I groaned. “Okay, okay, first of all, I’m sorry. You’re right. We’ve all been keeping things from each other.”
“So, we’re even?” Idrissa asked, brightening.
I glared at her, but I couldn’t bring myself to hold it. Finally, I sighed and nodded. “We’re even.”
“Oh hell naw we’re not,” Isaac said. “Not until you tell us about Kai’s giant—”
The front door opened again, and we all turned to look at Kai as he stepped inside. My expression turned to horror as I tried to decipher whether or not he’d heard Isaac’s comment. But his face held only confusion as he glanced at the three of us.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said quickly.
Isaac snorted.
Idrissa smirked. “Your girl here was just bringing us into the circle of trust,” she said.
Kai’s confusion mixed with wariness. He looked at me. “Should I be worried?”
“They know about my mark,” I said quietly.
His eyes widened in shock that turned quickly to distrust.
Idrissa held up a hand. “We’re not going to tell anyone.”
“Yeah, we’ve known for a few days and haven’t said a word.”
“A few days?” I repeated.
“That first day when you trained at the house,” Idrissa said. “Your shirt came up.”
Dammit. I knew it.
“You didn’t say anything,” I said.
She shared a look with Isaac. “We wanted to make sure it meant what we thought it meant,” she said. “Before we said anything.”
“And how exactly did you make sure?” Kai asked in a warning tone.
“Relax, we didn’t go blabbing to the pack,” Isaac assured him.
I relaxed.
Kai didn’t.
“My grandmother kept a journal.” Idrissa held up a small book. I hadn’t even noticed it in her hand before. “She recorded some stuff from right after the curse was discovered. It mentions the wolf mark as a symbol of the curse itself—and the mark of the curse breaker. There’s a whole section on a prophecy or whatever.”
She held it out to me, and I took it, opening to the page she’d left bookmarked. Kai stepped closer to read it over my shoulder, and I had to remind myself to focus on the words on the page rather than the delicious way he smelled.
The handwritten words were scrawled in cursive that cut across the page like a blade.
“She met a hexerei,” I said in surprise.
I looked up, and Idrissa nodded. “Met isn’t the right word exactly. She captured him. Tortured him. And recorded what he told her.”
I shuddered as I read on because Idrissa was right. And the woman detailed the torture. I skimmed over those parts until I got to the section where she’d written what the prisoner had told her.
“It says the curse can only be broken by the one bearing the mark and that a sacrifice must be made.” I kept reading, nerves tightening my belly. “Death over a life. Life over a death. In the end, a wolf and a demon must choose each other.”
I turned the page, hoping for more, but that was it.
I looked at Idrissa. “What does that mean?”
“No fucking clue,” she admitted.
“Hexerei were referred to as demons,” Kai said grimly.
I stared at him.
“I think you have to either kiss or kill a hexerei,” Isaac said. “Or maybe both.”
“Great,” I said, handing the journal back to Idrissa. “Ending the curse involves a hexerei. Possibly killing one.” I glanced at Isaac. “Possibly kissing one.”
He shrugged. “It’s just a theory.”
I could feel the murdery vibes radiating from Kai. I had a feeling if I kissed a hexerei, they’d end up dead anyway.
“We need more information,” Kai said.
Behind him, the door opened, and Drake walked in.
“What have we here?” he asked, giving us all a curious look.
“Morning,” I called back a little too brightly. “Just sharing these donuts with my friends,” I said pointedly.
He didn’t even react to my insult as he squeezed past us toward the garage, and I waited until he’d shut the door behind him to speak again.
“I have to get to work,” I said. “Customers will show up soon.”
“We shouldn’t talk about this here anyway,” Idrissa said.
She looked at Kai expectantly.
“My place,” he said. “Tomorrow. After work.”
“Why not tonight?” Idrissa said.
I could feel her impatience, but Kai shook his head. He turned to me, his eyes gleaming in a way that made my knees weak.
“Tonight, Ash and I have plans,” he said simply.
Idrissa nodded. “Fine,” she said. “Tomorrow.”
“Plans,” Isaac said, pointedly raising his eyebrows at me. “Okay then.” He looked way too googly-eyed for Kai’s words not to mean something. I kept quiet, wondering what sort of plans he had in mind exactly.
“We’ll be there,” Idrissa said, shoving her brother and giving him a look. And then to me, “I’m glad we talked.”
“Me too. See you tomorrow.”
When the twins were gone, I looked at Kai. “They can help.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you look pissed?” I asked, careful to keep my voice low. The other techs had begun to arrive, and soon we’d have to put this conversation away, but I couldn’t leave it alone until I knew where we stood. Especially after last night.
“I’m just thinking.”
“About last night?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, I can’t not think about that.” A slow smile spread, and my stomach filled with butterflies.
“What exactly do you think about it?” I asked carefully.
His gaze sharpened, and he leaned in until his sexy eyes were just inches from my face, and his nose brushed mine. “I think you look beautiful today, and if these people weren’t here, I’d take you in the back and show you how glad I am to see you.”
I bit my lip, trying, and failing, to hide just how much I wanted that exact scenario. “I meant about the twins. And the curse. And the prophecy.”
“Oh.” He straightened, the frown from before firmly back in place. “I think it sounds dangerous, and I’m not interested in putting you at risk.”
“Is that all?”
“Pretty much, why?”
I smiled. “Your thinking face looks pissed.”
“Ha.” He leaned in and stole a kiss, which, in turn, stole my breath. “Your surprised face looks turned on,” he whispered and then walked past me and into the garage. “See you tonight,” he called over his shoulder.
Asshole.
He wasn’t wrong, though. I was definitely turned on.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kai found me after closing time and motioned for me to follow him out the back. He’d pulled a baseball cap low on his head, and I started to ask about his terrible excuse for a disguise, but he held a finger to his lips. Silently, we wove our way through the empty garage and out the door. His motorcycle was parked right outside, but he walked past it and over to Oscar’s truck.
“Get in,” he said in a hushed voice, opening the passenger door.
I kept my mouth shut and did just that.
He came around and slid into the driver’s seat, starting the engine and rolling out of the lot without a word.
We passed the front of the shop and then turned onto the main road. I watched while his gaze scanned the street.
“Okay,” he said when we’d rumbled our way out of town and onto the back road that led further up the mountain. “All clear.”
I exhaled.
“Does Oscar know we took his truck?” I asked. “Or are we adding grand larceny to our list of crimes?”
“There’s a list?” he asked.
“Well, you and me being together right now feels pretty forbidden so, yeah.” I shrugged. “I mean, it’s no
t illegal but—pretty sure the pack would string us up.”
“Good point.” He winced. “I don’t mean to force you to hide, but I wanted to spend time with you, and I don’t think we’re ready for having targets painted on our backs for it.”
“It’s fine. But your terrible attempt at a disguise is starting to make me question the whole badass criminal vibe you have going on.”
“Hey. I’ll have you know I’m a highly respected crime lord around these parts.”
“Right,” I said, drawing out the word.
“Fine. Busted. All my other disguises are at the dry cleaners. Robbing banks is messy business.”
I laughed, my body literally tingling at the devious grin he shot me. Suddenly, I was very aware of the space between us and how, even with the distance across the bench seat, I could feel Kai’s body heat.
“Where are we going exactly?”
He lifted a brow. “You’ll see.”
For the next twenty minutes, I simply enjoyed the view. The mountains rose around us closer and closer until the incline became steep and the truck’s engine stuttered as Kai drove us upward. Finally, he slowed, and we turned onto a gravel road unmarked by any signs.
“A remote location where no one will find me. Hmm. Should I be worried?” I joked.
But underneath the humor, my heart pounded. I trusted Kai. More than I’d trusted anyone in a long time. And that alone felt scary. Physically, I knew I was safe with him. But emotionally—that was a different story.
“Listen, don’t laugh,” he began, and now he looked nervous.
“Why would I laugh?”
“Because I wanted to take you somewhere special, but it’s not like we can walk into town and have a fancy dinner.”
“I don’t need fancy,” I said.
“I know. But you deserve it.”
My heart warmed at that.
For a moment, our eyes held, and my heart stuttered for completely different reasons. The fear was gone. In its place was a yearning I’d never felt for anyone or anything—until now.
I wanted Kai.
I wanted to trust him. To give him parts of me I’d never offered to anyone else. And never would again. This was it, I realized. Whether supernatural fate or human love or something in between, it was Kai or no one.
Damn.
No pressure.
“I still don’t understand why you think I’m going to laugh at you,” I said.
His grin was crooked now. Sheepish.
“Because this place is special,” he insisted. “To me, anyway. It’s not exactly romantic though.”
“Now, I’m intrigued.”
He glanced over at me then back at the road. “Take a look.”
I looked up, and my eyes caught on the glint of metal against the setting sun. The road had leveled out here, and the gravel became mostly dirt. The trees that had pressed in around us fell away to reveal more open space.
We were here.
Wherever here was.
Above our heads, a rusted metal sign read Crater’s in faded lettering. We passed underneath it, and I heard the squeaking it made as it moved in the wind. I glanced to my left as we passed by piles of metal scrap and what was left of a vintage Chevy pickup. Just inside a chain-link fence, we parked beside a pile of rotting tires, and Kai cut the engine. I pushed open my door and hopped out onto the dirt, my boots kicking up a cloud of dust as I rounded the hood to where Kai waited for me.
“What is this place?” I asked, looking around at the graveyard full of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even a few boats crammed together inside the chain link fence we’d come through earlier.
“A junkyard,” he admitted.
“I see that,” I said, more amused than anything. “But why?”
He took a deep breath, and I could tell already that this place really did mean something to him. And so did this moment.
“Crater was a friend of my dad’s. I’ve known him since I was a baby.” He looked away, staring out over the sea of broken cars. His voice dropped low as he went on. “When my dad’s drinking got bad, especially once my wolf emerged, I’d run off and come up here and hang with Crater.”
A shadow fell across his expression, his mouth twisting as some memory dug itself to the surface. “We’d sit and play cards. Or he’d teach me how to work on whatever he was fixing up at the time. Sometimes, we’d just sit and listen to the radio.” He shrugged, his expression clearing as he looked at me again. “It was a safe space. And…well, I know you’ve been through a lot. And I thought you could use a safe space too. As glamorous as it is,” he added with a smile.
“Kai,” I began, but a booming voice interrupted me.
“Stoner, is that you?”
I turned to see a tank of a human walking toward us, his wide frame bulldozing its way past the car corpses and metal heaps. Okay, human was the wrong word. If I hadn’t believed in supernatural creatures before, I would now. Just looking at this guy told me there was more to him than normal human DNA.
Kai grinned at him. “Crater. What’s up, man?”
They did some sort of handshake-hug thing and then Crater turned to me. “Hi there, I’m Crater Row. You must be Ash.”
“My reputation precedes me,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Ah, don’t worry too much about it.” He winked. “Kai’s pining is his own problem.”
“Hey,” Kai protested. “I bring one girl up here and you turn on me.”
I laughed.
Crater was a monster of a guy—definitely not someone I’d want to meet alone in an alley, but I liked him already.
“One girl, huh?” I teased. “You sure you don’t bring all your girlfriends up here to impress them?”
Crater laughed and clapped Kai hard on the back. “She’s quick; I like her.”
Kai glared at him.
“Relax, I meant as a friend,” Crater added.
I hid a smile. It was funny, watching a guy like that back down to Kai.
Crater looked at me. “If you’re here to visit your car, there’s not much left of her, I’m afraid.”
“My car? Oh, right. You’re the one who towed it into town for me. Thanks again for that.”
“No thanks needed. I didn’t get much for the scrap metal, but Oscar said he’d pass it along.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Well, I’ll leave you alone to give her the grand tour,” Crater told Kai.
“You sure?” Kai asked. “You could join us. Give her the full experience.”
“Nah. I’m headed out. Hunting trip.” His eyes flicked to me, and I had a feeling his hunting wouldn’t be done in human form. “Just lock up when you’re done.”
“Will do,” Kai told him. “Thanks.”
“Nice to meet you,” Crater called to me. He waved as he walked to the vintage Chevy and got in. I watched him start it up, surprised to see the thing ran.
“Well, I guess we have the place to ourselves,” Kai said as Crater drove off.
I grinned at him. “See? Romantic after all.”
“Obviously.”
“Are you going to show me around or what? I want the full experience.”
I winked, a little shocked at myself. But Kai’s answering grin made it worth it.
“Babe,” he said, leaning in and brushing his lips over mine. “I promise that’s exactly what you’re going to get.”
I shivered, and he leaned away again, grabbing my hand and tugging me along. “Come on. I’ll show you where the magic happens.”
I laughed and let him lead me into a junkyard.
Thirty minutes later, I’d visited “motorcycle mountain, V-8 Valley, and pickup parkway,” as each section was apparently named. We’d even spotted what was left of my car which made me emotional in a way I hadn’t expected. But Kai was there, knowingly taking my hand and squeezing it in silent comfort. It meant a lot more than I knew how to put into words.
“I never knew junkyards were so organized,” I said as w
e sat inside Crater’s small trailer of an office.
Kai held out a bottle of water he snagged from the fridge.
“It wasn’t always,” he said. “I think I came up with the different names when I was like ten. And then Crater just indulged me.”
I stared at him incredulously. “You mean he just…moved everything around to accommodate?”
“Yeah, basically.”
I shook my head. “Why do I picture him just picking up entire cars and tossing them into their corresponding piles?”
He snorted. “Yeah, the guy’s a beast. But relax, there’s a crane out back. I mean, we’re wolf shifters, not Superman.”
“I was always partial to Spiderman anyway,” I said. “Must be the animal lover in me.”
He laughed.
I looked around, noting the vinyl wall paneling and thin as hell windows. It reminded me so much of the house I’d left behind. Not a home. Too temporary and toxic for that. But it was the last place I’d been with my father. The memory brought tears to my eyes.
“What are you thinking about?”
I blinked, forcing myself to refocus. Kai stood watching me curiously. I sighed.
“My dad,” I admitted.
“Do you miss home?” he asked.
I tried to figure out how to answer that. “This trailer reminds me of the one we lived in before— It was the last place we lived,” I finished.
“You lived in a lot of places?”
“Yeah,” I said with a laugh that contained zero humor. “You could say that.” I looked up to see if there was judgment in him. But there was only curiosity. And caring. “Fourteen places in five years,” I said. “Or something like that. I lost count.”
He walked over to perch on the edge of Crater’s desk right in front of where I sat in the wheeled chair. Our eyes met.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I ever said that before.”
“I’m sorry about yours too.”
“Don’t be. My dad’s better off now. Hell, we both are.” He cocked his head. “You miss the trailer?”
“I miss my dad. But I lost the version I miss a long time ago.”
Wolf Cursed (Lone Wolf Series Book 1) Page 20