Chapter 81 82
Marigold POV
I swear, dawn never looked this cursed.
The sky was that eerie pinkish-gray that screamed something’s about to go to hell, and the air? It reeked of death, wet fur, and whatever perfume of evil the Queen was wearing these days. I could still hear the faint echo of her whispers—soft, sultry, venomous.
“Come home, little wolf. You belong to me…”
Yeah, sure, Your Royal Corpse-ness. I’ll come home—right after I shove a silver dagger through your undead heart.
We were running again. Me, Alpha Gregor, and Barbie—the world’s grumpiest, most glittery fae—bolting through the cursed mountain pass like our tails were on fire. The mist was so thick I could barely see my paws, but my wolf could feelit: danger, blood, magic. Every nerve in my body was alive, humming from the blue potion Barbie made me drink last night. I swear it was like Fae Red Bull mixed with ancient chaos.
“Can we not run through another haunted mountain, please?” Barbie shouted from above, wings flickering with blue light as she zipped through the fog. “My hair’s frizzing! And something just tried to bite my left wing—oh gods, I think it was a ghost!”
“Keep flying, Barbie!” I barked, my voice half-growl, half-giggle. “If it’s a ghost, bite it back!”
Alpha Gregor was ahead of me, in his wolf form—massive, black-furred, with silver scars glowing faintly in the gloom. He was silent as always, focused, commanding. But I could feel him, our bond humming like a taut string between us. He looked back once, amber eyes locking on mine through the mist, and my chest tightened.
Gods, how did I fall for this infuriating, brooding, gorgeous man-wolf?
The ground suddenly trembled.
I skidded to a stop just as three corrupted wolves leapt from the shadows—fur matted, eyes black as oil. The Queen’s curse. Their snarls echoed off the cliffs, twisted by madness.
Gregor lunged first, meeting the lead wolf midair with a bone-crunching thud. I darted in beside him, claws slashing, teeth bared. The corrupted creature reeked of rot and old magic, and as my claws tore through it, the damn thing laughed.
Yeah. It laughed.
“Oh, hell no,” I growled. “You creepy furball, nobody laughs at me before breakfast!”
Barbie swooped down, chanting something in ancient Fae tongue, and her wings glowed like a miniature sun. A blinding flash erupted—and when it faded, the corrupted wolves were nothing but ash and echo.
“Boom, baby!” Barbie smirked, fanning herself dramatically. “You’re welcome.”
“Nice one, sparkle fairy,” I huffed, shaking the blood off my fur. “Remind me to buy you actual glitter when we get out of this alive.”
Alpha Gregor shifted back into his human form, his breath heavy, eyes burning gold. “Focus. We’re close to Beta Xander’s camp. The Queen’s soldiers are less than five miles behind. We move—now.”
I wanted to argue. Mostly because damn, he looked unfairly good shirtless in the mist—muscles glistening, blood streaked across his jaw. My wolf purred like a sinner in confession.
“Fine, boss wolf,” I said, transforming back, brushing dirt off my torn leggings. “But if the next cursed creature tries to eat me, you’re buying me dinner first.”
Barbie cackled. “Oh, I like her.”
We pressed on, deeper into the pass. The fog thickened, and faint whispers slithered through it—voices that weren’t quite real.
“Betrayers… sinners… killers of blood…”
I clenched my fists. My ears rang. The Queen’s curse—alive, crawling into my mind like a parasite. For a second, I saw flashes—dead forests, burning cities, the Queen’s pale face smiling through blood.
“Marigold!” Gregor’s voice snapped me out of it, strong and grounding. He grabbed my shoulders, eyes fierce. “Stay with me. She’s trying to get inside your head.”
“I’m fine,” I lied through my teeth, though my knees were shaking. “I just—saw her. Again.”
Gregor didn’t hesitate—he pulled me close, his hand cupping the back of my neck, his forehead pressed against mine. “You’re here. With me. She can’t have you.”
And maybe it was the curse, or the mist, or the fact that we’d nearly died five times in the past twelve hours—but suddenly, I couldn’t breathe without him.
So I did what any half-crazed, love-starved she-wolf would do.
I kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle. It was fire and hunger and a thousand unsaid things burning between us. His hands tightened around my waist, pulling me against him like he needed to make sure I was real. The world went quiet—no whispers, no fog, just us and the pounding of our hearts.
Barbie cleared her throat dramatically. “I’d hate to interrupt your mating-season audition, but there’s smoke ahead.”
We broke apart, both breathless, eyes locking for one long, charged second. Then Gregor turned toward the ridge, his Alpha mask sliding back into place. “Beta Xander’s camp,” he said. “Let’s move.”
I shifted back into my wolf form, shaking off the dizzy heat. “Fine,” I muttered. “But next time, I’m finishing that kiss.”
Barbie snorted. “Priorities, darling. I approve.”
And as we sprinted toward the faint glow of Xander’s campfire through the cursed dawn, the mist behind us whispered again—
this time, sounding almost… afraid.
Because the Queen might have been ancient.
But she’d just made three enemies who weren’t planning to die quietly.