Cursed (The Order of the Wolf) (9 page)

“That spell will only hold for ten minutes, tops…maybe less if his wolf is strong. We need to get clear of here until the Hunters arrive.”

“The Hunters?” Darcy stumbled into the cool spring day, only then realizing that she was garbed in a T-shirt and nothing else.

“Yes, girl, you’ll be safe and in their care shortly, united with your destined Hunter.”

“Werewolf Hunters?” Darcy’s mind raced as Kat’s words played over in her head.
United with your destined Hunter.
“What are you saying? That I’m a Huntress?”

Annie opened the door to her truck and tried to force her in. “Yes, girl! That spell you cast, the vengeance spell, didn’t ever work properly. You’d maybe feel a jolt, get thirty minutes out of it but then it would sizzle. You’re not powerful enough to wield a curse! Had a feeling something more was up when you said your spell on the wolf felt different—like a rope snapping into place is what you said. That’s why I called Kat. She’s in the Hunters’ service, on the lookout for wayward Huntresses.”

Realization dawned on her a moment later and she pushed back, taking a step away from the truck door. “This was all a set up?” She pointed at Kat. “You made me think the spell had worked! I thought I’d cursed him!”

“Way I see it, you shouldn’t have been meddling with curses anyway.” Kat scoffed, arms crossed over her chest.

“I believed myself a murderer,” Darcy hissed. “I thought I was going to find a trail of dead men that I’d cursed. That’s horrible! How could let me think that? I thought I’d destroyed Raven’s life.”

“I know this is confusing, Darcy. You two weren’t supposed to be here until later tonight! We needed time to get the Hunters in position,” Annie explained.

“You told me I was screwed! You said the wolves would kill me if they caught me!”

“I needed to get you afraid. No way was I gonna let you go to their side. This is war, Darcy. Hunters against the beasts. How did I know they wouldn’t kill you if they caught you? The wolves have killed other Huntresses before.”

“Many.” Kat confirmed with a nod.

“This is bullshit!” Darcy fumed. “If I’m a Huntress, shouldn’t I feel something? Wouldn’t I know?”

“This is not the time to talk!” Kat yelled. “Annie, let’s go!”

Annie touched Darcy’s arm gently. “Honey, trust me on this okay?”

Darcy shook her head, her gaze snapping to the hotel, her heart tugging her in that direction. There had never been a curse. No byproduct of the spell.

“Did you lure Raven here to die?” Darcy blurted the words, her brain jumping miles ahead as all the threads pulled together. If she was a Huntress… “Did you know I would be captured? That the wolves would find me? What was I, bait?” No, couldn’t be, that was too callous even for Annie.

Annie gave her a hard shove, ignoring Darcy’s questions altogether. Her shins hit the step of the truck door, forcing her to scramble into the seat, Annie following close behind with Kat on the other side.

“We suspected they’d catch up with you. Curse or not, when a wolf finds his mate, he won’t rest until she’s under his paws.” Annie finally said, picking over her words carefully. “I was doing what I thought best.”

“You are destined to kill those beasts, not mate with them. You won’t know your true powers until you bond with your Hunter,” Kat snapped. “You won’t understand your proper alliances until you have your Hunter at your side, gracing you with all of the knowledge and power of the Order.”

A howl echoed around them and Annie quickly shut her door and slammed her keys into the ignition.

“So what I was feeling…what Raven was feeling…?” Darcy gulped back a lump in her throat. Every Huntress was tied to two males—the Hunter and the Beast. Choosing would effectively put her on one side, enemy to the other. If this was all true, she could have killed Raven, even by accident, just because somewhere in her DNA lay a marker that made her a wolf slayer. She gulped back bile. Even a small cut could have poisoned him with Huntress power, effectively dooming him to a long, drawn-out death.

“The feelings were real, yes, but trust me, you want to be with the Hunters, not the wolves. You’ll feel the same thing…
no
, more for your Hunter,” Kat answered with a hard look. “You want to be on the side of the good, don’t you?”

Bait—Annie wouldn’t have used her like that but Kat would.
 
“You wanted Raven to find me, didn’t you? You lied and you lured, just to get him here with me. You wanted this to happen so that I’d be forced to kill him and take the side of the Hunters.” Because that was what would be expected. If she was a Huntress, they’d want her to make a killing blow. To kill the beast and protect the humans: the mandate of the Order.

But that meant Raven was…evil? Darcy shook her head, confusion, denial, the urgent need to get the fuck out of the truck making her panic. The wolf howled again—pain, fear. Annie threw the truck into reverse, and gunned it only to slam on the brakes with a curse. Darcy bounced off the back of the seat and smacked her head on the dash.

“The fucking pack is here!” Kat screeched as Raven’s howl was answered by his pack-mates.

With blood dripping into her eye, Darcy raised her head and glanced out of the side window. Three wolves stood around the truck, a fourth—Raven—stumbled from the hotel room. He snapped his head up, his golden eyes locking with hers, then he raised his head and howled again.

The truck bounced and the women screeched as a huge black wolf jumped on the bed and growled.

“We need to get the fuck out of here!” Kat screamed.

Annie stomped on the gas and Darcy quickly shifted into neutral. The truck’s engine revved but did nothing more than roll.

With another rough curse, Annie tried to pry Darcy’s hand from the gearshift. “You trying to get us killed?”

The giant wolf slammed into the back window, shattering the glass.

Kat opened the door, muttering angrily as she splayed her fingers toward the wolf that stood on the other side. Darcy felt the blast of power as it left the old woman, had a moment of awe and jealousy wash over her. To possess such power…

And then the wolf went flying, frantically digging its claws into the asphalt to stop the backward momentum of her spell. She muttered something else, fingers splayed again and the wolf didn’t stand a chance.

Annie jammed the truck into park, left the motor running and pushed Darcy out Kat’s side, following closely behind. “I’ve got the rear.” She screeched and Darcy felt the power ebbing from her mentor, cocooning her in magic. It should have made her feel safe.

“Raven!” she yelled over her shoulder as Annie continued to push her forward.

Kat latched onto her arm and yanked her. “Smarten up, girl. You don’t want that beast! Once you bond with your Hunter, you’ll feel the revulsion for even touching that cursed thing.”

Darcy pulled back, digging her heels into the asphalt. “You’re wrong!”

Kat stopped, her hand splayed in Darcy’s direction. “I serve the Hunters. Do not make me use my magic against you.”

“I choose Raven. I want to be with him!”

Annie gasped, mid-spell, her attention momentarily diverted from the wolves to Darcy. The expression on her face was one of confusion. “You have feelings for him?”

“Blasphemy!” Kat seethed. “You can’t feel something for a creature so vile.”

In the seconds of distraction, the wolves crowded in, snarling and baring teeth, looking the fierce deadly predators they were. Annie and Kat let her go at the same time, turning their attention to defense. Without the push and pull, Darcy went sprawling to the ground on her hands and knees. She heard a low growl and looked up through hair and blood to see Raven, ferocious. The wolves crowded closer, battling the onslaught of magic jolting them back. Four wolves, two witches; there was only so much magic one could cast.

Two wolves broke free, finding a way to penetrate the wall of power Kat and Annie let fly. One clamped onto Annie’s arm and she screamed. Another barreled into Kat, knocking the woman to the ground. Darcy scrambled toward Raven, scurrying on hands and knees, ignoring the burn of the asphalt against her bare flesh.

Raven closed the distance in one leap, circled her once, golden eyes flaring, fangs dripping with spit, looking wild, uncontrolled.

“Raven, I…”

He darted forward and sank his teeth into her calf. She stared at him in shock, a scream bubbling to her mouth as he pushed his fangs in deeper, piercing muscle until he hit bone. He clamped his jaw for a moment, and when she screamed again, he let her go, shook his head once and backed away. No blood poured from the wound and just as suddenly as the pain started, it was gone, replaced by a burn that bordered on pleasure. The puncture wounds closed, she pulled her leg closer to her body and snapped her gaze to Raven. He sat on his haunches, licking his snout, watching her. Time stopped. She felt the burn transform into a tether, like a bond made of the strongest steel, and she understood. He had marked her. She was a Huntress.

Screams of fear and pain echoed around her, pulling her out of her moment of tranquility. Annie and Kat were on the ground, cowering back-to-back as the wolves circled, taunting them with jabs and nips. Annie cradled her injured arm. Fear for her mentor welled. The wolves would surely kill her if given the chance.

“Stop,” Darcy shouted, the power behind her word taking her breath away. A wave of magic enveloped the scene and everything just ceased to move.

She gulped, rose on shaking legs, moved toward the women. Everyone, everything was still. She’d frozen them with her powers.

Her powers!

Blood dripped from Annie’s wound, saliva from the wolves’ mouths. All were still breathing—the wolves’ panting, Annie’s chest heaving, a tear slid down Kat’s cheeks but no hand rose to wipe it away. Darcy shivered, wrapped her arms around herself. She’d never in her life known such power. Never would have dreamed of it. Wouldn’t even know what to call it. It was just there, like a well of magic ready and waiting for her to draw on.

She bent down and touched Annie on the head. The old woman unfroze, resumed her shaking and moaning.

“Annie, you need to get out of here.”

Annie opened her mouth to argue but realization dawned a fraction of a second later. “You…you did this?”

She was in awe. Darcy smiled as she unfroze Kat.

“Cast, Annie, cast…” Kat’s scream died as she surveyed the wolves.

“You bonded with the beast?” Annie gasped. “Oh, girl, what have you done?”

Darcy’s smiled faded and she nodded toward the truck. “Get out of here, Annie. Take Kat and leave.” She helped Annie to her feet, hugged her as tight as she dared. “I’ve made my choice. I’m happy.”

“The Hunters will come,” Kat hissed.

Darcy let Annie go and hardened herself against the tears that threatened. Annie might be on the other side now but she would always have a place in Darcy’s heart. “If the Hunters come, I’ll kill them. I can’t hold this spell forever—the wolves are battling against it now.” Which was a lie. She felt like she
could
hold it forever, even with the wolves fighting her for control.

She flicked her fingers and the snarling resumed, even though the wolves were still held in place, growling their displeasure.

“You’ve made a mistake, girl,” Kat sneered as she led Annie to the truck.

Darcy shook her head. “I followed my heart. There’s no mistake in that.”

As the women scrambled into the truck and shut the door, she released the wolves. The biggest, Mayhem, snapped his teeth in her direction, a warning not to do that again, then moved to join the rest of the wolves in a semicircle around her. She was part of the pack, bonded with her mate. She would never use her powers against them.

Chapter Fifteen

“You knew the whole time,” Raven said as he accepted his second rye and ginger from Mayhem. “Thank you.”

“Didn’t know for sure, no.” Mayhem took a seat on the couch, swirling his own drink before taking a sip. He cleared his throat and nodded. “Wasn’t sure about the whole curse thing, we needed to see it through. Read in the folklore once that a wolf’s mate will bring out the beast to the extreme, even to the point of attacking a pack-mate.”

Raven ran his hand down his face and shook his head. “Damn, when I attacked Jay…”

“Yeah, it clicked for me then. Your wolf was feral, man. No way that was just a curse.” He cracked a smile and added, “Good fuckin’ thing I let it play out though. Your Huntress, she’s got some epic powers.”

Every Huntress had a power, an innate ability that was released once bonded with her destined mate. Darcy’s powers had emerged immediately and with a pow—the pack was still in awe of it, counting themselves lucky to have her on their side. Raven felt pride flush through him at the thought. His mate was a formable ally capable of defending the pack just as well, if not better, than he could.

“But you were at the hotel the whole time?”

Mayhem shook his head. “We were a couple of hours behind you, ditched the rental with Dave at daybreak and ran the rest of the way. The only forest we could use for cover took us out of our way for a while. Figured you wouldn’t get into too much trouble until nightfall anyway.”

Raven laughed, took a gulp of his drink then shook his head. “Yeah, not too much trouble.”