Cursed Wolf

Venus barely slept,tossing and turning in the hotel bed. When the dawn light finally crept over the mountains and through her window, she felt foggy and exhausted.

She climbed out of bed and stretched, her mind confused and anxious about what the day would bring. She wished that she’d woken up with Damian by her side, but she had sent him away. It was the right choice. She knew she had to face this on her own, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Damian had become a strength for her, and she couldn’t deny that she already depended on that strength and love to carry her through. Her mother’s plane had arrived in Juneau late the night before and she would be getting on the first ferry to Fate Island in just a few hours.

Venus’s skin crawled as she thought about the upcoming confrontation. Would she be able to withstand the force of her mother and all the years of conditioning that came with it? She didn’t know anything else. She was her mother’s pawn and that was all she’d ever been.

Despite all the travel, experiences, and accolades, she was still a prisoner. But she didn’t have to be. She could be free. She could be loved and cared for and live a quiet peaceful life with Damian here on Fate Island.

The thought of going back to New York and giving in to her mother’s demands twisted her stomach with agony. It was unimaginable.

She wanted to call him or text him and ask him to come stand by her while she waited but knew this was a trial she had to get through on her own.

Then she would know she was ready to accept his claiming bite and become his mate. After that, they would stand together against whatever came.

Damian wasn’t the only one who was cursed—she had a curse of her own. While their love had brought them together through the mysterious workings of fate, they both still had to work through their own darkness by themselves. If she couldn’t face her mother, then how could she ever help Damian face his own darkness?

The same went for him. They needed to be strong on their own so that they could be strong for each other. It all made so much sense to her now, but that didn’t mean she didn’t wish he was with her, holding her and k!ssing her.

The evening before, so close to making love, had been so right. It was a preview of what was to come when they were able to spend their lives together. She wanted it so badly she could taste it. It was all she’d ever wanted, after all those years of loneliness, of following her mother’s orders, of being molded into somebody her mother wanted her to be.

Damian saw the true Venus. Beyond all the glamor and the training that her mother had thrust upon her. Damian saw directly into her heart, and she saw into his. There was no denying they were meant to be together. She would do whatever it took to ensure their future.

She was so nervous that after drinking her coffee, she walked out into the dim dawn light and watched the boats on the harbor.

Fate Island was a beautiful place. A place where all her dreams could come true. She watched the seagulls flying on the airstreams and she almost felt as if she could fly with them. Someday soon, this world would be hers.

She would be safe from worries. She would be home. After her walk, she went back to her hotel room and finally succumbed to sleep. By the time she woke up, her mother’s ferry was due to arrive any minute.

She quickly showered and changed and put on fresh makeup. The last thing she needed was her mom criticizing her unkempt appearance. Part of her wanted to arrive with bags under her eyes and wearing a sweatsuit, but she had a much more important purpose today than irritating her mother.

She looked at herself in the mirror and let out a deep breath. She knew she looked tired but there was no changing that now. She had to face what was in front of her.

Her phone buzzed with a text, and she picked it up, thinking it would be from her mom, but it was from Damian telling her he was there for her no matter what. She squeezed her eyes closed and let out a ragged breath before replying.

“I know you are. I can feel you in my heart.”

It was true. She felt him all around her. It was the best feeling in the world, and she could only imagine what it would be like once they were finally bonded together as mates.

That would have to wait until this was done. There was no going back now—she had to face her own curse and put it to rest. She had to be a hero and slay her own dragon, like a knight in a fairytale.

Sleeping Beauty was awake, and she would sleep no more.

She grabbed her purse, slung on her jacket, and headed out the door. As she watched the ferry draw closer to the harbor, her heart pounded in her chest, and she tried to calm down.

When the ferry docked and the passengers began to disembark, she bit her l!p watching each one, expecting to see her mother. When her mom’s figure finally emerged from the ferry, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile. Her mother immediately saw her. She headed right toward her, wearing a thick fur coat and pulling a suitcase behind her. She did not look happy.

“I see you had the decency to meet me on arrival,” her mother said. “I’ve arranged for a car to take us to this hotel you’re staying in. I hope the accommodations are sufficient.”

Venus wasn’t staying in the most luxurious hotel on the island. It was the same place all the other models and crew had booked. It was sufficient for business travelers, but not at all the kind of luxury her mother would expect.

“Maybe you’d like to stay somewhere else.”

“It’s where you wanted to have your vacation. If it’s good enough for you, then it should be good enough for me.”

A taxi arrived and the driver put her mother’s suitcase in the trunk. They both climbed inside. Venus gritted her teeth, not knowing what to say or do. She felt dumbstruck and overwhelmed by her mother’s presence. She felt herself sinking in on herself like she always did—as if she was still a little girl and her mother was the whole world.

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the panic. She was a grown woman, and she made her own choices. She reminded herself of that repeatedly. It didn’t matter that her mother was her manager and that she took a percentage of every contract that Venus obtained. Venus had her own money, her own bank account, and she had found the love of her life.

She could easily start over right here and now. She could cut ties with her mother completely and she would be free. Her mom might try to sue her for breach of contract, but she knew that she couldn’t win.

She believed that she had control and probably never imagined that Venus wouldn’t continue to be the dutiful daughter she’d always been. She expected her to marry some billionaire and give her billionaire grandchildren.

They arrived at the hotel and her mother scoffed at the accommodations the minute the driver parked. Venus cringed, wishing she could just escape without having to face the inevitable conversation.

She should have just told her back on the docks. Then the woman could’ve gotten back on the ferry and left. There was still time—the afternoon ferry left three hours after it arrived—but Venus felt caught up in her mother’s whirlwind. Just like she always was.

She clenched her fists, trying to remind herself to be strong. She had Damian’s heart and his strength and his courage behind her. They had to stay strong for each other. She had to face her own curse. Her own monster. Her own wicked witch.

Her mother checked into the hotel and booked a room right next door to Venus. Once she was settled in, and she informed her that she was going to rest before their reservation at the Captain’s Grotto.

It was the same restaurant that Damian had taken her to on their first date. She did not want to taint that memory with this conversation with her mother. She stood outside her mother’s hotel room, staring at the door.

She had to get this out now. She had to tell her the truth.

She was staying on the island, she was going to be with Damian, and she was never going back to New York. She wouldn’t let her mother control her ever again. She may even quit modeling for good and spend her life following her own passions. Passions she had yet to fully discover.

With Damian by her side, though, she knew she would. But she was stuck in place like a statue, unable to move or speak. Finally, she simply turned back to her own room and closed the door behind her, feeling like a fool.

“Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I tell her?”

She dropped her jacket on a chair and pulled her phone out of her purse. There were several missed texts from Damian, asking her how things were going.

“I don’t know if I can do it,” she typed out.

“Yes you can. You’re a strong, independent woman, Venus. You need to stand up for yourself. Don’t allow her to control you any longer.”

“I just don’t know how to do it.”

“I’m going to come be with you. We can face her together.”

“No. I have to do this by myself.”

“I don’t want to leave you to face this on your own. I feel like I should be there for you.”

“You are here for me.”

She set the phone down on the bed and stood. Squaring her shoulders, she went back to her mother’s door and knocked. Her mother finally answered, snapping at her as she opened the door, assuming that it was housekeeping.

“Venus? What are you doing? I told you I was napping.”

“I need to speak with you, Mother,” she said, brushing past her into the hotel room. Her mother closed the door and turned her head angrily.

“Can’t this wait until dinner?”

“I don’t want to go to the Captain’s Grotto with you tonight.”

“Why ever not? It’s the best restaurant in town. Even a hick town like this has one good restaurant.”

“Fate Island is a lovely place. It’s a place I intend to stay.”

“Stay? Have you lost your mind?”

“No. I’ve finally found it. After all these years, I didn’t think that I could, but here I am saying the words. Mother, I’m not going back to New York with you.”

“What’s gotten into you, Venus? Did you eat bad clams or something? Has this cold air rotted your brain?”

“I’m no longer going to allow you to control me. I’m a grown woman and I make my own decisions.”

“Is this about that shifter you were matched with on mate dot com?”

Venus gasped, her eyes widening. “How do you know about that?”

“You didn’t think that I would allow you to go gallivanting off to Alaska without tracking your phone?” her mother said with a wicked laugh.

“You’re insane.”

“Someone has to look after you. You’ve never been able to manage yourself. You have some talent and some beauty, I’ll give you that, but you are the most irresponsible girl on the planet. You need someone to tell you what to do, otherwise your life would be a complete disaster.”

“The only complete disaster in my life is you. You’ve used me like a puppet on a string. But it ends now. No more.”

“That shifter really has gotten into your brain. Have you let him touch you? Have you let him take your virtue? I should have known that the second I let you out of my sight you would let a dirty shifter take your greatest asset.”

Venus stood stunned silent. Her mother’s words cut like a knife. For the first time she was truly realizing the depths of her mother’s insanity.

“Damian is a good man. And he’s my mate. He loves me like no one ever has. I didn’t even know what love was until I met him, thanks to being raised by a woman like you. But now I do, and I will be his mate, his wife, and the mother of his children here on Fate Island, where I can finally have a home.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, throwing your life away like this. You could’ve had everything. I taught you everything, I trained you, and this is how you repay me? You ungrateful little bitch.”

Her mother raised her hand and slapped her across the face. Venus gasped, clutching her cheek in absolute shock. Her mother had always controlled her with her words, but she’d never struck her before.

“It’s over, Mother. You lost. Take the money that you got out of me and go live the rest of your miserable life. You will never ever get anything more from me as long as I live.”

“This isn’t over, Venus,” her mother growled.

“Yes, it is. I suggest you get on the next ferry out of town, because I’m calling my mate and he is a dark, wild wolf. He’s a dangerous man, and I don’t know what he’d do if he learned that you struck me.”

“Are you threatening me?” her mother asked, shock written across her face.

Venus stepped forward menacingly.

“And what if I am? What would you do about it?”

Her mother gasped, her mouth hanging open comically. The woman was at a loss for words for the first time in Venus’s life. Venus smirked, turned on her heel, and slid out the door.

Venus covered her mouth as she laughed, making her way back to her own room. She picked up her cellphone and tapped out a message to Damian. “I did it!!!”

“I knew you could.”

“We need to get her on the ferry out of town. I don’t want her on Fate Island for a minute more.”

“I’m gathering my posse. We are here for you, Venus.”

Half an hour later, six wolves, two bears and a witch were at Venus’s door. All of Damian’s brothers, Luna, and the Doolittles had come to support her. She knocked on her mother’s door and the woman answered.

“I knew you’d come to your senses,” she said smugly. Her face fell when she saw the assembled group on the other side.

“It’s time for you to leave, ma’am,” Rex said, a wave of his alpha power washing over everyone and slamming Venus’s mother in the chest.

“What is the meaning of this?” she snapped.

“We’re going to escort you to the next ferry out of town, and you’re never coming back. You will never ever bother Venus again,” Damian said.

“You. You’re the one who twisted my daughter’s mind against me.”

“No one needed to convince Venus that you were an evil witch,” Damian said. “You did that on your own.”

The group slid through the door and grabbed Venus’s mother’s things, throwing the few items she’d unpacked back into her bags. She grumbled all the way back to the docks, but the power of the group was too much for her to stand against. She threatened to call the police, but the Doolittles just laughed at her.

“Every cop on the force is a shifter. No one’s going to do anything to defend you. We all know the truth. You are going to get off our island right now,” said Rebecca.

Venus’s mother grabbed her rolling suitcase and grumbled angrily as she charged up the ramp onto the ferry. Venus fell into Damian’s arms, and he held her tight.

The group watched the ferry disappear into the sunset. She looked up into her mate’s eyes in the fading light of day, knowing that these wonderful people had her back.