“Wait … he killed his child?” What kind of asshole could kill their own child?
“Yes, but that’s not what’s important in this story.” He winced. “I didn’t mean it like that. But you’ve got to understand that this secret society believes the original alpha did the right thing.”
“Do you?” I hoped with everything inside me that he said what I wanted to hear. I wouldn’t know what to do otherwise.
“I used to, but that changed when I kissed a girl at the border.”
“But why did you leave me, then?” It always came back to that night between us.
“For you to understand my reason, I need to tell you the curse.” He took my other hand again and stared deep into my eyes. “Every fifty to a hundred years, fate draws a male shifter to a female witch. When this happens, a girl is born from the union. She is part wolf and part witch. Her magic is hidden at first, but when her power releases, the curse is then set into motion. She is destined to lead the wolf packs. She is meant to be our leader.”
“So, because he was an alpha asshole who thought of women as disposable, this was her way of getting even.” It was cruelly just.
“Yes. Four different girls have been born of that curse. Each one was killed at eighteen before their powers set in.” He stopped, and fear shone clear in his eyes.
“What does this have to do with us?” My mind was screaming at me, but I didn’t want to listen.
“There are certain signs when one is born.” He stepped toward me. “A dormant volcano becomes active, volcanic lightning streaks the skies, and a meteorite hits Earth. All those signs happened eighteen years ago.”
Those were all things that had happened right before I was born. We’d learned about them in history class. I wanted to ask questions, but my mouth wasn’t working.
“So when we saw the signs, we began our search for the one with a birthmark right behind her ear. History states that it looks like an incomplete star. With each woman who comes, the tattoo grows more complete. The one born eighteen years ago should have a full star since she’s the fifth born of this curse. All five points would be connected.”
My birthmark. I dropped his hand, and my fingers reached for the birthmark he spoke of. “No …” It couldn’t be. “That doesn’t make any sense. A dead wolf lay beside me on the border.”
“A male, right?” His eyes bored into mine. “So, where was the female?”
“This has to be some kind of joke.” But his story resonated with me as though my soul had connected with it.
“It’s not. That’s why I left you that night.” He ran his free hand through his hair, grabbing at his scalp. “When I put that necklace on you, I saw the mark.”
“Then, why didn’t you alert your family?” Obviously, he hadn’t wanted to be with me, so why not finish the job?
“I told you why earlier. It’s because I couldn’t, and I needed to protect you. The more time I spent around you, the more my family would have taken notice.” He stepped into me and cupped my cheek. “I walked away to save you.”
“But you came here …” It didn’t make sense.
“First off, we can’t kill the girl until she’s eighteen. We refuse to attack children. And second, I thought by leaving you, you wouldn’t be found. I had no clue who my target was when I came here. That is until I saw you.”
“If you didn’t tell them, how did they find out about me?” None of this made sense. “And why did the alpha kill the child if you aren’t allowed to kill children? How is eighteen okay, and how many girls have you killed? And how did you know who to watch if you didn’t know it was me?” All my questions spilled out since my mouth had started working again.
“Those are fair questions.” He rubbed his hands together. “As I said, once the signs are there, we begin looking for the mark on female shifters. Someone came to a high school football game when you were a cheerleader, and your hair was pulled into a ponytail. They caught a glimpse of something that could have been a birthmark. I was told it was the Rogers alpha’s son’s girl. I hadn’t realized that the guy you were dating was the alpha heir until I saw you here with him.”
Wow. Now that he’d said that, I remembered the particular tingling feeling at the homecoming game. I’d brushed it off, but now I knew it had meant something.
“As far as the alpha killing his child, his beast had begun controlling him more and more. When you let out your wolf to commit such a… crime, it begins to take you over. That’s why we ensure that a person is of age so they’ve had time to live and learn to protect themselves. Since a wolf shifter comes into their own at sixteen, we give them two years to see if any signs change. We have to kill them by eighteen before their magic shows. No one in my pack has killed before. We only do it when absolutely necessary.”
“So what are you going to do?” The cold wind hit my skin. It was as if my insides were cooling the area around me.
“I’m going to protect you until my last breath.” His eyes glowed as he made his vow to me. “I will turn on my family to ensure you stay alive, and we’ll bring them to their knees until they are no longer a threat.”
My heart grew warm, but the cold void that always seemed to be inside me stayed that way. Maybe that was why I had a hard time fitting in. But I wasn’t sure how I felt. I’d just found out that I was up against an ancient secret society that my fated mate was part of and that I was part witch. But we had to focus on the first thing in front of us now—surviving dinner with his brother.
Chapter Seventeen
Six o’clock was coming way too fast. I was dreading this dinner, so of course, the hours flew by like minutes.
“So … you’re telling me that Aidan’s brother wants to eat dinner with us?” Beth dug through her closet for something to wear.
“He’s trying to figure out why I haven’t come home yet.” Aidan sat on my bed, staring out the window. He’d been a huge mess of tense nerves since his brother had shown up. “After seeing me with the girl I’m supposed to be scoping out and seeing her talking with a couple of witches, he’s now doing his own investigation.”
“This is still hard to believe.” Beth threw a black, short-sleeve shirt on the bed along with a black skirt and fishnet tights. “It sounds like something out of a movie. You’re half-witch and destined to rule over everyone. I mean it’s badass, but let’s hope it’s just a story.”
“No, not everyone.” I loved how she always took things to extremes. “And I mean, I don’t see how it could be real. Other than my wolf, I don’t feel like I have magic flowing through my veins.”
Aidan glanced at me and winced. “An event will cause it.”
“What kind of event?” Beth grabbed her clothes from the bed and headed to the door.
“We aren’t sure.” Aidan shrugged. “No one has ever gotten that far.”
A shiver racked my body. I wanted to freak out. My entire identity had changed. I’d always thought I felt different because I was adopted, but learning I was a witch still seemed surreal. What did that mean? And what would happen when my powers awakened? Would I still be me? Anxiety coursed through me, but I couldn’t allow it to control me—at least, not until this whole thing with Bradley was done.