The Alpha's curse Mate

ir held back, heavy and dense, as if the earth itself was waiting. On the edge of town, where the fore

supposed

er grumbled, peering at her over his shoulder. "Not much g

th a small, tight smile. "T

ered to life, pulling away in a cloud of dust. As the sound of its departure fad

ching on gravel. The town was small, almost forgotten, a single street lined with aged buildings t

nger. Every night, the forest called to her. A whisper in her mind, pulling her like a puppet toward this unknown place.

k Ho

s you seek

but Aurora knew ther

wed at her stomach, but so did something else-an unease she couldn't explain. Aurora glanced to

range lurch. Someon

eet. Nothing. No movement, no figures. Still, the feel

being p

oor of the diner. A bell chimed softly, and th

lked through their door. Aurora offered a faint smile, trying not to let their scrutiny unnerve h

was calm but carried an undertone of cur

d smoothly. "Looking for a qu

uiet's the word for this place, all right." She reached under the counter and h

her suitcase down beside her stool. "Know o

ding house on Willow Street. Miss Jensen runs it. Bit noisy,

he window, where the forest remained a shadow in the distance. H

there," Holly said, he

ck, frowning. "W

a place for wandering. The locals know better

and the air in the dinner seemed to shift. A heavy stilln

hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and her pulse qui

cket. He carried himself with the kind of confidence that came naturally to someone who kne

locked onto hers like a tether. For a mome

gh to make her heart stutter. Then, without a word, he

ora whispered, tur

sion had turned wary. "T

t something in Aurora's memory

oice was low. "You don't wan

ut the window, but there was an energy about him something dark and

the feeling in her chest, a pull as strong and u