Broken Curse

25

“Endora tried to escape.” My back throbbed from the way I’d landed, and I slowly stood.

“And tried to kill Emma twice,” Aidan said almost inaudibly.

“Let me guess.” Beth swatted at the air. “The dumbass let her.”

Aidan’s nostrils flared. “You better watch what you call her.”

“Everyone calm down.” Things were getting out of hand. “We captured the poor girl.” Even though we’d done what we’d had to, it didn’t make it right. That’s what I’d learn so far. There really weren’t any black and white areas. It was all gray, and you did the best you could with the information you had at your disposal.

“I want to go home.” Endora lost some of her gusto. “Please.”

“That won’t happen.” Gabby marched over and put her finger in Endora’s face. “Whether you like it or not, we’re your new family, so suck it up.”

“But …” Endora’s bottom lip trembled.

“Cut the act.” Gabby slapped her hard in the face. “You may be broken, but you aren’t weak.”

Something I didn’t understand crossed Endora’s face. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Logan and I will handle it from here.” Gabby fisted the girl’s hair and dragged her back to Beatrice’s house with Logan beside her.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen. “We’ve got to do something.”

“No, we don’t.” Honor paused and chewed on her lip. “She’s kind of playing you.”

“What? No.” She seemed so sincere. “There’s no way.”

Ada lifted her hands. “We aren’t saying she’s not messed up. But she had to be smart to survive in a pack like that. All of them would have wanted her dead, not just her father.”

“So, what are you saying?” I needed them to be blunt.

Ivory rocked on the balls of her feet. “She learned how to survive, and she might be weak with her father, but not us. She’ll kill you the first opportunity she has.”

Aidan bared his teeth. “She already tried twice.”

“I’m an idiot.” What they said made sense, so why hadn’t I seen it right away?

“No, you’re kind and think the best of everyone.” Beth touched my arm. “You’ll break through to her when we can’t.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. “We need to keep an eye on her.” Going after her alone had been a bad call. If I couldn’t see what she was capable of, I’d need to keep someone around who could.

“Is everything okay?” Beatrice’s brow creased, and she walked toward us in fuzzy, brown house shoes.

“Endora tried to escape, but the perimeter held her in.” I hated to think what would’ve happened if it hadn’t. She might be blocked from the pack bond, but she could easily call her dad from somewhere.

Beatrice rubbed her hands along her bare arms, fighting off the night’s chill. “I’m not surprised. That’s why I had three witches spell it.”

“You can’t blame her for trying.” Remus tucked his hands under his armpits with his thumbs visible and pointing upward. “And that’s a good sign for us. That means she’s a fighter.”

“As long as we convince her to side with us.” There had to be a way to connect with her.

“What everyone needs is a good night’s rest.” Beatrice gestured to the house. “Beth, you’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”

“Oh, hell no.” Beth cringed. “I like having a real bed to sleep in.”

“It must be nice.” Ada snickered as she headed toward the house. “I get to sleep on the ground.”

“Your choice.” Beth patted her shoulder.

“Nope, we all agreed we’d sleep together in the family room like a pack with the couples rotating out the spare bedroom. Besides, I like listening to the sounds of Emma and Aidan getting it on.” Ada spread her arms apart. “At least, someone is getting some.”

Save me now. “You cannot.” We didn’t have s*x as much as either of us would like. “We were in the shower earlier.”

“Really?” Beth’s mouth dropped. “Are you sharing or bragging?”

Sunny’s laughter added fuel to the fire.

“What? No.” I couldn’t believe how drastic of a turn this conversation had taken. Kill me, please. “You said you heard, so I …” I trailed off. There was no salvaging this.

Aidan wore a huge smile on his face. Nope, I’m enjoying this too much to interfere.

You know, it’s kind of nice. I almost felt like a teenager. I can’t remember the last time we goofed around like this.

I’d agree if you hadn’t been attacked. Aidan took my hand and pulled me against his side. “All right, I’m taking my mate back to bed.”

“I bet you are,” Remus scoffed.

It was time to go.

“What’s wrong, Emma?” Beth cooed as her shoulders shook with laughter. “Your face is beet red.”

Not dignifying that with a response, I marched into the house and heard a loud conversation coming from the very back of the house, by our room

“Don’t touch me,” Endora rasped.

“We need to make sure you don’t run away again,” Logan’s impatient voice boomed.

Oh, dear God. I rushed down the hallway as the others came back in from outside, and I took the first door on the right.

“Maybe we can work with her a little more,” Amethyst said comfortingly. “There’s no reason to go overboard.”

I entered the room and came to a grinding halt. They had her hands and feet handcuffed to the maple headboard on the king-sized bed. “What in the world?” I was speechless.

Aidan stood next to me, taking in the scene. “It’s not a horrible idea.”

“See.” Gabby pointed at Aidan. “Even he agrees.”

“Where did you even get these?” I couldn’t look away from the handcuffs.

“I always carry around a few.” Logan shrugged. “It comes in handy at times.”

I wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. I opened the pack link, including everyone. And how is chaining her up going to win her over?

Logan’s jawline hardened. We have to contain her. It’s harder for her to shift this way, and she can’t sneak out and call someone. This isn’t an ideal situation, so the solution won’t be great either.

I wanted to argue, but dammit, he had a point.