“The wolf who fled with the toxin was cursed by witches. They wanted to teach him a lesson, hoped he would learn how terrible it felt to be a shifter who was stripped of his ability to shift.”
It felt like the wind was knocked from my lungs as the meaning of his words hit me. “It’s not possible.”
“Everyone outside Wolf Creek knows the story of your family’s betrayal.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t sure if it was true until I met you. It all lines up. You’re from Wolf Creek, your family was cursed. If there’s any record of your grandfather’s work, it’s probably with your mother.”
I glared at him. “You knew all this the first night we met and you said nothing.”
“I had to be sure I could trust you. What if you were sent here to spy on us?”
I felt foolish for letting him in, but his comment about trust made up for it. Alec wasn’t one to trust easily so the statement meant a lot. But that didn’t mean it made what he was asking any better.
“You want the toxin,” I said.
He nodded. “I think there might be some notes or information with your mother. If you can get me that, I’ll help you break the mating bond.”
“What do you need it for?” I didn’t want to see more of that weapon out in the world. It was bad enough that Wolf Creek had access to it.
“That’s my business. This is the deal, take it or leave it,” he said.
I thought about my last night in Wolf Creek. My mom stayed in her room while Julian threatened me. She never told me about my family history or why we couldn’t shift. The whole town treated me like shit despite the fact that they were profiting off my grandfather’s invention.
Then images of Tyler flooded my mind. The disappointment on his face at the full moon ceremony, the flash of hatred in his eyes when he looked at me, his hands around my throat in the bathroom. All those images flashed through me in a heartbeat, then the memory of our kiss forced its way to the surface. My cheeks felt hot and I found myself longing to feel his touch.
It took far too much willpower to send the vision away and recall why I hated Tyler. Alec was right. The longer I waited, the worse it was going to get. I had to end the bond between us.
“It’s a deal,” I said. “I’ll get what I can. You help me break the bond. And if we can’t break it fast enough, I want you to kill him.”
My heart was racing, elated at the thought of breaking my ties to Wolf Creek. There was nothing for me there once Tyler was gone. My mom had left me years ago. The mating bond was the only thing standing in my way.
Alec lifted a brow and the corner of his lips turned up in a vicious grin. “There’s that killer instinct I knew was in there somewhere. I think this means you’re officially feral. I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll leave by the next full moon. You have two weeks.”