The portion of unclaimed land south of Alexei's territory is especially lively in the waning winter season. I survey from above, crouched in the spindly, crooked branches of an oak tree budding with the beginnings of new leaves.
A rogue wolf moves below — alone.
Tabitha's voice rings in my head: you're sick.
"I love when you're mean to me," I mumble.
The rogue carries on, so I follow it — no more than a subtle rustle or crack; a breeze that doesn't provoke the wolf to rear its head. I slip from the canopies and land like a cat, and it's only when I beckon him to perceive me, that he does. But I'm on him too quickly for his yellow eyes to understand.
My fangs dig through his coat and pierce his tough skin, reminiscent of the fox I drank from before facing the God but with an entirely new taste. It's divine.
Maybe Tabitha did love me — at least a little. It isn't unlike enemies to grow familiar, to find purpose in their relationship, and depend on it. And sometimes she didn't sound like an actor, like when she spoke about my mate, me keeping him, and falling in love. I may have hated it at the time, but she sounded like a friend, and to encourage my mately love when she knew I was doomed doesn't make sense. I want to believe Tabitha wanted me to be happy, at least, for some weeks.
It was hardly enough love to spare her, though.
Blood pours down my throat and spreads throughout my body like the serum given to treat the blue sickness, and I release the drained wolf to the forest floor, finally feeling whole.
The rogue slumps — dead. I stare at it and wipe my mouth on my arm. Alexei's shirt is spotted with some droplets of blood, but I've managed to stay relatively clean where it matters. And I know I've done something wrong, but the euphoria of feeding muddies my conscience, so I stand for a second longer then decide it's best if I go back.
The shifter blood affects me immediately, and I find myself moving faster, nimbler, with limbs no heavier than the breeze itself. The moon is so bright that it rivals the sun, and the stars seem to glimmer and breathe — completely alive. It's like part of me has been dormant and has at long last woken up.
I scale the side of the keep and return to Alexei's window, but I see him through the glass. I knew I would still be gone when he got back. When I left, I didn't care.
He watches from the bed as I open the pane left ajar. Before I can even straighten, he asks, "Where did you go?"
My guilt starts to bubble through the ecstasy of shifter blood, popping and reminding me of what I promised not so long ago. "I couldn't take it anymore," I admit.
Alexei stands from the bed.
"I fell into temptation. I killed a rogue — drank his blood — and... Maybe I am a monster because it was like drinking water after weeks of drought. I finally feel peace."
Alexei says nothing. He looks over his shirt covering my body now spotted red.
"I feel in control. Your scent is there, but I'm alright," I add, still fired with adrenaline.
"This wasn't the way to gain control," he says. "Rogue or not, you took a shifter's life. And what happens when you begin to feel hungry again? Will you be able to resist blood and return to hunting shifted?"
"You don't understand how I felt after—"
"Will you be able to resist the smell of my blood?"
I press my lips together.
"You don't know what you've started, Brea. If we listened to Senet and strengthened our bond slowly—"
"I don't want to strengthen it slowly," I cut him off.
YOU ARE READING
The Alpha's Cursed Mate
Werewolf(Complete) In a time of war, young Brea makes a deal with the God of Death to become the most powerful shewolf to have ever lived. A liftetime of paying a horrid debt is undertaken, but as the last leader of a crumbling pack, Brea is now a worthy co...
