically.

“Can you tell us what it is?” Riley asked.

“I can,” Lulu said cautiously. “But I think that I should talk to Rick about it first.” She looked at him.

Rick adjusted his shoulders uncomfortably, weighing his options. “No,” he said quietly. “No, I think we do this together.” He looked at me briefly before making eye contact with Lulu. “Lay it out for us.” He said firmly.

“Okay,” she turned and picked up the stone off the table. It was glowing brighter than it had earlier when I’d given it to Lulu. “This stone holds an Anam Curse, a curse on your soul. For werewolves, that usually means it’s a curse on your aura; your wolf.” She explained.

“The curse is eating at your aura. It’s preventing your aura from fulfilling its destiny. A lot of my research on power bonds suggests that there is a protector or companion of the bond. Someone who acts as both a sword and shield to the couple who are fighting the injustice. You are a logical choice because of the clear closeness you have with Ben. If you’re aura starts to fail, Ben will do everything in his power to protect you, to help you, and in doing so …”

“It will jeopardize the mission.” Rick said calmly.

“Yes,” she said simply.

“How do you know I’m their third wheel?” He asked.

“You didn’t feel Ben’s aura. In fact, you described it the same way his mate would. You would need to be able to withstand both of their auras.” Lulu explained. “But you aren’t withstanding Riley’s. You're reafing each other as a threat to Ben. A threat to the bonds you share with him." She explained. “The test we just did proves that. Ben and Riley could have stopped the test at any time. It wouldn’t have made a difference to me. Riley knows you, cares for you, so she was worried, but her aura maintained a strong, steady line. Ben’s, on the other hand, waivered. Ultimately, it was Ben who stopped the exercise.” I stifled a growl and felt my arm loosen around Riley.

Lulu continued. “Their bond has not been cemented yet, but yours and Ben’s has been over a lifetime together. If they don’t finish the mate bond soon, the curse will disrupt it. Ben won’t be able to trust Riley because Riley won’t be able to trust you, and you won’t be able to trust her.”

“So, we need to claim each other. Mate and mark each other.” I said.

“That will help,” Lulu nodded. “It will keep you two bonded no matter what. It may put added strain on your relationship with Rick, though. You just need to remember that it won’t be forever. Once we break the curse, you two will be closer than you ever have been.”

“What do you need to break the curse?” I asked.

Lulu looked at Rick. “I think maybe I should talk to Rick about this privately.” She said.

“Why? What are you going to have to do?” I demanded.

“There’s something wrong with my aura, isn’t there?” Rick asked.

Lulu let out a pent-up breath and nodded. “It's..." She wet her lips. "It's badly damaged. This stone has been attached to you for a long time. At least a decade. It's blocking your connections to people." She said.

"The curse is feeding off the damage on your aura. Honestly, I don't know how you're standing here." She practically whispered, and I felt my chest get tight. "You need to deal with that damage before I break the curse, or it may not matter whether or not I break it.”

“How so?” Riley furrowed her brow.

“He’s doing more damage to his aura than the curse is right now.” Lulu said, looking at Rick. “I’m so sorry.” She said. “I’ll do everything I can to help you. I know some great doctors who can help you work through the trauma you’ve faced, and between Cindy and I, we can make sure you …”

“Stop.” Rick said quietly.

“It’s no trouble.” Lulu said quickly.

“Stop!” Rick growled.

I grabbed his shoulder. “Hey, you knew this was coming, Rick. Smokey told you, and you said it felt urgent.”

“Smokey?” Lulu questioned.

“His wolf.” I replied. I looked at Riley. “You must be Grenade.” I said with a bit of a smile. Riley’s face went red, and she nodded.

“He said I’d have to catch a rabbit, not save the f*****g world.” Rick barked at me.

“Rabbit?” Riley and Lulu said in unison.

“Is that why you were asking about rabbits in our mythology?” Riley asked.

“You can’t see the rabbit?!” Lulu’s voice seemed higher than necessary.

Rick let out an exasperated breath and shook his head. “Do you know what the rabbit is?”

“Smokey was right,” she said firmly. “You need to deal with it urgently.”

“You didn’t answer the question.” I snarled at her. Lulu and Riley exchanged looks.

“Do you have any ideas on who or what the rabbit could be?” Lulu asked.

“It could be anything or anyone.” Rick said with frustration and started pacing. “I thought maybe it was Emma, my goddaughter.” Rick explained to her. “I thought maybe it was George or Henry; that I have to help you find or catch one of them. The rabbit could be my mate. It could be a relic or it could be the name of another wolf – though that would make very little sense.” Rick grumbled. “I’ve thought of a hundred different things it could, but none seem to stick out. Should something stick out to me?”

“You know what it is.” I said firmly, glaring at Lulu. “Just tell us.” I demanded.

“She can’t.” Riley said with a sigh.

“Why not?” I demanded with a growl.

“There are limits to what I can do to help you find the rabbit, but I promise, I will exhaust every possibility, and every tool I can give you will be yours. I can walk up to the line here, but I can’t cross it. I can’t give you any clues on the rabbit, just things that will help you see it.” Lulu rambled out quickly. She didn’t take her eyes off Rick.

Rick seemed to be sizing her up. His eyes narrowed, like he was trying to see if her words were trustworthy. “Okay,” he said finally. “I need to pick up Emma, but we can start in about an hour.” He said to Lulu before turning to Riley. “Is the gym empty for the rest of the night?”

“Whoa, hey, I don’t think that’s …”

“What?” Rick growled at me. “Weren’t you listening? I don’t have a choice. This has to happen now, or I screw up your whole f*****g life.” He snapped.

“Rick,” Lulu’s voice was gentle. “You need to take a few days to process and to get some proper nights of sleep.”

“I thought it was urgent.” He growled at her.

Lulu looked incredibly sad suddenly. “It is, but if you don’t do this right, you’ll end up hurting yourself more than helping.” She said, having trouble making eye contact with Rick. “There’s something I can give you to help right away, but it’ll take me a couple of hours to get it organized.”

Rick scrubbed his hands over his face and started pacing. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Bring it by around 7. Emma’s usually in bed by then.” Lulu nodded. Rick headed for the door but stopped before leaving the room. “Thank you.” He added over his shoulder at her.

“You’re welcome.” She said softly. Rick nodded and left.

“I don’t understand.” I said harshly. “Why are we making the answers harder for him to find?”

“We’re not,” Lulu’s voice was small and quiet. “The rabbit will only hurt him right now. He needs to find it on his own when he’s ready.” I looked at Lulu and saw tears in her eyes. Riley stepped toward her and pulled her into a hug. Lulu hugged Riley back tightly before pulling back. “I need to go get a few things ready.” She said, delicately wiping at her cheek as she turned to the table and started packing up her things.

“Come on,” Riley said gently, taking my hand. “We can talk about this upstairs.”