Chapter 86 - Their Cursed

Pip

Remi and Calder left, and Zeus stood in the doorway looking at me. His expression was filled with so many emotions. I stood rooted to the spot, losing some of my confidence when Remi walked out of the house. I hated how weak I felt over all of this.

“Amanda, sweetheart, please. Give me a chance,” Zeus whispered. My wolf whined at his anguish. I couldn’t avoid it forever; I took a steadying breath and nodded my head.

“We can talk,” I whispered.

“Can I come in?” he asked. I nodded, and he slowly stepped inside and shut the door behind him. We stood maybe ten feet apart from each other. My lip quivered as I tried to keep my emotions under control. Then, surprising me, Zeus closed the distance between us and brought his hands to my face.

“Please don’t cry anymore. I can’t take it that I made you cry,” he pleaded. The look on his face was not making his request an easy one. His thumbs gently rubbed along my cheekbones.

I sniffled. “Let’s go up to my room,” I managed to squeak out. My Dad would be trying to hover anywhere else in the house, and I was sure that Gentry would be showing up any minute to haul Zeus out of here. Remi told me he had his own mate issues, so I realized some of his fury at Zeus was misplaced. Zeus dropped his hands, and I turned to lead him upstairs. He followed close to me; every cell in me was very aware of his proximity.

As we walked into my bedroom, I was thankful for Remi’s stress-induced fussing. Yesterday and today, she had taken it upon herself to clean up my room, so now the only thing that was amiss was the comforter on my bed that was tossed aside when we came rushing downstairs.

We stepped inside, and I closed the door behind us. Zeus took a deep breath as he looked around. Magazine cut-outs were covering a good bit of the walls. Pieces of outfits and make-up inspiration plastered the walls everywhere. I moved over to the bed and sat on the edge. Zeus followed my lead, sitting next to me, leaving only a couple of inches of space. I played with my fingers in my lap, not sure where to start.

“It was selfish. I’ve always been pretty selfish, but that was the worst thing I have ever done, and I did it to the one person I shouldn’t have. Amanda, I am sorrier than you will ever know. If you just give me a chance, I promise to never be selfish with you ever again,” Zeus finally said. His tone was so remorseful, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.

“It felt like rejection, Zeus. It felt like you were just throwing me aside. I wasn’t sure I wanted a mate, and then I found you. I was so happy, and it felt so right being with you. I knew eventually Caldy and Cully would come around and be happy for me, especially with Remi around to stop their sass. The thought of being a Luna absolutely terrifies me, but then I look into your eyes and I forget about all of that. But you just ghosted me. You left me to sit and worry that I did something wrong….” I explained. Zeus turned to face me, his hand gently grasping my chin and turning my face to him.

“It had nothing to do with you. The whole morning, I sat in the chambers thinking about you in that dress. I thought about dancing with you and holding your hand all night. I was completely blindsided by what happened, and my father was angry. I was only thinking about myself, and it was wrong. I don’t want to be like that anymore. I want to be better for you,” he said. He peered down at me with such sincerity; I could feel the tears coming again.

“Please forgive me, Amanda. I will never leave you again. I’m drowning. I haven’t been able to breathe since you walked out of the packhouse. Please,” he begged.

“I will forgive you….” I started. His face immediately lifted with hope. “If you apologize to the twins too. I don’t know what you did or said to them, and I don’t care. They are important to me, and I want you to get along. Remi seems uncomfortable around you, and I can’t have my best friend feeling like that around my mate.”

His shoulders slumped, but he nodded his head. “That’s fair. That would also be the result of my selfish games. If that’s what I have to do for your forgiveness, I will.”

I blinked up at him, trying to keep the tears from escaping. I believed him. I didn’t want to punish him anymore. I didn’t want to be punished anymore. I just wanted him to hold me and comfort me. Without words, he leaned in slowly and pressed his lips to mine in a tender kiss. I didn’t resist, leaning into him. He responded by deepening the kiss, and I could feel all his regret and remorse. My hand wrapped around the back of his neck as he cradled the back of my head. I felt warm wetness trail down my face, and I couldn’t stop it. He pulled away from me and gently kissed away my tears. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me overtop him so that I was straddling his hips.

“I will never disappoint you again, sweetheart. I won’t ever leave you,” he promised. I believed him with my whole heart. I buried my face in his neck and let him wrap his arms around me tightly. My eyes continued to leak tears, the emotional roller coaster of the past few days working its way from my body. Zeus held me tight, his nose buried in my hair as he breathed deeply.

After a while, I broke the silence. “Stay with me.”

“Always.”

Remi

I couldn’t sleep at all. Even with Sammy’s gift, I was still anxious. Calli was cool, calm, and collected, like she wouldn’t feel the same thing I did when this happened. Cullen and Calder spent the whole night trying to pass me back and forth, holding me and trying to calm me down. I felt even worse keeping them awake. When Calder got up to go to training, he looked exhausted. I pretended to be asleep so he wouldn’t try and stay with me. Cullen had managed to doze off while I laid still, so after Calder left, I carefully rolled my way off the bed and snuck into the bathroom.

I tried showering first, but that didn’t do much to calm me down. Afterward, I wrapped myself in a towel and decided to braid my hair. Giving my hands a meticulous task to focus on sounded like a good distraction. After slowly working two Dutch braids down the sides of my head, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked different. My skin was softer and more glowy. Except under my eyes, dark circles were evidence of the poor sleep I had gotten for the last few nights. I sighed, trying to remind myself that this would all be over in just a few hours.

Cullen slid into the bathroom, coming up to wrap his arms around me from behind. He kissed the back of my head. “It’s okay, my love,” he whispered. I looked at him in the mirror and felt guilty once again. He looked just as stressed and tired as Calder. I hated that I was the reason. “Let’s get dressed and head downstairs. You’ll want to eat today,” he said softly. I turned around in his arms and laid my cheek against his chest. My stomach was so twisted up; I wouldn’t be able to eat anything.

-

Calder never made it to breakfast. Cullen tried to pull me into his lap and force-feed me, but I couldn’t do it. I knew he wasn’t happy about it, but he let it go. Nicole ushered me away after that to go up to her office. She and Beta Benson’s mate spent a considerable portion of the day trying to get me to help them plan the twins’ Alpha ceremony. I felt even more guilty at their enthusiasm and my lack of it. I was relieved when Carson unexpectedly saved me. He came into his mother’s office and told her that the twins needed me outside. I followed him out, not even questioning it.

When he led me upstairs, I got confused. “Carson, what are we doing?” I asked.

“Just shut up and follow me,” he said. He went through a door that I was sure was a bedroom. I followed him inside. By the scent in the room, I guessed it was his room. He didn’t bother to turn the lights on, and the curtains were pulled closed. He walked over and sat down on an oversized bean bag chair in the corner across from a TV. I stopped in front of him.

“What are we doing exactly?” I asked.

“Does your overly anxious and neurotic ass want to continue to be subjected to my mother’s event planning and my brothers’ fussing? Or would you like to pretend the world doesn’t exist for a couple of hours, hide in here, and watch a movie?” he said in a biting tone. I scowled at him but felt a little relieved. His face softened a little. “You don’t even have to watch the movie. When I get too anxious, this helps. Just blocking out everything and letting your brain mute for a minute. Then, at least until the twins come to find you, you can pretend you aren’t shifting tonight, and you are not the future Luna of the largest pack in the Realm. Just sit,” he motioned toward the chair. I sighed. This was Carson’s way of looking out for me. Maybe even his way of thanking me for keeping his secret. Whether it worked or not, I knew this would help us break down that barrier, so I sat. Carson flipped on a random movie then passed me something cold. I looked down at it to realize it was a bottle of chocolate milk. He must have caught onto my confusion as he explained, “Girls like chocolate, right? Never really paid much attention.”

I stifled a small laugh. There was a lot more to Carson than met the eye. I undid the cap and took a small swig even though my stomach was still in knots. He turned to face the TV, and we sat in silence.

Carson was right. Hiding away from everyone did the trick. I barely paid attention to the movie, and after a while, I drifted off to sleep.

-

I was uncomfortably warm and felt this weird itch in my arms and legs. I began to squirm around as I realized I was still sitting curled up in the bean bag chair in Carson’s room.

“Shhh, baby,” Calder’s voice said. My eyes fluttered open to see him crouched in front of me.

“Calder?” I said, realizing what had happened.

“Yea, baby. It’s almost time. We need to take you outside,” he said gently. My head began to throb a bit.

“Next time, tell us she is with you!” I heard Cullen hiss, presumably at Carson. He shouldn’t be scolding him.

“Can you stand, Remi?” Calder asked. I tried unfolding myself from my position, but my bones began to ache uncomfortably. I must have made a face because Calder stopped me. “Just hold on,” he said as his arms came under me, and he lifted me. “Cullen, we need to go now,” he said in a worried voice.

“Calder…” I whined a little.

“I know, baby. I’m right here,” he said softly.

“The potion,” I mumbled. The throbbing in my head was turning into a full-on pounding very quickly.

“As soon as we get you outside. You can’t shift in Carson’s room,” he whispered. We were moving quickly. I slumped against Calder, rubbing my temple.

We were outside the packhouse in minutes, and I could feel the cool, late fall breeze against my skin. I was sweating now, making my whole body feel clammy.

Dull pain started radiating through my limbs as Calder finally came to a stop. He knelt and sat me on the ground. “Let’s at least get her shirt and pants off,” Cullen said next to me. I moaned at the pain pushing through my body. “Let’s get you undressed, then we can try the potion, love,” he said softer this time. I felt his hands beginning to pull my shirt up, and I did my best to lift my arms and let him pull it over me. I closed my eyes as my head began to feel like someone was beating it like a drum. My pants were slid down my legs, and I could feel the breeze over my skin.

Sparks. I felt the pleasurable sparks of my mate against my skin as I was pulled close to one of them. Chocolate chip cookies. Cullen. He was shirtless and had me cradled against his chest. He tilted my head up. “Open up, love,” he instructed gently. I wasn’t given a choice as white-hot pain tore through my chest.

“Ah!” I screamed.

“Let go and let it happen,” Calli said in my mind. “Just let me take over.”

Ice-cold liquid flowed down my throat. It was sour on my tongue, and I was panting after I swallowed all of it. Please let this work, I pleaded in my head.

Another sharp pain shot through my body, and it felt like my arms were cracking painfully.

“Focus on us, baby,” I could hear Calder’s voice. “We are right here.”

“How quickly is this supposed to work?” Cullen snarled. I let out another scream. My lungs were on fire now, but my stomach felt like someone had frozen it inside of me.

“Calli, it hurts,” I whined.

“I know, darling girl. Just let go. Let the shift happen,” she admonished.

The sharp pain was coming in waves now. Just as one subsided, another would begin. My eyes burst open, but everything was blurry as I tried looking through my tears. My body seized at the pain. “Just hold on, love,” Cullen’s voice said. I could barely feel his touch. It wasn’t helping. This was the worst pain I had ever felt. The pain continued to intensify, and soon my skin felt impossibly itchy.

“Calder…. Cullen….” I cried. This was too much. I needed it to stop.

“Breathe, baby. It’s almost over,” Calder’s voice said. I couldn’t do this. Why wasn’t the potion working? How did anyone ever survive this? I was writhing in Cullen’s arms at this point, and I was vaguely aware of Calder trying to help hold me.

“Calli, I can’t. It needs to stop….” I cried to my wolf.

“Just a moment more. Almost,” she pleaded in my head.

My body jolted as the next scream ripped through my body. Then, as if someone had dumped ice-cold water on me from my head down, my whole body felt cold. It moved down my body, replacing the excruciating pain that was there just moments ago. I sucked in a deep breath; my lungs now burn free. I realized my eyes were screwed shut, and I slowly opened them. I was looking right up into Cullen and Calder’s faces.

“Did it work? Did the potion work?” Calder asked softly. I wasn’t able to answer him as I felt my body moving. It didn’t hurt, although it wasn’t the most comfortable sensation.

“Now, just let go. Let me take over,” Calli purred. I could feel her pushing forward in my mind. So, I did what she said. I relaxed and let her take over.