A Curse Unbroken (6 page)

We’d spent the remainder of the evening alone, in peace, and in bed. “I could tell you were upset when you came home,” I said, remembering. “What was wrong?”

He rubbed his chest again. “Did you ever hear of Shah?”

I groaned, dreading what was coming. “You’re not talking about some hip-hop artist, are you?”

He laughed. “Oh, I wish. He or she is a sacred stone.”

I had to find a sacred stone once. It sucked. I’d almost died. Sense a theme here? Hearing one referred to as him or her was something new, though. “He or she?” I repeated.

Aric pinched the bridge of his nose, but kept his smile. “Okay, this is going to sound strange.”

“I have no doubt,” I muttered.

He laughed again. “Shah is believed to be a living entity, considering he—I’ll just say ‘he’ for now—is a large clear crystal. It’s believed he’s as old as the earth and has absorbed its power since his creation. Shah’s different from other magic stones. The majority possess a moderate amount of magic that has been amplified through witchcraft or sorcery. Shah was potent from the start and has only grown stronger with the passage of time. From what I’ve gathered, he’s also developed a personality along the way.”

Okay. Definitely new territory here. “So when someone says a person has the personality of a rock…?”

“He wasn’t referring to Shah,” Aric finished for me. “His personality borders on funny—as in, his behavior is odd and some find him humorous.”

My impression was that of a rock telling knock-knock jokes, but I doubted that’s what Aric was getting at. “All righty. So, where is this magic rock capable of ha-ha’s?”

The smile eased from Aric’s face. “We’re not entirely sure. Centuries ago he was hidden away because of his power.”

When someone needed to hide something because of its power, it was never wonderful news for the good guys if the bad guys discovered it. “This rock can’t raise demons, can it?”

“Well…”

Okay, so much for hoping. I plopped my head back down on his chest. “A rock that can raise demons. That’s just fantastic.”

“Thankfully, it’s not as simple as that.” Aric kissed the top of my head. “Shah can do anything his holder wants, but only when he feels he will obtain something of value in return. So yes, if his holder wants to raise an army of brain-sucking demons, we’re screwed if Shah feels he’s been fairly compensated.”

“The rock has a price?” It was crazy just saying it. “What could a rock want?”

Aric sighed. “Good question. That’s where his personality comes in. We’re worried about his needs being met and what his holder will demand of him.”

I pushed up on my elbows. “Who’s his current holder?”

“We’re not sure yet. But we think a bunch of software geeks discovered him and have so far had their wishes granted.”

“Software geeks have him—as in
humans
?”

Aric nodded like he couldn’t believe it himself. I understood his reasoning. He viewed human inhabitants of the world as those in need of protection from the dark ones. Unless they were mated to a
were,
humans remained unaware of the dangers lurking in the shadows. Those humans who encountered evil did so by chance and typically died a horrid death. I’d encountered enough corpses and dismembered parts to know that for a fact.

“There’s this new computer game that came out several weeks ago simply called Shah,” Aric said, drawing me away from my disturbing memories. “Alliance members in charge of policing Internet chatter caught wind of it when it was first being developed. Shah’s legend is infamous, but like most legends, humans hadn’t given it much merit. The Alliance put the software developers on their radar, but didn’t initially feel they were worth investigating.”

“Because they were only human.”

Aric nodded. “Yes. With no supernatural ties, no magic in their families, and no relationships with any
weres
.”

“So what changed then?”

“These geeks discovered more details about Shah and incorporated them into the game— his last known location, what Shah does, how strong he is—more information than they should have known based on existing legend. Want to hear the kicker?”

My hand passed over his hard stomach. “Probably not.”

“Since the game Shah was released a month ago, this band of geeks has already netted close to twelve million in profit—even though the game they developed isn’t anything high-tech or extraordinary. From what Koda says, their marketing and promo was also minimal. The geeks set up a website and that was pretty much it.”

There was so much wrong with this, I didn’t know where to begin. “Tell me about the game.”

“It’s a rip-off of most treasure-hunter games. You pick which character you want to be and you send him or her beneath the Madiyan Kulom, a famous Indian temple and the last place Shah was believed to be. Your character fights his way through a maze until he finds Shah. Shah is replicated as a large clear crystal with an ‘X’ etched into the side—also another fact these geeks shouldn’t know.”

“Okay, then what happens?”

“That’s it. ‘Your wish is granted’ flashes across the screen and you get ten thousand points.”

Aric was right, nothing very extraordinary about this game. With technology being what it was, it actually sounded rather boring. I sat up. “So you’re thinking one of these geeks found the real Shah and wished for money. In exchange Shah obtained something of value. Notoriety, perhaps?”

Aric slipped out of bed. “That’s what we’re thinking. If the legend is true, Shah’s wishes have been expended and his time is drawing to a close. He only has a few wishes left to grant before he cracks and is no more.” He crossed his arms. “The last wish is what concerns me most. It’s supposed to be the most significant and potentially tip the scales on the side of good or in evil’s favor.”

“So if the bad guys get it…”

Aric nodded. “The good guys may never recover.”

Damnit.
I worked through the facts. “If these are humans who have him, do you think they’ll wish for something so extreme that it would affect the world that greatly?”

“I don’t know. But just because they’re human doesn’t make them immune to evil deeds or thoughts. And this game they created, along with the records it’s breaking in sales, will assure that Shah lives on in infamy. The way I see it, Shah’s been compensated well enough.”

Aric was right. Considering how he was making out, Shah likely considered the geeks’ quest for money and fame a worthwhile wish to grant.

The thing was Alliance members weren’t the only ones who monitored chatter. The Tribe, while severely broken, still had a few devoted followers remaining. “What’s left of the Tribe will want Shah, won’t they?”

The planes of Aric’s face tightened. “Or the shifters or some new threat. The dark ones are angry, Celia. The attack from the shifters proves they want blood and to gain an upper hand at all costs. We have to get Shah before anything else does.”

Yeah. We do
.

I followed Aric into the bathroom, wrapping myself in a silk robe as he dressed. Truth be told, I liked my wolf very naked. I stroked his shoulder when he tugged on his jeans. “Too bad we can’t survive on our love, huh?”

He smiled and kissed my lips. “Yeah. Time to get back to work.”

I tried to smile back and I would have if he didn’t remind me where he was headed and what it meant. I’d grown used to Aric’s constant presence. Martin, his Alpha and lead Elder, had granted him a leave of absence based on the severity of my injuries. It was another way he’d demonstrated his approval of our matehood, and a way of apologizing for the harm Anara had caused.

My hand skimmed over my belly. Martin meant well, but his good deeds couldn’t erase all the damage Anara inflicted. Anara was gone, but there was still evil out there, waiting to hurt innocents incapable of protecting themselves.

Aric was right. It was time to go back to work.

For both of us.

“I’m ready to go back to work, too,” I told him.

Aric finished yanking on his dark blue T-shirt. “You don’t have to. Stay home. I’ll support us.”

“You mean hang out, cook for you, and wait naked at the table for your return?”

Aric laughed. “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

I tried not to laugh along with him. Aric considered himself a modern-day werewolf. When it came down to it, though, he was pretty old-fashioned. His mother had quit her job as an accountant when she married Aric’s dad. She’d doted on her husband, and then Aric when he came along, making sure they had everything they needed. While Aric didn’t demand the same of me, I knew he loved the idea of coming home every night to my open arms, and a hearty meal befitting a badass wolf.

“I want to work, Aric. Besides, waiting for you to come home will drive me crazy.”

Aric shrugged. “If that’s what you want, fine. But if it gets to be too much, stop, no questions asked.”

“I think it will be okay.” Or I hoped. Visions of exploding demon parts danced in my head. I shuddered and adjusted the belt on my ivory robe, careful to hide my scars. “What’s going to suck is I have to travel far to chase Shah. I don’t like us being apart….”

The scent of shock and anger hit my nose like a blast of cold air. Aric was suddenly facing me and he wasn’t happy. “What do you mean, ‘chase Shah’?”

I frowned. “We just discussed me going back to work. That means tracking Shah. My job is working for the Alliance and getting the bad guys.”

“Don’t you mean working for
Misha
?” Aric growled. “Damnit, Celia. I thought you were talking about returning to nursing!”

My frown softened only because I was trying not to cry. “You mean going back and delivering babies? Sorry, Aric, I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that.”

Aric rubbed his eyes before gathering me in his arms. “I know, sweetness. I didn’t mean…” He sighed. “There are other jobs in the nursing field. If it suits you, work with Taran in the cardiac lab.”

“It doesn’t suit me, Aric. What does is ridding the world of evil.”

“As a
were
that’s my duty. You are under no obligation to be involved in our affairs.”

I pulled away from him then. “How can you say that? This is my world, too.”

Aric crossed his arms and glared. “Because you are my mate, my fiancée, and soon to be my wife.”

“Just because I’m all those things doesn’t mean you have a right to tell me what to do.”

“I’m not.” He held out his hands. “Can’t you understand that I don’t want you hurt?”

“Can’t
you
understand that I’m not going to sit around catering to your every need while whatever evil creature wants Shah gets him first?”

Aric became quiet. “I don’t expect you to do anything but to keep safe. That can’t happen if you’re back with the vamps.”

He didn’t consider my guardian angel master vampire a trusted member of the Alliance, even though Misha had shielded me from danger in Aric’s absence. But as much as the vamps had their own agenda, Misha included, they were the ones who’d trained me to become a weapon.

They also came through for me when it mattered.

I took a deep breath in an effort to calm my temper. “Aric, I haven’t always agreed with your decisions—especially when they’ve pertained to Pack politics or
were
ways and tradition. But regardless, I’ve always tried to respect your reasoning and your sense of duty. You need to respect that when their actions fall within the Alliance agenda, and will help the greater good, my allegiance is to the vampires.”

“Have you talked to him?”

Aric meant Misha and Misha alone.
Way to go off topic, wolf
. “No. He’s still in Europe.” I didn’t bother telling him that he was actually in Transylvania trying to find a wife because, yeah, that would’ve earned Misha creepy points he didn’t need.

“So he hasn’t mentioned anything about Shah?”

Aric could sniff lies. Why would he be asking me about Shah so soon after telling me about him himself? I frowned. “Ah, no,” I said slowly. “The last time I spoke with him was a few weeks ago. You know this.”

“The vamp hasn’t called again?” Aric questioned me with more bite in his tone than I was used to or appreciated.

I lifted my chin, willing myself not to go all crazy Latina. “That ‘vamp’ helped save my life more than once. He’s a friend, and I have no reason to keep any interaction with him a secret.”

Aric opened his mouth then snapped it shut. He took several breaths, and then several more as if struggling to stay in control.

I watched him, stunned and confused as to what exactly had set him off. “Aric?”

He turned from me and gripped the edge of the counter, his breaths growing more labored. Sweat poured from his temples as he worked to slow his breathing and extinguish his rising anger.

He was losing his composure.

And it scared me.

A low growl escaped from his lips. The veins of his arms bulged as he clamped down on the counter. The force of his grip caused the granite to snap between his hands. A crack, as thick as my finger, shot out like a lightning bolt and smacked against the edge of the sink.

Aric’s entire body shook. He was seconds from exploding and tearing someone to shreds.

Anyone else would have hauled ass away from him.

But I wasn’t just anyone.

I curled my arms around his and breathed, simply breathed, allowing our warmth to spread between us. “It’s okay,” I whispered softly. “I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you….”

He growled, low and vicious, as if sensing a threat.

My eyes scanned the surroundings. Was something with us? “And you won’t let anything happen to me, either….”

When my voice alone was not enough to settle him, I tried to reach him on a deeper level. In my mind, I pictured my tigress approaching Aric’s animal form. I saw her hurry toward his gray wolf without fear, and without hesitation, chuffing in a way of a greeting.

He bounded toward her, his tail wagging, and allowed her to rub against his soft fur. But then the image was clouded with confusion. Our animal sides paused and glanced up as if searching for someone they could no longer see.