Ghosts and Deadlines
1234 Words
Last night was nothing short of mind blowing just like the night before. I was getting addicted to Cressida and I needed answers. Fast.
The morning air felt cold against my skin as Thorne and I left Blackstone.
I was careful enough not to wake her before I left my chambers.
A thin mist clung to the forest floor, curling around the horses’ legs.
The carriage rolled slowly down the narrow road.
Tall trees stood on either side, their branches tangled overhead like skeletal fingers.
Neither of us spoke much.
We both knew why we were making this journey.
And neither of us liked it.
Nine days.
That was all I had left before the curse claimed what remained of my life.
The thought sat heavy in my chest as the carriage moved deeper into the wilderness.
Most people believed the seer appeared wherever she pleased.
Some said she lived in the mountains.
Others claimed she wandered the forests.
A few insisted she wasn’t entirely human.
The truth was, no one really knew.
Not even me.
Yet she always seemed to know when I needed answers.
The forest grew darker as we traveled.
Sunlight barely reached the ground beneath the thick canopy.
Eventually the driver slowed the horses.
“We’re here, Alpha.”
I looked out the window.
A small crooked hut stood in the middle of a clearing.
It looked like it had grown from the earth itself.
Twisted roots crawled across the walls.
Bundles of dried herbs hung from the roof.
Bones and strange charms swayed from strings on the porch.
The place felt wrong.
Even the birds avoided it.
Thorne stepped out beside me.
His hand drifted toward the sword at his waist.
His wolf was uneasy.
I could feel it.
Mine stayed strangely calm, as if it already knew what waited.
We approached the hut.
Before we reached the door, dry laughter drifted out.
“About time.”
The voice was ancient.
The door creaked open and the seer stood there, thin as a shadow.
Long silver hair hung in tangled ropes around her shoulders.
Cloudy white eyes stared at nothing and everything.
Her skin looked like weathered parchment.
She smiled directly at me.
“I wondered how long it would take before you came running.”
Thorne shifted uncomfortably.
“I hate when she does that.”
“I know,” the seer chuckled.
“I know many things.”
She shuffled back inside.
“Come in.”
The inside smelled of smoke, herbs, and something older.
Candles flickered everywhere.
Strange symbols covered the walls.
The seer sat in a chair and pointed to two seats opposite her.
I sat.
Thorne stayed standing.
“You have nine days,” she said.
My jaw tightened.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Her smile widened.
“Because you don’t have much time left.”
I leaned forward.
“My wolf has become more comfortable around Cressida.
Does that mean the curse can be broken?”
The seer laughed, a knowing sound.
“You already know the answer.”
She folded her hands.
“The curse can only be broken one way.
You must mark her.”
Thorne swore under his breath.
The seer ignored him.
“Your heart is already beginning to fall in love with the girl.”
I froze.
Thorne gave me a look and I pretended not to notice.
“Yes,” the seer continued.
“You love her far more than you wish to admit.”
“That’s not why we’re here.”
“No.”
Her smile faded.
“The problem isn’t you.
Your wolf still mourns.”
The words hit hard.
“Your wolf loved Alina completely.
It accepts Cressida’s presence.
It desires her.
It enjoys her companionship and the pleasure it gives it.
But it has not fully accepted her as its mate.”
The room felt smaller.
“What happens if it doesn’t?” I asked.
A sly mouth escapes her and as her lips part, I can see her brownish almost decaying teeth. “You die.”
Simple.
Thorne stepped forward.
“There has to be another way.”
The seer smiled sadly.
“There isn’t.”
“Even if his wolf accepts her in the end, what If she uses it as leverage to hurt him. To hurt the pack. She is still a slave and can turn against blackstone at any time.”
The seer looked at Thorne and smiled widely.
“You are a feisty one aren’t you”
That shut him up completely.
As we stepped outside, the seer spoke one last time.
“Love has never been your problem, Alpha.
Letting go is.”
The door closed.
Halfway to the carriage, an eerie howl echoed through the forest.
We turned and the hut was gone.
Only trees and mist remained.
Thorne stared.
“That never gets less disturbing.”
***
The journey home was quiet.
The seer’s words kept repeating in my mind.
“Your wolf still mourns.”
Hours later we passed a familiar lake and my stomach tightened.
“Stop.”
The carriage halted.
I climbed down and walked to the shore.
The flower was still there.
Small white petals with silver edges. Alina loved them.
She braided them into her hair and rubbed their oils on her skin.
Every time she wore them, she smelled like summer.
Memories flooded me.
Alina laughing as she ran barefoot through the grass.
Sunlight catching her golden hair. Her smile bright enough to challenge the sun.
I remembered chasing her, catching her around the waist, her laughter filling the air.
That night under the moon, I had marked her.
She cried from joy and ecstasy. Our wolves howled together.
A promise of forever.
I bent down and picked a few flowers.
I crushed the petals gently and rubbed them on my neck, my wrists, my clothes.
For one brief moment, I could almost pretend nothing had changed.
Then a branch snapped behind me and Thorne approached.
“We should go.”
I looked at the lake one last time, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
By the time we reached the packhouse, the sun was beginning to descend.
Guards stood outside, they looked tense.
The moment they saw me, they straightened fast.
One nearly dropped his spear.
Fear crossed their faces.
“What happened?” I demanded.
The silence stretched. Finally one guard swallowed hard.
“My lord… Lady Cressida is here.”
My heartbeat stalled.
“What?”
“She’s been waiting for hours.”
Thorne sighed.
“I’ll handle pack affairs.
Good luck.” He said as he walked into the park house toward the pack hall.
I pushed open the door to my office.
Cressida rose from her chair. A smile spread across her face.
For a moment everything else disappeared.
She stood beside a basket on my desk. Her eyes were bright.Her cheeks flushed.
Beautiful. She was nothing short of beautiful.
My chest tightened.
“What are you doing here?”
Her smile widened, then stopped suddenly.
Confusion appeared first. Then suspicion.
Then something sharper.
Her nose twitched. She had caught the scent.
The flowers.
Alina’s flowers.
Cressida’s expression darkened.
“Lucian…”
She took one step forward. “Did you go see another woman?”
The room fell silent.
For the first time all day, I had no idea what to say.
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