A Curse Unbroken (2 page)

My remaining sisters hid behind the cluster of boulders. Emme stayed perfectly still, waiting for the right moment to use her telekinetic power. Taran wasn’t as patient and attempted to stir flame from her hands. But her newly regenerated limb affected her command. The funnel of fire she built dwindled to flecks of embers within moments of summoning her power.

Her waning strength and control scared me, but now wasn’t the time to show fear. I caught my breath and
changed
into a golden tigress, only to have Aric block my launch forward and growl. He didn’t want me to fight. He wanted me safe. I couldn’t blame him. He knew I hadn’t fully recovered from my last fight and had permanent scars to prove it.

He growled once more before leaving me and ramming the panther at full velocity. The panther’s ribs cracked when Aric connected, the force dragging him across the sand. But as tough as Aric was, the shifters still reigned as the deadliest preternaturals on earth. Injured or not, I wouldn’t allow my chosen pack to fight without me.

I charged, my large form grinding to a halt as I sensed something descending toward me like a bomb. The eagle shifter had released the horse. Good grief, Pegasus he wasn’t. The horse crashed down, narrowly missing me and splattering into a million pieces. Something, possibly his stomach, smacked me between the eyes and temporarily blinded me with its fluid.

Emme screamed,
“Celia!”

I bounded toward the sound of her voice. I still couldn’t see and hoped I was going in the right direction. While I moved fast, it wasn’t enough. The eagle’s talons punctured my hide. Despite the jolt of pain, I stretched out my claws to the earth and
shifted
him into the ground with me.

My body and his broke apart into tiny molecules that passed through the sand. My intent was to bury him and leave him to suffocate. He must have been familiar with my unique gift because he released me before I could take him far.

When I surfaced several yards away, he was already breaking his partially buried body free and propelling toward me. Damn, he was fast. His powerful wings tilted, easily dodging the boulder Emme flung at him. I shot in the direction of the forest; if he wanted me, he’d have to work for it.

I raced across the road, luring the shape-shifter away from my group. If I could buy them enough time to kill the other shifter, the one chasing me would be easier to take on.

My ideas were always better in theory. I’d barely felt the forest floor beneath my paws when razor-sharp talons dug into my back legs and I was wrenched into the air.

Shit.

The damn shifter screeched, loud enough to stab at my sensitive eardrums. But that pain didn’t compare with the pain I felt when his talons cut into my muscles and scraped at my bones.

Agony claimed my entire being, each pull to my muscles growing worse and more torturous as I swung upside down. Beneath me the earth spun. I made out brief images: a river, the thickening stretch of forest, and the tops of its swiftly approaching trees.

Trees! Shit, shit, shit.

The momentum I used to avoid the pines added to my torment. I roared as the shifter jerked and dipped in awkward motions. This evil bastard wanted me to suffer before he sacrificed me to his deity. So despite the mounting pain, I swung my body hard, grabbing onto my back legs and curling into a ball.

He screeched again, soaring with erratic flaps of his wings.

The treetops smacked at my underside. It hurt, but it beat decapitation. I tried to use my free claws as weapons. It wasn’t until I pulled myself into a better position that I realized why the shifter kept screeching and why we were flying so unsteadily.

Aric, my beloved wolf, must have managed to fasten his jaws to one of the shifter’s wings before he took flight.

His presence gave me the strength I needed to act fast. I dug my claws into the underbelly and took a massive bite. The shape-shifter screeched again, but still wouldn’t release me. So I snapped my fangs repeatedly until his blood poured into my mouth.

In a rather daring move Aric
changed
back to human and used his hands to scale up the shifter’s back. Chunks of feathers rained down as Aric ripped the shifter’s wing apart with his hands. I clawed and bit harder, knowing the shifter would use his powerful beak against Aric if I didn’t distract him.

The shifter’s screeches grew more pained when Aric snapped the bones of his wing like rotting bark. But instead of diving toward the earth, the shifter soared higher.

That’s when I panicked. If he thought he would die, he’d take us with him. He tucked his broken wing and dove, sending us spiraling out of control.

Aric couldn’t hold on like this. We were diving too fast. So I shifted my weight and bit through the bones of the shifter’s feet.

It worked. Finally, I was free!

And crashing at high velocity toward the earth.

“Celia!”
Aric yelled above my roars.

I pushed my terror aside and reached for my inner eagle. Unlike shape-shifters who could command any form at will, my power was limited to creatures I’d touched and unpredictable in the best of times. Instead of transforming into the majestic and powerful bird of prey, all I managed was a set of wings for arms and a very human body.

Good.
Lord
. I thought my nipples would snap off from the frigid breeze slapping at my body as I fought to halt my descent.

While I didn’t exactly fly, my wingspan was wide enough to slow my fall. I would have fluttered down gently had Aric not howled above me. My head snapped up. The shape-shifter was corkscrewing ahead of me, his erratic motions breaking Aric’s hold and flinging him off.

Like a baby wren leaving the nest, I flapped my wings pathetically toward him. In no way was I graceful, but my need to save Aric made me fast. I batted my half-assed wings and naked self to him, snatching him from the air with my legs.

His face smashed against my bare and trembling body. Had my thighs not been shredded to bits, this move might have been kind of hot. But they were, and aw,
hell,
did it hurt.

I grunted from the pain and exertion it took to hold him and keep us airborne. “It’s all right, sweetness,” Aric said over my agonized whimpers. “You got this. Stay strong.”

Aric slipped further down my bloody and sweat-soaked body. I gasped, frightened he’d fall through my legs. He tightened his arms around my waist. “I’m fine,” he insisted. “Don’t be scared.”

His warm breath against my stomach brought me a sense of comfort, and gave me a boost of determination. But when I saw how far we remained from the ground, I worried his faith in me wouldn’t be enough.

I forced my wings to keep flapping, and tried to ignore the horrible burn in my legs. But I could barely focus. It felt like someone was slicing at my thighs with a machete and peeling the muscle away.

We were about twenty feet from the ground when my body surrendered to the pain. Spots danced in my vision before I lost my wings and we fell. I vaguely remembered Aric twisting our bodies just before we crashed into the shallow muddy river.

Although it was only September, the water felt like frozen icicles piercing my skin. The sting jolted me awake, but did nothing to ease the throbbing of my shredded skin.

Aric jerked violently beneath me and slowly loosened his tight hold around my head. I pushed myself up on my arms in anticipation of another attack. But it never came. Instead, I watched the shifter disappear into the distance, his damaged wing barely allowing him to fly.

Better luck next time, asshole.

My eyes quickly fell back to Aric. I gasped when I saw him. He lay with his back arched against the base of the embankment. Blood trailed into the water from where his skull had hit a large rock. His breath was ragged, but his eyes blinked open. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered, reaching for him.

He shook his head, grimacing as his skull snapped back into place, but surprising me with a smile. He pushed my long hair over my shoulders. His stare wandered down my body until it locked onto my legs.

Aric’s eyes widened when he caught my blood mixing with the river water. “You’re not all right!” He cradled me in his arms. “Your thighs look like hamburger!”

I smiled weakly when he lifted me from the river and placed me along the edge of the bank, keeping his body close against mine. I stroked his cheek carefully. “I meant yes, I’ll marry you,” I told him quietly.

Aric stilled. Drops of muddy water trickled from his hair to stream along his temples. “Even after all that?” he asked, motioning with a jerk of his chin to where the shifter had disappeared.

My fingers trailed over his rough five o’clock shadow. I knew what he meant. Our union wouldn’t make our lives any easier. “For better or for worse, right?”

His light brown irises flickered and that grin I fell in love with spread across his face. “Yes, sweetness. For better or worse.”

Chapter 2

“I’ll leave you just where the trees thin and the forest opens to the road. You’ll be close, but hidden and safe from the fight,” Aric said. “I’ll bring Emme to heal you and leave another wolf to guard you while we finish off the panther.”

In a different world this would likely sound like an odd conversation. In mine, it was almost a daily chat.

Aric tucked me against him and charged, his bare feet racing in the direction of the beach. His body swerved around the dense pines in an exuberant rush, but he was vigilant as always and careful to keep me from harm. His injuries had likely already healed. That wasn’t the case with me.

Aric fell under the spectrum of supernaturals who were hard to kill. While I had a tougher hide and could withstand more than any mere human, my inability to heal made me vulnerable and a liability. I hated it, but the last few months and my current situation were a sore reminder of that truth.

The cold river water had chilled my bones and the severity of my injuries made my head spin. I adjusted my bare skin against his, hoping his heat would help soothe me. It worked. The warmth that bonded us as mates spread through me, but it wouldn’t be enough to save me. My legs grew slick against his stomach. And although I recognized that I continued to bleed, I remained unbelievably headstrong.

“Don’t leave me, I can still fight,” I muttered.

Aric pressed a kiss against my forehead. “Don’t be stubborn. I proposed to a tigress, not a mule.” He ran another few feet before stopping abruptly. “Shit. Now what?”

I tilted my head to see Emme riding Bren the wolf. Bren sprinted gracefully and effortlessly toward us, carrying the jumbled quilt in his teeth. Emme clung for dear life to the fur of his neck, her honey-blond hair sweeping behind her, and her body bouncing in less than charming motions. It was almost comical. Almost. If my legs hadn’t been sliced to shreds, I may have had a giggle.

Bren
changed
back to human as he rose, dropping the quilt into his outstretched arms. Emme’s fingers remained tangled in his long messy curls. He was a lot taller, and I supposed she was afraid to let go. Having a petite ninety-eight-pound blonde attached to him didn’t seem to bother Bren. He walked casually toward us with Emme’s body swinging like a bell behind him. “It’s over,” he said. “The panther’s dead.” His eyes widened when he looked at me. “Damn, Ceel. You look like hell. Guess that blushing bride stuff was all bullshit, huh?”

He threw the blanket over me and twisted Emme around to face him. He chuckled when he caught the humiliation scorching her freckled face and set her carefully on the ground.

Most women would’ve liked sliding down Bren’s muscular and naked body, but most women weren’t as timid as my youngest sister. “I’ll heal you n-now, Celia,” she stammered.

“Thank you,” I said. My vision was starting to dim and I was close to passing out. So much for claiming I could still fight.

Emme touched my face and surrounded me with her pale yellow healing light. Aric tightened his hold when a groan escaped my lips. He whispered soft wolfish sounds in my ear, trying to distract me from the sting spreading deep into my bones. When Emme finished, my fresh wounds would completely heal. Until then, my body was furious at the speed at which it was forced to mend and punished me with painful spasms.

I didn’t remember losing consciousness, but when I lifted my heavy lids, we were back on the beach and with those I most loved.

Bren circled the dead horses. The poor animals lay on their backs with their legs stuck up in the air like poles. He shook his head. “Damn, Aric. You’re going to have to pay for those.”

Aric ignored him. “Anyone hurt?”

Although everyone denied it, an innocent bystander might have objected. Eight
weres
I didn’t know had answered Aric’s
call
. By scent I could tell there were four bears, three cougars, and a werebadger. With the exception of my sisters, everyone present was naked. Blood painted their bodies and soaked the sand, and entrails dried in the sun. On a scale of nastiness, this topped close to puking digits. The humans were lucky to have this part of the world hidden from them or easily swiped from their memories with a little mojo. At that moment, I wished I could have been one of those lucky humans blind to the disturbing side of our reality.

The dead shape-shifters, in their human forms, lay about thirty feet apart on the mangled beach. Heidi grabbed the leg of one and dragged it along the sand to join the other. Aric stopped just a few feet from them. The panther had been female, the tiger male. Both had their throats torn out, but the panther also had her skull crushed. My brows drew tight. “Why is the tiger dead?”

Aric lowered me to ground. He hadn’t realized I was awake until then. But he did know what I meant. To kill a shifter, you have to either mutilate the heart or brain. Aric hadn’t done either to the tiger that attacked us. “I don’t know,” he said, rubbing his sternum. “For now, I only care that Tura’s dead.”

“Tura?” I asked.

Aric growled. He continued to stare at the shifter as if expecting him to attack. “He’s one of the oldest shape-shifters we’re aware of and among the deadliest.”