Her Curse, Their Claim

d with a sneer. "The wolves can use an extra set of hands." "Groundskeeping?" she echoed. "They'll keep you busy. Try not to bleed on anything." By "groundskeeping," apparently they meant cutt

" "I can't," he growled. "Why not?" He stepped toward her. Massive. Lethal. Golden eyes burning. "Because your scent is driving me insane." He shifted mid-stride, shifting from wolf to man in a blur of smoke and bone. Naked. Furious. Glorious. Seren spun around, trying not to look - failing. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she said. "You," he said simply. "You're what's wrong with me." "You don't even know me." "But my wolf does. He recognized you before I did." "And what did he recognize?" He stepped closer. "Home." The wind shifted. Her mark glowed. And this time... it flared silver-white, blazing up her side. Rhys froze, staring at it. "You're one of them." "One of what?" "The Cursed Heart," he said hoarsely. "The one we were all made for." Seren should've run. Should've denied it. Instead, she looked at him - at the rage and longing fighting in his face. "I'm not yours," she said. "No," he said. "But I'm already yours." She reached out... and he let her. Their hands touched. A pulse. A rush of wild magic. A shared breath. He pulled back like he'd been struck. "If I stay, I'll ruin you." "Then run," she whispered. He didn't. He kissed her. Not sweet. Not soft. A war-torn kiss - like he hated how much he needed her. And when he finally left, the shadows curled tighter around her. The next day, Seren was summoned by Headmistress Varrow herself. The woman's office was filled with wolf relics - bone-carved daggers, silver-tipped spears, and a massive claw mounted in glass. "You trespassed during a full moon," Varrow said, fingers steepled. "You're lucky Rhys didn't maul you." "I was just-" "Drawn to him?" Her voice was a knife. "Yes. That happens with fated bonds. But you're not Pack." "And I didn't ask for any of this." Varrow stood. "None of them did either. Rhys is Alpha-Born. He was meant to lead his pack, not fall into old curses." "Curses?" Seren asked. Varrow's gaze darkened. "Some blood