I sat back down, feeling the weight of my parents’ silence suffocating me. My heart was pounding in my chest, my mind racing with the new revelations. The mate bond still pulsed between Ryder and me, but now it was overshadowed by something darker, something that twisted my stomach in knots. I couldn’t ignore the burning questions anymore.
I cleared my throat, trying to steady my voice. “How do we break the curse? What are we supposed to do now?”
My mother, still weeping softly on the couch, didn’t answer. Her body trembled, her face hidden in her hands. It was my father who finally spoke, his voice tired and hollow.
“There is no way to break it,” he said, his gaze fixed on the floor. “We’ve tried for generations. Every Alpha before me has tried. But the curse is binding.”
My skin pric
