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It was Thanksgiving and I had convinced Mr. Potter to help me cook a big dinner. He was very excited about it, showing me his book that had a whole chapter on the meal. They also had turkeys on the property, which baffled me since I had never heard about them or seen them.
Mr. Potter didn’t just take care of the guys, he had livestock, and a greenhouse that he took care of. He reminded me that they were separate because he couldn’t have the beasts kill their food, and it just made it easier to not even give the guys the temptation.
Mr. Potter was looking for more potatoes because we needed a few more for the mashed potatoes. I finished the pie crust for the pumpkin pie, and poured the mixture inside of it, so I could place it in the oven. It was the third pie I had made in the last hour, and I was almost tempted to make another one.
Closing the oven, I backed up to the small table that was put in here by the guys. The last few nights I had prepped for today as they sat watching me while they looked over some books we had found that might give us any clues about the curse. We had poured through so many books that I was worrying we were running out of ideas and ways to research them.
I had less than six months to break this curse; each day that passed made my anxiety worse. Zev also hadn’t made it better with his accusations a few weeks ago. As much as I had been mad at him, I knew he was right. I should have been smarter about my bond with Aeon and Lucien.
From what Lucien had told me, losing your mate was a terrible fate. So much so, that he had said over and over again that he would find a way to follow me. Aeon hadn’t expressed the same sentiments, but with how strong our bond was forming, I wouldn’t doubt he might say the same thing. I was hoping Aeon would be the more logical one and talk some sense into Lucien.
I sat down with a heaviness that threatened to consume me. Keeping my emotions under control had proven difficult, but I was hoping to keep as much of this turmoil away from Aeon and Lucien. This was why I had wanted to do a Thanksgiving dinner with them; so we could make memories... just in case.
I looked at the stack of books on the table, dreading opening up any of them, when a noise on the other side of the door caught my attention. Getting up, I headed to the door, thinking it was Mr. Potter, so I could help him. I opened the door and was surprised by a huge black wolf staring back at me. Zev.
My body froze wondering what I could use as a weapon. That’s when I lit my hand on fire. It was not as reliable as my knives, but I had no choice. He stood before me, just looking at me, when I noticed he had something in his mouth. It was a book.
He set it down on the floor before he backed away. I didn’t move for fear he might lunge at me. He then shook himself, transforming back into a man. Zev was on the floor on his hands and knees, breathing hard like he was in pain. As much as I wanted to help him, I kept my distance.
He looked up at me with a look of agony which made me react quickly. I rushed to him, putting my hands on him to find him feeling really warm. He groaned when we made contact, pushing himself against me.
“Mate.” His alien voice made me shiver. “Your grandmother visited you on Samhain, have you thought about why?”
It was his wolf talking to me. He sat up on his knees, looking down at me with hunger in his eyes. I shook my head wondering where he was going with this, but also not missing the fact that he had called me mate.
“I suspect it was to tell you something important, I don’t think any one of the Belladonnas would choose to come to our part of the land if it wasn’t something important.” His body shook violently.
“Zev, what’s going on?” I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder.
“The curse still calls to me but... I needed to speak to you.” He shook again. “This is important.”
“Just shift back, you’re hurting yourself,” I said, panicking because he was really warm and his shakes were getting worse.
“He’s being stubborn, he fears you will ruin them, and he won’t know what to do if you die. He is also…” He grunted in pain as fur began sprouting on his arms and back.
“Please don’t hurt them. I know you won’t, but Zev feels like he has failed over and over again. He doesn’t want to…”
He growled menacingly, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“We crave you, but the man is scared because of Vivienne and the good girl act she portrayed. He was going to save them and call her baby his own when she betrayed him, leaving him to suffer.” His voice sounded like he was barely holding on. “I beg you. Don’t be her, if you love them, put them first.”
I glanced at my watch, seeing it was just before two. How was he managing to fight it?
“Please don’t be like her,” he gasped, pushing my hand from him as he backed away running out the front door. I heard a loud snarl that kicked me into high gear. I grabbed the book, running back into the kitchen, turning around and walking backwards until I didn’t hear anything. When I hit the table, I scared myself, my heart was pounding loudly in my ears. Once a few more minutes passed, I sat down in the chair. I set the book down on the table, noticing that my hand was bleeding from where he pushed me away.
“Dammit,” I muttered, hoping it was not too bad.
I knew either Aeon or Lucien was going to be pissed once they heard what he had done. The urgency in his voice made me think it might be really important, that there was a reason my grandmother came to visit me.
Katarina use your blood…
She never finished her sentence, but when I looked down at the book in my hand it clicked. I flipped over the cover, setting my hand over the page. My heart was pounding erratically while I waited for what I thought was going to happen, the book shimmered just like I hoped for and the writing on the first page disappeared and new writing took its place.
Today my father dropped my sister off at the home of the beasts.
My blood ran cold when I read the first line. I didn’t know my grandmother had a sister, she only had a brother, or at least that’s what I had been told. How far back did the lies go? I wondered if I was the only one who didn’t know she had a sister. It wouldn’t surprise me if I was the only one who didn’t know.
I looked down at the book again feeling apprehension, but also excitement. Ever since I had arrived here, I had wondered what the other Belladonnas had gone through. My hand was still bleeding. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my hand because reading was more important than my hand at the moment.
