Cursed (The Curse Trilogy Book 1)

by Nicole Marsh

  I pull out my phone and send it to Vlad instead. Typing out SOS with several emojis.

  He replies immediately, the three dots indicating that he’s typing appearing then quickly replaced with words. Is it the Council? Are you in Trouble?

  I use my left thumb to quickly type out a response, while pretending to examine the bamboo knitting needle that Glenna is holding out to me. I should’ve known he would immediately worry that it was a wolf issue, instead of a knitting related one. Worse. Knitting Expo. Send Help ASAP.

  His response is several laughing face emojis and I let out a groan, realizing he isn’t going to be any help. He confirms this assumption when he replies again right after. Could be worse. Bring back some good snacks.

  By the time we’ve wound our way through the first two rows of booths, each hosting about twenty vendors, my feet are pulsing. The hard concrete floor can be felt through my sandals and I wish I knew I would be attending the expo today, so I could’ve chosen better footwear when I got dressed this morning. I don’t recall anyone telling me a date for us to attend the event, or maybe with everything else, I just pushed it out of my mind.

  I feel like I’m being a whiny brat. I know plenty of people enjoy the events in Florence, like the expo, but personally, I don’t. I wish I could just return to work. Go back to sharing secretive glances with Vlad instead of avoiding aggressive old people jabbing the air with knitting needles under the pretense of testing them before purchase.

  “I’m gonna go grab a lemonade,” I shout to Glenna, spotting a stand down next row with a giant lemon on the top. She waves a hand over her shoulder, already shoving her way ahead of a few geriatrics to enter the next booth she’s set her sights on.

  The queue for the lemonade stand is pretty long when I finally reach it. The amount of people standing there doesn’t deter me, it probably means that the drink is delicious. Plus the wait will give me a break from having to analyze the merits of alpaca versus wool yarn with Glenna.

  Honestly I’ve been staring at yarn, feeling different swatches presented to me, for well over an hour and I still can’t tell a notable difference. There isn’t a future for me as a professional yarn analyst, I guess.

  While in line, I use the time to scroll through my social media, tuning out the chaos around me as I catch up on what’s happening in the lives of people that I know. The queue moves pretty quickly and within ten minutes I’m holding a deliciously refreshing strawberry lemonade. It was definitely worth the wait.

  Leaving the line, I look up and down the row for Glenna, while standing in the center of the row like a median in the human traffic. I think I spot her down the row a bit towards the emergency exit. Less people are down that way, so I weave my way down the aisle, grateful when I get to the point where there’s more space to walk without stepping on someone or being stepped on by either toes or a walker.

  I’m almost to the last booth, peeking my head into each seeking out Glenna as I pass. I have my head around the corner of the last fabric tent, when screams erupt throughout the festival. Turning, I see a wolf covered in brown fur bounding around the corner, down the opposing, crowded end of the aisle I’m in.

  People are leaping out of the way or ducking into the tent-covered vendor booths, attempting to avoid the beast on his rampage. I start to back towards the exit door and the wolf’s eyes lock on me. He bares his teeth and lets out a deep growl I can hear, even with the distance and the screams of other attendees still echoing around me. It’s as if seeing me gives him a boost of speed and he barrels down the aisle way, straight at me.

  I turn around, scrambling towards the exit door, fear making my movements sloppy, causing me to stumble. Behind me I hear the wolf’s feet bounding across the floor, closing in and I know that I’m not going to make it to the door in time. I curl in myself down on the floor, trying to make as small of a target as possible, preparing for the worst.

  The growling ceases unexpectedly. Then a yip sounds out behind me. Uncovering my head, I risk a peek behind me and my eyes widen in shock. The golden wolf from the Community Hall, the one that was brought out by the Council to be cured, is now standing between me and the wolf with the brown fur.

  My golden wolf is still wearing the metal muzzle from the other day, dangling from the chains are two metal circles, with large pieces of plaster attached. It looks like the wolf broke off pieces of the wall attached to the chains during his escape.

  I don’t have time to wonder how, or why the golden wolf broke free and ended up at the expo. The brown wolf is lunging and snarling at my golden one, whose snout is still covered by his muzzle. The golden wolf rears up and slashes out with his front claws, gashing across the side of the brown wolf as he lunges. Blood drips down the wolf’s fur onto the floor.

  The brown wolf makes a move like he’s going to charge again until my golden wolf gives a low, deep growl, causing the brown wolf to cow down and whimper. He stands up to his full height, backing off a few steps before turning around and hightailing it from sight.

  The golden wolf stands watch until he’s completely gone, before turning to me and nuzzling my side with his snout. I reach out from my position on the floor to pat his neck a few times and he lets out a chuffing noise. “Thank you,” I tell him.

  I try to act outwardly calm, but a million questions pop into my brain. The first and foremost being, who are you? Closely followed by, how did you know I needed to be saved? After a few more nuzzles the golden wolf also runs and disappears from sight, headed the same direction as the other.

  Standing, I watch as people start to emerge from the tents down the aisles in front of me. A heavy, somber silence has blanketed the expo as people begin to help each other up and try to re-erect tents that were crushed during the incident.

  Glenna drives us back to the Daily following the wolf attack. The Expo officials came out and announced the even was shut down to give the vendors time to repair the damages done by the random wolves running through. It’s estimated the booths won’t be ready reopen until next week, postponing the event for a few additional days.

  It’s probably one of the most bizarre incidents to occur in Florence and Glenna can’t stop raving about how this is: “The greatest story she’s had to a chance to be involved in.” and how she “Can’t wait to publish the article about what happened and why the expo has been postponed.” She’s said both of these phrases at least fifteen times in the short drive back to the Daily.

  I’m too shaken to respond to her chatter, I stick with nodding my head occasionally to show I’m listening. The adrenaline has finally seeped out of my body and I’m exhausted with even more questions than before. Suddenly Glenna stops talking and the silence seems deafening.

  I look up and see that we’re at a stoplight and her gaze has moved to focus on my form, slumped low into her passenger seat. Her faces looks like she puzzling something over, then she finally says, “Don’t you think it’s weird that the brown wolf became so focused on you?”

  Yes I do, but to her I respond, “I was standing directly in his path and I panicked, bolting for the exit door. I think I activated his prey drive.” My voice is shaky and breathless, revealing how I feel about the day without having to speak the words aloud.

  Glenna contemplates my answer before she nods her head vigorously. “It’s unlucky that you caught that wolf’s attention, but at least that other one stepped in and made it so none of the people at the Expo got hurt. Did you see that he had chains attached to him though? I wonder if the pair escaped from the zoo, or if they’re someone’s pets…”

  I tune out Glenna, typing out a quick message to Vlad. I need to talk to him about what happened. It seems as if things keep escalating and we still don’t have any answers. My message is brief and to the point. On my way back from Expo. Meet in Parking lot. 10 min.

  17

  The Date

  Mirabella

  Vlad is already waiting outside in the parking lot of the Daily when Glenna pulls in. I hop o
ut of the car after she parks. She’s slower to get out than she was to get to the expo this morning. I gesture over to Vlad, “I’m just going to make sure he’s okay. You can head inside without me.”

  She nods and starts slowly making her way back into the Daily, moving at the pace of a slug. I watch as she opens the door, waiting until she’s inside before rushing over to Vlad. I throw my arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. He instantly reciprocates, wrapping his hands around my lower back in return and squeezing me tightly.

  “A wolf rampaged through the expo, thenthegoldenwolffromthecouncilcametorescueme.” Bursts out of my mouth, while I’m still pressed tightly against him. The words all tumble together in my haste to get them out.

  Vlad pulls his head back and stares down at me, keeping his hands wrapped low around my waist. “Are you Okay?” His eyes run down my body, or the parts that he can see due to our close proximity. “Did they hurt you at all?”

  I shake my head in a firm no. “The golden wolf… He still had on the metal muzzle.” I pause, “It looks like he ripped out part of the wall to come after the brown wolf. To come to the expo… and to save me.”

  Vlad rubs his palms up and down my arms in a soothing motion. “There’s still so much for us to learn, we’ll head to your grandmother’s tonight and start looking through the books she left for us. We’ll figure this out, together, Little Mir.”

  We’re interrupted as a throat clears loudly behind us. Vlad’s head shoots up and a scowl instantly mars his face. I turn slowly, detaching Vlad’s arms, suspecting I know the person to invoke such a negative reaction, so quickly, from the man holding me.

  Marc stands behind us, he looks a bit bashful, like he walked in on us making out versus catching us in a hug. And having a private conversation in the parking lot. God, why did I have to think about making out with Vlad? My cheeks heat as I follow the line of thought, imagining his warm plump lips moving against mine.

  Another throat clearing noise snaps me out of my Vlad kissing fantasy. Marc finally speaks, without moving any closer to the two of us, “Mira, I uh heard about what happened at the expo, just now, from Glenna. I wanted to come and check if you were alright.”

  I glance back at Vlad, feeling torn. Do I go to Marc and thank him for checking on me? It’s really a sweet gesture and I think that he and I have been on what would be classified as two dates at this point, both initiated by me.

  Marc’s a very thoughtful man, but for whatever reason, when I look at him, I don’t feel the same pull that I do to Vlad. I’m always aware of Vlad when he enters a room, what he’s doing and who he’s talking to.

  With Marc it’s different, he’s sweet and personable. I enjoy talking to him and I’m comfortable around him, but there isn’t the same spark or magnetism. I frown as I come to the realization that over the past week I’ve been developing a massive crush on Vlad and I have no idea how he feels about me.

  Opening my mouth to respond, I’m cut off by an abrasive Vlad. “Yeah man, she’s fine. I’m just about to drive her home.”

  Marc narrows his eyes, before cutting his gaze to me. “Would you rather I drive you home? I can also pick you up in the morning to bring you to work tomorrow, you’re on my way here.”

  Anger blooms across Vlad’s face. Placing my hand against his chest to ground him and keep his wolf at bay, I respond to Marc. “I’m fine riding with Vlad, I can have my mom bring me back in the morning. My parents have been asking about Vlad’s family for a few days now anyways.” I shrug my shoulders like I don’t have a care in the world and I’m not outright lying to my boss. “You should probably help Glenna today anyways, that expo story is something you’re going to want to post on the front page tomorrow.”

  Marc’s eyes dance between my strained smile and Vlad’s angry face. He turns back to the Daily with a small audible huff, but doesn’t protest any further. I almost feel a bit sad watching him head inside. Whatever relationship he and I were building towards definitely just became a bit more strained, and I really like Marc. I’m just not sure if it’s in the same way that I definitely like Vlad.

  Tabling my thoughts for later, I turn around as Vlad tugs on my arm. Facing him, I whisper, “Let’s go back to Grans.”

  The next few hours we pour over the texts, each of us skimming two books from cover to cover, quickly flitting over the information that didn’t involve curses or wolves. By the time we leave the sun has long since set and I’m hungry and exhausted. I wish we could say that our efforts produced something enlightening, worthy of the time that we spent there, but all four of the texts were put to the side without a single bookmark denoting relevance.

  Vlad holds the passenger door of his car open for me and I slide inside. He surprises me when he turns the car to head into town, instead of towards our houses, once we hit the Main Road. He pulls into the nearly empty parking lot of the Diner.

  Despite my less than stellar last experience here, I decide not to protest because my stomach is starting to cramp with hunger pains. We walk up the stairs together and choose a small booth near the wall. The same waitress as the other night, Cindy, comes to our table to take our orders.

  Not long after, plates piled high with greasy food arrive at our table and we both dig in. I moan around the first bite of my food. The delicious flavors wash over my tongue, making my hunger flare even more.

  Vlad devours his entire plate before I’ve even finished my burger. He reaches his fingers out to start stealing fries from my plate. I playfully swat his hands away, but he just doubles his efforts. Soon my food is abandoned for a game, as we slap at each other’s hand across the table while laughing.

  When we finally stop, Vlad’s face turns serious. “Let me take you out tomorrow,” he says.

  The deep timber of his voice makes my stomach flip flop. I’ve got it bad. I’m so focused on my crush, it takes a few minutes for me to understand his words and when I do, my brow scrunches in confusion. “Aren’t we out right now?” I ask in response.

  Vlad shakes his head. “No, I want to take you to a nice dinner, tomorrow. One where we dress up and eat at a real restaurant. I want to take you on a real date, little Mir.”

  I wake up the next morning with a huge smile. Vlad wants to take me on a date. Tonight. My first real date.

  My excitement turns to panic, the more I think about my plans for the evening. What do I wear on my first date?

  I wish that I could call Sylvia, this seems like the time for a best friend to help. But what if she betrays my trust again? She’s proven she can keep a secret so well, which would be good, if I weren’t the one she was keeping secrets from. I don’t know if I’m ready to trust her yet.

  With a deep breath, I decide to try. Life is about taking chances on people and hoping they don’t disappoint you. Sylvia messed up, but it doesn’t mean she’s a terrible person. Maybe just a good one that made a bad decision.

  Before I can change my mind, I shoot her a text message with one word: SOS.

  Immediately after I hit the green send button, my phone begins to ring. Sylvia’s name flashes across the screen.

  “’Let’s never fight again,” she begs, as soon as I answer.

  “Deal,” I reply, without hesitation. This is my best friend, my number one supporter, my ride or die. Hearing her voice makes me realize how much I’ve missed her, even though it hasn’t been that long since our last conversation.

  “Now I need your help.” I pause wanting her to really listen to what I say next, “I have a date.”

  She squeals loudly into my ear and I swear I can hear her jumping up and down over the phone. “When, where, with whom?” She shouts out her questions in quick succession.

  I laugh, enjoying her enthusiasm. I’ve really missed her. Not just recently, but over this entire summer. It’s the first time we’ve spent so many days apart since I’ve met her.

  “It’s tonight after work, at the Italian restaurant, with Vlad. But I don’t know what to wear… help!”
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br />   Sylvia “hmms” in response. I wait her out, knowing something good is coming next. “I’ll come over at four! I have the perfect dress in my closet.”

  My day at work passes in slow motion, I keep glancing at the clock, waiting for time to move faster so I can leave. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vlad checking the clock across the room at least as many times as I do. I’m working with Glenna today and she laughs at my eagerness to leave work, not knowing the reason, just thinking it’s because I’m young.

  When work finally ends, we both jump up from our desks and rush out to the parking lot. I try to run past Vlad but he pushes his long legs harder and quickly outpaces me. We’re both laughing and out of breath when we reach our cars. I wave to him before hopping in and zooming off to my house, to see Sylvia and the outfit that she has in mind for me.

  She’s waiting inside my room when I arrive, lounging on my bed and yelling random things at her phone as she scrolls. A feeling of nostalgia wells inside me, for our high school years. I couldn’t wait for them to be over, but now I almost miss them. At the very least, I miss spending all of my time with my bestie.

  I walk over to her and wrap an arm around her body, squeezing as tightly as I can while I’m standing and she’s laying. Sylvia looks up at me and smiles. “Hey, the dress is hanging off your armoire.”

  Looking over, I see a long flowing black dress, with thin straps and a gauzy overlay, hanging off a hanger. It looks beautiful and sophisticated. “I love it!” I gasp out.

  I put the dress on and Sylvia helps me to curl my long blonde hair before twisting it into a sophisticated updo. After applying a tiny bit of makeup, I have just a few minutes to spare before Vlad will be here to pick me up. Sylvia and I jump up and down together, gently so we don’t ruin my hair, so I can try to get out some of my nervous energy.