Angel is moving, but it’s slow motion.
Freida’s voice whispers into my mind.“A curse needs exact perimeters. And often the truth of it is hidden so it can’t easily be broken. You need to consider who cast it and what they truly wanted, but it always requires a massive sacrifice.”
Everything makes sense. The curse was to punish them for taking what they wanted. It’s not an atonement, it’s punishment. They were always supposed to find me and our happily ever after…that was never going to happen.
We never had a chance. It’s about taking from them, punishing them, if they couldn’t have my pack, then my pack was never going to have me.
It’s a perfect moment of crystal clear clarity that breaks my heart. I stare at them, and I realise, no matter what happens, I will always be grateful to have had them, even for a short time.
I know what I have to do because, for me to have what I need, for me to live…I don’t need a mate, I don’t need love…I just need them to be alive. I need them to be safe, and they can’t be anywhere near me. The only way I can have that is if I…rip myself apart.
I close my eyes.Rip it off like a bandaid, Casey, my mother says in my memory.
“I reject the bonds. I reject this pack. You are not mine, and you never will be.” My voice doesn’t tremble. It’s strong.
Khaos screams, his head thrown back, his back arching. Riot collapses. Hazard whimpers. Wrath roars. I see and hear them all.
I glance at Angel. He’s silent, ignoring the pain, still coming for me.
There’s a tearing inside me, an agony that feels like it will never heal, like it will destroy me completely. I look away from the pack, down at the bracelet that snaps clean in two and falls off my wrist. These witches have got what they wanted. I close my eyes because I can’t see them like this. I don’t want this memory.
“CASEY!” Khaos roars my name, but it sounds so far away.
There’s a white shimmer, then an explosion of black smoke, and when it clears, they’re all gone.
I shift into my other form, still tied in ropes. I lay there in the dirt, in front of the pack that will try their best to destroy me, and I scream my pain.
Hazard
The minute we appear,I know where we are. It’s the smell; it’s the feel of the air; it’s the way the light passes through the leaves. I can taste home on my lips, and it’s the last place I want to be.
“Who?” It’s squeaked out and trembles with fear.
I whip my head around. The sound of that voice has haunted my nightmares for years.
Abigail, Lenore, and Hailey. They are beautiful and look younger than the day they cursed me.
They did this.
Casey needs us.
“Send me back!” I roar at them.
Abigail tosses her black hair back. “How are you free?” She sounds panicked. “It was an impossible curse.”
“SEND ME BACK!” I howl and rush her.
Lenore throws fire, but Angel reacts faster, ripping out her throat, her body falling lifeless in a heap. Her own fire catches her hair, and her body blazes. Hailey shrieks and falls back. I shift shape and attack, unable to calm myself. I’ve never been this out of control before. The pain is nothing I’ve ever felt.
They will break her. I paint the clearing red, slipping in blood and body parts as I lunge for Abigail.
Riot throws her at me, and, with pleasure, I close my teeth over her arm and shake. I hear her scream, but my teeth sink into her throat, and she can’t make any sound ever again.
I stand in the clearing near where all of this started, my heart beating too hard, too fast. How far away is Beacon Falls? Where is it on a map? How long will it take to get back there? Why didn’t we check? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Angel presses against my side.
I thought our vengeance would last longer or be more significant than that, but all I can think about is Casey at the hands of her old pack. The blood doesn’t matter because, in my mind, it’s hers. All I can see is the silent way she begged me to understand.
