Cursed Vengeance

by Brandy L Rivers

  I took the seat next to him. “Are you going to fix that? Because Sierra and I can leave right now if you need us to.”

  He punched me in the arm. “Don’t be an asshole. Her best friend just died. I’m sure mating is not really high on her priority list.”

  “At least you don’t have to avoid it anymore.”

  “No, but I pushed her away for so long, who says she still wants me?”

  I wanted to slap him up the backside of his head for being such an idiot. Miraculously, I kept my hands to myself. “Don’t be a moron, of course she still wants you. She’s your mate and you’re right, she needs comfort at the moment. You can seal when you’re both ready.”

  Sean leaned back. “How did you keep yourself from sealing with Sierra?”

  “At the time I thought I would be dying in a couple weeks. I didn’t want to put her through that. Once I knew she was ready, all bets were off.”

  He held up his hands. “Okay, I think that’s enough details for now. The less I know about you and my little sister, the better.”

  “Fine, but just so you know, she’s moving in with me.”

  “I know.” He said it so nonchalantly I almost missed it.

  My head snapped in his direction. “What do you mean you know?”

  He laughed. “I talked to her yesterday before the full moon, knucklehead. How do you think I knew everything would be okay?”

  I stood. “Come on. The two of you have been through enough. Sierra and I will make dinner so you can talk to each other.”

  He moved from his seat and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks, man. You’re the best brother I could ask for.”

  Hearing him call me brother meant the world to me. We’d always been close, but it made me feel like part of the family. “Anytime.”

  Following Sean into the house, Ashley and Sierra were deep in conversation. I’d hoped Sierra picked up on the clue I was trying to send her. If not, we could talk while we made dinner. Hopefully, she could cook better than I could. If the other night was any indication, we were safe from my culinary skills.

  “Sierra?” I said.

  She looked up and for a moment I got lost in those deep, blue eyes. Concern for Sean was there, but right under the surface was lust. In that moment, she needed me as much as I needed her. Unfortunately, her brother needed us more and I wouldn’t let him down. Sierra and I had tonight.

  Noticing Ashley and Sean caught up in each other, I nodded to the kitchen, hoping Sierra would understand. Smiling, she stood and led the way. The minute I stepped through the door, she spun and wrapped her arms around my waist. Leaning up, she whispered in my ear.

  “Is that who I think it is?”

  Nodding, I said, “If you mean Sean’s mate, then yes.”

  Her eyes flashed. “How long has he known?”

  “We met Ashley over a year ago.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I have no idea how I didn’t figure it out until now.”

  Her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head. “Let me guess, he had the same idea as you. Avoid the mate and save her the pain.”

  “Something like that.” I smirked. “Remember I hadn’t met my mate, now I know there is no way to resist her.” Cupping her face, I pressed my lips to hers. A brief taste before things got out of control.

  “Mmm…you’re trying to butter me up. Why?” She raised one brow and waited for my answer.

  “I told Sean we’d take care of dinner so they could have some more time to talk. Is that okay with you?”

  Sinking her hand into my hair, she pulled my head down and captured my mouth. Her tongue slid across my lips and my dick went from semi erect to erect in seconds. This time I didn’t stop her. It wasn’t until I considered fucking her on Sean’s kitchen counter did I step back to get myself under control. Her face was flushed with desire.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not screwing you in your brother’s house. We need to make dinner and keep our hands to ourselves or that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

  Her eyes darted to the countertop and back at me.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Grabbing her shoulders, I turned her away from me and adjusted myself.

  “Fine, we’ll make dinner, but when we get home you’re all mine.”

  I pulled her back against my front, letting her feel how much I wanted her. “Sweetheart, you can have me anyway you want then. But right now, I’m not in the mood to get hit by Sean again.”

  She peeked over her shoulder. “Again?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, after the first night at Sean’s house when you ran. He showed up and punched me.”

  “Shit.” She winced. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine. I’m happy with where we ended up.”

  “Me too. Now let’s see if Sean has something worthy of cooking. You should know by now, he’s usually at least missing one thing for every recipe. I’m still surprised he had everything for the casserole.”

  “Truer words have never been spoken.”

  Sierra and I spent the next ten minutes raiding Sean’s kitchen for enough ingredients to make anything. Eventually, we found everything to make Sheppard’s Pie. Working side by side, we had the dish ready for the oven in no time. We peeked in on Sean and Ashley, who were cuddled on the couch talking. Neither one of us wanted to interrupt them, so we went to the back porch to wait for the timer.

  With my arms wrapped around Sierra, I kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to miss you tomorrow. I can’t wait until you work down here.”

  “It’ll only be a few weeks, and I’ll be here every night I don’t have any earlier appointments or surgeries.”

  “I know, but it’ll be weird without you here.”

  “Well, maybe you and Sean can actually go to work now.”

  That made me laugh. “Yeah, maybe we can actually have a normal week. The jobs we checked are on track, which is a plus.”

  We were silent for a bit longer, enjoying the mild fall day and each other’s company. The timer went off, and we went back inside to put the food on the table. Ashley and Sean had already set the table.

  Dinner was fun. I noticed Ashley relax more and more as the night worn on. Her pack still had their problems, but with Sierra’s assurance she’d find a permanent solution there was light at the end of the tunnel. Seeing Sean and Ashley together, it was hard to imagine how I didn’t see their connection before. They may not have sealed yet, but the connection was already strong.

  After we cleaned up and hung out for a little while longer, I needed to go home and have my way with Sierra. Her scent overwhelmed me and I had to have my hands on her body. Ashley decided to stay at Sean’s instead of making the drive home, even though it was only about thirty-five minutes. Who knew, maybe by tomorrow morning, I’d have a new sister-in-law. Probably not, knowing Sean.

  Hugging Ashley, I ignored Sean’s growl. “It’s good to see you again. I hope we’ll see more of you now.”

  “You will,” she said, a smile in her voice.

  Ashley turned and hugged Sierra. “Thank you for your help. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

  “I’d like that,” Sierra said.

  “Be careful driving home tomorrow.” Sean hugged her.

  “I will.”

  When we finally got out of the Sean’s place, I made it back to my house in record time. I didn’t give Sierra a chance to climb out of the car, before picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.

  “Dylan,” she screeched. “Put me down.” She pounded her fists on my back the entire time.

  I ignored her, at least until we reached the bedroom, where I tossed her on the bed, taking her jeans and panties with me. Her face flushed, she glared daggers at me until I stripped and climbed on top of her. Before she had the chance to slap me again, I collected both her wrists in one of my hands.

  “Let me go, Dylan,” she warned.

  “Oh, hell no, you just hit me. This way I can do all kinds of n
aughty things to you.” I pushed her top up and reached around to unfasten her bra.

  Her body bucked below mine, making me even hotter as I pushed her bra up over her breasts and dropped my mouth to her nipple, sucking it into my mouth. Her intake of breath was sharp, and I knew I’d done something right, even if she wanted to deny it.

  “Dylan.” She tried to sound stern, but the effect was lost with the moan that slipped past her lips.

  My head lavished her other breast with the same attention, my dick throbbing so hard I was afraid I’d come all over the bed before getting in her tight little body. Enough was enough.

  Using my speed against her, I let go of her hands, took hold of her hips, and flipped her over.

  “Dy—” she started and stopped when I drove full length into her.

  “Mmm…that’s better,” I groaned.

  “Fuck,” she hissed. “Now move.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Pulling back, I pushed my hips forward again and again, until we were both begging for release. Tired of holding back, I wrapped my hand around her front to finger her clit. She went off like an explosion.

  “Shit.” I thrust into her one last time, my body jerking over and over again with my release. A need to taste her again came over me. My teeth elongated and I bit down where her neck and shoulder met. Her walls clamped down harder on me, as our connection strengthened.

  When I could finally move again, I cleaned us both up and wrapped her in my arms to sleep.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Me too,” she mumbled, her eyes closing as drifted to sleep.

  The next few weeks were going to suck, but I had to remember the light at the end of the tunnel. Once it was over, Sierra would always fall asleep in my arms.

  * * *

  Sitting in my truck three days later, I debated calling Sierra. It had been a long day of cleaning up the mess Sean and I left when we ignored work to focus on breaking the curse. I knew being separated would be hard, but I didn’t realize how bad and she’d been in my bed that morning. Part of me was ready to drive to Philly to see her. The rational part of my brain knew if she could be here, she would be. Until she made the permanent move, being busy would keep me sane.

  Starting the car, I pulled out of the driveway of our office and turned in the direction of Theresa’s house. I wanted to see how she and the boys were holding up, plus it gave me something to do besides going home to an empty house.

  Before I turned off the truck, the boys were running out the door to greet me.

  Carter, the youngest, attached himself to my leg. “Uncle Dylan, can you throw me in the air?”

  At the same time I heard, “Uncle Dylan, you need to see me score on Madden,” from Andy.

  While it hurt to think of Christian missing this, I was glad they were smiling. I’d be there for anything they needed.

  “You two pups knock it off and let Dylan get in the door before you attack him.” Theresa stood on the porch, hands on her hips.

  Both boys whipped around, saw the look on their mom’s face, and ran back to the house. “Sorry, Uncle Dylan,” they both called over their shoulder.

  She shook her head when I made it up the stairs. “Sorry about that. They’ve been crazy lately.” She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for coming over. They need to see someone besides me.”

  Placing my arm on her shoulder, I led her into the house. “I know. I wanted to check on you too. How are you holding up?”

  Moisture built up in her eyes. “Better than I thought I would. It still hurts sometimes, but so much has happened in the last week it’s hard to have time to sit down and really think about it.”

  I grimaced. “About the other night…”

  “Don’t. Bradley did that to himself.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  Her shoulders drooped. “The scratches are healed, but Sean did a number on his paws. His front paw is closer to being healed than the back.”

  “He was able to stay shifted then?”

  She nodded. “Will said the pain meds are burning off too quick. He’s been passed out most of the time.”

  “Good, he’ll heal faster in wolf form. What happened to him in the last few years? He never used to be so angry or power hungry.”

  “I wish I knew. I’d do anything in my power to get rid of the asshole my brother’s become.”

  “Either way, I’m going to check on him tomorrow.”

  She laid her hand on my arm. “Thanks, Dylan. Sean picked a good second.”

  “You know you just have to call if you need anything.”

  “I know. I’m taking things one day at a time.”

  “That’s a good way to do it.”

  She wiped her eyes. “What about you, where’s Sierra?”

  “She had to go back to work in Philly for a few weeks. She’ll be down when she can, until she can make the move.”

  “That’s rough, but you’ll survive. You always do.”

  “Ahhhhhh…” Our conversation was interrupted by two screaming banshees running from the hall into my lap. The boys had been through enough losing their dad. I knew what that felt like, especially a good dad like Christian. At least Theresa was holding it together, unlike my mom. For the next few hours I played with boys. Theresa insisted I stay for dinner, and who was I to say no to someone else cooking.

  I tried Sierra on the way home, only to get her voicemail. She had a rotation in the hospital, which meant she was probably busy seeing patients. Going home wasn’t in the least appealing, but I had no choice. The bed felt lonely without her, but I let sleep take me, hoping tomorrow I’d get to talk to her.

  Vibrating on the table woke me. Rubbing a hand over my face, I grabbed the cell phone off the nightstand, hoping to see Sierra’s number. Instead, Sean’s number flashed on the screen.

  Flicking my finger across the screen, I answered.

  “What’s up?”

  “Where the fuck are you?”

  “What time is it?” Leaning over the side of the bed, the clock read eleven in the morning.

  “It’s eleven in the morning, asshole. Get your ass up and get over here so we can do this inspection for the bid.”

  “Fuck. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  Confused, I forced myself out of bed. What the fuck was wrong with me? I never slept through the alarm. Kind of hard to when you had wolf hearing. Maybe I forgot to set it. Racing through my shower, I threw on clothes and bolted out the door. Sean was pacing in front of the house when I pulled up.

  “Sorry, man,” I said, climbing out of the cab. “I must have forgotten to set the alarm.”

  He studied me for a minute. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. I’m not sure what happened.”

  He gave me a sympathetic smile. “She’ll be here tonight. Stop stressing.”

  “I know, but I think her being so far away is fucking with my head.”

  “Maybe, but only a few more weeks and she’s here for good.”

  I didn’t want to talk about Sierra anymore. “Let’s get this bid done. I want to head over and check on Bradley.”

  Sean growled. “Good idea. Make sure he understands the only reason I didn’t kill him was because of his sister. Next time I see him, he better submit.”

  “I will.”

  We were halfway through the inspection when I decided to bring up Ashley. “So, did you finally seal your bond?”

  He scoffed. “What kind of asshole do you think I am? I told you I couldn’t ask her to worry about our mate bond when her best friend just died.” He ruffled my hair. “But don’t worry your pretty little head, I plan on sealing our bond when everything settles down.”

  “Good, you deserve it.”

  We finished the bid, which took longer than I expected. Climbing in the truck, I saw a missed call from Sierra. Needing to hear her voice, I hit redial and waited for her to pick up.

  “Hey, s
exy,” she answered on the first ring.

  “God, I missed your voice.” I pulled away from the house.

  “Same goes here. Look, I don’t have long, they’re sending a chopper. It’s a little girl with a compound femur fracture. The medics aren’t sure we’ll be able to save her leg, but fuck if I’m not going to try.”

  “That’s my girl.” I made a right on Bradley’s street.

  “I called to let you know I won’t be down tonight. This surgery is going to take me a few hours and I don’t want to drive in all that fog tired, but I promise to be there first thing in the morning.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.” I parked outside of Bradley’s home. Will’s car was already out front.

  “Me too. How are you feeling? Any signs of the curse?”

  Shit. Explains why I didn’t get out of bed. The curse. How could I have forgotten? What was I supposed to tell her? If I told her I was having symptoms she’d leave the hospital and that little girl might lose her leg. I had twenty-four hours. I might suffer a little, but she’d be there in the morning. Hoping she didn’t see through the lie, I answered, “I’m fine. Nothing so far.”

  “Good. Okay, they’re paging me again. I’ve got to go, but I promise to be there in the morning. If it starts before then call me.”

  “I will. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Hanging up the phone, I climbed out of the truck and walked up to Bradley’s door. I noticed my pace was slower than normal. Fucker better be awake. I wanted this conversation to be quick so I could go home and lie down.

  Knocking on the door, as a courtesy, I pushed it open and walked in. Most likely, Bradley was in no shape to answer the door.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” a voice snapped from the couch in the living room.

  “Well, it’s good to see nothing’s wrong with your mouth.”

  Will had his hand and foot wrapped in something that looked like a cast, but not as hard.

  “He’s been like this since he shifted,” Will said apologetically.