Chapter 104 - Their Cursed

Sam

I am losing count of the days. It should be after Yule now and getting close to the New Moon. After the New Moon, the weapon should be ready if they can find it. They will know I got captured soon, thanks to my failsafe. Remi would receive a letter from me if I were not there to stop the spell. I knew I had to send it to her because she would be able to keep Gentry from running blindly towards danger with her mates. It is probably a good thing my hands are still bound behind my back because Voldigoad would probably know I am pregnant by now. I keep wanting to move my hands over my stomach protectively. Who knows what he would do with that piece of information?

My mouth was dry, and my throat burned. I think Voldigoad is working alone because there hasn’t been anyone in or out of this room besides him. The random visits occasionally brought water or bread with him, and I was doing my best to make it last. I just needed to survive until the wolves figured it all out.

The door was thrown open, and Voldigoad strolled in the room, arrogance an aura around him. I could barely make out his smug smirk in the dim light. He carried a tray in his hands that I knew had food and water for me upon it. “You witches are always so grumpy when you’re bested,” he remarked, setting the food down near me. I sat against the wall opposite the door. I hadn’t moved much since I arrived. My hands were magically bound most of the time. There would be small portions of time where they would unbind, and I could race to use the bathroom in the corner of the room.

“You haven’t bested me yet,” I sneered.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes traveling up and down me slumped against the wall uncomfortably. “Oh really?”

“They will stop you,” I said confidently. I wasn’t as confident on the inside, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. The only thing I knew for sure was that one way or another, Gentry would come for me. Our mark stopped fading after they found the package I left for them in the treehouse. Our bond was weak but still there.

“Oh, you think that dog of a mate will be coming for you, don’t you? You think he will rescue you?” I stilled at his taunt. I never mentioned Gentry; I never let on anything but my confidence in the Carlisle twins coming to stop Voldigoad for Remi’s sake. He laughed; it was cold and menacing.

“You possess three of my grimoires, and you still do not understand, girl? I will never let a member of my blood mate with a dirty wolf ever again,” he said. A chill ran through me. I suspected all this time, but my mother never confirmed it. I was a descendant of the most powerful warlock of all time.

“I have spent too much of my supernatural life developing ways to rid the Realm of those flea-ridden scum. I will not allow my own blood to create bastard hybrids with one of them. If the little mutt shows his face, he will be in for quite the show.”

“W-what do you mean?” my voice faltered. My eyes were wide, and I was scared for the first time since he captured me. I thought this might come; I almost shined a beacon on myself for him to go after. I wasn’t scared until he threatened Gentry. Gentry marked me; we are mated. If Voldigoad hurts him, the pain will be unimaginable for me. And I am pregnant.

He chuckled once more. “I have so many ideas; maybe I should let you pick. Or we could play a game to decide,” he thought to himself. His voice turned darker, and he continued, “Either way, you will both die slowly while the other watches. That bitch Selene can watch as I thwart yet another one of her attempts at muddling the blood of my descendants.”

“I don’t understand. You want Remi, and she’s a werewolf,” I said.

“Yes, that is true. I guess your narrow mind cannot fully grasp the full picture. You see, Rose Marie was my mate, but it was all just to punish me. I do not fear Selene. And in my formative years, I experimented with ways to rid the Realm of her,” he explained.

“You can’t kill the Moon Mother!” I yelled.

“I can try,” he said cockily. “Selene warned me many times, but it all fell on deaf ears. So, she gave me a mate. A mate destined to be with someone else. For a time, I lost sight of my goal to destroy Selene. I was consumed with Rose Marie. Then, the dog showed up, and she ran off with him.”

He paused, looking up at nothing in particular. “That bitch sure got me good. But she doubted me. She thought one little heartbreak would ruin me, kill me even. No, no, no. We couldn’t have that. I got even; I cursed Rose Marie to punish Selene. I was going to take one of her precious puppies from her.” His head came back down, his eyes coming back to me. “I just had to wait. Of course, I built a failsafe into my curse. You see, females mated to two males happen in a cycle. Selene is predictable that way. I knew it was only a matter of time. I also know the little rose isn’t pregnant.”

“She wouldn’t give you the child even if she were!” I declared.

“I really won’t give her a choice when she finally arrives. I suspect it won’t be much longer now that I have introduced myself. And she will bring the Alpha mutts along with her. First, they will watch as I put my heir in their mate. Then, I will go ahead and dispose of them, so there are no more distractions. Once the child is born, I can dispose of her as well. She will have fulfilled her purpose.”

Bile rose in my throat. This was disgusting; he was just broadcasting his sick plans with no hesitation. My mind was reeling at everything he was telling me. When Remi arrived, I might be able to use the connection we established to warn her, but what good would it do?

“So, you see, I cannot allow my lineage to mate with the likes of those overgrown house pets. Selene will not get to punish me like that ever again. I simply must kill your mate, my dear. But, if you embrace the pain and the darkness, I can show you how to unlock power you never knew you were capable of,” he finished with a smirk on his face. I quickly tried to regain my composure.

“Never,” I spit at him. “I will never become a Black Witch. You won’t succeed. Calder and Cullen will find a way to stop you, and Gentry will rescue me.” My confidence was entirely fake, but I couldn’t let him know just how much his little story terrified me.

He let out a shallow laugh. “Sure. We won’t have to wait much longer to find out which one of us is right,” he said as he turned and strolled out of the room. The door shut with a heavy sound, and I immediately slumped to my side, releasing the contents of my stomach.

Calder

Remi was shaking in my arms. She hasn’t stopped for an hour since we found her in the library. ‘Voldigoad’ was all she said. When I pulled her into my arms, she buried herself in my chest and hasn’t moved since. I can’t calm her down, and I can feel her fear clearly. Her broach was gone when we got there, and Cullen found it down one of the nearby shelving aisles, clearly thrown away. I needed to get her calm so she could explain what happened.

I kissed the top of her head for the hundredth time. “Remi, baby, I need you to tell me what happened,” I whispered. “You’re safe. I have you. Just tell me, baby.” She shook her head, her face rubbing into my chest. I looked up at Cullen helplessly. He didn’t seem to know what to do either.

“Remi, what did you mean by Voldigoad?” I kept trying. “Everything is okay. Cullen and I won’t let anything happen, but we need you to tell us….”

“What could scare her this much?” I linked my brother.

“I don’t know. There was nothing in the library other than her broach thrown down the aisle,” he replied. He searched all around where we found Remi while I tried to start calming her down in the library.

“Baby, you’re worrying us. Just show me your face,” I pleaded. I was beyond worried at this point. If we had done well at anything being her mates, it was making her feel safe with us. Finally, she shifted slightly, and her head tilted up towards me. Her face was pale and eyes wide. I cupped her face, trying to wipe away her tears with my thumb.

“Baby, I am not going to let anything happen, okay? You’re safe….” I whispered. She didn’t move an inch, just continued to stare up at me. I kissed her forehead softly, and her eyes closed like she was focusing on my touch. I let my lips linger on her skin, willing her to calm down.

“We won’t let him get you, baby. Never. He won’t ever touch what is ours,” I tried to reassure her.

“He came,” she croaked in a quiet voice. My face dropped in confusion.

“What do you mean ‘he came’? Are you saying that Voldigoad was here?” I asked her. She nodded her head fractionally. It was all I could do to not react physically to her confirmation. Voldigoad had been there in the library with my mate. He was in my packhouse and threatened my mate. And we had no idea.

My gaze moved to Cullen, who looked stony. I knew he was angry. “Love, we need you to tell us what happened,” he said calmly. He was battling with himself to hold onto every bit of restraint he had.

I looked back down at Remi, who was clearly terrified by all of this. “Please,” I whispered as I ran my nose along hers, hoping to comfort her a bit. She took a shuddering breath, still shaking in my arms. Finally, she told us what happened.

-

I ran my hands over my face in frustration. Gentry sat across from me, quietly contemplating everything I just told him. Cullen took Remi up to our room when she was finished telling us everything, and I knew I needed to tell Gentry immediately. The only part I left out so far was that Voldigoad might have his mate. It was possible he was bluffing to get Remi to rush to him, but it was also very likely he did have her. He wasn’t going to take this news well.

“There is one more thing,” I finally sighed, turning back to my best friend. He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly thinking that everything else had been enough. “He may have Sammy.”

All the color drained from Gentry’s face, and his mouth hung open. “W-what?” he gasped.

“He gave Remi a veiled threat about coming to rescue her and Sammy not surviving until Remi’s birthday,” I said as gently as I could. Gentry looked like he was going to vomit. “Breathe, Gen,” I told him, worried.

“Calder, we have to get her,” he said in a quiet voice.

“I know. Of course, we need to rescue her. But we can’t just run off without being prepared,” I told him.

“No, you don’t understand,” he said. There was panic all across his face. “She’s pregnant.”

My mind stopped. Did he just say that his mate is pregnant? I don’t know the particulars of wolf-witch mated couples and their offspring, but wouldn’t she be close to delivery by now? They mated over two months ago now, probably close to three. Werewolf gestation was only 17 weeks typically.

“Remi didn’t say anything about a baby....” I whispered.

He shook his head. “Voldigoad probably doesn’t know. She magically suspended the baby until we could break the curse and stop him. She didn’t want our pup coming into the world like this,” he explained quietly. He hung his head, looking defeated.

“We’ll get her, Gen. We just need to figure out how to stop him,” I said.