My back straightened at the mention of the curse. So far, only Georgi had addressed it directly and Helen had almost alluded to it but had never elaborated about it. “Curse?” Sierra’s lips stretched into a wider curve, her eyes, however, glinted with sickening satisfaction. She leaned back on the sofa, folded her hands and regarded me for some time. This stance of hers irritated me to no end. Any and every sympathy for this woman and her son evaporated at that moment. This woman…still trying to hold on to the beauty she might have once possessed with the terrible makeup skills and trying to pretend to be a proud Luna at the same time made my skin crawl. I restrained myself from commenting on these things and waited patiently. My hands rested on the lap, fingers digging into my palms as she let the silence stretch like rubber. “If… you don’t have to say anything about the curse-” “Every Alpha of the Renaud pack is bestowed with this curse,” she said, completely ignoring my earlier

He didn’t wait around. He left, his bestial side taking rein as he leapt out of the window. I stared at the window, preoccupied with other thoughts. Was… Isaac ready to share his secrets? Was he ready to tell me about…his condition? I was confused and shaken. What Janet said…I looked at my belly. My heart pounded as I put a trembling hand over my flat stomach. A child? My child… mine and… Isaac’s. I let out a shaky breath and gazed at the stack of books kept on the coffee table. I slowly went to sit on the sofa, on the spot where he was sitting some time ago. I stared at the first book. A yellowed cover, almost a few decades old, lay inconspicuously on top of the other books. I should divert my mind. What if Janet’s vision is wrong? I have never met an oracle until today, but I have heard that not everything they say is written in stone. Having nothing better to do or think about, I picked up the first book titled ‘Renaud pack’s Rise and Fall’ which was written by Al Mauvin. ~~

“You are what?” I had expected Isaac to react in somewhat this manner. He had come to visit as usual at night in all his half-naked glory, but I had refused to sleep with him and when I told him about being pregnant, he reacted this way. I sat at the foot of the bed and observed him. ‘I don’t think it was a good idea,’ I muttered to my wolf. I placed a hand over my still flat stomach and nodded grimly. He stared at me with pinched eyebrows and thin lips for a long time before glancing away. He put his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe it.” I shrugged. “That’s the truth.”“Did you go to the pack doctor?” he asked. I shook my head. “Astrid doesn’t feel safe.” “Astrid?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. I had the urge to roll my eyes. He didn’t even know my wolf’s name. “My wolf,” I muttered. Isaac nodded in acknowledgement. He let out a breath. I remained silent, waiting. I doubted that he would ask me to do anything… negative. My hand tightened over my stomach. “Does anyone els

We reached the town at dusk. Thankfully, Clarissa had packed some lunch for us so we didn’t need to stop on our way. I was also starting to get concerned for Isaac who for some reason looked slightly pale. Even though his grasp on my hand didn’t loosen, it looked as if he was feeling tired. His palm was sweating. “Are you okay?” I asked as we walked down a narrow alley. “I am fine,” he grunts. But Astrid is worried and I can’t seem to feel that something is off as well. I had assumed that the Healer would be staying in some remote place, not in a small one-storey house at the end of the alley. The house looked like it would crumble anytime now. Isaac glanced over his shoulder before pulling me inside. Astrid did not seem panicked, so I trusted him, for now. However, when we entered, I gaped at the circular portal-like shape that glowed in the middle of the empty living space. “Wow, how is this here? But no one knows?” I asked, gob smacked. I knew that Healers had some knowledge of

I don’t know how long I stand there in the middle of the cabin, staring at Isaac’s retreating figure. He doesn’t even turn to look back. He simply… leaves. I place a trembling hand on my flat stomach while I ignore Astrid’s whines — pitiful and painful. I look around and spot a couch towards which I sway and manage to sit down. ‘Did we just…get abandoned, Astrid?’ I ask my wolf. My voice, even in my head sounds numb and shaky. ‘No… no, he said he will come back,’ Astrid replies although she doesn’t sound reassuring. I chuckle bitterly at our fate. First by the pack where I was born and now by my supposed mate. Suddenly, I feel too tired to even stand up from the couch. ~~~ My eyes open to a dark house. At first, I feel confused before I realise that it’s not the usual room where I used to be but a cabin which apparently is Isaac’s ‘haven’. I sit up never having realised when I fell asleep out of exhaustion. I stand up when my stomach growls. Right, no one is here to prepare food. I