Chapter 72: Their Cursed

Calder

I was going to rip him apart. He cornered her on purpose. He had waited and took the opportunity. Carson was dead for leaving her on her own. And I don’t know what Remi could have been thinking walking out of the hall like this. When I returned to the table and Luke told me that the girls had gone to the restroom, I was instantly filled with dread.

I could feel Remi’s regret as we walked. Her eyes were glued to the floor. When I saw Zeus in front of her, my worst fears coursed through me. We made it to the suite quickly and entered quietly. I closed the door with force, making Remi jump. She stood in-between Cullen and I looking afraid and remorseful. The look on her face was making my chest tight. She hates it when Cullen or I are mad, especially Cullen, and always grew timid when it happens. I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes closed and pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to calm myself down.

“Why didn’t you take Carson with you?” I asked as calmly as I could manage.

“H-he left the table…” she stammered in a squeaky voice.

“You should have stayed there,” Cullen gritted out.

“I didn’t want to be rude or seem like I was incapable of being by myself…” she explained. I closed the distance between us, raising her face up to mine by her chin.

“Did he lay a finger on you?” I asked.

She shook her head slightly. “No,” she breathed. I let out a breath.

“Good,” I said turning away from her. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.

“I’m so sorry…” she apologized again.

“He’s doing this to get a rise out of us,” I linked Cullen.

“I am aware,” he replied. I knew he was still irate about Remi going off without us or Carson in tow. She wasn’t the only one at fault in the situation, but she still failed to listen to our request of her.

“What did he say to you?” Cullen asked her. I turned to look at her, also now curious what he was saying. I knew she was scared, and her face had been one of revulsion when I arrived but she was unharmed otherwise.

She turned and looked up at Cullen for a moment before her eyes went back down. Rage was still written on his features and I am sure she was avoiding his gaze. “He was asking me to convince Pip to stay here after the Summit concludes,” she said softly.

Cullen smirked, taking this as a small victory against Zeus. Maybe Pip was considering whether or not she would move to Serenity Moon with him. “Anything else?” I asked.

“No,” she whispered. Remi was nervously fidgeting with her hands, still feeling the full brunt of our ire. The door to the suite opened and we all turned to see Carson coming in, his own irritated scowl written on his face.

“Where the fuck were you?” Cullen shouted.

Carson’s attention snapped to him. “Nowhere,” he said.

“Well while you were nowhere, Remi found herself alone with Zeus!” Cullen yelled at him. “I told you to do one simple thing this weekend- do not leave her alone. How incompetent are you that you cannot even handle that?”

“Shut up,” Carson shot back. “I’m not a damn babysitter!” Cullen was in his face in a flash, the two of them staring each other down.

“Please, Cullen, don’t…” Remi begged in a worried tone. “I shouldn’t have left the table. It’s my fault.”

“Remi, go to our room,” Cullen commanded her. She looked to me with glassy eyes.

“Go Remi. We need to have a talk with Carson,” I told her. Her lip quivered as she turned and ran from the room towards our bedroom.

“This weekend was not for you to powwow with your damn chosen,” Cullen said angrily.

“My chosen? You mean the one that our asshat father chose?” Carson yelled back.

“Where were you?” I asked Carson again. His eyes shot to me.

“None of your business. Your mate is fine. After the way she handled herself today, I didn’t see a reason to keep hovering,” he justified.

“I told you before I left the table!” Cullen seethed.

“It doesn’t matter how well she handled herself around the women. We aren’t concerned about gossip and rumors. We are concerned for her safety,” I said.

“Do you two really think anyone would be stupid enough to try touching a hair on her head? She has not one but two damn mates who are also the Alphas of Blue Moon,” Carson said rolling his eyes now.

“She is the biggest target in this pack house. If you had bothered to learn anything our fathered has offered to teach you, you would know that. You think Serenity Moon is a peaceful alliance because Zane and Father appear friends? You think they don’t feel threatened by our holding as second to them?” Cullen raged.

“Cullen and I have a real weakness now. She is our weakness even if she appears strong to others. Why do you think so many Alphas opt for a chosen mate? There is less risk involved if something happens to your mate when it is not your fated!” I told him.

“I’m not stupid,” he said, out of arguments.

“You are really lucky nothing happened to her,” Cullen threatened.

“Can I go now?” he spit.

“No,” I said. His eyes turned to me again. “We need to meet with a few people. You are going to go sit in there and watch her. I don’t care if she cries or screams, do not leave the room until we return. Am I clear?” I held his gaze, letting him know I was more than serious about this.

“Fine,” he said. Cullen turned and we both moved toward the door of the suite. “Aren’t you going to tell her where you are going?” he asked behind us.

“No, you can do that,” I said as we walked out the door.

Remi

I paced back and forth in the bedroom, chewing on my nail, and rubbing my arms. I was cold. I didn’t like this feeling. Calli was pouting in my head, thinking our mates were going to come in here and yell some more.

I could take any amount of frustration they had with me if that look would just leave their eyes. That cold anger. It sent a shiver down my spine. I discarded my shoes on the floor by our bags and continued to pace. What were they talking to Carson about? He was so moody at dinner, but he almost seemed to be warming up to me before then. He had actually complimented me when he pulled me out of the confrontation with Kelly.

I was relieved when Calder appeared. I had no idea where the conversation with Zeus was going and I had no desire to find out. The way his eyes raked over me made me want to puke. It didn’t even look like real interest. He looked at me like I was an object, one he could use to piss off Cullen. The look was dangerous.

It felt like hours were going by as I continued to pace in front of the bed, worrying about what would happen when Calder and Cullen finally joined me. I hoped when they did finally come back, they would be less angry. I was beginning to hate this entire Summit. It was far too stressful and political.

The door creaked open, and I turned around hopefully only to see Carson coming in. My face immediately turned to an expression of disappointment and scrutiny. “Not my choice,” he said. He waltzed over to the small couch in the corner and sat down, giving me a bored look.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“After thoroughly chewing my ass out, they left. They need to meet with someone and will be back later,” he said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it on.

“How later?” I asked quietly. Disappointment was creeping in now.

“They didn’t say,” Carson responded. My lip quivered as I fought back tears. I didn’t want to cry in front of Carson. The twins deciding to leave me felt like defeat. It felt like they were giving up on me.

“They’ll come back…” Calli whined in my head.

“When?” I asked her.

“Soon. They aren’t leaving…” she tried.

“I couldn’t even follow one simple direction. All I had to do was stay put…” The fear that they were going to decide I was too much of a burden to them started to crawl over me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and went over to the bags. I pulled out the pajama set in my bag, a pair of silk shorts and a button up shirt with short sleeves.

“I’m going to wash up,” I told Carson. He continued to occupy himself on his phone and ignore me. Was he going to sit here until his brothers returned? I left the bedroom, carrying my clothes into the bathroom. I set my clothes on the counter and started pulling my hair down. I ran my fingers through it, pulling out all the tangles before I plucked it up into a messy bun on top of my head. I turned around to warm up the shower, figuring I might as well do it now even though I would prefer my mates be here with me. I made the water as hot as I could stand it, wanting it to warm me up. Without Calder and Cullen here like this, I still just felt cold and alone.

After pulling my dress off, I also removed the necklace Calder had given me. I admired it for a minute. The gemstone glittered in the bright, fluorescent lights of the bathroom. A few hours ago, my mates were ravenous, clingy, and sweet. Now they were angry and distant, and I wanted to just rewind the night. I got in the shower, hoping the hot water would warm me up. I washed up, avoiding getting my hair in the water. No matter how long I stood in the shower, I barely felt any warmer. I must have been in the bathroom too long because I heard pounding on the door. I turned off the water quickly and called out, “Yea?”

“Are you alive?” Carson called through the door.

“Yea, I’m alive…” I called back. I got out and quickly dried myself off and pulled on my clothes. I clasped the necklace back around my neck, loving it too much to put it away. When I left the bathroom, Carson was back on the couch ignoring my existence. I set my dress on my bag and pulled out my phone before going over to the bed and sitting down. I had been in the shower for a while because it was getting late now.

I scooted over to the center of the bed, sitting back against the headboard. I pulled my knees to my chest and unlocked my phone. I wondered where Pip was since she never came to our table this evening. When Calder had given me this phone, he had put some apps on it for me and I hadn’t done much with them. I barely touched my phone honestly. I scrolled through the menu and found the one he said was full of books. I chose something at random and tried to read to pass the time until they came back.

Carson

About an hour after she came out of the shower, her head finally dropped onto her knees. She looked sad all night waiting for them. I didn’t have it in me to tell her she better get used to it. Those two had done nothing but work for years now. I had no doubt they could run the pack and the family business, but take care of their mate and family?

Remi looked uncomfortable and cold on the bed, so I got up and grabbed one of the throw blankets off the couch. I gently pushed her, so she was laying on her side more, still curled up, and threw the blanket over her.

I probably shouldn’t have left her alone like that, but I was just too irritated being here. I never thought about her being a target because she is their fated. She’s naive, a little weak, yea, but Mom had said something about her wolf not having emerged yet. I didn’t really care to find out because it wasn’t my business. I just wanted to get out of this pack and away from my brothers.