(A/N: I know, I know I took forever to post this chapter but I finally have after hours on end making sure it was to my best ability - which I hope it is - so anyway, enjoy. Read and review please!)

Chapter Four: The Curse

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to work today after running out on Tess like that, but she wouldn't pry any further into my old life – I hoped. It was Saturday today so I had tomorrow off. Since I started working for Tess I hadn't any time to start re–decorating some of the rooms. I really wanted to get my bedroom done and out of the way as soon as possible but that was proving to be difficult since I didn't know what colors I wanted and I was never really in the mood to decorate.

I sighed getting ready for the day. All the while I couldn't help but think about the Helios –Ra agents who attacked me while Lucy was round. Who the hell tipped them off? Was it someone I knew? Did someone know who I was? Were they supposed to keep an eye on me or kill me as soon as they could? All these questions were running through my head and I wasn't any closer to finding out any of the answers.

The drive to work was boring and slow even listening to Mumford & Sons didn't make my mood any better. What did make me feel better though was seeing Lucy talking to Tess and I knew she didn't remember a thing or so I thought.

'Hey Kayda.' Lucy smiled and hugged me.

'How are you?' I asked. 'I haven't seen you in a while.'

'Yeah well homework has being keeping me away.' She pulled a face. 'How's the decorating coming along?'

'Not very far, I keep putting it off. One day though, I will get round to it.' I laughed.

'Do you want me to gather up the Drake boys?' Lucy asked.

'It's okay. There isn't much to be done, just a little bit of painting. It's hardly time consuming.' I said diverting the Drake's from ever setting a foot on my land. Something was off about them considering Lucy smelled so much of vampire I had to stop myself from gagging it was so strong at least being surrounded by flowers covered it up.

'Okay, enough with the chit chat you two, I don't pay for you to sit and talk all day.' Tess said from the counter.

I set to work making sure the flowers had clean water and were presentable with Lucy. I did read her mind for a second just to make sure she didn't remember anything but something had happened. Someone else seemed to have tampered with her thoughts and I couldn't get past the wall that was blocking me from seeing what Lucy actually knew which irritated me. I couldn't do anything so I stopped trying knock and gave up, I couldn't really do anything. Now another mystery to add onto my never ending list of things I needed to find out about since moving here.

Violet Hill was turning out to be a mysterious place all of a sudden, which was really annoying.

My life back in California had been pretty easy considering I was one of three female werewolves in the pack, the males always tried to do everything for the females to show them that they were strong and masculine. They were always competing because they wanted to be the one that would have the female as a mate. It was cute at first when I turned eighteen but it soon grew tedious after only a couple of months that was one of the second biggest reasons why I left, well I was still bound to the Pack but they wouldn't find me unless I shifted which was never going to happen. Our Pack had the ability of feeling each other in the back of our minds, we couldn't read each other's minds of course but we could feel the emotions which I had tried so desperately to block out when I turned sixteen, it was all because of the stupid tattoo on the back of my left hip.

My tattoo wasn't any ordinary one it had a hint of gold in it which made it special as it had blood of a full witch mixed into the ink which is why it gave us the ability to feel each other's emotions, when my dad died that's when I was finally able to block them out.

As well as being part werewolf I was also part witch so when I was born I already had the signature mark for a nachanthen (wolf–witch) –it meant I was half and half and very special and very rare, I was told I was the only one of earth but I had this gut feeling that I wasn't the only one. Somewhere out there, there had to be more like me just probably not with the curse hanging over them.

It looked like a faded birthmark but looked silver in light and was more of a swirl pattern on the back of my neck which my parents and my aunt hid from the rest of the pack. It was rare for a child to have the werewolf genes from one parent and then have the witch genes too from the other, ninety-nine point nine percent of the time you either inherited the genes of one parent. If the pack ever found out I would've been killed immediately because too them I was an abomination of nature. It was also due to an old ancient powerful witch hundreds of years ago born on my mum's side that was like me, Osanna, who was a nachanthen and she fell in love with Edric a werewolf. Of course the pack did not approve and they hunted the lovers down and killed her but before they did she cursed them:

Damn thee lycanthrope, fools

Who dare harm me and

Tear my soul mate from me

Beware

A daughter will bear my heir

And arise one day

But hidden in sight until the time comes

Soul mates will reunite

I will be reawakened,

Needed by my daughter

If descendants dare harm thee

Revenge will come within time

For alpha will meet his end.

I really doubted that I was this supposed heir, apparently my family though, believed that I was this blood heir who would the alpha whoever it was and rule the Pack as well as meet my supposed soul mate. The main reason they believed that I was it was because Osanna looked a lot like me. We had the same chestnut brown hair which looked auburn and stormy grey eyes with specks of violet mixed in. I only knew this from the portrait that had survived in my family.

I sighed and poured myself a cup of water and drank it all in one go.

'Hello, earth to Kayda.' Lucy said waving her hand in front of my face, I blinked and looked at her.

'Sorry, just thinking.' I said sheepishly.

'You didn't hear a word I was saying did you?' she had her hands on her hips and she didn't look happy.

'Sorry Lucy, could you repeat what you were saying please?' I said putting the plastic cup in the bin.

She huffed in annoyance at me, 'I was saying that Tess has a small gig coming up and I was thinking it would be a great opportunity for you to meet some other people.'

'When is it?' I asked interested, I knew Tess could sing but I didn't know she actually did gigs.

'Nine pm sharp next Saturday night.' Lucy looked at me hopefully with her hands clasped tightly together pleading for me to go.

I nodded, 'Sure, where is it anyway?'

'At this bar called Ghede Loa, I think you'll enjoy it there.' She smiled.

'I guess I'll go then.' I said picking out a dying flower and putting it in the bucket next to me feet.

'Good, I'll let Tess know.' She clapped her hands and wandered off, her beads jostling each time she moved.

I didn't mean to but I slept in until noon. I actually felt quite energetic then I usually felt which was a nice change and I also got to wake up in a house that was actually quiet for a change. I stretched and then slowly walked down to the kitchen to have some brunch. I realized I needed to do some shopping soon as I was already running out of food to eat; this whole hungry werewolf thing was going to be costly and I don't think being a assistant at a florist shop was going to the pay the bills. Normally I wouldn't have to worry about this sort of thing, I was tempted to go hunting as my wolf but it was too dangerous, I would be tracked within a couple of minutes by the Pack. I sighed and shut the fridge door opting for a bacon sandwich but I was still hungry.

I sighed heavily before grabbing my purse and car keys and drove to the supermarket to get more food, it was stupid at how much I was buying for just myself. I could probably feed a large family with the food I had.

'Family reunion?' the cashier smiled at me.

'Yeah, something like that.' I replied vaguely.

On the way back I grabbed a drive thru and devoured two burgers, large fries and a large drink of soda and I felt slightly full and headed back home.

I turned into the drive and saw a body lying on the porch; I sped up the truck and came to an abrupt stop outside before jumping out, the engine still running, over to the body.

I rolled her over and checked that she was breathing when I was so shocked that I almost fell off the porch. It was my cousin Opal. Thank god she was breathing.

She was covered in bruises and scratches and across her neck she had four long shallow parallel cuts. She was in bad shape and I couldn't stop looking at the claw marks across her neck, I muttered some healing spells to help her recover and to ease the pain once she would wake up.

I quickly unlocked the house and picked Opal up and set her on the sofa downstairs and then ran out to turn my truck off and unpack the groceries. There was nothing I could do while she was in a sort of hibernation mode, healing from whatever or whoever attacked her.

I couldn't stop thinking about the cuts she had on her neck, it was definitely a werewolf attack because a vampire couldn't do that and why would a witch or demon bother?

I doubled the wards around the house and moved Opal up to the other room to make her a little more comfy.

It felt like days to me but in reality it was only a couple of hours when I heard the tell–tale sign of feet walking around upstairs. I left Opal some spare clothes as hers were useless to her now and waited for her to join me downstairs. I heard her slowly walk downstairs, in a nervous sort of way and walked into the kitchen where I was eating some biscuits.

'Who attacked you and when?' I asked her before she could say anything.