A Curse in Darkness by Sherilee Gray

Chapter 25

Willow

I mademy way down the stairs on shaky legs. After that confrontation with Warrick, my emotions were wrecked, but there was no stalling. I needed to be the one to tell my family before they heard about Clayton from someone else.

Mom was at the counter mixing cake batter, and Else was lining a cake tin when I walked into the kitchen. Mags was back, and she was sitting with Iris at the table, talking. I could see the lights on in the tree house through the kitchen window—Bram was still at his place—and the low hum of the TV in the other room, a familiar gardening show, told me where Art was.

I leaned against the wall for support. “Do you guys have a minute?”

“Does it have something to do with the thundercloud I saw over the alpha’s head when he stormed out of here?” Else asked.

I curled my fingers into a tight fist, my blunt nails biting into my skin. “Yeah, it does.”

Else limped to the table and took a seat. “I’m thinking I better sit for this one.”

“What’s going on, sweetheart?” Mom asked.

I hated the look of concern on her face. I never wanted to be the cause of her distress, she’d been through enough in her life, and with Rose sick, the last thing I wanted was to add to her worries.

“It’s good news,” I said to her, and did my best to force a smile.

“Well, that’s a lie,” Iris said and sat back on her chair.

Mags snorted. “You really think you can pull the wool over our eyes? You look like you’ve eaten a bad burrito.”

I couldn’t deny I felt sick to my stomach. “Okay, so maybe it’s not wonderful news, but what I have to tell you will benefit the whole family, but especially Rose.”

Mom grabbed for the counter. “Have you found something, a cure?”

I grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her shaking fingers. “Not yet, but…” I looked at my sisters, Else, then back to Mom. “I’ve agreed to marry Clayton Whitlock.”

“What the hell for?” Else said. “You don’t even like that twerp.”

“He cheated on you!” Iris said. “He’s a pig. I can’t believe you’d chose that guy over Warrick. The huge hellhound alpha who thinks you walk on water and your turds smell like flowers? Warrick,” she said again with more emphasis, like I needed reminding who he was.

Mags shot to her feet and winced when her stitches pulled. “You’ve been seeing both of them?”

I lifted my hands. “I know you’re all confused and worried. Clayton is a good guy. We were young when we first went out. Things happen. And no, we haven’t been seeing each other. And this isn’t a love match—”

“No shit,” Else said.

“It’s a mutely beneficial agreement. He marries into a magically powerful family and gets access to our cemetery—”

“No.” Mom gasped. “You can’t be serious.”

“This can’t be happening,” Mags said and dropped to her seat.

“And he puts his considerable funds, connections, all his recourses into finding a cure for Rose,” I finished.

The room went silent.

Mom sat heavily on the chair beside Else, then looked up at me, and there was no missing the conflict in her eyes.

“You really think he can find a cure?” Mags said, voice broken.

“Yes.”

“No,” Rose said and walked through the door, her voice stronger than I’d heard it in a very long time.

“Sweetheart.” Mom rushed forward and tried to help her into a chair.

Rose shook her head, brushing her away, and held onto the doorframe. “You will not do this, Willow, do you hear me?”

“It’s okay, Roe—”

“No, it’s not,” she said, her voice losing some of its strength. She gripped the doorframe tighter. “You always said you didn’t believe in love, but it exists, and I think you’ve recently worked that out for yourself. You’re in love with Warrick.”

I took a step forward. “Roe, please…”

She shook her head. “I’ll never get that. I know that now, I’ve resigned myself to it, but I won’t let you throw away your chance at happiness on some…wild-goose chase.”

“You don’t know that,” Iris said. “Whitlock is loaded. He can help.”

“I said no.” Then her face softened, because this was Rose, the kind one, the gentle one, and being assertive like this didn’t come easy to her. But when she looked at all of us, what I saw in her eyes had my heart constricting in my chest. “I’m tired,” she whispered. “I’m so…very tired. I’ve been living like this, in limbo, in pain, weak, for so long. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

“Roe,” Else choked. “Honey, we won’t let you give up.”

“I’m not giving up, Else. But I’ve had time to come to terms with it. There is no cure for this. We’ve been searching most of my life. No amount of money”—she looked squarely at me—“no sacrifice, will change that.”

Mom rushed to her, and Rose let her help her to a chair.

“You love me, and I love you too. So much. And I’m so…so angry that I won’t be here to see all the good things you have coming…but I’ve accepted it.” Then she took her knife from the pocket of her robe. “That’s why I need you to swear you won’t do this, Wills. I want a blood oath that you will stop this now. I want one from all of you. I can’t rest until you do.”

I shook my head. “Roe, no, I can’t…”

“You will,” she said and looked at Mom. “You know I’m right. Don’t let her do this.”

Mom closed her eyes, and when she opened them, tears streaked down her face. The truth, the stark, awful truth we’d been denying with everything we had, was right there. Rose was dying, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.

“Do it,” Mom said to me.

“No,” Mags said, tears running down her face.

Rose took her hand. “It’s going to be okay, Mags, I promise.” Then she cut herself.

And with tears running down our faces, we all did the same. We swore we wouldn’t sacrifice ourselves to find a cure that we all knew deep down didn’t exist.

Then Mom helped Rose back upstairs.

Else passed around the healing balm and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Go on, go to your hound.”

“He doesn’t want to see me.”

“Of course he does,” she said and walked out.

I had to get out of the house, but not to go to Warrick. I was pretty sure he’d tell me to get lost if I went to the clubhouse tonight. Instead, I went searching for Ren. I drove around for hours, searching all his old haunts, like I had many times since he was taken from me. His favorite places to go, to eat, to party, but there was no sign of him, and no one had seen him.

My stomach was in knots, and my heart hurt, and when it was finally time to head for home, I knew that wasn’t where I was going. I’d been lying to myself.

Going to Warrick was a terrible idea. I should stay away. All the reasons we couldn’t be together were still there. But I needed him. I wanted him so badly I shook.

He’ll probably refuse to see you.

Probably, but I had to try.

* * *

The gates of the hellhound clubhouse were closed when I arrived, but they’d opened the bar. Light and music spilled out, lots of cars out front. I guess now that all the hounds had been inked with Else’s runes, there was no reason to keep the place shut anymore.

I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my pocket. Clayton had been disappointed when I called him on the way here and told him I’d changed my mind, there’d been no missing it. But he’d taken it better than I’d expected. Thank the mother for that, I couldn’t handle another confrontation tonight.

I peered at the clubhouse through the fence, it was dark, quiet. They were no doubt all at the bar blowing off some steam.

I locked the Morris and walked in. People milled around, drinking, laughing, some danced.

The hounds…not so much. They stood in small subdued groups around the room, quietly sipping their beers. They may have limited emotions, but they’d just lost one of their brothers in a fucking awful way, and they were feeling it.

I glanced down at the cut on my arm, and the pain grew and built inside me. I’d made a blood oath tonight to let my sister die.

We had no idea how much time we had left with her, and I was grieving.

I was grieving for Rose, and I was grieving for Ren, because he was strong, stronger than he’d ever believed, but after seeing the way that spirit had affected Edric, I knew my sweet fox would never be the same again.

God, I felt like I was coming undone, like I was about to unravel right here in front of everyone. My heart was in my throat as I searched the room for Warrick. My need to be close to him growing into a desperate ache. I turned, scanning the rest of the room, while my mother’s words filtered through my head.

Love isn’t what someone says, it’s what they do.

I was in love with Warrick, I was sure of that now. And no, Warrick didn’t feel the same, he’d told me himself he wasn’t capable of it, and that male was a man of his word—but he did care, in his own way, I truly believed he cared for me beyond animal need.

He’d promised me loyalty and devotion, and that was more than a person could hope for in this life, right?

People touted love as a reason to trust, throwing the word around willy-nilly, then turned around and took a dump on that person with their next breath. Romantic love didn’t automatically equal faithfulness or commitment. I’d seen that with my own eyes so many times.

I didn’t need Warrick to love me back, I just needed him to be loyal and trustworthy, and he’d proven himself to be both more times than I could count.

A tingling sensation slid across my shoulders. He was here, he was watching me. I turned and my gaze collided with his. He stood with two of his brothers on the other side of the room. He leaned against the end of the bar; his fingers curled around a squat glass of amber liquid.

Warrick didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge me, just watched me and waited.

I’d had a protective wall around me most of my life. I didn’t like showing weakness of any kind. I’d viewed love as emotional weakness and I’d never let myself go there. I’d never let anyone I’d dated know that I cared, or that I might need them, even for a moment.

That part of me wanted to lift my chin and stand my ground, it wanted me to force him to come to me. But he’d been doing that already, he’d shown up every time I needed him. He’d made it clear that he cared the only way he knew how, and now it was my turn to do the same.

And I was terrified.

Without allowing myself to chicken out, I strode toward him. He tracked me, but still, he didn’t move and his expression didn’t change. My heart was in my throat, every part of me afraid that he’d turn me away, that he’d tell me he’d given up on me. Going into battle was less intimidating than this.

I stopped in front of him. “Hey.”

He said nothing, just took a sip of his drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jagger and another hound walk away, and I was thankful for it. Yes, he told me to come find him if I needed him, but he wasn’t going to make this easy on me, and he proved it by looking away from me. I deserved that.

I curled my fingers around his forearm, and the muscle bunched beneath my palm. “Warrick.”

He gave me nothing.

“Please…will you look at me?”

His gaze slid to me, hard and unfeeling, and I wanted to shrivel in on myself. He was giving back what I’d given him, and it hurt like hell.

It would be so easy to run, to save myself from the possibility of rejection, of humiliation, but I loved the stubborn bastard, and if I didn’t try, if I gave up on us, I’d never forgive myself.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Still, I got nothing from him, just that hard, cold stare.

Desperation slammed into me, and I ducked under his arm that rested on the bar. My chest brushed his and his scent filled my head. I gripped the sides of his shirt at his waist. “Please, Warrick,” I rasped, pressing my head to his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said. I was scared, and I was trying to fix everything, and I pushed you away. I don’t want Clayton. I don’t want anyone else.”

His chest expanded, and he leaned forward, trapping me between him and the bar.

I tilted my head back and looked into his golden eyes. “I just want you.”

His fingers thrust into my hair and his head dipped closer, so close his forehead touched mine. “Say it again.”

“I want you,” I whispered. “Only you.”

His mouth slammed down on mine, and he kissed me like the animal he was, not holding anything back. I curled my arms around his neck, and he hauled me off the ground, throwing my legs around his waist and prowled across the room. Everyone was watching us, I felt their eyes following, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care who had witnessed me begging for Warrick to forgive me. I was in his arms, and he was kissing me, and that was all that mattered.

He walked out the back of the building and across the yard to the clubhouse, through the doors and down the stairs, taking me belowground to the den. He kicked his bedroom door shut behind us and a moment later, we dropped to his bed.

He covered me with his body, looking down at me. “Thought I’d lost you,” he said, low and harsh.

I gripped the sides of his face. “I was trying to help Rose. Clayton offered to help if I married him, but I never wanted him. I fucked up. I’m so sorry.”

His eyes darkened. “You’re mine now, dove. I let you go, and you came back. That means you’re mine. No going back now.”

That should scare the hell out of me. It didn’t. “And you’re mine.”

His nostrils flared. “Yeah, I fucking am.” Then he yanked at the front of my jeans, undoing them, and tore them down my legs. He tossed them and my boots aside as my hands dropped to the front of his pants and I undid them with shaky fingers, then pushed them down to free his cock.

His hand dropped between us, cupping me, fingers sliding through my folds, checking if I was ready for him. I was more than ready.

Warrick bared his teeth. “Pussy so fucking wet. You want me, dove, you will always want me and I’ll always want you.”

“Yes,” I said and rubbed up against him.

With a vicious animalistic sound, he hooked my knee over his arm, holding me open wide, then reached between us and took himself in hand. He glided the head over me, and I arched against him, trying to get him where I needed him so badly.

“You know why, don’t you, dove? You know why we can’t stay away from each other?”

I did, but I’d been too scared to even think it.

“My dove was made for me.” He held both sides of my face, hands shaking, and stared into my eyes. “I’ve waited a thousand years for you, Willow. You have no idea, none. My life was nothing but rage and pain and fire. I never even let myself imagine leaving Hell,” he growled. “And I sure as fuck never dreamed a female like you could exist. First time I saw you, all this fucking gorgeous red hair, eyes full of fire, and a heart full of courage, I knew you were mine.”

I stared up at him, struggling to breathe. He was decimating that wall I’d lived behind one word at a time.

“You make me whole, dove. I don’t need a soul, because that’s what you are. You’re my fucking soul.” Then he said to me those same harsh words in his language he had several times before.

My eyes stung and I fought back the tears. Warrick was my lifeline, my everything, and over the coming months, I knew he’d be the one to keep me sane when my world felt like it was falling apart.

He deserved the truth. He deserved everything from me.

I smiled up at him, cupping his bearded cheek. “And you’re my heart.”