Asher's POV
Her hazel eyes—I'd seen them before, a faint imprint in my memory, but where?
It was too vague in the midst of other memories. Or maybe I hadn't seen them. Her fresh scent of pineapples covered the smell of herbs and smoke in the room—it pulled me closer and had the same effect with her eyes, like a shadow in my memory.
I couldn't hold it.
Her hands quivered, and she moved to the other end of the bed. "Please… don't."
Her voice sent a subtle chill down my spine, but distant—I'd heard a similar voice from a past event I hated to recall. Each time the curse triggered in my body, it made that memory visible—the memory of that little girl's voice ringing in my head like daggers piercing through my mind.
That girl… her olive skin was almost the same with this human.
"Elowen." My hand reached to touch her neck.
"Don't." She shuddered.
My fingers grazed her neck. She flinched. I retracted as though her body turned on a switch in me, and warmth crept up my fingers. My whole body turned hot.
My breath turned rough… the curse… it was triggered.
The strange fur that always accompanied it started to grow out of my skin. The painful sensation came along like my flesh tore apart. I clenched my teeth, suppressing a grunt, but the sweat on my face already sold me out.
"No!" I kicked the door open, stepping out of the room.
No one should have seen me in that state.
My veins could almost open to spill out blood. My blood flow was like poison, always taking control of my body in this state… and the fact she was the cure for this—a human I'd been in need of.
"Asher?" Nyx's voice pulled my attention as she walked through the hallway to the spot I stood. "Your body… it came again…"
I breathed through clenched teeth, doing a difficult task of nodding.
"And I'd thought Omah said it shouldn't come by his time… or the human triggered it?"
I couldn't say for sure, but could tell there were more things about her being human.
I shook my head, just a grunt.
Her palms came closer to my left jaw. I flinched. And she stood at her palms, and then at my face. Her palms came close again, but I pulled her back.
"I… maybe I shouldn't touch you," she said, forcing a slight smile on her face that barely lasted up to a second. "You should come to my room then…"
"No… not now."
"Why?" Her eyes melted. "You always did… especially in this state…"
I no longer had the longing to, and the human's scent must have caused it, but how was that supposed to affect my connection with Nyx who had been a long time lover?
Or maybe I was simply not in the right state
"Asher?" Her fingers brushed my chest, her touch like a brand.
I recoiled before I could stop myself. Her breath hitched.
"Why? You suddenly resent me?" Her voice frayed as she swallowed a lump down her throat at the same time, and just a bit of wetness at the corners of her eyes. "Or is it her?"
My sweaty palms rubbed against my trousers. "I'll meet Omah."
***
Omah had made me lie on the bed as he brought another bowl of water to the bedside, the usual scent of herbs filling my nostrils again—only that it was a bit different.
Everything became different after the sight of her.
"It's by midnight," he said, sprinkling water on my chest. "You have to, especially now that we have a human."
I stayed quiet.
"You heard me?" Omah asked.
"Other ways around it?" I heaved a deep breath.
He paused, staring at me, a slight frown appearing on his face. "Why?
"If there is."
Her scent was already imprinted in my mind, and going about the process was like retracing footsteps into my past, even if that was needed to save the presence.
Omah placed the bowl on the floor, and lit the other candles.
"She's a human… the cure you needed." He touched my arms. "She triggered the curse like a poison, but a poison can also be a cure."
I shot my eyes, the burnt in my chest already going faint. "Do you know her?"
"No? Or do you?" His eyes scrutinized me for almost a minute.
"Her scent… her eyes, even her voice seemed to speak words I can't interpret."
"What about all this?" A slight frown appeared on his face. "How's all that important?"
"She triggers memories of the past… concerning my late parents' death and that girl that escaped me. Her skin tone… everything is familiar, but she isn't her."
Omah sighed. "All those aren't important."
"But they could be." My voice raised a bit above normal, but dropped the same instant. "What if she ends up dying?"
"Curing your curse is more important." He walked to the door. "You aren't acting your usual self."
"Omah…" My right arm stretched towards him. "If there's a different way."
"Asher." He shook his head. "There isn't."
The bang of the door followed after.
Alone in the room with the clock's relentless ticking, each second pulsing like my heartbeat, intensified the silence even more. Even the candlelight focused all attention on it, blurring every other thing around me… just a bit of time, and I would have to go on with the process.
"Elowen." I whispered through the fog.
Again, fur tempted to grow out of my skin, but the oil on my skin suppressed it. My teeth almost turned into fangs.
The curse… even at just a call of her name?
I kicked against the candles, and got a bit of relief in the darkness that followed, but my eyes seemed to form her picture like a piece of art.
Again, the pain seemed to have gone low. The room was covered in silence except the ticking of the clock that still continued.
I heard a knock.
"Asher." Omah pushed the door open. "It's time."
I nodded. No questions asked. I stepped outside with just a trousers, exposing my bare chest.
The moon was in full shape, and the other pack elders had gathered around her. Her hands were chained, but her feet were loose. That same look I saw in her face…
"Please… don't…"
"Elowen," I whispered a few steps from the spot she stood.
This time, I felt a different reaction on my skin that wasn't the same as that of the curse, instead a scene I hated to reflect on.
My late parents' bodies laid on the floor with blood seeping out of their noses and ears bolded in my mind. I stopped, rubbing my palms like I could peel my skin off.
"Asher?" Omah came closer. "Is it being triggered?"
I shook my head. I smelled blood, but from my mind.
"You need a taste of her blood. Now is the perfect moment."
I nodded, but didn't move an extra step.
She had stopped pleading, just gazing at me like all she needed to do was ask questions before whatever I needed to do.
Her eyes had stopped letting out tears. Her look… was it fear, the outcome of betrayal by her lover, or curiosity?
Nothing came to mind.
"Asher." Omah's voice sliced through my hesitation like a blade. "You have to."
I forced myself forward, but the glint of her necklace snagged my focus. I stared too long at it. Why did I feel like I'd seen it?
"The moon won't wait." Omah was almost shouting.
With a lungful of breath, I touched her arms. She stayed quiet, no pleading even though she knew this process might cost her life, except that look of curiosity.
My breath hitched.
Her scent of pineapples came flooding my nostrils.
I staggered a step backward when my fingers touched her jaws. "This sensation…"
It was primal. It sent waves all through my veins.
I turned to face the pack elders, Omah especially. "This… this isn't happening…"
Omah got closer to us. "What? Why?"
I stared at my palms, then fixed my eyes on her again. "There's a bond between us… she's my mate."