Urdon Pov
I was in our bedroom changing after a long training session. My shirt was soaked with sweat so I pulled it off and tossed it in the laundry basket. I was reaching for a clean shirt when I felt someone watching me.
I turned around and saw Freda standing in the doorway. She wasn't looking at my face though, she was staring at my chest. Specifically at my tattoo.
"What are you looking at," I said and the words came out harder than I meant.
She jumped like I had yelled at her. "Nothing," she said quickly. "I was just coming in."
"You were staring at me," I said and walked toward her. "You keep doing that. You keep looking at me like there is something wrong with me. Like I am sick or broken."
"I do not do that," Freda said but she took a step back.
"Yes you do," I said and I could hear my voice getting louder. "Every single time I am around you look at me like I am going to hurt you or like I am some kind of monster."
"Urdon please," she said. "You are misunderstanding."
"Then explain it to me," I said and grabbed her arm. Not hard enough to hurt but firm enough that she couldn't run away. I pulled her over to the mirror and made her stand in front of me so we could both see our reflections.
"Look at us," I said. "Look at us right now Freda. We are mates. The moon goddess chose us for each other. We are supposed to trust each other and love each other and build a life together. So tell me why you keep acting afraid of your own mate."
Her eyes filled with tears and she wouldn't meet my gaze in the mirror. "I am not afraid of you," she whispered.
"Liar," I said. "I can smell your fear every time I get close to you. I can feel you pulling away from me. You sleep in guest rooms now instead of our bed. You avoid me during pack meetings, you look at me like I am a stranger you do not want to know."
"That is not true," she said and tears started running down her face.
"Then what is true," I demanded. "Tell me what I did wrong. Tell me why my own mate cannot stand to be in the same room as me."
She opened her mouth and for a second I thought she was finally going to tell me the truth. I could see her struggling with something. Her whole body was tense and her hands were shaking and I knew she was holding back something important.
"Tell me," I said again.
But she just shook her head and the tears kept falling without any sound. She wasn't going to tell me. Whatever she was hiding she was going to keep it locked inside and let it destroy us both.
Something broke in my chest. A feeling I couldn't describe like a crack forming in ice. Just for one second I felt the urge to pull her close and tell her it was okay. That we would figure this out together no matter what was wrong.
I turned her around and wrapped my arms around her. I held her tight against my chest and felt her body shaking with silent sobs.
But then my tattoo started burning.
It felt like someone was pressing hot metal directly against my skin. The pain was sudden and sharp and it spread across my whole chest. I gasped and pushed Freda away without meaning to. She stumbled backward and hit the wall.
"What was that," I said and touched my chest. The burning was already fading but my skin still felt hot like I had been standing too close to a fire.
"I am sorry," Freda said and she was crying harder now. "I did not mean to. I am so sorry."
"Sorry for what," I said. "What just happened. What did you do."
"Nothing," she said. "I did not do anything I swear."
"Something happened," I said and I could feel anger replacing the pain. "My tattoo burned the second I touched you. That is not normal Freda, nothing about any of this is normal."
"It is the curse," she said quietly. "The curse does not want us close."
"Stop talking about curses," I yelled. "I am so tired of hearing about curses and bad luck and all these excuses you keep making. There is no curse, there is just you pulling away from me and I do not know why."
"There is a curse," she insisted. "I found proof in the old books. Your tattoo is a mark that has been passed down through your family for generations. Every Alpha in your bloodline has carried it and every Luna has suffered because of it."
"My tattoo is just a tattoo," I said. "My father had one. My grandfather had one. It is tradition, it does not mean anything."
"It means everything," Freda said. "Please just let me show you the book. Let me prove it to you."
"I do not want to see some dusty old book full of superstitions," I said. "I want my mate to stop acting like I am cursed. I want things to go back to how they were before."
"They cannot go back," Freda said. "Not unless we break the curse."
I stared at her and realized we were never going to agree on this. She believed in this curse with everything she had and nothing I said was going to change her mind. And I could not believe in something I could not see or prove.
"Stay in this room," I said and headed for the door. "Do not leave until you stop seeing ghosts that are not there."
"Urdon wait," she said.
But I walked out and slammed the door behind me. I heard her collapse on the floor and start sobbing loudly but I did not go back. If I went back I did not know what I would say or do. I needed space from her and her curse theories and her constant fear.