Declan was pacing the length of my living room, fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He was livid, muttering several curses under his breath.
“I should have ripped his damn eyes out,” he growled, his voice like a low snarl. “What audacity! Challenging us? Trying to defy your orders? Orion must have a death wish.”
Daniel chuckled from where he sat, stretching his legs over the arm of the couch like he had no care in the world. “You should have let me handle him. I would have loved to see him beg.”
Tleaned back against my chair, watching my brothers with mild amusement. It was always the same–Declan ready to fight, Daniel enjoying the chaos, and then there was-
“I don’t see the problem here.”
Damon.
He was standing by the window, absently licking his lips, eyes half–lidded as if he wasn’t hearing a word of what Declan was saying.
Daniel’s expression twisted with annoyance. He leaned forward and smacked Damon on the back of his head. “Focus, you idiot. This isn’t the time to be sniffing after women.”
Damon smirked, turning lazily toward him. “And what’s your problem? Am I the one who made you forget every woman you’ve ever wanted to fuck?”
Silence.
Daniel’s face darkened instantly, his jaw tightening as if Damon had just stabbed him in the gut. I knew that look. We all did.
His curse.
Damon’s smirk faltered slightly, but it was too late. Daniel stood abruptly, his fists shaking at his sides, his body stiff as if fighting the urge to lash out. Then, without a word, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Declan exhaled through his nose, shaking his head at Damon. “Did you have to say that?”
Damon shrugged. “Well, did he rave to having me that I love fucking around?” His tone was defensive, but there was something bitter beneath it. “We all have our curses, Declan. His is forgetting, mine is… Well, let’s just say mine comes in handy.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Damon’s curse was lust. It was his downfall, yes, but also his greatest weapon. He wielded it like a blade, twisting the desires of others until they became nothing more than puppets in his hands.
A dangerous gift. A dangerous curse.
I sighed, rubbing my temple. “Enough. We need to focus.”
I listened as Daniel’s footsteps faded down the hall, the tension in the room thick as smoke. Declan stood rigid, his fists still clenched, while Damon simply sighed and rubbed his temple like he was already exhausted from the conversation.
“You know how much he hates being reminded,” Declan muttered, shaking his head at Dámon. “You could have let it go.”
Damon rolled his eyes. “And he could have let it go when he took a jab at me first. He knows my curse as much as I know his.” He turned to face Declan fully, his expression hardening. “Why is it always me who has to bite my tongue? Why do I have to be the one to hold back?”
1/3
15:22 Sat, 5 Jul
Chapter 11
Declan’s jaw tightened, but before he could say another word, I mind–linked him.
Don’t,
Declan’s lips parted slightly, his gaze snapping to mine. But he know better than to argue when I gave a command like that. It was my job as their leader to ensure peace, even if I knew their anger wouldn’t last. No matter how much they fought, no matter how much they clashed, the bond between) us was stronger than any curse.
Damon exhaled heavily, then stood up, stretching his arms as though shaking off the weight of the moment. “Fine. I’ll apologize.” He smirked, but there was something tired behind it. “I guess you’ll be happy about that, Declan, since Daniel is your favorite. Always got his back, haven’t you?”
Declan tensed but didn’t rise to the bait this time.
Damon clicked his tongue. “Nothing to say? Alright then.” He turned on his heel and strode toward the door. “I’ll go smooth things over. Try not to miss me too much.”
With that, he was gone.
Declan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply before following suit. He didn’t say anything else as he left, but I knew he’d check on Daniel after Damon. That was just how we worked–our anger never lasted long.
I leaned back in my chair, finally alone, my thoughts already shifting back to the real issue at hand. Orion was a problem. A problem that wouldn’t go away quietly.
And something told me he wasn’t finished yet.
I sniffed the air and froze.
My fingers twitched where they rested on the arms of the chair, and I straightened, inhaling sharply.
That scent–raw, metallic, and tainted.
Blood.
Fresh.
Delicious.
No!
I clenched my teeth, feeling a headache come up. Is it near? My senses flared, reaching out, searching.
No. Not now.
Not here.
A sharp tremor ran down my spine. I gripped the table in front of me, but the wood splintered beneath my fingers. My breathing grew ragged as the darkness pushed against the edges of my control.
I needed to leave.
Now.
With a grunt, I shoved myself up from the chair, barely registering the movement as I strode toward the door. My skin prickled as heat rushed through my veins, my vision flickering between red and black. The moment I stepped outside, my body reacted on instinct.
A deep, guttural growl tore from my throat as my limbs twisted, bones snapping into place, muscles stretching and reforming. I expected to feel the familiar power of my wolf, the grounding force that always brought me back to myself.
2/3
หงอ
Chapter 11
But this was different.
The darkness was too strong, and before I could rein it in-
I shifted.
Not into my woll.
But into the tiger.
A beast that craved destruction.
A beast I couldn’t control.
Fuck!
The moment my massive paws hit the ground, the hunger came, sharp and insatiable. My claws dug into the dirt as my breath came out in ragged pants. My vision narrowed, instincts screaming at me to run, to hunt, to feed.
I tried to fight it. I always did. Shifting into my wolf allowed me to regain control. But in this form, there was no reasoning. I was nothing more than a
monster.
Only hunger.
A snarl tore from my throat, and before I could stop myself, I bolted–racing through the trees, the wind whipping past me. But instead of running away from the pack…
I was running back to the pack!
No. No. No.
I needed to stop. I needed to warn them. If I got too close, I wouldn’t be able to hold back. I needed to mind–link my brothers, tell them to keep everyone safe, to stop me before I ruined what we had worked hard to protect for nine years.
If I didn’t stop myself soon, I would become the very thing everyone feared.
People admired our power. They looked at us like we were untouchable, like we were gods among them. But they didn’t understand.
Power like ours wasn’t a blessing.
It was a curse.
A curse that isolated us.
A curse that made us vulnerable. A curse that made us monsters.
3/3
