Cursed Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  “What just happened?” I exclaimed.

  She bit her lower lip and shook her head. “I have no earthly idea. Have they ever done that before with anyone else?”

  “Just you.” My confusion and irritation melted away as I gazed at her magnificence. “I shouldn’t be annoyed with them. How can I blame them? You really are the most heavenly being to walk on this earthly ball.”

  Victoria put her hands in her face and muttered something I couldn’t make out.

  I reached over and rested my hand on her arm. “What’s the matter, my beautiful? How can I fix it?”

  She glanced up at me. “Just treat me like usual.”

  My entire body melted as I gazed into her beauty. “Have I ever told you how desperately sexy you are? You’re truly irresistible.”

  “Did you hear a word I said?”

  I searched my mind. “Your wisdom is above what I can comprehend.”

  She pulled on her hair. “I asked you to treat me normally.”

  “Normal would be to bow down and bask in your glory.”

  Victoria threw her head back. “Why?”

  Laura, our pack mother and Victoria’s actual mother, came into the room. “You guys are back!”

  “Mom!” Victoria threw her arms around Laura and squeezed her tight. “I hope you don’t—”

  Laura stepped back and tilted her head. “You’ve gotten even lovelier, my beautiful daughter.”

  Disappointment washed over Victoria’s expression. Her mom embraced her again. “What can I do for you? Do you need anything? You must be hungry after traveling from the enchanted forest. Let me prepare a meal. No! I’m going to prepare a feast. Your return requires a celebration!”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Oh, I have to. This is a momentous occasion.”

  “It’s not. I swear.”

  Laura ruffled Victoria’s hair. “Silly girl. Always so humble. Go on. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

  “Really. I’m just thirsty. Let me grab some juice, and I’ll be fine.”

  “Store-bought juice?” Laura gasped. “For my Victoria? Never.” She shook her head vigorously. “Let me see what fruit we have growing outside. I’ll press you fresh juice with my bare hands. That’s pure goodness you deserve.”

  “Mom—”

  “Don’t ‘Mom’ me.” She scurried out of the room.

  Victoria threw me a desperate look. “What’s going on?”

  “Just a mother wanting to give her daughter what she deserves. She’s right, you know. Store-bought juice is beneath you.”

  The love of my life swore.

  “Don’t let such language cross your mouth.” I pressed my finger on her soft, sweet, supple lips. My pulse raced at the feel of their perfection. I got lost in her eyes and couldn’t take it any longer. Her full lips practically called to me, begging to be kissed. I couldn’t deny them the request. Without a thought, I leaned forward and took possession of her mouth, tasting mint from the lingering toothpaste.

  She pulled away. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t the time.”

  Crushing disappointment suffocated me. “You’re right.”

  “I think I’m going to go outside for some air.”

  “That’s a great idea. I could use some, too.”

  Victoria frowned. “I meant alone. It’s nothing personal. I just need to think.”

  Desperation clawed at me. What was I supposed to do without her?

  She squeezed my hand. “I’ll be right back. I swear. Please.” She begged me with her eyes.

  How could I say no to her? I couldn’t. “I understand. Can I do anything for you while you’re outside? Wash your clothes? Clean our room? Just say the word, and I’ll do it.”

  “That’s the problem.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She kissed my cheek. “You know what would make me happy?”

  “What?” I waited in anticipation.

  “Go watch the show with the pack. Catch up with them. Talk to them without me in the room.”

  I arched a brow. “That’s what you want?”

  She squeezed my knee. “That would make me really happy.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll do.” I rose and cracked my knuckles. “Hurry back. I’ll be waiting.”

  “I know.” She stood and brushed her lips across mine, sending waves of excitement through me from head to toe. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  Victoria gave me a sad smile before heading toward the back door. I crept over to the window and peeked outside. As soon as she stepped onto the grass, the wolfborns—the werewolves who spent all month except the full moon in wolf form—all ran over to her, jumping on her. They nearly knocked her over, but as soon as she spoke, they all sat obediently.

  She turned my way. I waved. She pointed toward me. As much as I wanted to just watch her, I was compelled to follow her wishes. So I spun around and headed toward the living room to join the pack as she’d asked me to do.

  Most of the overpowering emotions melted away with each step I took away from my beloved Victoria. I paused and leaned against a wall. Something strange was going on. Why hadn’t I been able to see it before?

  I mulled over all of our interactions with the pack since Victoria and I left our bedroom. Everyone had thrown themselves on her, complimenting her and doing exactly as she’d asked.

  What on earth was going on? And why hadn’t any of us noticed how weird we had been acting?

  Chapter 3

  Victoria

  I patted Alex’s head before walking away from the wolfborns. “Stay…”

  They each tilted their heads but remained in place. I wiped off some of the dirt from when they’d jumped all over me. It was so strange—they never acted like that. It was as though they were untrained pets, not highly intelligent shifters. Actually, in a way, they were behaving like everyone inside.

  What was going on? I needed to get to the bottom of this right away.

  A cold breeze blew by and chills ran through me. I should’ve grabbed a coat inside, but there was no way I was heading back in now. Not with the way everyone was acting—they’d never let me get back outside.

  Blue and red glowed through my scarf. “Victoria.”

  There was also the matter of the stone.

  “What?” I exclaimed.

  “Victoria.” It glowed all the brighter.

  “What do you want?” My heart thundered against my chest, making the stone’s glow bounce.

  “Victoria.”

  “What do you want with me?”

  It grew brighter, but said nothing.

  “In that case, I’m going for a walk.” I jogged to the woods, gasping for air and trying to make sense of everything. It was going to be hard—and lonely—to try and figure this out while it was impossible to hold a normal conversation with anyone. I needed to figure out how to get them to stop gushing over me so we could work on the stone.

  I froze mid-step. The stone. Could that be the cause of everyone suddenly acting so strangely? If it was, then I was in real trouble. How could I figure it out on my own? Or would it be possible to convince them that the stone was making them see me in a different light?

  Wait. All I would have to do would be to tell them that I wanted help with the stone. The pack would probably make it their new life mission to crack the mystery.

  “Victoria?”

  “Not again,” I muttered.

  “Come again?”

  My head snapped up. I turned to see Soleil. Relief washed through me. At least it wasn’t the stone speaking to me. But she was part of the pack, so she would start gushing in one, two, three…

  She threw her arms around me. “You’re back! Where’s Toby? How was your honeymoon? Did you get a tan?”

  I returned the embrace. “It was perfect. We enjoyed the enchanted woods—”

  “You mean each other.” She winked.

  “Well, yeah. That, too.” I laughed. “And the vampires threw
us a huge celebration in their castle. It was hard to leave.”

  She hugged me again. “It’s so good to see you! Why are you out here alone?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “It’s complicated.” She looked lost in thought for a moment. “I need to collect my thoughts every so often. Ever since Brick died, I just haven’t felt right, you know? Not even Egypt’s powerful healing springs could do a thing for my heart.”

  Sadness washed through me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m going to find a way to get to him.”

  “How? The other side is sealed tight, never to be opened again.”

  “Never is the wrong word to tell a valkyrie—especially a heartbroken one.”

  “Well, I’m sure if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

  “But you don’t think I can, do you?” She arched a brow.

  “That’s not what I said. Hey, wait…” I stared at her. She wasn’t falling all over herself to please me.

  “Are you okay?” Soleil waved her hand in front of my face.

  “Just a little light-headed.” I debated whether to tell her about how everyone else was acting. What if mentioning the stone would activate it and make her go nuts? Being able to talk to her normally was such a relief.

  “Well, you should do something about that.”

  I gave her a double-take. “About what?”

  “Your light-headedness—you need to do something about that. Have you eaten in a while? You wolves have appetites like none other. I swear, if the world ever runs out of food, you’ll be the ones I blame.”

  “You’re not… You’re…”

  “What? Do I have something in my teeth?” She opened her mouth and felt around. “No, nothing there. Would you stop messing with me? Why are you acting so weird?”

  I ran my hands through my hair. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Do you want to go to the Faeble and get something to drink?” Preferably the strongest supernatural drink Tap had on hand.

  “I’ll never turn that down. You can tell me what’s wrong on the way.” She headed deeper into the woods toward the bar.

  “Actually, I’d rather hear about what you’ve been up to. Do you have reason to think you can get to the other side?”

  “It’s more of a feeling, so I really shouldn’t put stock into it, but I just can’t seem to help myself. The thought of seeing him again…” She sighed.

  My heart broke for her. “You and Toby have a lot in common.”

  “I just hope I don’t have to wait centuries to find him. Pretty sure that’d be too much for me. I don’t know how he did it.”

  “You should ask him. Just not when I’m around.”

  She turned to me and arched a brow. “Am I going to have to drink your essence to find out what’s going on with you?”

  I covered my mouth and shook my head. “The stone is making the pack act weird.”

  Her brows came together. “I thought we were done with that thing now that Fen’s a statue.”

  “It’s not done with us.”

  “Tell me more—tell me everything.”

  “Oh, look. We’re almost at the Faeble.”

  “Why don’t you want to tell me?”

  “I just think you’d have to see it to believe it.”

  She twisted her mouth. “If you say so.”

  “Seriously, coming from me… it’ll just sound bad.”

  “But you said everyone else is acting weird.”

  “Just trust me.”

  Loud music and shattering glass sounded from the direction of the Faeble.

  Soleil turned to me with a sly smile. “Looks like we’re just in time for the party.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know which creatures are giving Tap grief this time.”

  “Mesmers? Djinn? Wanna make a bet?” Soleil laughed.

  “Not really.”

  We headed around the back of the building and went inside. It had been transformed back into the bar after having been a beautiful wedding venue the last time I’d been there. I closed my eyes and relived marrying the love of my life.

  More glass shattered nearby. I opened my eyes.

  Soleil glanced into the private party room where most of the noise came from. “Called it. Mesmers. It won’t be long before ol’ Tap kicks them out and tells them never to return. I swear, they must pay him ten times as much as anyone else with everything they get away with. Either that, or they have something on him.”

  “On Tap? Like what?”

  “That’s an interesting question, isn’t it?” She grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall.

  Whistles and cat calls came from the mesmers. I glanced in the room to find them all staring at me.

  “Hey, baby,” called a guy with green, spiky hair. “Want to join us? We can show you a real good time.”

  “Yeah, come join the fun.” A bald guy with tons of earrings waved me over. “We don’t let many non-mesmers join our fun, but you’re more than welcome.”

  A sultry redheaded woman with hair down to her waist waved me over. “It wouldn’t be a party without you, sweetheart.”

  Soleil threw me a confused glance.

  I waved to the mesmers. “I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

  “Come on!”

  “Join us, baby!”

  Soleil and I raced to the bar.

  Quinn’s eyes lit up when he saw me. “Victoria! I didn’t know you were back already. Did you have a good time?”

  “Yeah, it was—”

  “What can I get you? Whatever you want, it’s on the house. No matter how expensive or rare it is. Actually, the rarer, the better.”

  “I—”

  “How about I surprise you? I’m going to run down to Tap’s secret collection. Nothing but the best for you.”

  “Um, thanks.”

  He raced around the bar and to the door leading downstairs.

  Soleil grabbed my shoulders. “What’s going on?”

  “This.” I shoved my scarf out of the way and cupped the stone.

  “You’re going to have to explain.”

  “Well, I—”

  “Is that Victoria Bernhardt?” came Tap’s voice from behind. “I mean Victoria Foley?”

  I spun around. “Hi, Tap!”

  The tough little troll threw himself at me, nearly knocking me over. “It’s so good to see you. We really missed you. How’s married life? What can I get you? Here, let’s get you a seat. Where do you want to sit? Any seat is yours, even if someone is already there. I’ll have them move. It’s no problem.”

  Soleil waved her hands in front of his face. “Tap? You okay?”

  “Of course.” He glanced around her at me. “We need to get Victoria the best seat in the house. Which one would that be?”

  She cleared her throat. “I’m sure any seat will do. Right, Victoria?”

  “Yeah. How about that booth in the corner? I like that one.”

  “You do?” Tap exclaimed. He rushed over. “It could use another wipe down. Give me just a minute. Don’t sit yet.” He rushed behind the counter.

  Soleil stared at me. “What on earth is going on?”

  I held the stone out. “I don’t know, but it has to do with this.”

  “Is the pack drooling all over you, too?”

  “Just as bad, yep.” I sighed.

  Her expression brightened. “Fun!”

  “Are you crazy? There’s nothing fun about this new curse.”

  “Curse? This is awesome.”

  “It’s horrible.”

  “To-may-to, To-mah-to. Everyone is tripping over themselves to serve you—even the former troll king and mesmers. Do you know how rare it is for mesmers to be affected by anything? I say we take full advantage of this.”

  “What? No. We need to fix this. And why aren’t you affected?”

  She studied the stone. “You’re probably right about it causing this. It’s an essence stone. Of course it isn’t going to have an
effect on me. I’m a valkyrie—we control the flow of essence.”

  “So you can fix this?” I pleaded with my eyes.

  “I can’t believe you’d want me to.”

  “Can you?”

  She closed her eyes and wrapped her fingers around the stone. Through her closed eyelids, I could see the bright green glow of her eyes. I stretched my neck, sitting at an odd angle as Soleil held it. If only I could pull it off, but if I tried, it would cement itself to my skin again.

  My heart skipped a beat. Was she extracting the essence—and my crazy new curse—from the stone? Would I finally be able to remove the necklace and keep it off forever?

  Soleil opened her eyes. The bright green faded to her normal dark green. “That’s some crazy-powerful essence in there, but no, I can’t get it out.”

  Disappointment washed through me. “So, I’m stuck with it? And this curse?”

  “Only you would call this a curse.”

  A mermaid came over to us, flipping her long thick locks behind her shoulder and adjusting her seashell top. Her long, flowing skirt looked like an elegant fish tail. She smiled sweetly at me.

  Soleil arched a brow at me. I shrugged. Although mermaids were widely known for their viciousness, I doubted this one meant any harm. She probably wanted to offer me something.

  The mermaid tilted her head and smiled wider. “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “You’re gorgeous.” Maybe if I turned the tables on her, she wouldn’t fawn over me.

  “Aw, you’re so sweet. But really, compared to you, I’m like a pile of dung. Can you give me some beauty tips? Even just something as simple as telling me how you do your eyeliner?”

  “I don’t do anything special with it. Really.”

  “It looks like you hired a professional. I’ve never seen anything like it. How do you do it?”

  Tap ran over and glared at the mermaid. “Leave her alone.” He dragged Soleil and me over to the table and pushed us to sit. “If you need anything—anything at all—just say the word. I’ll drop everything and get it for you.”

  “Actually, I’d just be happy with a little peace and quiet.”

  “You got it.” He stuck his finger and thumb in his mouth and whistled so loud it made my ears ring. “Hey, everyone! The beautiful, amazing lady here wants quiet. If you want to talk, take your patronage somewhere else!”