The Lycan’s Curse
Chapter 5

Larissa

The winter air is warming as spring arrives, lingering a bit longer than the official change in season but it's not unpleasant. It's been nine months since I left home, a little over eight since I arrived here, and it's been the greatest eight months of my life. Granted anytime I come across Marie or Nicole they snarl and sneer at me, but for the first time in my life I'm not being beaten. My wolf is still the same disabled thing she was, but we do have more energy thanks to not using it to recover constantly. Generally, I only go out on a run with Kai or Torin anymore. The others' looks of pity when they see my wolf is too hard to take.

Not that Kai runs exactly that is. He's an actual dragon shifter and it's incredible to see him transformed. The iridescence of his hair is nothing compared to his scales. They're an oil black until the sun hits them, showing off a rainbow of light and I love seeing his beast.

One day this winter, the temperature dropped to negative thirty some degrees and nothing was keeping the fires going. Not until Kai opened the outside door of the fireplaces and started them with his dragon fire. It burnt warm and bright until the storm passed, and I enjoyed watching the snow swirling around us as he stayed in his dragon form, making the snow move in the opposite direction with his breath.

Torin's bear tends to outdistance me in a second on a run, but they stroll along with ease when they're not shifted. It's nice feeling welcomed from all of the men here. It definitely is better than any of Marie or Nicole's glares. Not once have I felt afraid of any of them overstepping, like they would come after me just for the fun of it. I finally have somewhere safe it seems. There's been no pain, not even from the bond to Noah.

I can tell he's almost dead. His wolf is the only thing keeping him alive and all I feel is sorry for the beast that was stuck with Noah as his other half. If it were the beast alone, I would ease his pain, but to do that would be to heal Noah as well. That is never going to happen.

I move through the woods, seeing the beginning buds on several trees and I smile, feeling freer than I ever imagined. The others are digging out the gardens, hard work when the ground is fairly solid still, but it needs done before we can think of replanting. Even with the greenhouse surrounding it, there's no stopping the ground from freezing.

As I'm of no help with that, there's nothing much to do but sit around and stare at nothing or, take a walk.

Which is precisely what I decided to do. I know my wolf wants out to run but I don't feel ready for it yet for some reason. I'm not quite sure why that is, but I listen to it and continue to move through the woods leisurely.

The sun is nearing midday when a noise stops me in my tracks. A wave of fear flows through my body slowing my attempt to get to a tree to scout what's happening. Before I can reach it, a large body steps in between us and I let out a muffled scream as a hand slaps over it.

The dark eyes stare down at me as she squeezes tight, and I can't stop the cry of pain that flows when something pops. My nails lengthen and I dig them into her arm, loosening her hold enough that I can turn around to run.

My jaw won't close, pain threatens to engulf me, and I scream as I run straight into Nicole.

"You didn't think you were going to get away so easily, did you?" she asks, smacking me making the pain intensify and I let out a full scream as Marie grabs me from behind, squeezing me hard once more.

I can hear and feel every rib break with her hold as Nicole snaps my arm backwards, breaking it then the other. Bone by bone. Each break excruciating. She's onto my legs when I feel my spine cracking, the pain blinding me until a wave of heat hits next to me. A scream falls but it's not mine. I can't begin to breathe let alone scream, no matter how badly I want to. Another sounds behind it as more heat erupts, the hard ground catching my body. Blackness is interrupted by flickering flames, and as the pain fades from my eyes, I turn my head, seeing they surround me entirely. A perfect circle of dazzling, hot flames.

The screams are drowned out by screeching and a waft of cooler air flows down towards me. My eyes peek open and black iridescence fills my vision. Two enormous talons wrap around my body, lifting me from the flames, and then there's nothing but a dark abyss pulling me under.

***

"Shh, shh, I have you, Larissa. You're safe," Kai says as something cool passes through my lips. "Drink, it will ease the pain. I promise, you won't feel a thing."

The water tastes strange, but I drink it, feeling the pain surrounding every part of me my wolf can't begin to erase fade, leaving my mind barely awake.

"Where are we?" The words are a struggle to get out. My arms and legs feel dead, as though not attached to my body. My chest hardly moves as I struggle to breathe, and I know I'm dying.

"A place where my kind once lived. It's abandoned now but it is somewhere safe and beautiful to be," he states, his words even but his eyes show the truth. "Larissa..."

"It wasn't...your fault."

"I knew they disliked you and yet I didn't make them leave. I didn't protect you any more than I protected my own daughter too many years ago," Kai says, his hand brushing against my cheek and warmth flows through my body from deep within. "You can't...blame...yourself," I get out, my eyes heavy and I struggle to stay awake. "Best time...my life...with you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want it to turn out like this. You're so young..."

"It's okay. It...doesn't hurt...anymore. Don't...don't..." The words stop as the black abyss claims me once more.