The Cursed Bloodline

grasped my grandmother's arm, bracing myself

s riveted on me. There was a flash of something familiar in them, something beyond instin

d back to the house, my heart pounding. A roar tore through the n

oor once we entered. My head racing, I sank aga

my shoulder and pulle

, and she's been-what? Livi

hts. "Is that... really her?" She did not meet my gaze. Inst

wolf, but my legs finally obeyed

g a wave of nausea roll over me. "

ecrets clear on her face. "The curse consumes, Mia. It takes everything-your humanity, your memories

opping heavily into the pit of my stomach. "So tha

gnore. "Not if we stop it. The curse doesn't have to run its full cours

that my mother had simply... left me. You resist the urges. To think she'd been out there all these years,

voice barely a whisper. "Did she... di

ought it with everything she had. But the curse is clever, Mia. It plays on your weaknes

hand in hers as she reached across the table. "Just as I'm tel

posed to do? Just pretend like nothing's happening? Because this.

olve. "You have to try. Do you understand? You must stay away

than anything I had ever encountered. I felt as though I had been starving all my life, and after tasting it, I was unsure of h

f us made

and force. At last, my grandmother got up and walk

t of suspicion in her voice. "Elias." My heart r

, allowing Elias to step inside. His face was tense, his da

he could even speak. "I s

hought as much." He turned to my grandmother, a hint o

e two of them. "Why didn't you tell me what I w

use knowledge can make the curse stronger. Fear feeds it. You need

ed to accept that my mother's some... some curs

mpathetic. "You don't have to end up like her, Mia. That's why

rse's mechanism," he stated in a steady, composed tone. "It goes beyond bloodlines. You are bound by the curse to the forest, to something old and... pe

ep, trembli

Control is what the curse seeks." It will push and test you. It will cause you to doubt everything, including your re

to keep it at bay. Rituals, However, you must promise us, Mia-you must promise

caping my lips. Something went between us,

through. Even though I really wanted to trust him, I couldn't g

s that can weaken its hold. "There's something else you sho

creeping over me.

full control, it won't stop at you. It will spread,

ok, my heart racing as I tried to g

ntrol it, Mia... you could be the start of something far w

s creeping closer, the whispers growing louder. This wasn't just about me or m

aze, I could see the g

here to make sure, if I lost control, he'd