Cursed of moon

Chapter 10

I didn’t tell Tessa about my new werewolf side until the next day. By the time we arrived at her home, I’d been so tired and hungry that I didn’t have the energy for anything else. But Tess obviously knew something was up when I polished off two frozen pizzas, all by myself, before going to bed.

So the next morning when we sat around the breakfast table, as that itching began in my chest again—yep, Mrs. Wolf was not happy that it appeared I was settling in here—I finally spilled the beans.

I told Tessa everything. About the mate bond Kaillen felt toward me. How he’d bound me to him with his blood. How that binding had also born some serious werewolf mojo in me and I now had a wolf of my own. And then there was my awakening power, that I’d sadly neglected in the past few days as I tried to get used to the latest hurdle thrown at me.

When I finished, Tessa sat in stu

“Please don’t look at me like that,” I finally said and dropped my eyes down to my coffee cup. “I can’t help how I was born, and I can’t help that Kaillen turned me into this.”

She bit her lip, then a forced smile streaked across her face. “Well, I guess that would explain the pizzas last night and your, uh, large breakfast this morning.”

I’d eaten an entire box of cereal that had been covered with a gallon of milk. I gave a meager smile. “Maybe I should start using mixing bowls as my place setting. Then I can honestly say I only had one bowl of cereal.”

She laughed, the sound genuine, but I still caught that envious gleam in her eyes.

“Don’t hold this against me too,” I said, returning my attention to my cup. “I didn’t steal anything from you in utero, Tess, and none of what I have now was stolen from you either. This is just how we were made, how we were born—minus the werewolf part—and it’s really awful if you keep begrudging me for it.”

I didn’t look up at her, not right away, because I’d never said that so plainly to her before. Well, not without a lot of anger behind it ’cause she usually brought up her theory of me stealing her powers in utero when we were in the middle of a fight. But now, we weren’t fighting, and I needed my sister to be on my side.

Her eyes softened when I finally looked up. “I don’t hold it against you, Tala Bala. Am I jealous?” Her smile trembled. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. Of course, I am. I’ve always been jealous of your power, but at the same time, I know it’s not your fault that I don’t have any of it.”

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand, and a rush of such gratitude filled me that I squeezed her right back.

But I obviously didn’t realize how hard I’d squeezed until she yelped and pulled her hand back, flapping it in the air. “Ouch, girl! Watch those new werewolf powers of yours!”

She fa

“I’m sure it is.”

And for some strange reason, my sister actually sounded genuine.

My shoulders relaxed more as some of the stress I was feeling lifted.

“So where do you think your new power comes from?” she asked. “The one that sucks others’ magic from them?”

I took another sip of coffee. “No idea, but I can’t help but think about something Mom told us. Remember when we were kids and she told us how important it was that we keep my forbidden power a secret?”

Tessa’s lips pressed together as her cheeks flushed, but she nodded as an ashy scent rose from her.

“You don’t need to feel guilty. I’ve forgiven you for telling Star Tattoo Dude.” I reached across the table to her.

“His name was Preston,” she said primly.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Any guy who works for Jakub doesn’t deserve a name if you ask me.”

She tapped her chin. “True.”

“Anyway, do you remember what Mom said?”

Tessa leaned back in her chair and propped a knee up. She was already in her neon-orange string bikini with the straps bowed-tied at her hips and around her neck. A kimono-styled sarong covered it. The sheer material reminded me of tropical cruises, but the material’s flimsiness did little to hide the body her bikini had on full display.

“She was always talking about how we couldn’t tell anyone because of the Bone Eaters.” Tessa scrunched her nose up. “Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I remember too. She said to never tell anyone and to keep it a secret at all costs or the Bone Eaters could be summoned. That’s what I remember most of all, the word summon.”

Tessa leaned forward, dropping her chin into her palm as her excited expression grew. “Do you think since the word is now out about your powers that they will be summoned?”

I made a sour face. “You don’t have to look so happy about that.”

“But it could be exciting.”

“Or I could end up dead.”

“Oh pooh.” She waved a hand at me. “You’re too strong for that. Look at how you rescued me in New York.”

“With the help of Kaillen. I couldn’t have done that on my own.” Thinking about the hunter brought a sharp pang of longing to my chest. My wolf stirred, begi

Tessa cocked her head. “Couldn’t you have saved me by yourself, though? With all of your power now, I bet you could have.”

Hearing that reminded me of what Kaillen had started calling me. Colantha. He equated me to a fae animal that was queen of her jungle, and apparently, my sister had taken a similar mindset.

My wolf began to wag her tail since my thoughts had shifted to her mate again.

That’s not important! I told her. I called upon my witch magic, doing my best to maintain a barrier between me and my wolf. My wolf’s lips curled and her hackles rose, but I just piled more magic into my invisible barrier. So far, I hadn’t shifted or lost control, and I wanted it to stay that way.

“Anyway,” I said, shaking my head once I felt any urges from my wolf receding. “We’re getting off track. I want to learn more about the Bone Eaters and who they are. I mean, if they even exist, because I can’t help but think that my awakening power is tied to my forbidden one, which means this new power could also be related to the Bone Eaters.”

“Okay,” my sister replied with a shrug, then began to inspect her nails.

I bit my lip as I thought back to what Prisha had said the morning after the first abduction attempt on me. My bestie had brought up a very good point, saying that Jakub-Dipshit may somehow be in cahoots with the Bone Eaters. Or . . .

I sat up straighter. What if Jakub was a Bone Eater? Perhaps that was why he was after me.

My heart pounded more. I nudged my sister when she continued inspecting her latest coat of nail polish. “I’m serious, Tess. We need to figure out who they are. What if Jakub’s one of them?”

She dropped her hand, her eyes widening. “Do you think he could be?”

“I don’t know, but I know he’s after me. Really after me.”

“But who summoned him?”

“You and your big mouth?”

She blanched.

I quickly put an arm around her. “I’m sorry. I’m not blaming you. Honestly, I’m not. At this point, we can’t change the past, but now that my secret’s out, we need to figure out what exactly is going on.”

“Okay, you’re right.” She nodded, her dangling earrings swaying with the movement. “And since I . . . told someone about your forbidden power, I suppose that means I’m obligated to help.”

My jaw dropped. Had my sister just taken responsibility for her actions? I snapped my mouth closed and squeezed her again. “You’ll help me?”

Tess gave me a small smile. “I can look into it for you, if you’d like.”

“How would you do that?” I waved at the small airy home and desolate surroundings out the window. “There’s not much going on around here, and since they don’t let you use the internet or your phone, how would you find anything?”

Her smile turned coy. “Well, one thing I’ve learned in the past week is that the SF has access to these huge libraries that contain information on pretty much everything. One of the members on this base, Archie, is obsessed with them. I could ask him to do some research for me, maybe even join him.”

I laughed, then nudged her playfully. “Pretty sure Commander Klebus won’t let you leave the base to do library research about a potentially mythical group.”

“But if she didn’t know that I left the base, then it would be fine.”

I scowled. “Tess, you can’t do that. Jakub is actively hunting me, and he could pursue you to get to me if the opportunity arose. Besides, you promised me you wouldn’t do anything like that.”

She sighed and flopped back on her chair. “Fine. Okay, I won’t leave, but I could still ask Archie to take a look and see what he finds.”

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth as I thought about it. “Don’t you think Archie will want to know why we’re curious about a group called the Bone Eaters? You can’t tell anyone else about my forbidden power or my new one.”

She gave me a sly look. “You underestimate me, Tala. Leave Archie to me. I’ll have him like putty in my hands within the week, and I won’t have to tell him anything you don’t want him knowing. Promise.”

I laughed, ’cause Tessa was right. My sister may not have a lot of magic, and she might be flighty as hell, but when it came to charming people—especially those of the opposite sex—she was truly a master.

“So who is this guy?”

“One of the new members that works in the command center here. He’s involved in the intelligence side, not the fighting units. Kinda like Carlos is.” She dropped the hair she was twirling. “How is Carlos anyway? He didn’t look happy about you and the Fire Wolf sitting so closely after you—” She swallowed, and a slight uptick in her heart rate followed, the sound like a steady thud to my enhanced hearing. “After you fell out of your window.”

I placed my hand over hers. “I never got to thank you for saving me.”

She scoffed. “I didn’t save you. Your hunter did.”

“But you called him. If you hadn’t, I’d be dead.”

She swallowed again, and tears formed in her eyes. “Let’s not talk about things like that.”