Chapter 6- Raven -

The wizard lived where my family had hidden him for three generations. Deep in the mountain caves, far from pack lands, in a place that smelled like old books and dead things.

I had never believed in the family curse. My father called it nonsense. My grandfather laughed about it. Just an old story to scare young Alphas into choosing their mates carefully.

But now Elena was dead. Pregnant with my child. And my wolf wouldn't stop howling one word: Mate.

The cave was cold and damp. Water dripped from somewhere I couldn't see. The wizard sat in the shadows, so old his skin looked like paper.

"Young Nightshade," he wheezed. "I wondered when you would come."

"Tell me about the curse," I said. No greeting. No respect. I didn't have time for either.

He laughed, but it sounded like bones breaking. "Your great-great-grandfather was not a good man. He rejected his true mate for power. Chose a stronger wolf from a richer pack."

"I know the story."

"Do you know what the rejected mate did?" His eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. "She was a witch. Powerful. Heartbroken. She cursed his bloodline before she died."

My hands turned to fists. "What was the curse?"

"Only your true mate can give you children that survive. Any other woman, no matter how strong, no matter how perfect, their children will die before birth."

The cave suddenly felt too small. "That's impossible."

"Your grandfather had six miscarriages with his chosen mate. Then he found his true mate, a small omega from a nothing pack. She gave him your father."

I had never known this. Never heard about the miscarriages.

"Your father was lucky," the wizard continued. "His chosen mate was also his true mate. But you..." He leaned forward, and I could smell centuries on his breath. "You can never get any other woman pregnant and yet, you chose the wrong mate."

"Scarlett is my mate. I feel the bond."

"You feel attraction. Power recognizing power. But not the true bond." He stood up slowly, bones creaking. "Tell me, did your wolf recognize her immediately? Or did you have to convince yourself?"

I remembered meeting Scarlett. She was beautiful. Perfect. Everything an Alpha's mate should be. But Storm, my wolf, had been quiet. I had to tell him she was ours.

With Elena, Storm had been crazy from the start. I thought it was anger at her weakness. But what if...

"The woman who died," the wizard said. "She was pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Then she was your true mate. And now she's dead." He shook his head. "The curse continues. You will have no heirs, Raven Nightshade. Your line dies with you."

"No." The word ripped from my throat. "There has to be a way to break it."

"There was. True love. Accepting your real mate. But you threw her away." His yellow eyes bore into mine. "You let her die carrying your only chance at a child."

"You're lying!"

"The dead don't lie, boy. Neither do curses written in blood and betrayal."

I grabbed him by his thin shoulders. "Fix it! Break the curse!"

"I cannot break what was forged by a dying woman's broken heart. Only love could have broken it. The love you rejected."

"Elena wasn't my mate! She was wolfless!"

"Wolfless doesn't mean mateless." He pulled away from my grip with surprising strength. "Your wolf knew. Deep down, you knew too. That's why you couldn't stay away from her. That's why you kept going back to that house, to her bed, even when you tried not to."

Every word was true. Every word burned.

"She loved you," the wizard said. "Despite everything, she loved you truly. That love could have saved your bloodline. Now she's dead, and the curse remains."

"You're wrong." But my voice shook. "Scarlett will give me children."

"Try." He sat back down in his chair of bones. "Watch them die in her womb, one after another. Watch her blame herself. Watch your pack lose faith in you. All because you were too proud to love a wolfless girl."

Something inside me snapped. The rage, the grief, the guilt, it all exploded at once. My hands were around his throat before I realized I had moved.

"Your fault," I growled. "You should have told me sooner. You should have warned me!"

His laugh was just air now. "Your grandfather paid me to stay quiet. Your father too. They didn't want you to know. Didn't want you to feel forced into accepting a weak mate."

"They killed her! Their silence killed her!"

"No," he wheezed. "You killed her. With every cold word. Every lonely night. Every time you chose pack politics over her love."

I squeezed harder. His old bones cracked under my hands.

"Killing me changes nothing," he gasped. "The curse remains. Elena is still dead. Your child is still dead. And you will never have another."

His neck snapped. The sound echoed in the cave like thunder.

I dropped his body and stumbled backward. My hands shook. I had never killed in cold blood before. Never murdered someone who couldn't fight back.

But he had known. He had known about the curse and said nothing while I threw away my true mate.

While Elena died thinking I never loved her.

I ran from the cave. Shifted and ran harder than I had ever run before. But I couldn't outrun the truth.

Elena had been my mate.

Elena had carried my only possible heir.

Elena was dead because of me.

When I got home, Scarlett was waiting in our bedroom. She wore red silk that showed everything. Her perfect body on display.

"Raven," she said softly. "You've been gone for hours. I was worried."

"Don't."

She moved closer, her hands reaching for me. "Let me help you relax."

"I said don't!" I pushed her away. Harder than I meant to. She hit the wall and gasped.

"Raven! What's wrong with you?"

"Everything!" I roared. "Everything is wrong!"

"This is about her, isn't it?" Scarlett stood up, her eyes flashing. "That pathetic human is still affecting you even from the grave."

"Don't talk about her."

"Why? She's dead, Raven. Dead! She can't hear me. She's nothing but ash at the bottom of a cliff."

I grabbed the lamp and threw it at the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces. Like my life. Like my future. Like everything I had destroyed.

"You need to calm down," Scarlett said, but I heard fear in her voice now. Good.

"I need to be alone."

"No. We need to talk." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white stick. "Because I have news."

I knew what it was before she said it. The universe's cruel joke.

"I'm pregnant, Raven." She smiled, holding out the positive pregnancy test. "We're going to have a baby."