Free A Cursed Bloodline (WG 4) by Cecy Robson Page B

hadn’t been a wolf that long, they seemed to continue to regard him as human.
    My pulse raced as my anxiety grew. Aside from my sisters, Danny and Bren were my closest friends. I always thought I could trust Danny with my life. But as I stopped him in the garden, I realized I had to entrust him with the lives of everyone I loved.

    “Danny,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I need you to break my mate bond with Aric.”

Chapter Eight
    Danny’s brows shot up to his hairline. He couldn’t believe what I’d asked any more than I could. “Celia, I-I can’t break your mate bond. I’m one of Aric’s Warriors!”
    “Hush!” I scanned the darkness and gripped his hands. “Danny, please. I’m begging you to help me.”
    Danny gaped, from my hands tightening around his, to my face. “Celia, I know things are strained between you, but he loves you. You’re emotionally frail right now. As soon as you work through your trauma you’ll be able to think more rationally.”
    My muffled sobs stopped his rant. I composed myself enough to speak. “Danny, I’m in so much trouble. People I love will be hurt if I don’t break my bond with Aric.”
    Danny’s face split with shock and confusion. “How will sacrificing your relationship keep the Tribe from attacking you…” His voice trailed off and his eyes widened. “Oh crap,” he whispered. “This has nothing to do with the Tribe, does it?” My blank expression answered for me. “Then who? Who’s hurting you, Celia?”
    I rushed toward the gate. “Danny, you already know too much. If you don’t want to end up like Bren—or worse—you won’t question me. Just please help me. It has to be done by tomorrow or someone will die.”
    “There has to be another way, Celia.”
    It hurt to swallow the lump in my throat. “I wish there was, Danny.”
    “We can fight this somehow, I know we can.”
    In the past, I’d always seen Danny’s optimism as rousing, but now I recognized it as only naïveté. “Danny, at first I might have believed you, but tonight Bren was with me and we both had the shit knocked out of us. For God’s sake, did you see him? We’re lucky he’s alive!”

    Danny seemed to sense my desperation, but wasn’t totally convinced. “Celia, the only reason Aric has been able to defy the Elders’ order to stay away from you is because of your mate bond. Do you realize if you break it, he’ll no longer be able to contact you? You may never see him again, are you prepared for that?”
    The image of that small beating heart appeared in my mind. Never once since first learning of my pregnancy did I believe my baby would grow up without a father. No matter our circumstances, I always knew Aric would be there for us. Now I couldn’t allow him to be.
    “If I could see any other way out, I’d take it. I can’t stand the thought…” I took a calming breath. It did nothing. I was going to shatter into a thousand pieces. “I can’t stand the thought of losing Aric. But if I don’t do this he’ll die. Do you understand me? Aric will die .”
    As a new werewolf, Danny had worked hard to determine his place in the Pack. As a blue merle werewolf—a rare entity and a symbol of power—we’d waited to see what special ability he’d acquired. So far, nothing had manifested. He struggled despite his best efforts. Much younger weres surpassed him in strength, agility, and tracking. But one thing Danny had to his advantage was his incredible intellect—that, and he’d quickly learned how to sniff out lies. My scent, my posture, the tone of my words—everything told him I spoke the truth.
    We stopped a few feet from the gate. He sighed. “As one of Aric’s Warriors, I am duty bound to protect his life, and yours, as his mate, at any cost. If ending your bond will do that, I guess I have no choice.”

    He was giving me what I wanted. It should have made me happy or at least granted me some relief, but my despair only worsened. It was going to