Broken Curse

16

“Have you forgotten that you aren’t allowed to call me that?” Barry asked hatefully.

“Of course, I’m sorry.” She recoiled, preparing for physical punishment.

This guy was the ultimate asshole.

“You’re forgiven, this one time.” Barry dropped his hand. “But it’s your only reprieve.”

She nodded and cast her eyes down.

Endora hadn’t been kidding when she’d said each drop of her blood had its own demons.

“Is it something she was born with, or did the affliction come later?” Aidan intertwined his fingers with mine.

Aidan asking these questions would make it seem like he wasn’t a Murphy. “And how will she end us all?” I might as well help out.

“Good questions.” Barry smirked with approval. “She’s a hybrid half-witch, and her kind is determined to end us.”

“If she’s your daughter, that means you slept with a witch.” Logan walked through our group and sat at the table closest to us. “Why would you do that if you hate witches so much?”

“Because I was young and let a witch seduce me.” Barry hung his head in shame. “I’m so embarrassed to admit it, but that was before I became the pack’s alpha and understood the magnitude of the curse.”

“Curse?” He needed to believe we were clueless.

“Ahh, the one that will allow more packs to have women alphas,” he spat. “I know your pack doesn’t have issues, but it’s not how things were done in the past.”

“If you are so against the idea, why didn’t you kill your daughter?” Ivory’s shoulders tensed.

She probably didn’t want to hear the true answer.

“Because she’s my blood.” Barry mashed his lips together. “I couldn’t kill my own child.”

He almost appeared sincere.

Don’t be fooled. Aidan squeezed my hand. My dad is just like him. Charismatic. Don’t forget how she flinched, expecting him to punish her. He is not a good guy.

I’d almost forgotten that. You’re right.

A few other male pack members joined us on the patio, and Barry introduced them. They were soon talking pack business, so our group of ten moved to a table. Beth grabbed a chair from another one and squeezed in between me and Ivory.

“This is bullshit.” Gabby stood and swirled her finger around the group. “Let’s go out back for a minute.”

Logan’s brows furrowed. “What for?”

“You’ll see.” Gabby turned on her heel and marched past the alpha and his pack members.

“She is one for theatrics.” Ada sighed. “Let’s go see what she wants.”

Our group followed after her, and when we passed Barry, he grabbed Aidan’s arm. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yeah.” He motioned to where Gabby had walked to. “Gabby wants to talk to us about something. She’s upset.”

“Dinner will be ready soon, so don’t take long.” Barry huffed unhappily.

“We should only be a moment.” Aidan hurried after the others.

We walked across a small grassy field to reach her.

“What the hell is going on?” Beth whispered so the others couldn’t hear us.

“Us not being a pack is causing problems.” Gabby blew out a breath and locked her eyes on me. “We should become a pack so we can communicate, and Emma should be our alpha.”

“Are you serious?” I agreed that not linking had caused problems, but I hadn’t expected her to volunteer me as alpha. Especially, since she was so against it during our drive to dinner.

“You found us and started this whole thing.” Honor brushed her hand on my arm. “It makes sense for you to lead us. You’re the one we can all agree on.”

“A woman alpha?” Remus chuckled. “I never thought I’d see the day, but I’m good with that decision too.”

“Wait … you’ll submit to me too?” I’d only expected the marked women to do that.

“Of course. I want to be part of the same pack as Ivory.” He wrapped an arm around his mate. “And I’d be honored to be part of your pack.”

“Then, let us begin.” Sunny met my eyes and then lowered hers to the ground, submitting to me. A warm connection sprung in my chest.

The next three marked girls followed suit with Beth, Ada, Remus, Logan, and then Aidan submitting in succession.

You don’t have to do that. Aidan was my mate, my equal, and Beth wasn’t even part of this. She had her pack back home.

It’s done. His warm words made me feel full of love.

And I’ve been with you since the beginning. Beth lifted an eyebrow. There’s no getting rid of me now.

Their support in particular meant the most to me.

My link with the Rogers pack had now been replaced with a link to my own. I’m honored you’ve chosen me.

Don’t make me regret it, Logan said tersely.

Now, that felt more like him. We need to get back before they come looking for us.

When we reached the patio, several more shifters had arrived.

“Is everything okay?” Barry squinted. “I’m assuming you had one of those emotional reactions women tend to have for no reason.”

I linked with Gabby. We told him you were upset.

“People, in general, are a pain in the ass.” Gabby swatted at the air. “Sometimes it gets overwhelming.”

“Interesting. But you are a woman.” He heaved a sigh, but his suspicion increased. “Oh, well. Why don’t we sit and eat? The women will come by and serve us.”

I want to scratch that smug look off his face. Gabby grumbled. I bet this woman could kick his ass.

She probably could. Please, just try to stay calm. The thought of food almost had my stomach rumbling again, so I focused on Barry’s words. “I can make my own plate.”

“No, I insist.” Barry stepped in front of me, blocking my access to the table. “That’s how it’s done here. You wouldn’t want to insult me.”

If we don’t listen, he’ll cause a scene, and we could reveal who we are. Aidan touched my arm. Let’s go sit down.

Against my better judgment, I listened. We couldn’t start a war or battle here. We were severely outnumbered. Once we’d settled back in our seats, I closed my eyes to pull myself together.

The marked girl passed out plates to the men who sat around chatting. The other women were still cooking and gathering everything.

I can’t believe they’re actually serving these assholes, Beth grumbled. We should all be serving ourselves and eating together.

This is what we’re used to. Honor placed her hands in her lap.