Chapter 89 - Their Cursed

Carson

I was shocked when I walked into the dining room and saw Remi standing next to the table with my brothers talking to Beta Benson. When she caught my eye, she gave me a huge smile. She broke away from my brothers, Cullen frowning at her, and she walked right over to me.

“Hi, Carson,” she said.

“Uh, hey,” I said.

“I never got to thank you for yesterday….”

“Oh, it was no big deal.”

“No, it was a big deal. I really appreciate you trying to help. I hope the twins weren’t too mean about not knowing where I was,” she sounded apologetic. They had given me an earful when they found her, but it wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to. I am sure it would have been worse if she wouldn’t have started feeling the shift only a couple of minutes after they barged into my room.

“It’s fine. Glad I could help,” I told her.

“I would really like it if we could be friends,” she smiled at me.

“Uh, sure. I guess,” I replied. That seemed to make her happier. “But, uh, how are you so normal right now?”

She laughed. “Apparently, that is everyone’s question today,” she said, not giving me an actual answer. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she just shrugged.

“Whatever, I guess….”

“So, how’s your friend? Is he still mad at you?” she asked, softer this time.

I swallowed. Elias was still not convinced that Remi wouldn’t tell anyone about what she saw. Somehow, we had managed never to get caught until the other day. “Uh, it’s fine. We’re fine,” I told her.

“I’m sorry that I, uh, interrupted you guys. He seemed pretty upset when I saw him later that day. But I really don’t intend to spill your secret. And I meant what I said at the Summit, I want to help you. You shouldn’t be forced into a mate bond,” she said.

“Thanks…” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was still a little surprised that she was so nice to me.

“You know, you are a lot more like Cullen than you think,” she said, cocking her head.

“Hell no, I am not!”

She giggled. “Yes, you are. But it isn’t a bad thing, Carson. Your brother is a good man, and so are you.” Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Cullen came up behind Remi, and she turned towards him.

“Let’s sit down and have dinner, love,” he said. She nodded and looked back at me.

“Come on, Carson,” she beckoned sweetly. I rolled my eyes but followed them to the table.

Gentry

I have gone over the note a thousand times, tracing the letters with my eyes. She isn’t gone. She has to be close if she is trying to get Remi to meet with her. As soon as the twins and Remi had completely relayed the events of receiving the package and taking the potion inside of it, I wanted to jump up and leave. I didn’t want to waste another second away from her.

Calder shared that he was already trying to trace the package to see if he can track down where it came from. I had little hope for that but was thankful he thought of it. We all agreed to see what could be found about the sending origin by tomorrow. After that, we would try looking for her. A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Remi’s head popping through the doorway.

“Hey, Cinderella,” I said.

“Hey Gentry,” she smiled.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“You didn’t come down to dinner. I was a little worried, so I brought you something to eat,” she said, stepping into my office. She had a plate of food in her hands. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I could barely eat before we had a lead on Sam and now my stomach was so twisted up, I would never be able to keep food down.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to give her a smile. I am thrilled the twins found her, and she is perfect for them. For years, they have needed something to bring them together. Jaime had only driven them further apart. Remi brought the plate over to me and set it on the desk. She turned to leave but stopped.

“She was right, ya know,” she said. I gave her a confused look. “Sammy was right to get angry about everything. I think the whole situation was a little emotionally charged because Calder and Cullen had just found out, but I can’t be upset with her for how she reacted. I mean, you should have seen Cullen.” She paused. Her face was contemplative when she continued. “I know part of the reason why you guys fought was because of me. I appreciate that you wanted to be on my side about it; I really do, Gentry. But it’s okay. As long as this curse gets lifted, and I can be with Calder and Cullen without worry, then it will all be okay.” The look on Remi’s face was hard to accept. She was smiling, but I could see right through it to the pain she was masking underneath. She hated this just as much as we hated it for her, and she was trying to comfort me.

I looked back down at the note in my hands, not able to look at Remi anymore. “We did fight because she made you cry. But that wasn’t all of it. I did what I always do and shut myself away to figure out how to solve the problem. I’ve never had to answer to anyone before like this, and I never even considered I would face challenges once I found my mate. It’s really not your fault, Cinderella. The curse isn’t either.”

She nodded and left my office. I sighed, setting the note down. My sister, my mate, my Luna. None of the important women in my life could make things easy, could they?

Remi

When I woke up, I was disappointed to find both of my mates gone. Calder left me a note saying they were deeply sorry, but they both needed to go down to training this morning and would make it up to me. I idly wondered if between being Alphas and running their family business, they ever took time off. It seemed like so far, they took a few hours at a time to spend with me, but they still worked every day. I admired how hard they worked and how well they handled things. Their lack of recreational time made me understand why they were so clingy when we were alone.

When I went down to breakfast, Carson was the only one sitting at our usual table. “Good morning,” I greeted him. He just grunted.

“Where are Nicole and Cassius this morning?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Who cares?” he said. “Where are the twins?”

“Training. I was hoping they would make it back in time,” I told him.

“Figures,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Carson rolled his eyes. “You’ll figure it out eventually. As they come out of this honeymoon phase of the mate bond, you’ll find that they will always prioritize work and pack affairs over you. Sure, you’ll be busy doing Luna stuff, and maybe because you get both of them, you’ll have one in bed with you most nights. My Dad isn’t dying to hand over the Alpha title. My Mom wants him to so he won’t have anything to do anymore and can finally pay attention to her. They won’t be any different. They were trained by the best.”

I scowled at him. “That isn’t really fair, Carson. I’m sure it isn’t like that.”

“You haven’t been here long, so you don’t know yet. Didn’t you notice how often the twins were running away from you at the Summit?” he asserted.

“But we were literally there for work purposes, Carson. It isn’t the same,” I reasoned.

“Mmmhmm,” was his reply. He didn’t speak another word to me for the rest of breakfast.

-

Calder and Cullen never made it to breakfast. I lingered as long as I could, helping to clean up when everyone finished. Carson left long ago, probably headed to school. I decided to head up to Nicole’s office to check and see if she needed me for anything today before I went to wait in one of the twin’s offices. I wanted to call Pip and check on her today as well but wanted to see what the plan on finding Sammy would be.

I exited the dining room and rounded the corner, colliding with someone. I stumbled backward but managed to keep my balance. I looked at who I ran into and internally groaned at the sight of Jaime. “Sorry,” I said quickly, trying to duck around her.

“Seriously, who do you think you are?” she sneered. I stopped and locked eyes with her.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You walk around here like you are so important. All you are is a weak little girl hanging off their arms,” she spat.

“I think you need to watch what you are saying,” I said in a cold voice. I held her gaze, not wavering. I had put up with her threats and disrespect for a while now. Learning that she slept with Zeus while she was supposed to be with Cullen at the last Summit had irritated me. Whether or not she had feelings for Cullen mattered to me less after that. I had lost a significant amount of sympathy for her.

“And why should I?” she sneered. “What are you going to do about it?”

I took a deep breath, straightening my shoulders and bringing myself to my full height. “Jaime, I have been more than tolerant of your taunts and jabs at me so far. I thought I was being considerate of your feelings towards Cullen, but now that we know that you slept with Zeus, I don’t believe you ever had any. You’re just a power-grubbing slut.”

Her hand came up to strike me, and somehow, I reacted. I caught her by her wrist before she could make contact with my face. Her eyes went wide as I squeezed her slender wrist. “You will not touch me again. The next time you even think about it, I will not hesitate to act.” My voice was glacial as I threatened her. After a moment, she seemed to recover from her shock and yanked her hand from my grip.

“You should watch your back. You aren’t Luna yet.” Her snide remark had no effect. She pursed her lips and pushed past me, bumping into my shoulder as she did. I held my balance this time, not moving from her poor attempt at intimidation. I stood there for a moment, trying to make sure that wasn’t a dream. I heard footsteps rushing down the hall and turned to see my mates coming towards me quickly. Cullen looked angry, and Calder looked worried.

“Remi, are you okay?” Calder got to me first.

“I’m okay,” I told him. Cullen got to me next, grabbing both my arms and looking me over.

“Did she lay a finger on you?” Cullen asked in a dark voice.

“No, I stopped her,” I told him.

“Really?” Calder asked; I nodded at both of them. Cullen pulled me tight to his chest. Even being covered in sweat and dirt, he smelled delicious.

“I don’t want her anywhere near you,” Cullen growled low.

“I wasn’t looking for her,” I promised him.

“Why were you so angry, baby?” Calder asked gently.

“I was just frustrated with her attitude and sticking up for myself,” I explained. He smiled at me. Cullen hugged me tighter. I could tell he was restless, and I wondered if it was Jaime or something else.