Shadow Cursed (Shadow Falls Series Book 2)

by Lizzy Prince

  “Vic asked me about you. Before.”

  “Before? Like, before you forgot?” Bridget shifts on my lap, and I groan, hands gripping her hips to keep her still. She’s distracting without even meaning to be. Realizing how her touch is affecting me, she sucks in her lips and smiles apologetically.

  “He knew I was fucking mad for you. He asked if you were my mate.” Memories that hadn’t yet come back are rising to the surface, lifting out of a fog, like spirits ascending into the sky. They’re mere wisps of thoughts, and I struggle to grasp all their meanings, but some really damn important parts of my past flicker through my mind. One of those images has me sucking in a breath. It’s the moment I knew Bridget was my mate.

  She was selling her cupcakes at the farmer’s market. I only went there that day because one of my wolves needed extra help hauling some produce to their booth. After he was set up, I wandered around until the sweetest hint of sugar and vanilla had my head spinning while I chased the source down. Bridget was hustling around inside her booth, getting together a box of cupcakes for a customer. Her long reddish-brown hair was cascading down her back in glorious waves, but it didn’t hold my attention for long. It was her smile that did me in. She handed over the package and beamed at the customer. I’d never been so jealous in my entire life. I wanted her smiling at me, not that old pervert Mr. Mannon.

  It wasn’t even that she looked at him in any particular way. It was just the genuine warmth and kindness that radiated from her. I was a fish on a hook, and her sweet smile reeled me in. I was more than happy to be caught. She barely talked to me that first day, but her hand brushed against mine. I hadn’t known what to expect. Others in my pack described it like your life flashing before your eyes. All the things that might or might not come to pass with your mate, but that wasn’t exactly how it happened for me. It wasn’t so much a flash of images or a blur of what our future would hold, but a feeling. A certainty that we would have a good life together, that we would be a family and grow and learn together. That there would be love and laughter and support. I knew it all the moment my finger brushed against hers.

  I wanted to grab her from behind the booth and wrap her tight in my arms. To drive my fingers into all that glorious hair and pull her head back, kissing her until we were both senseless. But I knew she wasn’t a wolf. She wouldn’t understand the rampant urge that called out to me. That told me she was mine, and to claim her. Instead, it would probably terrify her and scare her away from me forever. So I had to bide my time.

  I’d talked to Vic about her. After I figured out Bridget was my mate, I started stalking her at her bakery. I couldn’t have stayed away from her, even if I wanted to. I was lucky if I made it more than a day without stopping in to see her. It was painful, giving her space, taking the time to slowly get to know her and make her feel comfortable with me. When all I really wanted was to drag her back to my house, mark her, and present her to my pack. But Vic, Vic had asked me about Bridget a few weeks after I started visiting her at work.

  “That one’s really caught your attention.” He’d tossed it out as an offhand comment. Now that I’m looking back at it through the lens of the curse though, knowing someone didn’t want me to find my mate, it didn’t seem so innocent. I remember seeing a spark of anger in his eyes, a barely-discernible irritation that I may have found my mate. At the time, I wrote it off as jealousy. As wolves, we spend our whole lives waiting for our fated mate. I just assumed Vic was eager for his own bond. When I answered, I was completely honest. Why wouldn’t I be with my Beta? My old friend, who was pack.

  “More than caught. She’s it for me.”

  The tic was so minute I almost didn’t see it, but as I relive the memory, looking specifically for any indication of deceit, I recall the way his cheek jumped. Vic schooled his features so quickly with a smile, slapping me on the back a few times in an act of friendly congratulations, that I brushed it off.

  “It’s about time. Why haven’t you already claimed her then? I’d think you’d be holed up somewhere learning everything about her… ah… background,” he joked and winked good naturedly. I remember being slightly irritated at the time that he even imagined my mate in bed, but now that I know he’s a lying piece of shit, I want to tear his throat out and piss on his dead body.

  “She’s human,” I told him as though that was enough of an explanation. I assumed she didn’t know about wolves, or mates, or any of the supernatural shit that happened in Shadow Falls. Most humans were oblivious to it. They wrote things off as a trick of the eye, a coincidence, or anomaly they couldn’t explain, rather than ever thinking there was something else more out there in the world.

  Vic nodded beside me in understanding

  “I see, so now you’ll woo her?” He chuckled, sounding far too amused in my memory.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes,” I retorted with a determined set of my shoulders, and I had. Images of Bridget’s sweet smile, her throaty laugh that was totally unchecked, assaulted me. She laughed like there was no awareness of anyone around her, and I loved it. It was how she operated. She gave of herself fully, completely to the person she was with, whether it was friend or lover. Until I’d crushed her. No, not me. Fucking Vic. Because I was one hundred percent certain he was the culprit behind all of this. I just didn’t know why.

  Bridget’s cool hand strokes over my cheek, bringing me out of my head. “Hey, where’d you go? You looked lost for a second.”

  There’s still a small tremble in her chin, and I can sense she’s treading through unsteady waters. She’s not sure if I really remember, and I know it terrifies her, but the curse is broken. It’s as if there’d been a yoke strapped to my shoulders, weighted down with heavy slabs of stone, and now it’s gone. Released with the expulsion of my curse.

  “I’m remembering.” I close my eyes, relaxing into her soothing touch. “I remember all of it, Bridget. When you let me make bread with you.” I smile when she laughs, her entire body vibrating against mine. It’s that same deep unself-conscious sound that makes my heart beat faster.

  “Mmm… I wouldn’t say you made bread.” There’s a gleam in her eyes.

  “Fine, when I tried to make bread and kneaded it so hard that it turned into a hard brick.” I brush back a strand of hair that has fallen over her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. “But I have that memory back. The smell of all the incredible things baking in your kitchen, the memory of us both maneuvering around the counters, bodies grazing just a little, fingers brushing and tangling when showed me how to work the dough. It was torture not throwing you up on the table and devouring you instead of your cupcakes.”

  Bridget’s eyes glaze over, like she’s imagining what that would have been like. Her hands travel across my shoulders and then down my chest. Fingers caressing my skin, learning the feel of me. “I wish you would have.”

  I smirk at her but then frown as realization hits me. “But then I would have forgotten you sooner than I did.”

  Her eyes slide shut, and her hands continue their exploration.

  “I think I figured something out,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and shifting us both so that Bridget’s laying half on top of me and half tucked against my side. She slides her arm across my chest and burrows in closer to me, pressing a gentle kiss into my side.

  “What?” she whispers, her breath hot against my skin.

  “My Beta, Vic, he knew about you. He knew you were my mate. I think he’s the one who had me cursed.”

  Her body stiffens against mine, and I realize I’ve gone rigid as well. Bridget shifts up and sits back on her heels so she can look at me. Her hip is still pressed against my side, and her hand rests on my abs. She’s naked but doesn’t have any self-consciousness or fear about me seeing her so exposed. Not that she should, it just doesn’t happen all that often with human women. Her gentle curves and full, pert breasts are begging for my hands, and I give in to the temptation and glide my hand up outside of her thigh, settling it on h
er hip. But I can’t get distracted just yet. I focus on the room instead of my beautiful mate. The ugly peeling wallpaper border that lines the room, the brass lamps sitting on a side table, and the small desk at the end of the bed. The desk lamp is the only light that’s on at the moment, but it’s bright enough to light the small room, ensuring nothing is hidden. I release a deep breath and move my focus back on Bridget.

  “What does he look like?” Bridget focuses on me intently, as if Vic’s appearance is a critical issue. I don’t question it. I just give her the information she needs, confident she’ll tell me why in a moment.

  “He’s short.”

  Bridget snorts and cocks her head. “Is he short? Or just shorter than you?” she quips, lips curled up in amusement.

  “Fine. He’s regular-person height.” I raise my brows to see if that answer satisfies, and she nods, prompting me to continue.

  “He’s got medium brown hair, lean but not super skinny. Is that enough?”

  Bridget’s lips are pursed together, her brow furrows as she stares unseeing at a spot on my chest.

  “I think he came into my store the other night.”

  “When?” The question rumbles out of my chest, but Bridget doesn’t waiver. She understands that the anger isn’t directed at her.

  “Right before I went to Dante’s. He came into my store at closing and was super weird. He said he thought we had a mutual friend. Which was you, by the way.” She lifts an eyebrow and pokes my chest gently, but then must forget what she was talking about because she starts trailing her finger down through the smattering of hair on my chest. It continues drifting down my abs before heading lower to my happy trail. She pulls her hand back abruptly when I groan, and she mutters a breathless Jesus.

  I clear my throat and ease off on my grip on her hip, only just realizing how tightly I’ve been holding her. She’ll probably have bruises on her creamy skin in the morning.

  “I don’t mind.” She grins, and it takes me a moment to realize what just happened.

  “Did you hear what I just thought about the bruises?” I press up on my elbows, bringing our faces closer together.

  The smile drops from her face, and she blanches. “Thought? What do you mean? You said that out loud. Didn’t you?” Her voice is getting progressively higher and louder with each word, and I can’t help but laugh. She pushes at my shoulder, but there’s no intention behind the move. “Don’t laugh at me!”

  “I’m not laughing at you, Toots. It's a good thing. It’s how I communicate with my pack. I didn’t think I’d be able to speak with you that way, since you’re not a wolf. Turns out, it doesn’t matter.” My face feels like it could split from my smile, and Bridget returns it with a more hesitant one of her own.

  “So, you can’t just read my mind or anything, right? I have to project my thoughts?”

  “Something like that. We’ll have to practice it a bit, but it’s a good sign that you could hear me. Very good.” I lean up to kiss her, to taste her soft lips once again, but Bridget rears back.

  “Wait, you are entirely too distracting. Vic, remember?”

  I growl at his name coming from her lips, but she soothes me with a quick peck to my lips.

  “Sorry, you’re the one that’s too distracting. I can’t seem to think about anything other than…” My voice trails off as my eyes take in her naked body.

  To my utter disappointment, Bridget hops off the bed and picks up a shirt, throwing it on over her head. My wolf makes a deep growl of contentedness when we both realize it’s my shirt she’s wearing.

  “That isn’t much less distracting,” I say as my fingers sneak under the edge of the shirt, but Bridget just bats my hand away and settles back on the bed beside me.

  “Tough. As I was saying, this guy asked me if I knew you and said he’d heard we were dating.”

  That’s enough to wipe any lingering smile off my face. “What did you say?”

  “I asked him what his name was, and he blew off the question and took off.”

  I shake my head as I try to reconcile my Beta, the friend I’ve had for years, with the idea that he might be the one to curse me. Why? What possible motive would he have? He was always at my father’s side when he was Alpha of our pack. When I’d become Alpha, Vic easily slid into that role for me, too.

  Bridget’s hand is resting on my chest again. “What are you thinking?”

  All I can see is the concern and the need to be part of the conversation to help figure this out. “I’m trying to sort through when my Beta would have become my enemy. He’s never pushed back at my leadership, never gotten up in my face. He’s not an Alpha. He’d never challenge me. He just doesn’t have it in him.”

  “What does it mean for a wolf to have a mate? How would keeping you from your mate—” Bridget’s cheeks flush, and she blows out a breath before she continues, “—help him in any way?”

  “As an alpha, I’m already strong, the strongest of my pack, which is why I lead them. I fought for my position and occasionally have to fight to maintain it. But a mated wolf is exponentially stronger. Now that we’re mated, I’ll be faster, stronger, and my senses are enhanced. It’s essentially a huge power boost.” Something else occurs to me, and my blood starts to boil beneath my skin. “Once a wolf meets his mate, there is an instinct to bond with them, because the longer you delay, the weaker you become. It’s nature’s way of ensuring you bond with your mate.”

  Bridget makes a little noise of shock. “If I hadn’t been your mate and you’d bonded with me anyway, if you met your actual fated mate someday, would that have happened to you? Would you have grown weaker every day?”

  I sit up and pull her onto my lap, cupping her cheek and rubbing my thumb over her delicate cheekbone. “I knew. Even if it was buried deep down beneath a curse. My wolf knew it more than I did. Getting here might have been a fucked-up mess, but we belong together, and I love you, Bridget. I don’t ever want you to forget that.”

  “Oh.” The word escapes her lips in an exhale that I barely let escape before I’m closing the space between us, practically swallowing the word. I know we need to talk and figure out what the fuck Vic’s been doing, but right now, more than anything else in the world, I need to make her understand how much I need her. How she’s become my center, and I will never let anyone come between us again.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Bridget

  Bruises, check. A sore but infinitely glorious ache in places I’ve never noticed on my body before, double check. Blaring furnace of a man snuggled up next to me, oh yeah, I’ve got that too. I’m awake, but I’m slow to open my eyes. I don’t want to wake up and find out this has all been a dream. The desire to linger in the in between, in the fuzzy glow of not quite awake, lies as heavy as the arm thrown over my back.

  “How long are you going to pretend to sleep?” Silas mumbles against his pillow, seeing his face buried in the pillow when I open my eyes.

  “How can you breathe face down like that?” My cheek is pressed flat against the bed because my pillow is gone. I can’t help but smile when I see that Silas has taken it. He’s created a little fort of pillows around him, one under his face and the others pressed up against the other side of his body.

  “I’m supernatural. It’s one of my magic powers.”

  I burst out laughing, and Silas turns his head, a huge smile breaking out over his face. He shifts to his side so that he’s fully facing me, and I do the same. It’s surreal being in bed with him, seeing him relaxed and unguarded. He’s always open and friendly, but here, now, he’s just… more somehow.

  “I love your laugh,” he murmurs as his eyes drop to my mouth and then skim down to my shoulder where he marked me with his bite last night. His hand drifts up, and his fingertips trace over the mark, causing shivers to race over my skin.

  “Remi says I sound like an evil villain when I laugh.”

  “Remi talks more shit than anyone I’ve ever met.” He chuckles and shakes his head, still mo
ving his fingers over my mark. “Except maybe for Dante.”

  “Do you like touching it?” My voice is breathy, but I’m not embarrassed. This is just what he does to me. One simple touch and I’m a quivering mess.

  “Like is not a strong enough word. Seeing my mark on you, touching it, is like feeling a tangible acknowledgement that I’m not alone. That I’ve found my perfect match, my life-long partner, an everlasting friend.” His green eyes are intense as they shift from my mark to my eyes.

  “No pressure,” I joke as my hand slides up the hard muscles of his side, his skin so unbelievably warm. At my words, he stiffens beneath my touch, worry creasing his brows.

  “There isn’t, Bridget. I didn’t mean to put that kind of pressure on you. I know you’re human, even though you’re immortal now, and the wolf bond doesn’t call to you in the same way. I’ll wait as long as it takes, give you all the time you need to be okay with this.”

  “Silas, stop. It was a joke. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you. I’ve been living in some version of absolute bliss or freaking hell over the past two years because I’ve wanted you so badly and couldn’t have you. I’m beyond thrilled that I’m yours, and you’re mine. Because make no mistake, I might not be able to mark you like you marked me, but you are mine. I might look sweet and nice, but I will cut a bitch if they try to take what’s mine. Are you laughing at me? Stop laughing.” My fierce speech that I’m super proud of spitting out because hell, emotions are hard and laying your heart out for someone else to possibly mash into a bloody pulp is terrifying. And he’s laughing at me?

  “Not laughing at you, Bridget. I think it’s fucking amazing. You’re fucking amazing.” He emphasizes his words by yanking me in tight against his body, his arms banding around me in a crushing embrace.

  As my face is smushed against the unyielding expanse of his chest, something else he said registers. “Wait. I’m immortal now?” My voice squeaks a little, and I’m pissed that I can’t even maintain my badass persona for one minute.