Chapter 33: Their Cursed

Calder

I left the meeting seething. I ignored my father, Cullen, and Gentry and went to find Remi. Gentry linked that she and Amanda were in the kitchen with my mother. When I got to the kitchen, I walked in to see them all sitting on the corner of the large island prep area eating and chatting. I smiled a little as her scent hit me. Remi turned her beautiful face to me and smiled at me.

I started to relax as I finally pulled her away from Pip and my mother and out of the kitchen. Remi seemed happy too as I walked her towards the front of the packhouse. I needed to get outside and out of this packhouse, so I decided to start by showing Remi around the grounds.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

“Now I am,” I told her. Her luscious apple scent was calming Magnus and my nerves.

“Did something happen?” she asked. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I didn’t want to tell her what just happened.

“Nothing we need to worry about right now. Right now, I want to show you around,” I told her. She gave me a speculative look but nodded at me.

“Okay,” she said.

“Let me out with our mate!” Magnus whined at me.

“No,” I said.

“Then mark her so I can meet her wolf!”

“Don’t start right now,” I said pushing him back.

We got to the front and went outside. The wind was chilly and blowing hard. Remi wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. I guess she was not fully used to being a wolf yet.

“Cold, baby?” I asked her.

“Just a little,” she said. I pulled her close to me and tucked her under my arm.

“Better?” I asked.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded. I would take any excuse to have her touching me. I took her out onto the lawn of the packhouse and we went all the way around. She looked at everything with wide eyes of disbelief. Our pack was one of largest and strongest in the Supernatural Realm and our family’s business dealings on the other side of the boundary had afforded our pack a lot of prosperity. We had training grounds surrounded by a running track. We had a wooded area right outside the east gate with a rugged training course throughout it. We also had 2 large pools, one for swimming and one for leisure, that pack members could access any time. The backyard also held a large space with a small stage that we used for pack gatherings. I did not show her the entrance to the underground holding cells we had, not wanting to scare her.

We ended up on the back patio area of the house. It had different tables and chairs scattered around as well as a few bench swings and was attached to the pool used for leisure. I led her over to one of the swings and we sat down together. I tucked her under my arm as we sat, keeping her warm by my side. “What do you think?” I asked her.

“It's so big,” she said softly.

I chuckled. “Well yea. And this is just the outside of the pack house. Most of the pack lives outside the gate. The gate is just an extra safety measure,” I told her.

“It is really amazing,” she said. We looked out towards the training fields. With it being midafternoon, only a few people were out there. The teenagers that came to train after school would start filling up the track soon.

“I’m glad you think so,” I said smiling at her. “Soon, we’ll be running all this together.”

“Because I am your mate, right?” she asked.

“Yes, baby. When Cullen and I become Alpha, you will become Luna. And you will help us run the pack.”

“What does the Luna do?”

“My mom would probably answer this better, but the Luna helps her Alpha. She manages the pack house and looks after pack members. She is a motherly figure to the pack as a whole,” I explained.

“That seems like so much,” she said. I could sense her getting nervous.

“I promise, it won’t be hard at all. The Moon Goddess made you for this. She made you for Cullen and me so you will do perfectly.”

She gave me a small smile. “I’ll try my best,” she said softly. I tilted her face up to mine and kissed her soft lips. Goddess she tasted like heaven. She didn’t pull away from me at all, so I deepened the kiss, pushing my tongue into her mouth. I pulled her over onto my lap and gripped her face in my hands.

I was enjoying making out with my mate when my phone rang in my pocket. I sighed as I broke our kiss. Remi was panting slightly, and her face was blushed. I pulled my phone out, not taking my eyes off her.

“Yes?” I answered a little impatiently.

“Calder, right?” a female voice came over the phone.

“Yes, who is this?”

“The witch you sought, Samantha,” she said.

“One moment,” I said. Remi met my eyes. We had not told her about what we found out about the curse. I did not want her to overhear things via a phone call. I moved her onto the bench and kissed her temple. “I will be right back,” I whispered. I stood up and walked towards the training fields, a good distance away. As her wolf and body develop, her hearing will get better, and I wasn’t underestimating her for now.

“Alright, why are you calling me?” I said, my eyes trained on the training fields.

“I might have more information to help you with your mate,” she said.

“And why are you still helping us?” I asked skeptically.

“My own reasons,” she said.

“Not good enough.”

“Do you not want my help?”

“Not if I do not know your motives. You only spoke with us as a favor to my father in the first place,” I said.

“This is true,” she sighed. “Your mate intrigues me.”

“And?”

She paused for a moment. “I want to meet her,” she admitted.

“Why?”

“You have your Goddess and I have mine,” she said simply.

“Why should I allow you to meet her?”

“Because you might need a powerful witch if you are going to kill a powerful warlock to save your mate,” she said.

“And you think you are that powerful witch?”

“There is only one copy of that grimoire and I have it. Among other powerful books. Do you think I could have obtained those if I were some ordinary witch?”

“Why should we trust you?”

“Because I am a descendant of Richard Voldigoad,” she said.

Cullen

Calder left the Council Room before me. I left with my father and Gentry, none of us speaking. We went to my father’s office. He sat down behind his desk while I paced in front of it.

“So that didn’t go well,” Gentry said. My father gave him a serious look. He didn’t always appreciate Gentry’s laid-back personality.

“The council can simply give their opinion upon who should be the Luna. They cannot force you to reject your mate,” my father said.

“They want to send her back over the boundary after everything we have done to get her over here,” I said harshly.

“Son, you have to understand their concern. There are a lot of voices trying to speak at this time. And the last time you met with them, you were prepared to reject her,” my father said, trying to make me see reason.

“And now Calder and I have mated her. She is our mate, and we have information contradicting their stupid prophecy!” I shouted.

“Cullen calm down. No one is going to touch Remi,” Gentry said.

“Right now, we should focus on acclimating your mate to the pack and being a werewolf while we track down this warlock Voldigoad. Have you told Remi about any of this?” my father asked.

“Not yet,” I said, stopping my pacing. “We thought it was more important to get her over the boundary and bring her wolf out first,” I said.

“Understandable. It might be best if you and Calder tell her tonight, though,” he said.

I sighed and nodded my head. “That is probably going to be best,” I agreed.

“I hope Cinderella doesn’t freak out…” Gentry said.

My father lifted an eyebrow at him in question. “It's some nickname he has for Remi,” I said flatly.

“I am sure Cullen and Calder can handle their mate,” my father said. I nodded my head. “Speaking of handling your mate, may I suggest that one of you or Calder are with her at all times for the moment? I never thought Jaime would have been so determined to be Luna that she would go to the Council for help. Now that she has incited doubt, we should make sure she has no interaction with Remi.”

“I am sure between the three of us, we can handle that. I honestly could see Jaime going after Remi to get rid of her,” Gentry said. I gave a low growl and nodded my head. Jaime would not lay a finger on Remi. I thought I had made myself clear after she attacked her at the charity gala.

“You two should go. Cullen go enjoy the rest of the day with your mate. You should bond as much as possible,” my father said. I turned to leave the room with Gentry following me.

“Where did Pip take my mate today?” I asked him as we left the office.

“They were down in the kitchen with Luna last she told me. I bet Calder already grabbed her though,” he said. “Said he was going to show her around today. My guess check outside.” He turned down another hall and left me as I walked towards the back door of the pack house. It led onto a large patio with plenty of seating.

I opened the door and inhaled deeply. The best smell of apples floated through my senses. I looked around, searching for Remi. My stomach dropped when I saw her sitting on one of the swings alone. Jaime was standing right in front of her with her arms crossed. I quickly walked towards them, Jaime looking up and making eye contact with me. With a nasty smirk, she turned and stormed off.

I made my way around to Remi who was sitting still on the swing, watching Jaime walk away toward the training ground. Her eyes moved to me, relief coming over her face. I sat down next to her and pulled her onto my lap. She looked up at me.

“What did Jaime say?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said in a small voice.

I kissed her softly. “I want you to tell me,” I said.

She sighed. “It’s fine,” she said. I eyed her carefully. Before I could push the issue any further, Calder came over.

“What happened?” he asked looking at us.

“You left her alone and Jaime found her,” I said in a flat tone. His face paled a little.

“I’m sorry, baby. I had to take that,” he tried to apologize.

“I’m fine,” she said softly, giving him a small smile.

“After everything the Council had to say and Jaime’s clear position against Remi, you left her alone?” I linked.

“I did not want Remi hearing my conversation,” he replied. We looked each other carefully in the eye.

“What could be so important that you needed to leave her alone?”

“The witch called with more information about the curse.” I cocked an eyebrow. “She wants to help us take down Voldigoad.”

“So she says.”

Remi looked between us. “You two are doing the talking link thing right?” she asked.

“Sorry, baby,” Calder said. He sat down next to me. “We shouldn’t do that to you.”

“It's okay,” she said.

“Why don’t we both show you around the rest of the pack house?” he suggested.

“We need to tell her about everything the witch told us,” I linked him. He ignored me, focusing on Remi. She nodded her head. He stood up and I helped her off my lap. When I stood, she grabbed both of our hands and I could not help but smile at her. We led her inside and gave her a tour of the entire pack house.