Cursed Wolf

Tearing himself away from Venus was the hardest thing he’d ever done. As he walked down the stairs and into the cool afternoon light, he couldn’t believe that he’d done it. He wanted to go back upstairs, throw his arms around her and hold her tight, but she didn’t want him to see her at her weakest.

He had to respect her need to deal with her mother on her own. It was her own mountain to climb. Damian couldn’t climb it for her, despite how much he wanted to.

He growled at himself for not knowing how to protect her and hurried down the street to where he’d parked Patrick’s truck. He jumped inside and hit the steering wheel with his fist. What kind of man leaves his mate in her hour of need?

But he had to go. He had to step back and give her the space she needed to make her own choices and fight her own battles.

He thought about his own mother and father on the way home. They’d been such kind, supportive people that he couldn’t even comprehend the controlling bitch that Venus’s mother appeared to be. It made him think of the Snow Queen and the seventy-five-year curse he and his brothers had suffered.

They’d made a mistake. They had tried to steal from a witch. Stealing was wrong, and the snow flower was invaluable, but even if they’d robbed a bank or stolen a priceless jewel, they would have been out of jail long ago for the crime.

The Snow Queen’s cruelty had lingered for years and years, making it almost impossible for them to escape. Finally, the brothers had made the choice to run hundreds of miles through the snow and ice of the Alaskan winter to make their way to Fate Island.

It had been a struggle that they had shared, but they’d finally made it, and now two of the six of them had found their mates here. Rex’s curse had been broken through claiming his beloved Luna.

The possibility that Damian’s curse could also be broken loomed large before him, but he wanted something more than to break his curse. He wanted her to be happy and free. They were both trapped by an evil witch but in their own ways.

Just thinking about what her mother had done to her, how she used and manipulated her all these years made him so angry that he had to pull over on the side of the road to catch his breath.

He thought about how Blake wanted to kill the Snow Queen. Despite their failed attempts and his own near death, he understood his older brother’s point of view. Evil should be punished. The victims of their crimes deserved justice.

The Winters deserved justice for their pain and torment, but they were not completely innocent. Venus, on the other hand, was. She’d been cursed with a terrible, selfish parent, and no child deserved to be treated like a pawn in someone’s game.

He slowly pulled back out on the road, trying to get his rage under control. He wouldn’t be any good to her if he got into an accident and went up in flames. And it certainly wouldn’t be a way to pay back the Doolittles for everything they’d done to help him and his brothers.

When he made it home, his other brothers were nowhere to be seen. The Doolittles were setting the table for dinner when Damian walked through the door. Rebecca smiled, Minnie gave him a little wave, and the teenage boys Roger and Frederick nodded.

“What’s up?” Frederick asked.

“You look like death warmed over,” said Roger.

“Are you okay?” Rebecca asked, grabbing his shoulder compassionately.

“I’m fine.”

“Did something go wrong with Venus?” Patrick asked, setting the roast chicken down at the table.

“Her mother’s coming to Selkie.”

“Is that a problem?” Rebecca asked, not understanding. She was a wonderful loving mother; she would assume that Venus’s mom was the same.

“Venus’s mother is the quintessential stage mom,” Damian said. He had just learned what the term meant. It tasted like poison on his tongue.

“Oh,” Rebecca said, looking over at Patrick.

“What are you doing back here?” Patrick said.

“Venus didn’t want me to get in the middle of the drama. I should’ve stayed. I feel like such an impotent fool.”

“If she wants to deal with it herself, you have to respect her wishes,” Rebecca said.

“I know,” Damian said, lowering his head and staring at the ground.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Rebecca asked as Patrick returned with a bowl of salad.

“Where are the others?” Damian asked, sliding into a chair beside Minnie.

“Your brothers have been fighting,” said Patrick. “They’ve decided to go to separate quarters.”

“Fighting about what?” Damian asked as Rebecca sliced into the chicken and served him a piece.

“Your parents’ property sold for $1.5 million today. Escrow papers were sent over to be signed.”

“And Blake is refusing to sign?” Damian asked, scooping salad onto his plate.

“Exactly,” Rebecca said, dishing up chicken onto her own plate.

“He just won’t let it go,” Damian said, shaking his head. “We need that money to move on with our lives. And to get out of your hair.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Patrick said with a smile and a wink.

“You and your brothers are welcome here as long as you need,” Rebecca said.

“You’ve been so kind to us,” Damian said, staring down at his food. The juicy chicken and gravy and crispy salad looked delicious, but his stomach was tied in knots. “$1.5 million divided six ways… That would give Venus and I a good start in life.”

“It certainly would,” Rebecca said, slicing into her chicken and popping a bite in her mouth.

“It’s time for us Winters to move on. I wish that Blake understood that.”

“He’s attached to the land in your parents’ legacy. He wants to go back.”

“Let him, then. He can live his life as a wolf on the land. The new buyers will never notice.”

“Unless he gets shot,” Patrick said.

Damian cringed, imagining his brother wandering the Arctic tundra alone. “I wish he could see what the rest of us sees.”

“He is intent on killing her,” Patrick said.

“Patrick,” Rebecca said, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ve heard them talking about it before,” Minnie said.

Rebecca sighed and took a bite of salad.

“I talked to Rex about getting Blake some counseling. Perhaps all of you could go to family counseling together.”

Damian gave her a sideways glance and then forced himself to take a bite of chicken. The idea of going to therapy with his brothers sounded ridiculous. They were mountain survivalists. Men who had lived as beasts for almost a hundred years. How could some human therapist help them?

“I know a shifter psychologist who specializes in shifter family issues,” she went on. “It may be exactly what all of you need.” She looked at Damian meaningfully.

He still had plenty of his own darkness to work through. It hadn’t been easy. All he had been able to think about had been death for so long that the possibility of having a happy life hadn’t even occurred to him until he met Venus. The fact that she accepted him, warts and all, was too beautiful to even believe could be true.

K!ssing her, loving her, seeing her quiver with pleasure at his touch, it had made all the pain and torment worth it. He could weather any storm just to see her smile. If Blake found his mate, Damian knew that he would be able to let the land go; let go of his need for revenge against the Snow Queen. And finally move on.

“Love is the greatest healer of all,” Damian said in a soft voice.

“That’s true, Damian,” Rebecca said sympathetically. “When does Venus’s mother arrive?”

“She’ll be here soon.” Rebecca nodded. “I am worried about her. The woman has control of Venus’s life. I feel like I need to be there for her to help her stay strong.”

“Just knowing that you’re on her side will give her strength,” Rebecca said.

Damian knew that Rebecca had been born human and had been turned by Patrick on their wedding night. She understood what it meant to be loved by a shifter and brought into the shifters’ world after living a life as a human.

But Rebecca had a lovely family with supportive parents who’d paid her way through law school and had always stood by her side. They’d supported her relationship with Patrick and there were pictures of them smiling at their wedding. Damian didn’t think that Venus’s mother would be the same.

“I can’t lose her,” he said through the lump in his throat.

“You won’t. Fate works in mysterious ways. You just have to keep the faith,” Patrick said.

It was strange being at the dining room table with the Doolittles without the rest of his brothers around. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know where the rest of them were, but finally decided to ask.

“Felix is upstairs learning about computer programming,” Patrick said, counting off on his fingers. “Blake ran off into the woods in wolf form. Tate and Thorne went into town to blow off steam. They said they probably wouldn’t be back until morning.”

“Good for them,” Damian said, almost wishing he’d known his brothers were in town so that he could have hung out with them during this challenging night.

He finished his meal, listening to the Dolittle children talking about their day at school and their hobbies.

He helped Patrick clean up after dinner and then went upstairs to talk to Felix. He found his brother in the upstairs office, typing away on the keyboard.

“What are you up to?” Damian asked. Felix looked up at him as if snapping out of a dream. “You missed dinner.”

“That’s fine. I needed some time alone.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No. I need to take a break now,” Felix said, rubbing his eyes. “Computer technology is absolutely fascinating. I’ve been learning a computer programming language and there is just so much it can do.”

Damian sat on the futon across from his brother. He had always been the most intellectual of the six of them, studying medicine and law back before the curse. He had gone to college for a few years before returning home when their father died. Damian had always felt sad that Felix couldn’t complete his education. It didn’t surprise him that his older brother was finding a new passion in life.

“The world has changed so much. But I still enjoy reading the same books I enjoyed before the curse,” Damian said.

“Now it’s so easy to get them. You can download them instantly,” Felix said, shaking his head.

“It is amazing,” Damian said.

He had read almost every paperback in the Doolittles’ house since the potion had allowed them to stay human for more than one day a month, but he hadn’t had the concentration to read anything since he’d met Venus.

Knowing Venus was the most important thing that had ever happened to him. He imagined sitting on the couch on a lazy Sunday with a book and a cup of tea as it rained outside the window in their cozy little home. The idea of it was so vivid in his mind that it made him take a shuddering breath.

“What happened with your mate?” Felix asked.

“Her mother’s coming to town. She is a horrible person. Venus is going to stand up to her once and for all.”