Chapter 53: Their Cursed

Calder

Remi sat in my lap on the couch in my office. None of us had spoken for some time now. There was a storm of emotions going through her right now and I wasn’t sure how to calm it for her. Cullen had left without a word a few minutes ago. He needed to get himself under control before he could be there for our mate. He had a bad habit of blaming himself more than anyone else. Right now, he probably felt like he made a mistake in letting Sammy and Remi meet. I just hoped he didn’t go look for her and start a fight with Gentry.

Silent tears still rolled down Remi’s soft cheeks while her eyes remained shut. I knew she wasn’t asleep as she lay against me curled up into a ball. She had not grown much since her wolf emerged, but I knew she was getting physically stronger. She was dealing with all the changes to her life so gracefully here in the pack. Last night had been an utter shock and she hadn’t even come out of it completely before being pummeled by it once more.

“Baby, please stop crying…” I finally tried. Every time she cried, my chest ached. I hated seeing her like this and would do anything to stop it.

She took a shaky breath. “C-Calder… I-I can’t…” she stuttered.

“Shhhh… No, no, no…” I tried to soothe her. “We would never make you do anything…” She sat up and looked at me. Her sweet blue eyes were bloodshot, her face pink and puffy. I brought my hand up, using my thumb to wipe the moisture from her cheekbones.

“What if you get hurt? Or worse? What if it truly could break the curse?” she asked.

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Baby, no one in your family has been made to give up their child and you are no different. If we can’t break the curse, we will find a way to kill the warlock. We would never ever dream of making you give up the ashes,” I told her gently.

“I can’t lose you. Or Cullen,” she said, her voice cracking. “I would never survive it. I love you so much it scares me and the thought of you…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. I leaned my forehead against hers and held the back of her head.

“Nothing in this Realm or the next can take me away from you ever,” I told her. Her arms came up and wrapped around me, her face diving into my neck. She hugged herself tight to me, and I held her firmly. We sat like that for a while. My office door opened, and Cullen returned. He looked calmer and in control now. He held a mug in his hand as well as some tissues. He came over to us and set them down on the table.

“Has she said anything?” he linked.

“She is afraid if she doesn’t give up the ashes, we are going to get hurt,” I told him. Cullen nodded.

“She shouldn’t have to. No one in her family was forced to give up their pup, and she will be no different,” he replied. There was a knock on the door interrupting our silent exchange. We both looked at the door as it cracked open and Gentry stuck his head through. Remi didn’t move. Gentry’s eyes went to her and looked guilty.

“Can I come in?” he linked. I nodded my head. He stepped in, his clothes now untucked, and he looked like he had hastily dressed. “Guys, I am so sorry Sam did that… Remi never deserved that in a million years…”

Cullen gritted his teeth. “I hope she is happy because she will never come near her again,” he told him.

“I know you think I am just defending her because she is my mate, but that's not it. I think she just went about this all wrong. I’m not happy either but I can understand why she was mad,” he said.

“Her anger doesn’t justify this,” I told him. His eyes went back to Remi in my arms.

“What can I do?” he asked. Gentry had never really been at a loss like this before. He was always confident and one of the smartest wolves I knew. He was always ten steps ahead.

“Get the witch out of my pack house, now,” Cullen told him. He was directing his fury at Gentry.

“Cullen, she’s my mate!” he said quickly. “I think she should apologize to Remi before anything else.”

“I don’t care if she is your mate!” he yelled this time. I looked down at Remi who was clutching me tighter now.

“Cullen, stop,” I said.

“No. She doesn’t get to apologize. I don’t care who she is,” he was seeing red now.

“She knows she went about that wrong, okay? Just give her a chance to apologize!” Gentry said, his anger rising now.

“Guys, calm down,” I tried.

“There was no right way to go about that!” Cullen yelled.

“She was wrong, and she knows it. But it doesn’t hide the fact that this is exactly the thing we can use to get out of this unharmed!” he shouted back.

Cullen moved across the room quickly, grabbing Gentry by his collar. He growled in his face, the two of them staring at each other. I could do nothing while I held Remi, but she turned around to look at them quickly.

“Stop,” she sobbed. Both of them froze. Cullen’s hands lessened their grip and Gentry was let go. His head turned to his mate. I was still under her. “You can’t fight.”

Cullen swallowed hard. He moved back across the room to her, kneeling in front of us. He grabbed her face and looked into her eyes. “Please stop,” she begged him. He nodded. She moved towards him, wrapping her arms around him and planting her face right in the crook of his neck like she had with me. Gentry watched on from the doorway. Cullen pulled her body to him, wrapping her around him. He kissed the side of her head continually, apologizing softly. I stood up and looked at Gentry.

Before I could say anything, another knock sounded at the door. The door opened a crack and Sammy stood in the doorway. Cullen was focused on Remi, so he didn't turn around. Gentry turned to his mate and I could see them exchanging glances. She looked at me as if asking my permission to come in. I looked at Remi in Cullen’s arms. “Outside,” I said. She backed up and Gentry followed her out the door. I followed them both, gently closing my office door behind me, leaving Cullen with our mate. I crossed my arms and looked at the witch. Her eyes were glassy, clearly she and Gentry had fought before he came back.

“Calder, I am really sorry…” she said. She looked down at her hands that she was wringing nervously before looking back up at me. “It’s no excuse but I saw it and just got mad. I shouldn’t have been insensitive, but her life isn’t the only one at stake here. And there is something I may have misled you about before…”

“And what is that?” I asked, my anger now rising. I managed to keep it together in my office, but I do not tolerate being lied to.

“When I said be prepared to kill Voldigoad, I didn’t know your simple dog brains would just attach onto that,” she said. “You can’t just kill him and, poof, the curse is gone. It's a curse, not a spell. I have reason to believe that if Voldigoad dies before the curse is broken, Remi will get pregnant. She will get pregnant, and then she and the child will die.”