Bryan, Aiden, and Kira immediately rose from their seats, shocked by what they had just heard. They exchanged quick glances as each of them waited to hear what Morane would say next.
“What is it?” Aiden asked, stepping forward slightly. “What is the curse?”
“This is not a matter to be discussed here,” Morane said with a shake of her head. “Please, come with me.”
“That is true,” Aiden said, nodding in agreement. “Alright, let’s go.”
At that moment, the maid Kira had instructed earlier came out of the kitchen, carrying the reheated dishes on a tray. “Alphas, Luna,” the maid called out as she began placing them on the table. “Are you going somewhere? The food is ready.”
“About the food,” Kira said. “Just put it back for now. We will eat later.”
“Okay, Luna,” the maid replied and nodded obediently. Then, the maid gathered the dishes back on the tray and returned to the kitchen.
Morane, who was about to leave, stopped when the maid called out to the Alphas and Kira. And when Kira was done giving the instructions to the maid, Morane asked, “Shall we?”
“Of course,” Bryan answered, and they all followed her.
The walk to Morane’s home was quiet, and the Alpha twins and Kira kept wondering what the curse could be about.
Soon, they reached Morane’s home.
Morane opened the door and stepped aside to let them in.
“Take a seat,” she said, gesturing toward a large couch in her not so little living room.
The couch was wide enough to comfortably seat three and Bryan, Aiden and Kira sat down with Kira in the middle. As Morane took a seat across from them on her one-seater couch.
Morane leaned forward and picked up a thick, heavy book that was on a nearby table. The cover was dark, with some unusual designs etched into the leather. It was a very unusual book. The edges were worn, and the pages were slightly yellow.
“This,” Morane began as she set the book on her lap, “is a tome of dark spells and ancient curses. What I mean is that this book carries information about dark spells and ancient curses. It carries explanations, advantages, disadvantages, what it does, and many more.”
“So, this book,” she continued after pausing to let what she had told them settle in, “holds the answers we need.”
“I have had this for a while,” she began as she traced over the dark, worn leather cover of the book, glancing down at it. “A friend of mine gave it to me months ago, and since then I have been studying it. I actually forgot about this book because it is not something anyone can get their hands on, but I thought it might help with the answers we need, and so I made the request.”
Morane continued after taking a deep breath and raising her head up to look at Bryan, Aiden and Kira who listened to her closely without interruptions. “That’s that. So, I have been going through this tome carefully, page by page, trying to find anything that matches with everything that has gone on with the darkness in you Alphas. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but now, I am confident in my findings.” Then, she paused, looking at the three of them.
“Before I say anything about the curse,” Morane said slowly as she looked at each of their faces. “I would like to ask a few questions. This is something very serious, and I believe I know what this is, but still, I need to be absolutely sure. So, is that okay?”
“Of course,” Bryan nodded first, his whole demeanor serious and calm. “Ask whatever you need, too.”
“Yes, please go ahead,” Aiden added, his voice also calm.
Kira nodded as well, placing her hands on Bryan and Aiden’s laps and rubbing them softly. “We will answer anything you ask.”
“Alright,” Morane began. “Alpha Bryan, Alpha Aiden-when did you first notice the darkness trying to take over?”
“It was when we were with Kira,” Aiden answered.
“Yes,” Bryan agreed. “We always knew that something was in us but that day we felt it wanting to take over. And it was just as if it was more focused on harming Kira.”
Morane nodded slowly. “And during that time, did anything unusual happen? Also, when you were back in control after the darkness took over, did you remember anything?”
Bryan and Aiden looked past Kira, their eyes meeting briefly, and after several moments of silence, Bryan answered. “There was a whisper. One night. I think it said something like, ‘This is just the beginning.’ Something like that.”
“And for the other question, we do remember everything,” Aiden responded. “It is like we are locked away in the back of our minds, and we feel that the darkness has taken over. We see and feel it trying to harm Kira, but we can’t do anything to stop it. And it is always her; it’s hard to explain.”
“Yeah and even when it is not in full control like the first time it tried to take over, it just feels like it is going for her. Wanting to hurt or kill her,” Bryan added, trying to calm himself as they explained what they felt from the darkness.
“This curse is really complex. I’m sure you are all confused,” Morane said to them. “And it is okay to be confused, I will break it all down after I’m done with my questions.”
“Sure,” they all nodded, waiting for her to ask whatever else she wanted to ask.
“This is the last question, and it is going to be something more personal. Please understand it is necessary for me to be sure.”
“Go ahead, Morane,” Bryan said, wanting to get to the bottom of all these.
“You three have been intimate, haven’t you? Fully mated?” Morane asked, her tone careful, yet direct.
Aiden nodded without hesitation. “Of course, we have. But what does that have to do with this?”
“Well…” Morane started, her eyes softening as she turned her focus fully on Kira. “Have you experienced any symptoms of pregnancy?”
“No,” Kira answered, stiffening slightly. “I haven’t. But is that not normal? I mean, we have always wanted a pup, but it has not really been that long.”
“It could be,” Morane admitted. “Every wolf is different, and sometimes the body takes longer to prepare for pups. But… what if it is not just about that?” Then she shifted her attention to include all three of them. “Have you ever considered the possibility that this curse, that darkness in you, might be preventing it?”
Bryan, Aiden and Kira had to take a moment to think before Bryan answered, his jaw tightened. “We haven’t thought about that. We always figured that whenever the time came, it would be fine. So, we didn’t feel the need to rush or worry about it.”
“But…” Kira’s voice broke a little as she asked, “Is it possible? Could the curse really be doing that?”
“I believe it is,” Morane responded. “Everything aligns, and while the liquid I made helps to manage it temporarily, it is not a permanent solution. I had no idea what the curse was but made that liquid out of knowledge because I knew it could help. It is like a normal liquid that can help with curses, but after knowing about this curse… I don’t know if that liquid would be of any help for long.”
“Then tell us,” Kira pressed, as Bryan and Aiden placed their hands over hers, which were still on their laps, rubbing it gently. “What is this curse?”
Morane’s gaze locked onto Kira’s, then moved to Bryan and Aiden. “It’s called, Zhrakkor Korvakia.”
“What does that mean?” Aiden asked.
“It means, The Curse of Love,” Morane answered. “This is very dark magic and piecing everything together- the way I almost died when I tried to break it… and the way it takes over your bodies and keeps trying to kill your mate… it is definitely the curse.”
Shaking her head, Morane continued. “There is no doubt that this is the curse we are dealing with. This is it!”
“So, what can we do?” Bryan asked urgently. “We are so close to finally breaking it. Tell us, how do we break this curse?”
Morane hesitated, her gaze dropping to the tome on her lap. She sighed heavily before meeting their eyes, but still said nothing.
“Morane, what is it?” Aiden asked, noticing her expression, which conveyed bad news.
“We can’t break the curse,” Morane said. “The only thing that can be done now is for you three to sever the bond.”
“What do you mean, sever the bond?” Bryan asked in disbelief, already getting very angry and frustrated.
“Sever the bond?” Kira asked, just to make sure she also heard correctly, her heart sinking. “You mean we would stop being mates?”
“Yes,” Morane nodded. “That is exactly what I mean.”