Chapter 63

Gray

By the time they arrive, my curse is already waking up from its slumber, prickling under the marks on my back. I feel sick and feverish, listening to the whines of my wolf spirit with tightly pursed lips. It’s not that bad yet, the pain is still manageable—but I know it’s gonna get worse very soon, so I pull the blankets tighter around my quivering form and focus on staying quiet.

Eleanor seems to be preparing something in the kitchen, murmuring instructions to Gwen who looks serious and focused. Keir is standing by the window, watching the dark woods, and my gaze lingers on him for a moment. He’s quite an annoying witch, I’ve learned that already—but his powers are clearly stronger than anything I’ve ever seen, and I don’t understand them fully. I don’t know what to expect from him, so every time Keir moves, I tense up in case I have to protect myself.

“They’re here,” Keir suddenly says, pulling me out of my grim thoughts. He looks at Gwen. “Go meet them.”

“Why me? You aren’t doing anything!”

“Because I went last time.” Keir pointedly glances at me, and Gwen purses her lips, turning to him fully, hand on her hips.

“So what? I’m helping Mom.”

While they’re bickering and glaring at each other like kids, I take a deep breath and sit up straighter. The itch immediately stings deeper as I move, but I hide the wince and look between them. “I’ll go.”

“As if you can stand on your feet.” Keir huffs, eyeing me with mockery, and I glare at him—although he isn’t wrong. Standing up does feel like a challenge at this point.

But it doesn’t matter. My family is here, my pack is here, so even if I have to crawl all the way through the woods, I’ll do it without a second of hesitation. I’ve spent enough time with these witches, and even though they haven’t been bad to me in any way, I miss my pack. I need them in a way that can’t be understood by a human heart, so I ignore my weakness and push myself up onto my feet.

“What about your curse then, little pup?” Eleanor stares at me with a quirked eyebrow, drumming her fingers against the counter. “Did you forget what will happen if you get too close to them?”

I freeze before I’ve even taken a step toward the door. Shit. I had forgotten about it, in too much of a hurry to see the people I love—but she’s right. I am a danger to them. Not Keir, not Eleanor, not the traps and spells set around the cabin. I am the one who can kill them with just a touch, and the thought pushes me back into the armchair.

I stare in front of myself with unfocused eyes, calming down the panic and soothing the ache in my chest. God, what am I supposed to do? From the corner of my eye, Eleanor looks at me with sympathy before turning away to the counter. What, do I look that pitiful? Well, I feel pitiful too.

Gwen fidgets awkwardly and gestures at the door. “I’ll go—”

But a loud knock interrupts her, and we all turn to the door as it swings open. I perk up, looking for someone, anyone...and my heart skips a beat when I see Paula at the doorstep. She looks rather disheveled, with rosy cheeks and slumped shoulders, breathing heavily as if trying to catch her breath after a run. She looks around the room restlessly, taking it in, searching for something. When her gaze finally lands on me, I feel a warm wave of something I’ve never felt before.

Paula has really come all the way here to find me.

We hold each other’s gazes, and I can see her exhaling deeply in relief, a barely distinguishable murmur leaving her lips. “Finally.”

Without breaking eye contact, Paula moves to enter the cabin, and only then seems to catch herself. She blinks and pauses, looking at Eleanor.

“May I?”

“Haven’t you already been here?” Eleanor chuckles and gestures for Paula to enter while Gwen slips out of the house behind her back. “Where is the rest of your group?”

“They’re coming,” Paula murmurs in passing, rushing past Eleanor to my side.

Her eyes are full of worry as she crouches next to the armchair, studying my face with a frown, and I suddenly feel nervous under her gaze. Something thrums in my veins in her presence, and not even the curse’s burn is able to muffle it, but…What am I supposed to do now? I look weak and broken, I know it, but that doesn’t make it easier to show myself to Paula—so I ignore the tug in my chest and look away.

“Are you alright? What happened?” Paula asks in a low voice when I say nothing for a few seconds. She’s still looking at me with concern, but I can see that she noticed my cold attitude if only for the way her shoulders tense up a little. Paula doesn’t try to touch me or get closer to me, but her hand hovers awkwardly around mine before she lays her palm on the armrest.

I feel its closeness, torn between the urge to hold her hand and the urge to push it away—but something in me stirs in her presence, making the curse’s burn flare up. Is that a coincidence too, then? I purse my lips and look her in the eyes. “Don’t you know?”

Paula blinks. “Me? No, I haven’t seen it. I only know that you were in the woods, and something bad happened, so—”

“Mom, look, it’s Uncle Harry!”

Gwen bursts in with a happy grin, and I can only stare at her with wide eyes as she tugs no other than Harry—our Harry, the oldest member of our pack—into the cabin. He doesn’t look displeased or forced, though. On the contrary, he laughs and willingly follows, murmuring, “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Ah, Harry!” Eleanor immediately steps over to them with a smile and only lingers for long enough to give Keir a reprimanding glance. “You should’ve told me.”

He only shrugs, a smirk in the corner of his lips, while Eleanor hurries forward to pull Harry into an earnest hug.

“It’s been what, two years?”

“No, no, we met in Raywald last winter, remember?”

“Ah, of course. Did your packmate have to fall victim to a curse for you to visit us, huh?” Eleanor pulls back, looking at Harry with a teasing glint. To my surprise, I notice a hint of shyness in his smile as he scratches the back of his head. What the hell is—

“A curse?”

I instinctively sit up straight, ignoring the flare of pain in my back, and focus on Owen who lingers on the doorstep with a frown. His eyes quickly find me, and I feel an invisible string in my mind loosening just a little. There’s something inexplicably calming about being in the presence of the alpha of my pack, and I breathe out slowly, looking at him. Owen’s gaze lingers on me, Asya right behind him, and they both study me with concern beyond sympathy.

“Are you alright?” Owen asks, and I huff and shrug. What can I say?

“Could’ve been better.”

Abel enters as I’m speaking, and as soon as his gaze lands on me, he moves forward—only to be held back by Owen. So he already understands. Abel glances at him in confusion, but Owen just shakes his head slightly and pushes him back. It’s such a stark reminder of the horror that is growing in me. I want to get closer to them and find solace in the scent of my pack —but the stench of the curse is already too strong, poisoning whatever connection ties me to my family.