Chapter 18: Their Cursed

We sat downstairs in the small dining room with breakfast. The girl who had barged in Calder’s bedroom was Gentry’s little sister Amanda. She had grown up with Calder, Cullen, and Gentry so she was a little less well-mannered around them. She was currently prattling on about some fundraiser dinner she was excited to attend while everyone ate. I was mostly picking at my food as I still did not feel great. My chest ached still, and I did not know why.

After she had left the room, Calder and I got out of bed. I changed back into my clothes from yesterday and Calder promised to take me home so I could change. He had asked me multiple times if I was okay before we came downstairs. I did not exactly know how to be okay right now or how to tell him I wasn’t, so I just nodded when he asked me.

“Cinderella, you doing okay?” Gentry’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Uh, yea. I’m okay,” I said quietly.

“Wait, is your name actually Cinderella?” Amanda asked. We had not actually been introduced yet. Calder had just explained who she was before we came downstairs.

“No, I’m Remi,” I said, giving her a small smile.

“Why does Gen call you Cinderella then?” she asked looking between us.

Gentry smiled and I shrugged.

“So, what are you wearing Saturday?” Amanda asked me. I looked at her confused. “Wait, Caldy and Gen didn’t tell you?” she asked looking at the two of them.

“Had other things going on, Pip,” Gentry said. A look passed between the two of them. I looked at Calder.

“There is a fundraiser dinner we are sponsoring this weekend and I was hoping you would accompany me as my date,” he said softly.

“Oh,” I said. Were we ignoring this whole curse-prophecy-dark magic thing?

“We should go shopping so we can get you something to wear!” Amanda said to me.

“Oh, I, uh…” I said.

“Great idea. Calder we should send the girls shopping this afternoon so we can take care of a few things at the office,” Gentry said.

“That sounds good to me, if that’s okay with you?” Calder said looking at me. “I can take you home first to get some fresh clothes,” he said.

“Uh, sure…” I said. Is this what peer pressure is?

We finished up our meal and took the dishes to the kitchen. Lola was preparing some meat to marinade in the fridge. She was a nice older woman with tan skin and dark hair. She told us to leave the dishes in the sink for her to clean up. I waited in the living room while Calder ran upstairs to get his things. When he came back down, I could not help but drool a little. Business casual looked good on him. He led us over to the elevator and we got on to head to the garage.

After pressing the button, he turned to face me. “I don’t want you to worry about the conversation I had with Cullen this morning. Prophecies don’t necessarily come true, and it may not even be about you, okay?” I nodded as I looked up into his gorgeous purple eyes. “I am going to figure out how to break this curse, I promise,” he said smiling at me. I nodded my head and he wrapped me in a comforting hug.

When we got down to the garage, we went over to his car and got inside. I was still going to have to adjust to all the door opening chivalry. As I thought about it, his mom seemed like the type of woman to make sure her sons were raised with impeccable manners and respect for women. Cullen crossed my mind, and it made my chest ache more. It was not long before we were pulling up to my apartment building. Calder hopped out and quickly came over to my door. He helped me out of the car, and we went inside. When we got upstairs, my phone dinged in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a message from Jessie.

Jessie: Hey, are you back on Monday or still doing that training thing?

I quickly replied to her before unlocking my apartment door.

Me: Not sure. Why what’s up?

Jessie: wanted to see if you could cover me on something. No biggie!

Me: I will let you know when I am coming back.

“Uh, make yourself at home. You can sit anywhere,” I told Calder as we entered my apartment. Luckily, it was generally clean. I went to my dresser and pulled out some clean clothes for today. I grabbed leggings and one of my nicer shirts since it looks like I was going shopping with Amanda. I ran to the bathroom to shower and change. After I was showered, I wrapped my hair in a shirt and got dressed. I brushed my teeth and put a little lotion on before pulling my hair down to brush and style. I pulled my long bangs into a quick Dutch braid across my hairline and pinned the braid back, leaving the rest of my hair down.

Once I was satisfied, I exited the bathroom to find Calder sitting at my little table. He looked up as I came out and smiled. “You look beautiful,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said.

He stood up and came over to me. “Can I ask you something?” he said.

“Sure,” I said.

“Will you stay with me for a few more days?” he asked. I looked into his purple eyes. His face was so sincere. I felt like we were moving so quickly. I was not sure I could trust him not to hurt me yet but if he was being honest about everything, he didn’t want to. I also could not deny how well I slept in bed with him.

He took my contemplation as hesitancy because he continued. “I don’t think Cullen would do anything, but I would just feel better with you by my side,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me. “Plus, I loved waking up to your beautiful body on top of me this morning.” He gave me a sexy smirk. I bit my lip before nodding. He smiled brightly at me. His hand came to my chin and he used his thumb to pull my lip from my teeth. He pecked my lips before saying, “Why don’t you pack your things and meet me downstairs? I need to make a phone call.”

“Sure,” I said. Calder was becoming more and more confident around me and it was definitely sexy.

Cullen

I laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling. I had spent the last few hours on the training grounds. I needed to shower and get ready to head back to the Ordinary Realm. The fundraiser dinner was tomorrow, and I needed to stop my brother from bringing Remi.

Remi. My mind floated to her. How could such a small and harmless thing pose such a threat to the world? When my father told the Elder Council about her, most were of the mind that Calder and I should reject her and accept Jaime, leaving Remi to live in the Ordinary Realm for the rest of her life. My father and a few others were not of that mind though. We found out that her parents had changed their family name when they moved to the Ordinary Realm and that was why we could not initially identify them as pack members. We were able to determine who her parents were, which is when one of the Elders told us of the curse on her family and the prophecy about the last of her bloodline.

The entire time I fought with Calder, my chest hurt. Talking and thinking about rejecting Remi was causing physical pain. I knew when I finally had to do it, it would be the worst pain I have ever felt. I wanted to take his side and just accept the girl, but I had a responsibility to protect my pack and the rest of the Supernatural Realm from the dark magic prophesied. My wolf was not happy about this decision either. He was teetering between anger and pain.

Calder had said he talked to Remi’s parents and found out about the curse. They were aware of this and still made the decision to have pups. They also knowingly hid her from the Supernatural Realm. Although, I could not blame them for wanting to keep their pup safe, why had they never told her anything? Why did she grow up knowing nothing of the supernatural world or this curse on her family?

There was a knock at my door breaking me out of my thoughts. “Come in,” I shouted as I sat up pushing my hair out of my face. My father came in the room.

“Hello, son,” he said calmly.

“Father. How can I help you?” I asked standing up next to the bed.

“I wanted to talk to you about your mate,” he said carefully.

“What is there to discuss? You should be able to understand why Calder and I need to reject her,” I said in a flat tone.

“Son, I beg you to reconsider. You and I both know that prophecies are tricky, and they could be not referencing Remi at all. And curses can be broken by nature. Your brother and you can surely help the girl break the curse. You don’t have to throw away your mate and lock her away,” he said. I simply stared at him. “I know you and your brother are strong enough to handle a rejection. I am confident both of you would survive. But are you sure the girl would? And then do you understand the continued pain both her and you would feel if you were to keep her prisoner? Seeing her like that?”

“If she were to die from the rejection, that may save us from the doom she promises our world,” I said. Maximus howled in my head.

My father blanched and then recovered. With a heavy sigh, he said, “I know you don’t mean that. I didn’t want to do this in this way, but you leave me no choice. As your Alpha, I forbid you from rejecting your mate. If it is going to happen, she will need to reject you,” he said in a commanding voice.

I growled. “You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can. This is for the welfare of one of my pack members and I am still Alpha. I don’t believe this situation is solved by rejecting her!” We stared each other down, both of our Alpha egos not wanting to relent. “You should be getting ready. You should get back to the Ordinary Realm tonight to be prepared for the fundraiser tomorrow. We will discuss bringing your mate across the boundary and how best to accomplish that with as little pain to her as possible after tomorrow.” He turned on his heels and left the room.

Maximus was a little happier in my head. “You are all going to regret not doing what must be done when she ruins our pack and the rest of the Supernatural World,” I told him. He ignored me. I sighed as I turned and headed to my bathroom to shower. I still needed to deal with Jaime before we headed back to the Ordinary Realm today.

Calder

I walked back outside her apartment building and pulled out my phone. I shot Gentry a text so that he and Amanda could meet us at the mall. I also asked him to tame Amanda, so she didn’t scare the daylights out of Remi. Next, I dialed my father.

“Hello,” he answered.

“We need to talk about the council,” I said.

“Getting right to the point, aren’t we? I assumed your brother called you this morning,” he said.

“Yea. And I am not happy. The council is telling us to reject our mate? The one the Moon Goddess chose to be Luna?”

“Calm down, son. I am on your side. I actually just finished speaking to Cullen a minute ago.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I forbade him from rejecting your mate for the time being. I want to help you figure out how to break this curse and bring her wolf forward in the least painful way possible.”

“Thanks, dad. Is Cullen coming back for the event tomorrow?”

“Yes, he should be.”

“Does he know I will be bringing Remi?”

“He probably assumes as much.” I sighed. “He will most likely be bringing Jaime along with him. I do not know what he has told her about Remi. So be mindful,” he continued.

“I will. So, have you looked into all of this yet?” I asked.

“A little. I will work on it more today. We need to work with Charles on getting the girl over the boundary without passing out again though. She cannot be a Luna if she cannot come to this side of the boundary.”

“Right, I am going to call him when I get to the office. Gentry and I are having Amanda take Remi to the mall so she can help get a dress for tomorrow,” I told him.

He chuckled. “Are we sure Amanda won’t scare the poor girl? She seems very timid.”

“I think she will be okay. She handles herself well.” I smiled thinking about my sweet little mate.

“I will let you know if I find anything, son. Have fun with your mate tomorrow,” my dad said.

“Thanks, dad,” I said, and we hung up. At least Remi was not going to get rejected for the moment. Now we just needed to break the curse and figure out how to bring her wolf forward without hurting her.

Remi emerged from her building. I walked over to her and grabbed her bag from her. “All ready to go?” I asked her with a smile. Every time I saw her, she was more beautiful than the last.

“Yep,” she said. I took her bag to the car and put it in the back seat before opening the door for her. She climbed in and I closed her door before climbing into the driver’s seat. I started the car, and we took off towards the mall. I reached over and grabbed her hand as we drove, noticing that it was cold.

“Are you cold?” I asked.

“A little. It’s okay. Just have not gotten to wash my coat since Monday night. It has a lot of dirt in it,” she said.

“Oh, Remi, I’m sorry…” I had pulled her coat off of her when I brought her back from the boundary, but I hadn’t thought about cleaning it for her. I usually only wear a jacket so I don’t stick out in the Ordinary Realm because wolves are warmer than humans. Our bodies have a higher metabolic rate and naturally keep us warmer.

“It’s okay. I have sweaters,” she said. I switched on the heat in the car for probably the first time ever. She seemed a little relieved as the car started to warm up. “So, what is this fundraiser thing?”

“It's a dinner for the city’s children’s hospital. We are the parent company for 2 different suppliers for the hospital and we hold this event to pull in donations to help fund the clinic side of the hospital. It usually allows us to fund a decent number of emergent surgeries in the pediatrics department as well,” I explained.

“Wow…” she said. Her eyes were on me. Her expression was shocked and adorable. “That’s amazing…” I shrugged. “No, Calder. It really is so amazing…”

I gave her a smile. “So, um, what do I wear to this?” she asked cautiously.

“A dress, I guess. Amanda can help you. Pip has been to plenty of events like this before,” I said.

“Why do you call her Pip?” she asked.

“She used to be really short. Abnormally short for a werewolf. So, we called her pipsqueak. Pip for short. She shot up in high school, but the name never went away.”

“That is cute. So, you all grew up together then?”

“Yea, Gentry is the same age as Cullen and me so we were really close. Pip was always tagging along as well,” I told her.

“That is really sweet,” she said. We were pulling into the mall parking lot. I already knew where to meet Gentry and Amanda. I parked the car and got out to open Remi’s door. We walked hand-in-hand towards the entrance of the mall. Gentry and Amanda were standing outside waiting for us. Amanda was bouncing on her heels as we approached.

“Hey Pip, can you help Remi get a new coat today as well?” I linked her. She gave me a curious look before her eyes slid to Remi. “Gentry gave you my credit card, right?”

“Yea, he did,” she replied.

“Don’t go crazy but get something for both of you for the fundraiser tomorrow. Thanks for doing this,” I linked. She let out a squeal and nodded. Remi looked between us confused.

“Ready to shop?” Amanda asked Remi excitedly.

“Sure,” she said quietly. Amanda grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

“Pip might kill your mate,” Gentry said as we watched the girls disappear.

“Or Remi might calm Pip down,” I countered. Gentry looked at me and laughed. I pulled out my phone and sent Remi a quick text to tell her that Gentry and I would be back to pick them up when they were done.