The Secrets Between Us | ✓

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When they reached the packhouse, Zarina was waiting for them in the main hall. A grim expression was etched on her face as if she was already aware of the reason for their visit. Without uttering a word, she led them to the study room, where his father and grandma were engaged in a serious conversation. Their voices were hushed and grave, filling the air with a sense of impending doom. They stopped talking the moment their eyes fell on Icarus. His heart sank when he realized they had been discussing him. Nicholas had to stop playing the role of undercover spy, he thought and stared back at them, trying to understand their intentions, but it only made him burn with rage.

"Why do I turn into the beast every night?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but the question reverberated through the room like a thunderstorm, swallowing them whole.

"It's a curse," his grandma said, her tone laced with sorrow. Zarina and Louis exchanged worried glances, but they remained silent, giving Icarus space to process the truth.

The knot in his stomach tightened, and his hands trembled as he struggled to find the strength to speak. "I don't understand."

"Do you remember the first Queen of werewolves?"

"Meredith Vasilios?" he asked, trying to piece together the puzzle. "How is she related to my curse?"

"Meredith's mate was a vampire, but she couldn't let go of her animosity and resentment towards his kind. She slept with many werewolves in an attempt to resist their matebond and became pregnant. She deceived him into believing the baby was theirs. When he discovered the truth, he left her but not before seeking the help of a sorceress to curse the unborn child. He was betrayed, so he wanted the child to betray his own kind by killing them. Meredith cried and apologized, begging him every day. As her mate, he eventually forgave her, but the curse could not be undone. The only solution was to pass it down to the firstborn of Vasilios when they first shifted. One will be spared from the curse while another will bear it, and the cycle will continue."

"She should have killed him before he was born," he gritted out with a bitterness that belied his pain.

His grandma shook her head. "No mother can kill her own child."

"But she could watch him kill the pack members."

"Her son, Neaus, was also a healer." She tried to console him. "Every firstborn has the capability to save lives."

"I have killed more than I have saved."

"You don't know that—"

"How could you let me live freely? You should have chained and imprisoned me!" Icarus cut her off, his desperation tearing at their hearts.

"It doesn't work. The beast is exceedingly strong."

"We have to do something about it," he insisted, his voice growing louder with each passing second. The shame and guilt he carried were too much for him to bear. "There has to be a way to break the curse or at least suppress it temporarily."