The Cursed Prince, Teresa Roman [the reader ebook TXT] 📗

you’ve arranged. But it won’t be every day, and I’m not quitting my job.”

Frederic stared at me for a moment. His expression softened. “I understand,” he finally said. “Please forgive my rudeness. It’s just that my brothers and I are in a rather desperate situation.”

If it had been anybody else, I would have said it was okay, but Frederic rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t just the things he said, but the way he looked at me. Like I was beneath him. Someone he would gladly dispose of once he’d gotten from me what he wanted. “Can I go see Nicolai now?”

“Of course.”

I stood up and walked away. Just as I reached the doorway, Frederic called my name. I glanced over my shoulder.

“I forgot to say thank you.”

I managed a smile. “You’re welcome.”

I found Nicolai in the library standing on the small balcony that he’d tried to jump from the day before. “This is the closest I can get to the outside world,” he said as I entered.

I crossed the room and stood next to him.

I’d left work early, so the sun was still up, affording me a perfect view. The castle grounds were beautifully manicured. Green grass carpeted the ground below. Tulips and daffodils in multiple shades were just beginning to bloom in flowerbeds edged with tile pavers in a variety of intricate designs. Because the castle was situated on top of a hill, it provided a unique vantage point of Beaver Falls off in the distance.

“It is an amazing view.”

Nicolai glanced at me. “Yes, it is.”

My face heated. I shook my head. What was wrong with me? Of course he hadn’t been referring to me.

We stood there quietly for a few moments before Nicolai finally said, “Why don’t we take a seat inside? We can get to know each other a little better.”

“Okay.”

I sat in one of the two ornately upholstered armchairs that were situated beside each other in the middle of the room. Nicolai took the chair next to me.

“Have you had dinner yet? Would you like something to eat or drink?” Nicolai asked.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“So tell me about yourself, Willow.”

I leaned back and thought about how to answer Nicolai before replying, “Well, you probably already know that I’m an accountant. I’ve lived here in Beaver Falls pretty much all my life.” I was going to tell him about my brothers and that I lived with my dad, but then I remembered that he already knew those things. “And … I’ve got a boyfriend; his name is Peter.”

“He’s a lucky man.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What about you?” I asked, trying my best not to stutter. “Do you have someone waiting for you back in your country?”

“I’m sure my father had my bride chosen for me before my first birthday, but I have yet to meet her.”

“Arranged marriage? I didn’t realize that was still a thing.”

“It is if you’re a member of the royal family of Sarabia.”

My eyes widened. “So it’s true? You’re a prince?”

Nicolai nodded. “Fourth in line to the throne.”

“Wow.” Grace would squeal with excitement when I told her. Or maybe I’d let her go on thinking the Korzha brothers were vampires. I laughed as I thought back to my conversation with her earlier.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking about something my friend Grace said earlier.” I turned my head in Nicolai’s direction, curious what his reaction would be. “She thinks you and your brothers are vampires.”

Nicolai laughed. “That is funny. But just so you know, it’s not true.”

“I didn’t think it was. But I couldn’t exactly tell her ‘no, they’re not vampires, they’re witches.’ She’d call me crazy. Not that being a vampire isn’t crazy, because it is, but you know what I mean.”

“You think we’re witches?”

“You are, aren’t you?”

“No, but I can see why you assumed we were given the circumstances.”

“Then you’re just regular people?” Who for some reason knew a lot about witches and magic. Had they known about those things before Nicolai got cursed? Questions popped up in my mind so quickly that I worried I’d forget them before I had a chance to ask them all.

“Regular is not a word I’ve ever heard someone use to describe my kind.”

“Your kind? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m almost afraid to tell you. I feel like my brothers and I have already turned your life upside down enough.”

My mind ran through all of the possibilities. They weren’t vampires or witches, but the Korzhas were something supernatural. At least that’s what Nicolai was hinting. “I think I’ve handled all this remarkably well so far.”

“You have,” Nicolai agreed.

“So?”

He turned his body toward me, rested his elbows on the arm of his chair, lowered his chin into his open palms, and waited for me to meet his gaze. “We’re werewolves.”

I expected him to laugh again or, at the very least, smile to show me he was pulling my leg, but he didn’t so much as flinch. “Are you serious?”

“I’d demonstrate for you, but unfortunately that’s another part of this wretched curse. I can’t change. I’m stuck in my human form.”

I thought back to all the werewolf books I’d read and movies I’d seen. In them the characters usually hated shifting. “And that’s a bad thing?”

Nicolai looked confused for a moment before saying, “I almost forgot this supernatural stuff is all new to you, that you didn’t grow up learning about it like most witches do.”

“Are you saying that you enjoy turning into a … wolf?” I could not believe those words had just left my mouth.

“I do.”

“You’re not afraid of losing control and attacking an innocent person?”

Nicolai smiled. “That’s not exactly how it works, Willow. Werewolves don’t lose their wits when they transform, they just take on different abilities. Wolves, as you probably already know, have heightened senses, and they’re faster and more powerful than humans. It’s exhilarating to take on a another form. And then there’s the bond that wolves share with their pack.” He shook his head. “Which is why