The Moonlit Curse

Ch 39: Origins

Kiya woke with a gasp, choked, and started coughing. Rolling over to her side, her back arched as she retched, but nothing came out. A pair of warm hands gripped her shoulders gently to support her and a voice she was coming to hate told her to relax and breathe. Octavius.

Fuck.

He had been right about the second night's shift not being as painful. His commands did ease the waves of cramps and cracking joints. But he kept visions of her own past in reverse order.

Her night of passion with August. The night Octavius bit her. Her home in the capital and her studies with the Monster Hunters. Her first love. The first time she met Red. And then the dream she knew like the back of her hand. The night that woman—that she now knew had to be her mother—gave birth to her in the attic of an abandoned barn. Finally, she knew the face of the stranger, and she didn't want to believe it.

"Drink, Kiya," Octavius commanded, holding a cup of tea to her to her lips.

She choked again, trying to resist the orders even as her traitorous body gulped the hot drink down. The liquid dribbling down her chin to her chest reminded her of her nakedness and Kiya ripped a blanket up to cover herself.

"You don't need to hide from me," he chuckled, squeezing her shoulder and handing her the shift she was wearing before. "We are a fated pair. When we get home, I am going to commit every inch of your body to memory."

"The Celestial Isles are not my home," Kiya seethed. "I don't care what my wolf thinks, that bitch only gets to come out three nights a month, I am not your fucking mate."

Echo growled in the corner and Kiya flipped her middle finger at the wolf.

"I knew this was going to be difficult for you to accept. I am ready to spend the next several years showing you that I am your alpha. In time, Kiya, you will submit to me."

Kiya dragged the shift over her body and turned to slump back against the wall and watch Octavius fuss with the supplies. They were in a different cave than the day before. How far had they travelled during the night when she had no control?

"Tell me something," she panted. Whatever happened, whether August found her or if she was doomed to live the rest of her life as Octavius's puppet, she had to know the truth. "What happened to the oracle that served your family after your mother died?"

"He continued to serve my family for two decades, in more ways than one."

"What does that mean?"

"There are only so many times my father will tolerate being betrayed. The old man should have told him that he saw my mother's impending death but stayed quiet at her request. He was not punished because he was following the orders of his queen. But his following discretions could not be forgiven."

"Discretions like getting one of his priestesses pregnant and helping her escape on a ship to Westmora?"

Octavius hesitated and looked over his shoulder at her. "You've seen it?" he asked.

"I've seen enough to put it together. That was August's mission, wasn't it? The reason he came to the mainland. It was to bring me back so I could be raised to take my father's place as the oracle of the Celestial Isles."

Octavius came back to sit against the wall too close to her, his thigh pressing against hers. "We were told his ship was lost at sea," he sighed heavily. "Another ship was sent, but by then it was too late. Your mother had disappeared. For all we knew, she was on the ship that sank with my brother. We weren't even looking for her when she was found."

"She's alive?"

"For now. She's currently locked in the brig of my ship. I meant for her to be a surprise for you when we reached port."