Chapter 34: Their Cursed

Remi

The boys showed me around the impressively large pack house. There was a library and rec room along with the large kitchen and dining room on the ground floor. There was a wing they said was for the Council chambers and meeting room. On the second floor were offices for the Alpha, Luna, Beta, and other people who were important in running the pack. The 3rd and 4th floors were reserved for families living in the packhouse and the top floor was all for the Alpha’s family.

It took forever for them to show me everything. My legs were sore by the time we reached Calder’s room this time. It was mostly the same as Cullen’s although he had papers scattered all around his coffee table and his bed sheets were different. Cullen left us, giving me a soft kiss and promising to be back to grab me for dinner. Calder pulled me over to the couch and I straddled his lap.

He ran his nose along mine. “I’m sorry I left you earlier. Jaime didn’t scare you, did she?” he asked softly.

I shook my head. “It’s fine,” I told him.

“I want you to tell me or Cullen if she messes with you, okay?” he implored. I didn’t respond at first and he continued, “She is very upset that Cullen and I found our mate. But you do not deserve any of her wrath. You have not done anything wrong, baby. So please, tell one of us?”

“Okay,” I said nodding. Jaime had scared me earlier but when Cullen came over, I had felt almost embarrassed that I had felt that way. Calder’s hand cupped my cheek as he looked at me.

“You really won’t tell us what she said?” he asked.

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now,” I told him. He sighed.

“Okay,” he said. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Calli purred in my head, loving all the attention from our mate. It felt like something was bugging Calder and he did not want to tell me.

“Calder, what made you so mad earlier today?” I asked quietly.

He sighed. “We won’t be able to hide much from you,” he said more to himself than me. I sat up and looked him in the eyes. “Jaime went to the council about us accepting you and you not being fit to be Luna. She was trying to get them on her side to force us to reject you,” he said.

“Oh,” I said a little surprised. My chest ached a little.

“We aren’t going to reject you, ever. It’s out of the question,” he said reassuringly. “Jaime is just upset. She sort of got a raw deal in all of this…”

“Does she not have a mate?” I asked.

“Every wolf has a mate. She just has not found hers yet. I think deep down, she did have real feelings for Cullen. But he didn’t even let her sleep in the same room with him after that first time we met you at the diner…”

“They were sleeping together…” I asked. That made my heart hurt a little. I had not expected Calder or Cullen to be virgins or anything and last night proved they definitely knew what to do with a woman’s body. I did not want to think about them having partners before me though…

He sighed. “We didn’t know where you were, baby. You cannot blame him for doing what he thought was necessary to claim his birth rite. If she had been made Luna alongside us, she would have been expected to have our pups,” he explained gently. I knew I could not blame Cullen or Jaime, but it still didn’t make me feel better. I sighed and nodded at him. In my head I knew I should not be upset with either of them, but the irrational hurt was still there.

“Can I ask you something?” he said. I nodded my head. “You said you weren’t a virgin, but I don’t get the impression you dated very much before…”

I ducked my head and avoided his eye contact. “That isn’t a question…” I said even though I knew exactly what he was trying to ask. He was silent waiting for me to tell him. I sighed. “Just a handful of times with one guy a long time ago…”

“Okay,” he said. He pulled me into a hug, and we sat there like that until the door opened. I knew by his smell that Cullen had come back. He sat down next to us. I am pretty sure he and Calder were doing one of their mind conversations. After a few minutes, Calder broke the silence.

“Why don’t we get down to dinner?” he asked softly. I pulled away from him and he loosened his grip around me. I nodded at him. Cullen stood as Calder helped to lift me up and onto the floor. Cullen pulled me to him right away. I smiled, loving how possessive they both were. Calder stood and I found myself wrapped up in both of them. At that moment, I did not think there was any other place I wanted to be for the rest of my life.

-

Dinner was interesting. We sat with the twin’s parents, brother, Gentry, Amanda, Benson, and we were joined by his mate, Summer, this time. Summer was really nice and talked almost as much as Amanda. Amanda spent the entire meal messing with Carson who kept looking at me oddly. Benson, Gentry, Cassius, and the twins seemed a little tense and it made me wonder if it had something to do with why Calder was so angry earlier.

There were a lot of people that came over to the table to talk to us as well. A few of the girls seemed to be disappointed when they saw me sitting in between the twins. It also felt weird, but they seemed hesitant to introduce me to anyone. When we were finished eating, the twins left the dining room quickly with me in tow. When we finally got to Cullen’s room, they both seemed uncomfortable.

“Is something wrong?” I asked both of them. They both stood there looking at me nervously as we had just walked through the door.

“Why would you think that baby?” Calder asked.

“You two have been acting strange since we went down to dinner,” I said looking between them.

Cullen looked at Calder before holding his hand out to me. I took it and he led me over to the couch. We sat down and Calder came over and sat on my other side. “What is going on?” I asked Cullen, my stomach now in knots. Did this have to do with their meeting earlier? Did this have to do with Jaime?

“There are some things we need to tell you,” Cullen said.

“We found out some things about the curse that we think you should know…” Calder said softly.

“What is it?” I asked. A look passed between them before Calder started to explain.

“Your parents didn’t have the whole story. The warlock that cursed your bloodline was actually the mate of your ancestor, Rose Marie. She was special like you. She also had two mates, the warlock and a werewolf. He cursed her and her bloodline when she chose the werewolf…” he paused. With a sigh he continued, “The curse would end when another she-wolf destined to have two mates was born. If she didn’t hand over her first-born pup by the time she turned 21, the warlock would come for her.”

I looked at him trying to connect all the dots together. “Am I that she-wolf?” I asked in disbelief. Calder nodded at me. “So, it's true? How could he still be alive?”

“He is an immensely powerful warlock. There are ways that witches and warlocks can extend their lives.”

“So, he is going to come after me?”

“We aren’t going to let anything happen to you,” Cullen said. His tone was so serious. My stomach was churning.

“What would happen if he took me?”

“We aren’t letting it happen,” Cullen growled.

Calder sighed. “We think he would force you to have a pup,” he said quietly.

My eyes watered. “What, am I just supposed to raise a baby with this warlock kidnapper?”

“No, baby,” Calder said quietly. Cullen growled and they locked eyes over my head. I looked between them.

“What? You are leaving something out…” I said. Cullen shook his head and Calder looked down at me, his face with regret written all over it.

“He would take the pup and kill you,” he said in a whisper.

“What?” I said in disbelief. My whole body ran cold.

“It will never happen,” Cullen said, turning my face to him. “No one will touch what is mine.” I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from falling. His eyes were dark but not in the lustful way that he looked at me last night. He was angry.

“We might be able to stop him,” Calder said gently. I turned to look at him. “We are going to do everything we can to find him and stop him before he comes for you.” I nodded my head slowly. His hand came up and cupped my face. “Are you okay?” he asked. I could feel my lip quiver as I shook my head. Calder pulled me to his chest and hugged me tightly. A few tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks as I buried my face in Calder’s chest.

“What if...” Calli said in my head.

“No. It won’t work. He wants a pup, not that…” She knew everything that went on in my head. But there was no way that would work and there was no way I could let that go.

“You should tell them,” she said.

“I couldn’t... I just can’t…” I told her.

“What if it saved you and kept our mates out of danger?” she reasoned.

“It isn’t what the warlock wants…”

Calli seemed to drop it. Calder kissed the top of my head. I inhaled his scent deeply trying to get a hold of myself.

Calder broke the silence. “Remi, will you move in with us?”

I was simultaneously shocked and thrilled. Calli started prancing around in my head, her melancholy forgotten. She was chanting, “Yes, yes, yes!” I looked at Cullen whose expression was neutral and Calder who was giving me a small smile.

“Are you sure? It’s so soon?” I asked worried. I knew I would never love anyone else besides them. I was not able to tell them yet because it still scared me to let them have that power over me.

“We are so sure,” Calder said. “Remi, we want nothing and no one else for the rest of our lives. We only want you.”

I turned to look at Cullen. “Yes, love. You are everything to us,” he said.

“Remi, we will go to the ends of this Realm and the next to protect you and break this curse. We will stop him at all costs. We want you with us all the time,” Calder said.

“We can protect you better if you are here with us, love. We cannot spend all our time in the Ordinary Realm,” Cullen said. I looked at each of them in turn. Was I ready to move in with them?

Calder grabbed my chin and brought his face close to my lips. Cullen’s face came close to my ear. “Remi, we love you,” they said in unison. They both kissed me tenderly, Calder on my lips and Cullen on my neck. I kissed Calder back in earnest. It was like I could feel their love and their worry at the same time. We finally broke apart and I was panting slightly.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll move in.”

Calder’s face lit up with a jubilant smile. I think he knew he had me forever now, hook, line, and sinker. Cullen turned me to face him and planted a sweet, lingering kiss on my lips. When he was done, he said, “I will arrange someone to pack your belongings and take care of your apartment.”

“No!” I said quickly. He looked at me skeptically. “I want to do it, please,” I basically asked.

“That is fine, baby. One of us can take you back and help you get everything taken care of,” Calder said softly. I nodded my head.

-

We laid in bed that night all together. Both of them still seemed a little worked up over the warlock situation. They both held me tight, trapping me in between them. They fell asleep long before I did as my stomach churned thinking about them finding out my secret.

“Our mates will not be upset. What if it could help break the curse?” Calli said, trying to convince me.

“No. It isn’t the same. Plus, how could I ever let it go?”

“It will always live on in your heart…”

“It doesn’t matter,” I told her.

“Magic is full of loopholes, Remi. Witches are crafty but not even they can predict everything,” she said.

“They would never understand,” I said. “No one did. Not even my parents.”

“That was the past. You are their future, and they want all of you.”

“No one wants that girl,” I told her.

“That girl is laying here in both of their arms, right now. They told that girl they love her and she loves them back. That is all that matters,” she said. I sighed and tried to snuggle closer to Calder and Cullen. They both reflexively held me tighter. I was not that girl anymore. That girl was energetic and bubbly. She was carefree and fun. That girl had to become practical and grow up, a lot. I knew I would not be able to keep it from them forever, but it scared me to tell them. I fell into a restless sleep sometime later.