Broken Curse

14

My phone rang over and over again, but I couldn’t answer it. I was at the mercy of the connection to the last girl. The call ended, only for Aidan’s phone to begin ringing instead.

It had to be Beth.

Aidan had the Suburban’s Bluetooth answer it. “Hey.”

“So, I have two marked wolves spazzing out in my car,” Beth said with concern. “I’m assuming you do too since Emma didn’t answer her phone.”

“I’m not sure spazzing is the right word, but I have three wolves who feel the tug to the last girl, and it seems stronger than before.” Aidan glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, concern etched into his face.

“Same thing,” Beth said, dismissing his correction. “I’m following you but wanted to make sure they all were feeling it and not just these two wimps.”

Ada snorted so loud we heard it over the phone.

“You are something,” Aidan sighed.

“Aw, thanks,” Beth cooed.

“He didn’t mean it as a compliment.” I’d have to give her hell even if I felt like I was being ripped in two.

“At least, she’s not too out of it.” A loud moan from Beth’s car interrupted the conversation. “I guess I better go. See you guys soon.”

That sounded like it could’ve been Sunny, which worried me even more. Of all of the girls we’d found, she’d been injured the worst.

We were rolling out of the town, and the trees were thickening. The tugging sensation was pulling me to go right. “Turn right on the next road.”

“Okay.” Aidan slammed on the brakes and cut the wheel to the right, putting us into the left lane and oncoming traffic.

A loud honk blared as a car in the other lane headed straight at us.

I sucked in a breath and braced myself for the hit.

“f**k me.” Aidan spun the wheel hard, and the back end of our vehicle fishtailed, narrowly missing the oncoming car.

Aidan straightened the wheel, and we turned onto the road that headed in the direction I’d told him to go.

“Holy s**t,” Remus groaned from the back. “I think I might puke.” He hung his head out the window.

If Samuel had been here, he’d be making dog jokes. Actually, some humor would do us some good.

“I know you didn’t know until you told me, but some advanced warning would be nice.” Aidan took my hand and squeezed it gently.

“I can’t make any promises.” The tug wasn’t an exact science.

He slowed the vehicle as we began passing several back roads. “I figured, but we shouldn’t have the same problem now.”

Yeah, the speed limit was lower here.

The farther we drove, the more discomfort pulled at me. “We’re heading the right way.” I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. It was getting to be difficult. A warning laced the tug; that’s why it overpowered me. It echoed Endora’s words from my subconscious or whatever it was.

“I smell wolves,” Logan said from the backseat. “We’re getting close.”

“Maybe we should find a place to park and go the rest of the way on foot.” It wouldn’t be smart to take our vehicles there.

“We can scope things out easier that way.” Aidan nodded. “There’s a park up ahead. We can leave our vehicles there.”

My eyes fell on a Sandy Creek Park sign. “That’s perfect.” The woods abutted the park, so it would be a good place to start.

A few minutes later, we were parked and heading toward the woods. The sun was close to setting.

Without the witches, we could move faster and still be silent. A small group of college kids was hanging out at the campgrounds, surrounding a firepit. I’d always imagined that would be me, but no. Here I was fighting for my life.

Our group stepped into the woods, and soon, we were away from anything that smelled human. I hurried to the front to lead with the marked girls right behind.

“The tug is following the wolves’ scents.” We were heading toward a pack that believed in the curse and were actively trying to kill us, so if she’s with them, it couldn’t be a good thing.

If you see anything out of the ordinary, let me know immediately. Aidan’s concern coursed through our bond.

Promise. We passed by trees, and animals scurried around us. At least, nothing too horrible happened here where the animals had left. Silence would have been a bad omen.

The sky glowed with pinks, purples, and blues as the sun set. We reached thinning trees. We’re almost there. The tug eased when a neighborhood came into view. It was set up like most pack homes: remote, surrounded by woods, and with immaculate houses. There had to be at least twenty-five, which meant it was a decent-sized pack.

As soon as I stepped out of the woods and into someone’s backyard, two pack shifters appeared in front of me with their arms crossed. They looked to be in their thirties and rugged.

“Who are you?” The taller one had two inches on me and dropped his arms to his sides. His glass-green eyes focused on me, and the breeze blew his short cherry-brown hair.

“Your alpha invited us to dinner here.” If they were trying to intimidate me, they’d learn a huge lesson.

“Aw, you think you’re the leader, don’t you?” The shifter that was my height lifted a bronze eyebrow that matched his man bun. He was thicker than the other one but had nothing on Aidan.

“She is our leader.” Aidan stepped beside me and stared them down. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Females aren’t meant to lead.” The shorter one wrinkled his nose in disgust. “They don’t have the chops to do what it takes.”

The back door to the house opened, and the alpha stepped out. “Asher, stand down.”

The shorter guy turned to face the alpha. “These are the wolves you invited?”

“Yes, so they are our guests,” he replied sternly, “and we will treat them as such.”

The taller guy glanced at me and back to his leader. “But they have a woman as their—”

“They are our guests,” the alpha growled. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“No, it’s good that they’re so protective.” I needed to diffuse the situation. “You can never be too careful.”

“There are no truer words than those.” The alpha closed the distance between us and held his hand out toward me. “I realize I never gave you my name. It’s Barry.”