Cursed (The Order of the Wolf)

by Angela Addams

  “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.”

  “David was waiting in the parking lot by the time we hit the edge of the forest. He was motioning us in the direction of your room when the howling started.” Mayhem chuckled. “Good thing there weren’t any humans milling around.”

  Raven nodded. They’d had a lot of luck on their side the day before and it’d been a mess getting away. Once the witches were gone, it was still mid-afternoon. The whole pack was too hyped up on adrenaline and trapped in wolf form until sunset. They were forced to run alongside the SUV, hiding as best they could in the brush along the highway on their way to the airport, unwilling to let Darcy out of their sight. They’d cleared the state a few hours later in a private jet and put the threat of any Hunters and those witches very far behind them.

  “Yeah, we were lucky, that’s….” The scent of Darcy fresh out of the shower wafted from behind Raven, and left him grasping for words. He craned his head in that direction, the urge to go to her overpowering the attention of his alpha, a major break in rank. His wolf bristled at the divide. He flicked his head back around, fighting to stay focused.

  Mayhem chuckled again. “You’d better go, Rav, I wouldn’t dream of keeping you from your mate.”

  Raven put his drink down and jumped from his seat with a quick nod. “Thanks, man.”

  He bolted into the bedroom and shut the double doors.

  Darcy stood naked, still glistening from the shower. With a smile, she trailed a finger between her breasts, down to her navel. His gaze was riveted, willing that finger to keep going.

  “I thought you might want to lick me dry.”

  He bit his bottom lip, wanting to taste her so bad it hurt. “Lick you wet?”

  Darcy moaned as she slipped her fingers to her pussy. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “I need to mark you properly.” His voice was thick, his cock hard.

  She rolled her head to the side and lifted her fingers to her neck. “Here?” she teased. She brushed her other hand over her budding nipples. “Or here?”

  He growled and stalked toward her, hand on his cock, stroking himself through his jeans. She giggled and darted away, only making it a few feet before he was on her, taking her down to the floor in his arms as he kissed her neck, her collarbone and finally, as she landed on top of him, her perfect, pert little nipple. He sank his fangs in there, just as she’d offered, pulling a gasp quickly followed by a moan from her lips.

  He took his mouth away and smiled up at her. “You asked for it, sweets.”

  She stared at him, her eyes filled with all kinds of emotion. Burning lust, ownership, something else.

  “You’re so beautiful, my Darcy.” He reached up to cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her bottom lip. “The curse wasn’t real.”

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “What I feel for you…”

  Darcy smiled, kissed his thumb. “My beastie, this is just the beginning.”

  My beastie. Raven liked that. His heart felt full to the point of breaking open, spilling out all these words that he’d never said before. Tender words only Darcy deserved to hear. “I feel…”

  She placed two fingers against his lips, shushing him. “Just the beginning.”

  She helped him out of his clothes, pushed his shoulders back down when he started to move up, and kissed him fiercely before gripping his cock in both hands and easing herself on to him.

  He groaned as her tight, wet pussy sheathed him completely. Moaned long and hard when she stared to move, rolling her hips, grinding her clit against him. He reached up to cup her breasts, flicking her nipples, teasing them until they were impossibly hard.

  She leaned forward and kissed him again, her tongue tracing along his bottom lip before he opened up and let her in. Her kiss was as intoxicating as her pussy, making him dizzy with desire, his climax mounting with each stroke in his mouth and along his cock.

  All thoughts, all words were gone, dissolved into his body as he poured his feelings into her. Love. What he felt for Darcy was love. She pulled away and offered her throat, the delicate skin still unmarked and he knew she felt the same for him.

  He growled, his cock exploded. Her pussy clenched as he gripped the back of her head, brought her to his fangs and dug them in, making her his completely.

  Mine.

  About the Author

  Every day is Halloween for author Angela Addams. Enthralled by the paranormal at an early age, Angela spends most of her time thinking up new story ideas that involve supernatural creatures in everyday situations. She believes that the written word is an amazing tool for crafting the most erotic of scenarios.

  She is an avid tattoo collector, a t
otal book hoarder and loves anything covered in chocolate…except for bugs.

  She lives in Ontario, Canada in an old, creaky house, with her loving husband and children.

  To find out more about Angela, visit www.angelaaddams.com.

  Don’t forget to follow her on Twitter (www.twitter.com/angelaaddams).

  And you can catch up with her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Addams-Author/470636966318515

  Look for these titles by Angela Addams

  Coming Soon:

  Wolf Slayer

  Wolves’ Bane

  Claiming your mate can be murder…

  Moon Kissed

  © 2014 Aline Hunter

  Bitter memories have kept Wolfe Trevlian away from New Orleans, but an alpha’s call for help has him reluctantly returning to the Big Easy. His tasks sound simple: Keep an eye on things, and initiate a truce with the pack’s enemies by killing a local pest.

  His target turns out to be the last creature on earth who should be his mate. His instincts insist otherwise, even after she fills his hide with silver and warns him to leave her alone.

  Arden Moran looked into the mind of her dying friend and saw the face of a killer. Vengeance has brought this half human, half vampire to New Orleans. Nothing will stop her from nailing her target, including the bossy, sexy werewolf who stirs both fear and desire within her.

  Wolfe’s never been one to back down from a challenge, but saving, and then claiming, his female is easier said than done. Particularly with a mate who’s pissed off every supernatural creature on the planet—and is walking around with a price on her head.

  Warning: Contains a reluctant substitute alpha who didn’t sign up for complications, a wary half-breed vampire who’d love to take “no” for an answer—especially since it’s her “no”—and friends who refuse to interfere, figuring it’s more fun to sit back and watch the fur fly.