The Alpha's Curse The Enemy Within

Killian's point of view

| kept stroking hard on the paper with my quill pen, moving at a great speed. | was at my office, making my time

worthwhile, attending to spack business.

| have never been so grateful for the truckload of work | had to tend to. It was the only thing keeping my mind

and soul together, regardless of how tiresit was and | tried not to think about anything at all. But even with

the exhaustion and sleepless nights, there were sthings that | wished could be forgotten, like the situation

with Thea, while there are sthings that | never want to forget, like Sheila.

It's been two days since she left the Pack and she hasn't been back yet, nor have | heard anything from her,

even though Morgan still somehow communicates with her. It's really so frustrating to be completely shut out,

especially when it has to do with my mate. | had never felt so far from her, both physically and through our bond.

| couldn't even feel her, or connect with her, | guess she blocked me.

I sighed, tossing the quill pen away on the table, its black ink splashing on the papers covering my table. | stood

up from my seat, flexing my legs to the window, boring hard into the darkness just outside. | felt a chilling

sadness inside.

| could only wonder what Sheila was doing at this second and if she was thinking of me. | had promised myself to

give her space and time, but two days without her felt like two torturous lifetimes without her. It's suffocating,

but I still try to have hope that she'll cback to me.

| massaged my aching temples. | didn't even know if waiting for her to cwas the right choice. For several

hours, | had contemplated going to the Black Blood Pack, not to force her back with me, but just to talk with her.

But | knew that was impossible. Leonardo and Kaiser wouldn't even letpast their territory, and | didn't want

to go there to make trouble and give Sheila another reason to despise me.

So | decided to send a letter to her instead, but the chances of it reaching Sheila's hands were zero, not with her

brothers there. Even | would try to cut off all interactions between Sheila andif | had a sister.

Not even the idea of Valerie transportingthere to see Sheila without her brother's knowledge was good

enough, Sheila would probably despisestill. So | am forced to wait, and make prayers to the moon goddess

to helpkeep my mate. | couldn't possibly live without her.

| shoved both of my hands into my pockets, jerking abruptly from my thoughts when the door made a loud

sound.

| spun around to find Valerie standing at the door, her purple eyes fixed on me.

"I have been knocking for hours now," she stated, flatly, obviously exaggerating a little bit, but | had been lost in

my thoughts that | didn't even hear.

"l apologize, please cin," | said, strutting back to my table as Valerie closed the door behind me.

She ambled closer to the table and settled into the seat opposite mine as her purple irises examined me

carelessly.

"For the record—" she began but | swept back tendrils of my hair, cutting her off.

"I know. | don't look good," Those were words | have been accustomed to hearing the past two days.

"How is she?" | was direct, | know Valerie had visited Sheila at Leonardo's pack.

"She's fine and safe. No one knows she's there," Valerie said, and | felt both hurt and relieved at the stime.

"I need your help," | said to Valerie. | had requested to see her, after the news Morgan received from his friends

in the South who were making findings on Thea.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find anything on her, and the fact we had no traceable information on Thea,

complicated everything.

"You know | will always be ready to help," Valerie's words madesmile, thankfully. "So what is it?"

"It's about Thea," | said, and Valerie leaned back on her chair, listening calmly.

This was my last option to find out something about Thea. As the day went by, | was more certain she was hiding

something, and everything she toldwas false. It's almost like | had becobsessed with finding out the

truth about Thea, but that's not the case. | was so furious with myself that | couldn't see past her faux identity

and pretense. | just wanted to know who that woman was, and if her presence in my life was a plan. | was

curious to find out everything | could about Thea Chrysler.

"And what about her?" Valerie asked, after regardinga second in silence.

"I need your help to find out as much information as | can on her. | want to know who she is. She said she's from

a pack in the south and her previous Alpha was after her life, | want to know if that's the truth," | voiced calmly

while Valerie listened.

"Why the curiosity all of the sudden?" She questioned, and | shook my head.

"Frankly, | don't know. These past weeks, | have been having these feelings in my gut, there's something off

about Thea that | am surprisingly just realizing," | muttered, "Don't look atlike that, Valerie, you know |

couldn't just make this up to get rid of her," | added. No matter who Thea was, that didn't change the fact that

she was expecting my child. | just wanted to know the woman | had brought into my pack and my life.

"Fine, | can't do much like finding out her previous pack, or why the Alpha was after her life, but I could find out

about her true identity and her parents’ ancestry," she uttered.

| exhaled in elation, resting my fingers under my chin. "That's just wonderful, Valerie."

That was exactly what | needed. If | knew about Thea's family, | could find her previous pack and learn more

about her.

"But before | could do that, | need something," her words caused my smile to vanish.

"Something like what?" | queried.

"Something that belongs to Thea. Something personal, and holds skind of significance to her. | need it for

the spell I'll make. It must be something she chere with." Valerie finished, and | huffed, exhausted.

"That would be difficult, and almost impossible. Thea chere brutally wounded, and without anything in her

possession," | told her.

"There must be something, Killian. A piece of jewelry, a family heirloom, anything. She must have something,"

Valerie said.

And | paused for a second to think. | really didn't remember anything from the day she came, and with my time

with her, | didn't notice anything. But I'll have to find something. This was the last option | had to unravel this

mystery behind Thea.

"I will find something. Is that all you need?" | asked her.

"Just a personal belonging, and a strand of her hair, and that's it," She sounded.

"Great, | will find a way to get them," | exhaled, realizing | had to go to her chamber to obtain all of them. |

haven't seen her since Sheila left, and I didn't want to. But now, | had no choice.

"Thank you, Valerie. | appreciate this," | was sincere with my words. | really appreciated everything she does for