Chapter 29: Their Cursed

Remi

We all walked downstairs together, each of them holding one of my hands. I am fairly sure if they let go, I would die. This was the most nerve-racking thing I have faced since getting kicked out. When we got to the living room, Gentry and Doctor Charles were standing there talking. They stopped as we entered and looked over to us.

“Good morning, Remi,” Doctor Charles said.

“Morning,” I said.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked.

“Nervous,” I told him honestly. Calder squeezed my hand.

“I see both of you have accepted her now,” he said looking at Cullen and Calder. Cullen just gave him a slight nod. “Alright so I brought the remedy,” he said, pulling out a small bottle from his pocket. “Why don’t we sit and talk about what is about to happen?”

Cullen moved toward the couch, pulling me with him. He sat down, pulling me down next to him. Calder sat down on my other side, effectively tucking me in between them. Gentry smiled at us as we sat down.

“So, Remi, are you aware of what is going to happen when you cross the boundary?” Doctor Charles asked.

I nodded my head. “My wolf is going to come out,” I said.

“Do you know what that is going to be like?” he asked.

“It’s going to hurt like last time. Hopefully just less with the potion,” I said.

“Did anyone explain what having a wolf will be like?” I shook my head.

“No, they just wanted me to be prepared for it happening. We hadn’t talked about after,” I told him.

“Well, having a wolf is like having a separate part of yourself. You will be able to communicate and interact with your wolf in a way that you cannot with others. You will be able to feel what your wolf feels. You will know each other's thoughts. Your wolf will be able to take control of your body at times, either wolf or human form. As you get to know each other, you will learn each other's strengths and weaknesses and learn to trust one another. You will be two parts of the same person,” he explained. I nodded my head to let him know I was following him. “One thing we want to try to avoid today is you shifting. Shifting is very strenuous on the body for the first couple transitions. With the strain of your wolf emerging today, we do not want your body to overload itself. There is also the possibility that you could shift, your wolf take over, and run off. We do not want that either. We don’t know how your wolf will be once it comes forward, so we need you to do your best not to let yourself shift.”

“How do I do that?”

“You will know if your wolf is trying to force you to shift. You will feel it,” he said. “This remedy may make you drowsy. We need you to fight that. If you fall asleep, your wolf will be able to take over much easier and may shift against your will.”

“Okay,” I said.

“We won’t leave your side, baby,” Calder said.

“I think that is best. I would hazard a guess that their presence alone will help comfort you through this process. It may even encourage your wolf to come forward more seamlessly.” I nodded at him. This was all a lot of information.

“How you feeling, Cinderella?” Gentry asked.

I looked up at him. “Okay, I think,” I said. I was not really sure how else to be right now.

“Do you have any questions before we proceed?” Doctor Charles asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Okay. Here,” he said, passing me the small bottle with pink liquid inside. “It might not taste pleasant so best try to drink it all quickly.”

I reached forward and took the small bottle from him. I held it in my hand. It was exceptionally cold, almost as if it were ice. I held in my hand looking at it. It was opaque but had a shimmer to it.

“Ready, love?” Cullen asked quietly. I looked into his grey eyes. I nodded my head slowly. He cupped my face in his large hands and kissed me. It was soft and lingering. As his hands moved away from my face, Calder turned my face to him. He smashed his lips to mine, kissing me possessively and intensely. I was a little breathless when he let go of me. I took a deep breath, trying to gather enough courage to drink the cold liquid in my hand.

“Once she drinks it, we should immediately head to the boundary. We want to give it time to fully activate in her system but not too much time that it puts her to sleep,” Doctor Charles said. Gentry, Cullen, and Calder all nodded. I pulled the top from the bottle. I brought it up to my nose and smelled it. It smelled like flowers and spices. I closed my eyes and brought the bottle to my lips. I tilted my head back and quickly took in the liquid.

“Ehhhh,” a strangled moan came from my lips. My eyes scrunched up as the liquid burned its way down my throat. I could feel Calder and Cullen’s hand on me.

“Baby, are you okay?” Calder’s voice came from one side of me.

“Just breathe, love,” Cullen’s voice came from the other. Once the liquid felt like it had all gone down my throat, I relaxed.

“I’m okay,” I said quietly. Calder turned my face to him. His purple eyes searched my face for any sign that I was not okay.

“We should go now,” Doctor Charles said as he stood up. Cullen stood up as well. Calder grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him. I felt weird as I stood up. Cullen’s arm came around my waist as we moved towards the elevator. My limbs started to feel fuzzy. We all piled into the elevator. Cullen pulled me to his front, and I leaned into him. Calder stood behind me. He draped my coat over my shoulders.

When we got to the garage, we all got into one car. Calder, Cullen, and I sat in the back while Gentry drove with his grandfather in the passenger seat. I started to get cold even wrapped in my coat. My body shivered slightly. Calder noticed first. “Cold, baby?” he asked quietly. He draped his arm around me. For once, his warmth was not affecting me. I continued to shake slightly as the car moved. Calder looked at Cullen and some silent conversation passed between them. Calder had told me once my wolf was brought out, I would be able to speak using their mind link as well. He also said that when he and Cullen mark me, I would always know what they feel. He did not explain what marking was though.

I did not know what was happening when I felt someone shaking my shoulders. “Baby, you can’t sleep,” I heard Calder’s voice, but he sounded muted. “Baby open your eyes. Don’t go to sleep. We are almost there.” There was an ice-cold hand on my cheek. It made me shrink away. I was cold all over and my eyes were heavy.

“Love open your pretty eyes. I want to see them,” Cullen’s voice floated by. I felt another cold hand on my face.

Calder

Remi’s head drooped and her body slumped against mine. “Remi?” I said trying to get her attention. When she did not respond, I shook her shoulders a little. “Baby, you can’t sleep,” I said a little louder. Cullen looked at me worried.

“She isn’t supposed to sleep,” he linked. I gave him a glare for stating the obvious.

I cupped her face, turning it towards me. She felt cold and clammy. “Baby open your eyes. Don’t go to sleep. We are almost there,” I tried to cajole her. She shrunk away from my touch and her body started to shiver more. Cullen tried to get her attention now.

“Love open your pretty eyes. I want to see them,” He said to her tracing his fingers across her cheek. She whimpered weakly. Cullen’s eyes met mine. I pulled Remi up onto my lap. She was shaking all over.

“Remi, baby, you have to wake up. We need to get you over that boundary,” I said a little louder.

“Gentry, drive faster,” Cullen said.

I shook Remi in my arms, and she whimpered again. Her lips were pale, and she had a thin layer of cold sweat covering her face. “She is reacting worse than I imagined,” Charles said from the front seat. Cullen growled at him. Without knowing what else to do, I leaned down and kissed her pale lips. She was so cold but her eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Remi, wake up!” I exclaimed. She made a weak moan as she slowly blinked. “Stay here with me, baby,” I said kissing her again.

Remi

I felt warmth over my mouth. It gave me just enough energy to open my eyes.

“Remi, wake up!” Calder’s voice said. I did not realize I was asleep. I was just so cold. I blinked slowly trying to figure out what was going on. A soft sound made its way out of my mouth. “Stay here with me, baby,” he said. He kissed me again and I started to feel warmer. I tried to move but my whole body felt heavy and cold. I felt someone grab my hand. It felt so cold I wanted to pull away from it.

“You have to stay awake, my love. We are almost there,” I heard Cullen’s voice say. He was right. They said I need to stay awake. It was so hard with my body so cold. I felt lips against mine again, breathing a little warmth into me. I really wanted to curl up with Calder and Cullen who always made me too warm. I felt warm lips on my forehead now. My eyes fluttered open finally to meet my favorite grey eyes. His face relaxed when he looked into my eyes. “That’s my girl,” he said softly. His fingers traced my face, and they were so cold on my skin.

“C-cold,” I managed to say softly.

“We know, baby,” Calder’s voice said. “It should go away as soon as we get over the boundary. We’ll get you all warmed up.” The car slowed down and came to a stop. “We’re here, baby.” Calder said softly. Before I knew what was happening, I was being lifted from the car. I was in Cullen’s arms as Calder climbed out of the car.

“Can you stand, love?” he asked softly. He kissed me softly, breathing a little more warmth into me. I did not want him to let go. I whimpered when he did.

“Let’s get you across,” Calder said. Cullen gently set me on my feet. He kept his arm around me, supporting me. Calder also wrapped his arm around me. They each grabbed one of my hands, knowing that I was not fully steady on my feet. “Are you ready, baby?” he asked softly.

I nodded slightly. We slowly stepped forward little by little.

“Deep breath, love. Here we go,” Cullen whispered as we took another step forward. We stepped over the boundary and came to a stop a couple steps later. My body began to feel like it was buzzing again, but more intensely this time. The cold I felt all over started to recede slowly and I stopped shaking. I only felt momentary relief from the cold before it felt like everything inside of me was heating up and pressure started to build in my head. I let go of Cullen and Calder’s hands and clutched my head and the pressure grew.

“Tell us what’s happening,” Calder said. I could hear the worry in his voice.

“My head…” I groaned. My knees buckled as I started to lose strength in my limbs. I did not hit the ground though. Calder and Cullen would not let me fall. Instead of being on the ground, I was in one of their laps.

“Don’t fight your wolf, baby,” Calder encouraged. “Let her in.” The pressure my head started to pulse now. It felt like something was pushing at an invisible door in the back of my head. This was far worse than the first time I crossed the boundary.

“Ahhh…” I started to cry.

“We’re right here, Remi,” Cullen said. His hands came to my face. “Let your wolf in.” He kissed my lips gently. The pulsing became stronger, but the pressure receded a little. I leaned forward kissing him back. Everywhere he touched, the heat seemed to lessen. Cullen kept kissing me tenderly. Calder’s arms wrapped around me, holding me.

Cullen broke our kiss and ran his nose along mine. “Does that help, love?” he asked quietly. I nodded my head. It felt like the door in my head was about to bust open. “Let her in. Let her in and I won’t ever let you go,” Cullen whispered.

“You’re doing amazing, baby. Just focus on us and relax,” Calder whispered. Cullen’s lips came to my forehead and I closed my eyes. I did what he said: I focused on their touch. I focused on how much I care about them and they care about me. There was a humming in my head that grew louder and louder until…

“Wooooooo,” I heard the howl of a wolf. All the pressure went away. All the pulsing just stopped. The heat seemed to just flow out of me. In its stead, I felt like there were fireworks erupting all over me, but in the most pleasurable way. I inhaled deeply, taking in my favorite scents: chocolate chip cookies and coffee with caramel. But they were so much more now.

“Mate, mate, mates!” said an excited voice inside my head.

My eyes shot open. I looked directly at Cullen who was regarding me carefully. “What was that?” I asked. His face broke into a huge smile. I turned my head to Calder who was also smiling.

“What do you feel when I do this?” Calder said as his lips came to my shoulder.

“Fireworks,” I whispered.

“They are our mates!” the voice said inside my head. I must have made a face because Calder laughed.

“I think you are hearing your wolf speak, baby,” he said. “Introduce yourself.” I nodded at him and then closed my eyes, feeling a little awkward just talking to myself in my own head.

“Uh, Hello?” I said.

“Remi! I am Callisto, your wolf. You can call me Calli though; Callisto is a little stuffy. I am so excited to finally be free! I have been waiting for this your whole life. And we already have our mates! The Moon Goddess really is blessing us!” the voice said.

“Can you slow down a bit?” I asked.

“Right, sorry. You are new to all this. I am sure this is weird,” Calli said.

“Just a bit…”

“Don’t worry. I will not force you to shift or anything. I need more time and your body needs time to adjust to the Supernatural Realm,” she said.

“That’s a relief. Can everyone hear you?”

“No, only you can. If you were to relinquish control to me, then I could speak with everyone.”

“How does that work?”

“You would just step back and let me take the driver's seat, so to speak,” she said.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not at all! We are two parts of the same person. I am your forever best friend!”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told her.

“And I am so glad to finally meet you. Can I ask one thing?”

“Sure, anything.”

“Can we mate with Calder and Cullen soon? As soon as we mate and they mark you, I will be able to connect with their wolves who are my mates!”

“Um, what all does that entail?”

“Let’s see, humans call it making love? You would let both of them make love with you then they cement your connection by biting you and leaving their mark on you. You will become stronger and so will they. You will also share a link where we can feel them. We would know if they were happy, sad, mad, worried, everything!”

“Oh!”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. They won’t care that you aren’t a virgin.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. They are our mates! They want us forever because the Moon Goddess has paired us to them. We compliment both of them perfectly.”

“But they are so different.”

“And you are very special if you are the perfect match to two very different wolves,” she said. It felt like she was smiling in my head. “We can talk more later. Even though I am super happy to finally emerge, I am tired from all that pushing. Go to our mates. Get to mating!”

It felt like she was sort of gone. Not completely, but maybe she was asleep? I opened my eyes to Calder and Cullen giving me comical smiles.

“What?” I asked.

Calder

Remi closed her eyes. She was quiet as she sat in my lap concentrating. Soon her facial expressions began to morph. I knew she was talking to her wolf. I wanted to hear this conversation, but I was content to spectate. I looked at Cullen who had a small, amused smile on his face. It had worked. It was not as painless as we had hoped but we had gotten her through it and for the moment, she seemed okay.

Finally, her cheeks blushed deeply and I could only imagine what her wolf was talking about. She had a small smile on her face as her eyes fluttered open.

“How was that?” I asked her.

“Good,” she said.

“Let’s mate and mark her so I can meet her wolf!” Magnus urged in my head. Remi’s scent was even stronger now and it was making the urge to mate her more.

“Patience. She is probably tired from all that and I bet her wolf is too. We can’t overwhelm her,” I told him.

“Let’s get up,” Cullen said. I was sitting on the ground with Remi in my lap from when her legs gave out. Cullen was crouched in front of us. He held his hands out and helped her up to her feet. He pulled her into his arms as I stood up. I dusted myself off before pulling her out of his arms and into mine. She giggled a little into my chest.

“How do you feel, baby?” I asked her.

“Perfect,” she said softly. She sounded tired. Doctor Charles and Gentry came over to us. I released Remi from my arms. She swayed on her feet next to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist to support her.

“You okay, Cinderella?” Gentry asked.

“Yes, how are you feeling now Remi?” Charles asked.

“I feel good,” she said. “Nothing hurts anymore.”

“That is great. I am sorry the remedy did not work better. But I am glad to see you got through it. And your wolf?”

“I think she is asleep? She said she was tired,” Remi said.

“I expect so. I am sure it was strenuous on her to break through the suppression in you. I think it would be smart to eat and rest for today,” Charles said. Remi nodded.

“Can we take her to the pack house?” Cullen asked.

“I think that would be best. Give her wolf time on this side of the boundary without the pressure that the Ordinary Realm can place on her,” he said.

“Is that okay with you, baby?” I asked her. She looked up at me with a sweet smile and nodded. I leaned down and kissed her soft pink lips.