#Chapter 71: Alex''s Curse


    Alex offers to help me clean up the kitchen while Ryan packs supplies.


    Rita''s leg is a lot better. She also offers to help, but Alex tells her to rest, his excuse being that he hopes we can go back to the Ayzena base in the next day or two, and that he needs her at full strength if this issue isn''t resolved.


    "I want toe with you," Rita argues. "I deserve the right to kill some rogue scum."


    "You''ll get your chance," Alex assures her. "Just not today For all we know, this will be a bust and we''lle back empty handed."


    Rita reluctantly agrees and reclines on the couch, elevating her leg.


    With a little privacy, I get nosey. "Doooyyou. Think. You''ll find them?"


    Alex keeps his hands busy and his eyes on his task. "I think we''ll find them today."


    "Really?" I ask, my hands emersed in hot, sudsy water.


    "They were close enough to find you, which either means their base is close by or they have scouts watching the woods. My money is on a nearby base."


    "Be careful,” I say, my voice cracking. "Come back?"


    "Of course, I will!" Alex drops the towel and puts his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “Don''t worry about me. I honestly do feel better-like my battery''s been recharged."


    Iy my head on his chest and hear Alex''s heartbeat. I hope he''s being honest with me. He sure does look better, but that doesn''t mean he''s one hundred percent.


    I feel one hundred percent right now, though. My body is growing too ustomed to feeling Alex close by.


    Ryan walks into the room and we abruptly let go, splitting apart like positive and negative electrons. Only not before Ryan glimpses our embrace.


    His face darkens and he looks at me with eyes that could burn a hole in me.


    It elicits a chill, and I wonder what is wrong with him.


    He abruptly says, "We''re packed."


    Alex runs his fingers through his hair and nods. "Yeah-okay, man. Let''s get going then."


    I follow them into the living room where there are two backpacks beside the front door.


    I think Alex is trying to lighten the mood when he says, "I hope you have insect repent packed in there. Those bloodsuckers are bad this time of year."


    I roll my eyes and Rita sneers, and I wonder how I''ll manage with Rita when the guys are gone.


    They both sling the backpacks on one shoulder and wave their goodbyes to us. I go to the door to watch them leave.


    It would have been nice to have a goodbye kiss...


    Only a few people are out this time of the morning, and I watch them disappear, side by side, down the main road.


    When I turn around, I see Rita watching me. "He''ll be fine, you know. The only thing you need to worry about with him is his ability to call the right moves when they find what they''re looking for."


    #Chapter 71: Alex''s Curse


    "Think they will?"


    "They''ll find them alright. Maybe not today, but soon. I know they''re out there."


    I plop down into a chair and close my eyes. I''m going to be nervous wreck the whole time they''re gone. Rita huffs. "So what do you want to do now, princess?"


    She doesn''t look amused either, and I wonder if she''s worried about Alex as much as I am? I mean, she probably is. He''s her future, not mine. It almost makes it feel wrong to allow Alex to talk about his feelings with me, like maybe he''s betraying Rita.


    Except I can''t help it; I crave hearing every word from him long for every touch... wanting more and more...


    But knowing I can''t have it. Maybe I''m just a glutton for self-torture.


    When I hear a guttural crying from outside, I run back to the door. I open it ajar but don''t see anything at first.


    "What is it?" Rita asks, sitting up straighter now.


    "I don''t see any..." My eyes growrge. Can it be?


    Rita jumps up and gets between me and the door, I guess in case there''s something dangerous, though it still pisses me off when she shoves me aside.


    Ryan is walking back toward the house, holding Alex up as he attempts to walk. He''s bent over, one arm wrapped around his stomach and the other clenching onto Ryan''s shoulder.


    I rush past Rita, meeting them before they have a chance to reach the front porch. "Wwwhat happened?"


    When I reach them, I slide under Alex''s other arm and help prop him up as they walk.


    Ryan is able to pick up his pace with the extra help. "We didn''t even make it out of town before Alex was trying to eat the dust."


    "Bite the dussst," I say, correcting him. "That''s the expression."


    "Whatever. Something''s seriously wrong.


    We get Alex inside and back on the couch. Rita stands at the foot, looming over him and watching intently, obviously concerned over Alex''s welfare as much as I


    am.


    Kneeling beside him, Ryan begins a type of exam over Alex. First, he runs his hands over Alex''s torso. exins to me what he''s doing. "If he''s emitting any bad energy, then I should be able to feel it. And it seems to being from here..."


    I want to cry. Or curl back up into Alex and offer him my warmth. But he''s not even paying attention to me. His eyes are closed, and his teeth are gritted.


    Ryan doesn''t respond right away.


    "Well???" Rita asks impatiently.


    "He''s suffering from a binding spell. A rejection ritual."


    "What doesss that mean?"


    "It means that someone has cursed his body to reject its mate. Until the rejection


    isplete and its pull


    #Chapter 71: Alex''s Curse


    subsides, he''s going to get sick every time he leaves you," Ryan says pointedly to Rita.


    She flinches and 1 want to throw up.


    "It usually happens pretty quickly, but if this was done before he arrived, it could


    still take days-especially if it''s a strong bond."


    Rita begins pacing the floor, anxious. "Surely there''s something you can do for him."


    "I can give him something for the pain, but the ritual can only be reversed by the shaman who ced it."


    I follow Ryan to his personal bathroom, the one attached to his bedroom. "Isss there anything. I can do?"


    He doesn''t bother turning around. He opens arge cupboard door and begins rummaging through its contents." This is a powerful procedure aimed to strike heart at a very intense past of our wolves. It may not be easy to get him to pull through. Having Rita around lessens the effects, but trying to leave her until it''splete has the opposite effect."


    Armed with an armful of bottles, he leads me back out into the living room.


    Ryan mixes up an herbal concoction and gets Alex to drink it. Then Alex rests for the afternoon as the pain reliever works its magic.