Cursed Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  I lowered myself to the ground, resting my head on the mossy covering. Did my own body lie beneath me? Were those inscriptions really for Toby and me?

  My gaze wandered to the nearby grave sites. Who did those belong to? If I knew that, it would help me to figure out what was going on. I glanced down at my shredded shirt. If I used it to clean another headstone, I’d have no shirt left. Sure, there were spare clothes at the Faeble, outside of Moonhaven, and in a few places in the woods, but I didn’t want to run through the woods in my bra.

  Or did I? If that would answer my questions, it might be worth running into someone halfway unclothed. It was just skin, and shifters often saw each other wearing much less.

  I needed answers more than a shirt. Shaking, I rose and pulled my shirt off. My scarf fell to the ground. I’d wrapped that around my hair and forgotten all about it. That would work to clean off a gravestone. I slid back into my shirt and then got to work on the nearest tombstone until the scarf was unrecognizable.

  Elsie Sheeley

  Loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.

  Elsie? As in my sister? I had never met anyone with the last name Sheeley before. Could that be my one clue that all of this was one colossal coincidence?

  I stared at the wolf essence stone. “What’s going on?”

  Nothing.

  “What do you want from me?” I demanded.

  Still nothing.

  I stepped back and stared at the three exposed headstones. There were so many more to uncover. I needed more answers, but I didn’t have enough clothes to clean all of them.

  But I did have enough to clean a couple more. Without thinking, I pulled off my pants and used one leg to wipe off a stone on the other side of Toby’s—no, not Toby’s. The other Tobias Foley’s stone.

  I worked feverishly, scraping my hand as I cleared away the moss and mud.

  Wilder Foley

  Brave leader and explorer. Loving husband, father, brother, and son.

  My throat closed up. Wilder Foley? There were none of Toby’s relatives named Wilder. That had to be good news. Right? That meant that this horrible place was nothing more than a coincidence, or maybe a nightmare. But it wasn’t real.

  Or was it? What if Wilder was our son? Or our grandson?

  It couldn’t be! Toby and I had just gotten married.

  What if he had actually had a family while I’d been dead, and never told me because they were now dead?

  A freezing cold ran through my body. Had he lied to me?

  No!

  It was Victoria Foley next to Tobias’s grave. He hadn’t married another. Toby had told me about his relationship with the vampire queen. Why would he tell me that just to lie about being married? He wouldn’t have.

  I clutched my good pant leg and scrubbed the nearest tombstone. Sweat dripped into my eyes and stung them. I wiped it away, refusing to give up. My hands shook and as I scrubbed, my blood smeared on the stone.

  Lakelynn Foley

  Loving daughter, sister, and friend. Powerful healer.

  Everything spun around me as I stared at the newest inscription. Who were these people? Why had the wolf essence stone brought me to the cemetery?

  Snap!

  I spun around, gasping for air. A black, swirling mist appeared just above the ground, near the trees on the far side of the graveyard. Silver dots appeared in the middle and fluctuated, growing brighter. The entire thing reverberated with ripples.

  Two feminine hands pressed through, opening the mist. Out stepped a young woman with long, flowing black hair. She wore an ankle-length lavender dress with a shawl and had thick hoop earrings. Around her neck rested a red and blue stone—it was almost the same as my wolf essence stone, except it was only a fraction of the size.

  She glanced around, her brows knit together in confusion until she looked my way and our gazes locked. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. The beautiful young woman clutched her hands over her heart. “Is it really you?”

  I struggled to find my voice. How was I supposed to answer her question?

  My lack of words didn’t put her off. She ran over and threw her arms around me, clinging tightly.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered.

  She stepped back and stared at me, her bright brown eyes sparkling. “I was going to ask you the same thing, Mom.”

  My legs turned to rubber, and I lost my balance.

  The lady—my daughter?—grabbed hold of me. “Easy there. Are you okay?”

  “I—I don’t know. I think so.”

  She removed her hands, watching me carefully. After I remained standing, she stepped back. “What is this place?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  “How’d I get here?”

  “Sorry. I don’t know that, either.”

  She walked over to the headstones I’d worked so feverishly on and read each one. After reading Elsie’s, Victoria’s, and Tobias’s, she turned back to me. “We’re in the enchanted forest of the Olympic park?”

  Enchanted forest? Maybe that explained what was going on. Someone had upgraded our woods to a magical forest. “Um, yeah.”

  “So strange.” She turned back to the graves and gasped when she read Wilder’s. “Wilder died? When?” She turned to me, her face pale. “Oh, Mom. Did Fen get to him?”

  My blood ran cold. Fen had escaped from his statue prison?

  Her eyes widened, and then she turned to Lakelynn’s grave. “Me?” she exclaimed. “I died? Unmarried and without children?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “What about Carter?”

  I gave her a double-take. “Carter?”

  Lakelynn’s face paled even more. “Is he still alive?”

  “How would I know? I don’t know where or even when we are! Our graves are right here in front of us.”

  She yanked off her shawl and scrubbed the next tombstone with it. “If my brother lives, he can fix this!”

  I leaned against the nearest tree and struggled to breathe. Toby and I had named a child Carter? Why not Brick—Toby’s best friend? He would be the one we’d have honored with such a tribute. But Carter? It made no sense.

  Nothing made any sense.

  A wind picked up and grew in strength.

  Lakelynn stepped back from the gravestone, covering her mouth and trembling.

  “Is it Carter?” I asked.

  She turned to me. “Worse.”

  “Worse? Who is it?”

  Lakelynn opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word, the wind carried her to the swirling vortex and sucked her inside.

  I ran toward her. “Lakelynn!”

  The wind pushed me away and forced me out of the cemetery. Branches and thorns scraped me as the air shoved me through the thick underbrush. It spit me out and I flew about twenty feet before crashing into a tree. I fell to the ground and landed with a thud. The back of my head hit a rock and a painful welt formed immediately.

  Dizzy, I rose. My pants were missing. Frantic, I glanced around. They were nearby, shredded, and I pulled on what was left of them.

  Why were my clothes destroyed? What had happened to me? And why couldn’t I remember any of it?

  My stomach lurched and I vomited into a bush. I wiped my mouth and stood up straight.

  I needed to get to Moonhaven.

  Chapter 6

  Toby

  My inner wolf clawed to get out. If only we could break the curse of the moon, then I could let him out to run free when he wanted. He would have a much greater chance at finding Victoria than I would in human form. My senses, though strong compared to a human, were annoyingly weak compared to when I was in wolf form.

  I paced the front room, staring out each window I walked past. I’d just come in from hours of searching in need of food before I passed out. Victoria was nowhere to be seen, but she was supposed to be coming home—she should’ve been home the night before. I’d already made enough phone calls to leave my voice raw. There wasn’t an
alpha on the planet who I had missed. Everyone knew to keep an eye out for her. Yet nobody had so much as caught a whiff of my wife.

  Ziamara came down the stairs, carrying Sebastian. She frowned and worry lines creased on her forehead. “Victoria still hasn’t returned?”

  I shook my head.

  “Why are you here and not out there, searching?”

  “Because Soleil, Gessilyn, and I agreed that she would most likely return here. They’re working on some locator spells, and I’ve been calling all the other alphas—and everyone else I can think of. The rest of the pack is out there, searching the woods until I rejoin them.”

  “Whatever you do, take it somewhere else—your pacing is about to wear a path in the floor.”

  I stopped moving. “You’re right. Should I make some fliers to post around town?”

  “It’s doubtful humans can do much. Do you think someone took her?”

  “Who would’ve? Do we have any enemies left alive?”

  “It seems like there’s always someone. I can’t see why she’d have stayed away this long on her own. Nobody at the Faeble has seen her?”

  “Not since she was there with Soleil. Tap sent out a search team of his own.”

  Zia put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be here if you want to rejoin them. I’m not going anywhere with the baby. If she returns, we’ll be here for her. You should be out there.”

  Part of me wanted to take Zia up on her offer and run outside. I grimaced, conflicted. “Gessilyn’s locator spell indicated that she was trying to get back home.”

  “From where?”

  I clenched my fists. “Nobody knows. Gessilyn said it was like she had disappeared from the planet.”

  Ziamara’s mouth gaped. “Go, Toby. I’ll be here. I swear, I won’t leave.”

  I glanced back and forth between her and the door. “I do have my phone. If anyone finds her, they’ll call me.”

  “So will I. Find her!”

  She was right. I’d done all I could at home. I ran outside and sniffed the air.

  Her scent.

  My heart raced. Was her scent lingering, or could she be close? I sniffed again and followed the sweet aroma. A mix of hope, dread, and desperation ran through me. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t live through that again. If she was nearby, I needed to prepare myself for falling under the spell. I needed to keep my mind sharp.

  The trail of her aroma led me to a rarely-traveled part of the woods that was covered with overgrown plant life.

  Branches rustled.

  Footsteps.

  Her sweet scent grew stronger.

  All of my trepidation melted away. She was close by, and that meant she was alive!

  I took a deep breath and a warmth spread through me. My Victoria was close, and I would see her soon.

  A bush in front of me rustled, then the branches spread apart. She appeared between them. Her hair stuck out in every direction and had twigs and leaves in it. Her clothes were dirty and shredded.

  I held her gaze for a moment before running to her and pulling her into my arms. “Where were you? What happened?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean?” I stepped back and studied her, fighting the urge to compliment her. “You don’t know where you were? You can’t remember what happened?”

  She shook her head and looked down at her clothes. “Obviously something happened, but I have no idea what.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and held her as tightly as I could. She shook in my embrace. I kissed her cheek. “What do you remember?”

  “I was headed toward the Faeble, trying to give Soleil the space to explain the newest curse to you.”

  “And then?”

  “That’s the big question. The next thing I knew, I was running toward the bar, but my clothes were dirty and torn.”

  “You don’t recall anything?”

  She shook her head. “My hands hurt. My emotions are off the charts—I feel like I’ve…”

  “What?” I tightened my hold on her, wanting to protect her from any more harm.

  “It’s hard to explain. I feel like I’ve just lived through the death of someone I love.”

  Fear tore through me. “Did someone die?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “We need to find out.” I stepped back and sent a quick text to the pack, telling everyone to check in and head back to Moonhaven. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up. Maybe you’ll remember something once you have a chance to relax.”

  “Maybe.” She didn’t sound like she believed it.

  My heart broke for her as I looked at the shredded, dirty clothes. What had she been through? I took her hand. “Do you want me to carry you?”

  “No. I want to walk.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Toby.” Her eyes held a depth of sadness that I’d never seen before—not in her face, at least. I’d seen it every day in the mirror when she’d been dead for so long.

  I squeezed her hand. “I’ll do anything I can for you. Curse or no curse, I do adore you. You’re my whole world.”

  She threw her arms around me. “Thank you. Are you still feeling it? The new curse, I mean.”

  “Yes, but I’m fighting to think clearly. It seems that knowing about it helps.”

  “Hang onto that.”

  “Either way, I’ll love and protect you. Come on.” We headed back to Moonhaven, and as we did, my phone buzzed the entire time with pack members responding to my text. Relief washed through me. With as many texts coming in as there were, they all had to be fine.

  When we arrived home, others were returning.

  Jet ran over. “Victoria! What happened?”

  “I don’t—”

  “We have to take care of you. Here, let me carry you.”

  I stepped between them. “We’re twenty feet from the mansion.”

  “She shouldn’t be walking!” Jet stared at me like I was crazy. “Move aside. I’ll carry her if you won’t.”

  “I am taking care of her. The lady wants to walk.”

  “Doesn’t mean she should.”

  “Let’s get inside. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Jet shook his head. “If you weren’t alpha…”

  Bobby ran over, raking his fingers through his blond hair. “Do you need anything, Victoria?”

  “Just Toby.”

  “I can run to the store if you need anything. Or I can go farther. Do you want something in New York? I’ll find a way to get there—or anywhere.”

  Victoria gave him a tired smile. “It’s okay. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

  “Food? Do you want food?”

  I wrapped an arm around Victoria’s shoulders. “She just wants to get inside.”

  We headed in and found the rest of the pack gathered around the entryway, staring eagerly at Victoria. They spoke over each other, asking how they could help her.

  “She just wants to sit! Move aside.”

  Thankfully, they did. Victoria and I made our way to the living room. Clumps of dirt fell from her clothes and a couple of the younger pack members argued over who would clean the mess. Laura showed up with a broom and swept it away, smirking at them.

  “We really need to fix this curse,” I muttered. It was too bad that stone hadn’t fallen off in whatever scuffle Victoria had been involved in. I’d gladly drop it into the middle of the ocean just to return things to normal—even if it meant we’d live under the moon’s curse for the rest of our lives.

  The rest of the pack gathered around us, all offering to help Victoria with one thing or another. My desire to join them was growing. I was losing my resolve to keep fighting the curse. It would probably only be a matter of time before I was blinded with adoration and forgot about everything else.

  A crash sounded in the next room. Victoria and I shared a worried glance, but nobody else seemed concerned.

  “Stay here,” I told her. “I’m sure these guys will prote
ct you if something’s wrong.”

  “With my life,” Bobby promised.

  I rose from the couch and headed toward the entryway. Gessilyn and Soleil stood in front of a mirror.

  “You two okay?” I asked.

  Gessilyn rubbed her side. “You guys moved the mirror.”

  “Sorry. I’m not sure who did that. We found Victoria.”

  “Where is she?” Soleil asked.

  “Follow the trail of lovesick werewolves.” I gestured toward the living room.

  She arched a brow. “You seem to be holding up under the curse.”

  “I’m fighting it, but my willpower is waning.”

  Gessilyn held my gaze. “Then quick, tell us everything you know.”

  “There’s not much to tell. She doesn’t remember anything about being missing, but one look at her and you’ll agree she went through something. Do you have any ideas what we’re dealing with?”

  “No, but that explains why the locator spell couldn’t find her—something powerful was blocking her.”

  My gut twisted in tight knots. “Who? Or what?”

  “That’s what we need to find out. And fast.”

  Chapter 7

  Victoria

  Toby took my hand and helped me out of the tub. The dirty water sloshed as I rose. He wrapped a soft, warm towel around me, cupped my chin, and kissed me. “Are you feeling better, my sweetness?”

  The burning adoration in his expression told me that the stone’s newest curse had finally overcome him. Though I still ached, I nodded. “Never better, but I’m going to rinse off after wallowing in the filthy water.”

  “Can I get you anything while you do that? A snack? Nail color for a pedicure?”

  I forced a sweet smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need anything.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He kissed me again, this time with more passion.

  I pulled back. “Let’s save that for later.”

  He winked. “I can’t argue with that.” Then he headed out to the bedroom, and I turned on the shower.

  Once I was done, I went into the bedroom hoping to enter the closet without Toby noticing.