Free A Curse Unbroken by Cecy Robson Page B

and Aric share.”
    They why did you keep us apart, bitch?
    I clutched the arm of the leather couch and glanced around, certain someone else spoke. But it was my voice!
    Makawee stirred her tea, unaware of my venomous thoughts and keeping her voice light as she continued. “Aric had always been strong, intelligent, and confident, a born leader. He was the envy and admiration of all weres, including those who had accomplished tremendous deeds in their lives. Yet there was something always missing, a piece that kept him from desiring to embrace his full potential.”
    The gentleness in her tone diminished my bitterness and rising hysteria. I clung to her words like a lifeline. At that moment, I knew she was the only thing keeping me grounded. “P-please continue,” I begged her.
    Makawee considered me. I thought I sensed her power reach out to me, which thankfully helped me settle further. It reminded me of the way my mother used to stroke my hair, a feeling so genuine and pure it almost made me cry. She smiled as if she understood, then took a sip of her tea and spoke. “The day Aric first saw you, he returned to the Den an absolute mess. He was inexplicably quiet and didn’t seem to comprehend anything anyone was saying. He spent most of the day staring out in the direction of the lake, the very place he’d found you.” She laughed a little. “His Warriors and students were understandably worried, unsure what ailed their impeccable Leader. But Martin and I knew; we recognized the signs. His wolf had met his mate.”

    When Aric expressed the depths of his feelings, he took my breath away. When others told me how much I meant to him, I mostly squirmed and blushed. But to hear it from Makawee was an entirely different experience.
    Her retelling of the moment that changed my life was both humbling and a tremendous honor. She recognized that Aric loved me long before he ever told me.
    I stared at my hands. Despite how touched I felt, I couldn’t help questioning why she told me. Instead of asking her, I simply remained quiet. Sometimes when you want someone to speak, all you have to do is wait and listen.
    This was one of those moments.
    “We tried to discourage him from seeking you out, once it was clear you weren’t one of us,” she admitted. “But destiny had other plans.”
    Yes. She did.
    Makawee shook her head. “Celia, we never meant to hurt you or Aric. Our only intent was to protect our sacred earth as only we as weres believed we could. But I fear our vanity may have destroyed us all.”
    I met her eyes. “You think you interfered with destiny?”

    “More than that. I believe we poisoned it.” She let out a weary breath. “And hurt our chance to destroy the dark ones.”
    Yes. Well done.
    Makawee examined me closely when my passing thoughts caused my eyes to widen. But then I realized that despite her apology, she would never understand what her actions, and those of the governing weres, robbed me of.
    “I found my mate, a long, long, time ago,” she said slowly, as if acutely aware of what I was thinking. “I met her in passing while visiting London.” She folded her hands on her lap, staring outside the window and losing herself in the memory. “She was waiting for a bus in the pouring rain, without an umbrella or a hat, though she didn’t seem to mind.” Makawee chuckled, yet her laughter was filled with more sadness than any genuine trace of humor. “She probably resembled a drowned rat to anyone passing by. But to me she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. It was only when she hurried onto the bus and looked out the window that she spotted me standing across the street. Our eyes met for one precious moment before the bus sped away.”
    “How did you find her again?”
    Makawee reached for her now tepid tea and took a sip before answering. “I didn’t.”
    I frowned. “You let her go?” I couldn’t believe it. It had only taken one encounter with Aric, and I couldn’t