The Curse’s Shadow

I'm not sure what I expected from Kael Draven but it wasn't him turning his back on me. His admonition of "If you stay close to me, we're both dead," was like an evil omen, and my wrist was throbbing again where the crescent scar had branded me, as though it was irritated that I hadn't taken up its advice. We were in the forest around us, in the in-between lands just outside the Silverclaw's, felt alive, with the mist winding its way through the trees like it was watching us. Kael's broad shoulders guided the way as his dark coat melded into blackness, soon leaving me in his dust, but I wasn't about to let that happen. "You don't get to just drop a bomb like that and walk away," I said, my voice tangy in the chill of the morning. I stumbled over my boots in the soggy ground, running after him, my heart pounding, a heat of fury and that stupid mate bond pulling on me like a chain.

Kael stopped, though he didn't turn; his voice dripped with gravel. "Stubborn as a pig, Lila Thorn. That's gonna get you killed."

"You're running like a coward," I blurted out, catching up. My leather jacket creaked as I turned, but I held the knife and was ready for whatever. The mate bond was fucking with me and my blood buzzed whenever I was near him. It was dancing along the perimeter of a storm: electric, dangerous and way too tempting. "If we share this mark, I have to know why. What's this curse? Why me?"

He faced toward me, and those gray eyes hit me like a jab, stormy and unruly. Close up, I could see the ground-in scars on his jaw and know he must've lived through things most people don't. He was tall, but not in a good way, and the was he looked down at me was making my chest constrict. "You want the truth?" he growled. "Fine. But you don't cry when it is too much to bear."

He indicated a felled log and we sat, the air between us humming like hot wire. I felt my dagger clenching tight in my grip as my tracker instincts engaged. The forest was too still and I feared that Blackfang scouts would be near. The smell of Kael ― wild, pine trees and dirt and something making my heart beat faster ― made it hard to think straight. I chewed my lips, pushing the feeling away. I wouldn't be told what to do by some magic link.

Five years back," Kael started, voice rough as if it had hurt him to say the words, "I was the Alpha of Silverclaw. Youngest in a century. Led us through two wars, made sure we were strong in the face of the Blackfangs. Then someone screwed me over. "proof I never peddled the secrets of the enemy. The elders didn't have to give it much thought — they banished me. Torin, my second-in-command did not raise a hand at all.

My breath hitched. I'd known about Kael Draven, the traitor Alpha, but the stories had been half told, twisted by pack gossip. They sounded like someone with a hurt that made me want to believe him, though every fibre of my Silverclaw being screamed at me not to. "Who set you up?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Not sure," he said, his jaw set. "Not yet. But the Blackfangs had an opening. Their witch, Isolde Vey, discovered me in my exile. That the Silverclaws would fall before my life ended. So she cursed me." He was getting close now, speaking softer, a whispered secret that sent a thrill down my back. The second my fated mate(and future king of the underworld) stepped into my life, my life takes a turn for the worst. A ticking clock, one, two, few more, days or maybe just weeks until I don't come out. And now, here you are."

Then my mark flared and it was a sharp sting that made me wince. "So I made this thing on my wrist that's killing you because I showed up?"

" Not for you though," Kael's voice was softer now, a whisper so close to gentle. "Because of Isolde. Her magic, her rules. The closer we hold on, the quicker it pulls away. It will maybe stop if you die — but I'd sooner set fire to the whole forest than it should!"

My heart jumped dumbly, from his words to where his eyes came to rest on mine. I had to quell the temptation to bite at him and assure him I could handle my own, but the mate bond felt like a tug again, pulling me in his direction. I stood and took a lap around the room to shake it off. "So what's the plan? I'm not waiting for you to die. Or for the Blackfangs to flip this on my pack."

Kael's mouth twitched, almost a laugh. "You're every bit as scary as they all say you are, Thorn. But" — and you have to go back to your pack. Stay safe. I will get Isolde, make her counteract it."

I laughed, short and bitter. "You think I'm gonna hide? I'm a tracker, Kael. I've pressed myself through throngs of rioting in the midst of storms hunting rogues, walking past by the Blackfang patrols. "I know I'll be the one finding this witch Anyone else is finding this witch, it's me." I met his gaze, my chin up. "With or without you."

He stood, looking down at me, his face inscrutable. You come after Isolde, you're goin' into a war. The Blackfangs know about your mark - I don't know how. And if they take you, they'll use you to get me 'Cause it's gonna hurt. Or worse, to gut your pack."

My stomach dropped. The Silverclaws used to be home—Jace, with his ditsy look, Mara with her I'm-going-to-sleep-even-if-it-kills-me stare and yes, even Torin, my pain in the ass. I thought of those Blackfangs with their cruel fighters, and that unnatural witch thundering across our land, and my body shivered. But backing down? Not my style. "Then we run for our lives," I said evenly. "Find Isolde before they find us. You know her. Where is she?"

There was a pause, and he scanned me with his eyes, like he was trying to find a hole in the wall, before the door creaked open, and my father stepped inside. "Blackfang stronghold. Deep in their territory. It's a fortress — guards, traps, and Isolde's magic everywhere. You'd need a damn army."

"Or a tracker," I said, my brain already whirring. I'd been behind enemy lines before, more than once, but the Blackfang fortress was like nothing I'd known before. But lying down wasn't going to work — not while I had this mar k etched into the living soul of my life. "I can break in," she wrote." Just give me the info on what I'm out to find.

He squeezed my arm and my mark quivered at the contact. "You're not listening, Lila. Isolde isn't just your average witch — she's the wicked witch. And the Blackfangs? They'll rip you apart."

I looked away, seething with hatred. "Don't touch me unless I tell you to touch me. And don't underestimate me. I'm not here because some goddess thought it would be hilarious. I'm here because I chose to be here. So, you helping me or not?"

He only looked, for a beat, and hell if I didn't see the mix of awe in those stormy eyes. Then he sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair. "You're impossible. Fine. We go together. My way — quietly, cautiously, nothing daredevil about me.

I laughed with both of my shaking hands concealed. "Deal. I can't say the same, resorting to a smile I don't really mean, even if he doesn't deserve to hear me laugh. '

Before he could snap out a response, a snarl hacked between the trees. My dagger was in my hand in a moment, my eyes accusing. Kael tensed, eyeballing the darkness. "Blackfang scouts," he whispered. "They've tracked me."

Three wolves stepped out, half-shifted, with gold eyes gleaming and claws catching the glints. My heart was beating fast but I wasn't budging. "Don't hide behind me" Kael growled, also becoming clawed.

"Hell no," I said, charging at the closest scout. My dagger sliced his forearm, blood spraying. 'Bat!' he roared, swinging down, but a duck was all I'd need, what with action training. Kael attacked another, slamming him into the tree with brutal force. The third came at me, but I kicked for his legs and down he went.

"Enough!" Kael's mouth was an Alpha's command that made the air tremble. The scouts jolted, froze and holly-tailed it. I was gasping, fire exploding on my mark. Kael gasped and looked at me. "You're reckless. But damn, you're good."

"And you are slow," I replied, wiping the dagger to ensure it wouldn't be killing me any time soon. "We need to move. They'll bring friends."

He nodded briefly, his eyes fixing on me, dark and unreadable. "You sure about this, Lila? "If we take after Isolde, we're gone."

Dangerous, alive; and not only me but the mate bond and now.— A blocked channel bursting, its banks shattering in the roar and crash of sound alive. I knew the moment this mark shows up. Let's end this curse."