Chapter 12
Alec
Alec sat beside Leif on the bed, his mate sleeping on his back, arms over his head, relaxed in a sexy sprawl. The lights were bright enough that Alec was able to see the cursed scar on Leif’s chest. He had no idea what time it was, though he knew they’d both slept for several hours.
He ran his fingertips over the scar, light and gentle, looking beyond the layers of skin and muscle to the curse that thrummed balefully beside Leif’s strong heart.
The curse was fractured, interrupted by the witch’s death hundreds of years prior. The curse’s purpose had been twisted, burdening Leif with the stolen lives of the witch’s victims. The amount of power coiled inside the curse was staggering.
Leif was going to live a very long time. Even when Alec unraveled the curse, Leif would still have all those stolen years—the original owners of those lives were dead, and Alec had no idea how to take away the years without killing his mate in the process. He wasn’t even going to try.
Leif was already past the maximum average lifespan of a powerful alpha. Alec guessed Leif had a few thousand more years in him before the stolen years ran out.
Alec pondered this, wondering if he would be around to see his mate finally grow old, rich brown hair turned silver by age and time. Alec was mostly fae—there was some human ancestry a couple generations back, but younger fae species lived long, long lives too. He hoped he lived as long as Leif, not wanting his mate to spend a lifetime without him.
“What has you so pensive?” Leif asked, voice rough from sleep. Leif yawned, stretching, and Alec admired his form.
“Just wondering about the future,” Alec sighed, refocusing on the task at hand. “The curse should be easy enough to alter. I think I can dismantle the portion that harms other wolves when bonds are forged. You could have a pack again, if you wanted.”
“Truly?” Leif pushed up on his elbows, wide awake. “How? So many practitioners tried and failed to break the curse.”
“They all went big,” Alec replied, placing the flat of his hand over the scar. Leif was hot to the touch, skin smooth and soft. “They tried to do too much at once…too grand in their actions. I work best in the tiniest of spaces—molecules and atoms and motes of magic that make up a spell. All I need is time, and I think I can unmake the curse.”
“Unmake it?” Leif asked.
“Breaking a curse requires an act of force stronger than the curse itself, literally breaking it, then destroying the remnants the same way. I can get down to the base foundation of a spell, to its components and pieces, and dismantlea curse by altering the foundation of what it’s made of and how it’s put together. Unmaking.”
“That sounds really difficult and complicated.” Leif worried, reaching out and putting a hand on Alec’s knee. “Is it dangerous?”
“If I do it right, I don’t even think the curse will put up a fight before I have it unraveled.” Alec paused, eyeing his mate. “I’d like to try it now, if that’s okay with you.”
“What do you need me to do?” Leif asked, looking a bit shocked but willing to listen.
“Just lie back down and relax. Try not to move, though I want you to tell me if something hurts. It shouldn’t, though. Pain would be a sign the curse is reacting to what I’m doing.”
Leif did as directed, easing back on the pillows, hands behind his head, those crystal blue eyes watching him intently.
Alec reached out a hand, hovering over the scar, when Leif moved so quickly his hand was a blur, catching Alec’s hand before it made contact. Alec froze, eyes wide. “What?”
“Something’s wrong,” Leif said, sitting up, eyes unfocused. “A group of humans just crossed into my territory.”
Alec tugged his hand free and rolled off the bed, hunting for his clothes. His underwear was ruined but the rest of his old clothing was relatively intact. Leif got out of bed as well, opening a section of the wooden wall behind the bed to reveal a closet. He tugged on a pair of sweatpants, but that was it, and he headed up the tunnel toward the cabin.
“Wait for me!” Alec called, tugging on his new boots, tying them hurriedly before hustling after his mate.
Leif
The boundary magicthat told him when intruders were in his territory was going wild. There were several humans that had crossed the territory lines at the same place the previous group did—Leif suspected that whoever had sent the first group was there to find their missing people, and likely Alec as well.
Alec caught up to him at the door of the cabin, Leif waiting on the stoop. It was late; the sun had set, the moon was full enough that he could see a fair distance in the night. He breathed in deeply, searching for the scents of the intruders.
Alec shivered in the chill air and snuggled into his side, cold hands wrapping around his waist. “What do you sense?”
“Several humans crossed into my territory where the first group did,” Leif shared, catching hints of the humans on the wind, breathing deep. A growl rumbled out with his next words. “They’ll come across the bodies soon; they’re likely following their tracks. Huh. They’re trying to be stealthy.”
“Not surprising. They probably guessed the first group is dead, or at least in trouble. We should burn the bodies this time.”
Leif snorted out a surprised laugh. “This time?”
