The Crystal Moon Curse: Book 5: TAKEN

Chapter 42. Cure

QUILLA

"Tell them what you know, Astrid." Uncle Mateo growls low into Astrid's ear, and I watch her shiver under his displeased tone.

She tilts her head to the side, exposing her mark to him and he accepts her submission by stroking her head, his fingers trailing down her mark making her shiver again.

I'm fascinated by their dynamic but have no time to dwell on it as she raises her violet eyes across the table to meet my mothers, "I'm sorry Aunt Neo for keeping this from you,"

"I'm tired of hearing that Astrid. What I want to know is why you think Quilla is the cure." my mother leans forward with her elbows on the table and my father's arm wraps loosely around her waist.

"Well, I'd like some kind of explanation about this curse everyone keeps talking about first," I jump in and all eyes turn to me, "You all talk about this like I'm supposed to know what it's all about."

My mother nods, "You're right Quilla, and I'm sorry too. I should have taken the time to explain this to you before. Things have just been complicated since we found you." she looks over my shoulder at Viggo whose palm on my thigh pauses in his absentminded stroking.

"Don't even try to blame me for that," he growls low from behind me, "I could not give a fuck about this curse as you call it. You and your pack are the ones obsessed with it."

Neo squints at him, "You should give a fuck, Alpha Viggo. Tell me what you plan to do when you and Quilla have daughters and you have to decide on an heir for Lycanos. Do you foresee a seamless transition for your lycans to accept a she-wolf leading them? Or perhaps you are willing to accept whoever her mate may be to take over Lycanos, irrespective of his lineage and rank? If not, are you happy to choose a new King of Lycanos from among your Zetas perhaps? Do not let the joy of your new mate bond blind you to the fact that Quilla's male-barren state presents real problems in our world."

I feel Viggo tense and I look up to see his jaw clenching as he chews on Neo's words. She turns to me with a frown.

"There is a harsh reality you need to see, Quilla. We are a patriarchal species," She widens her arms gesturing down her body at her seated position on my father's lap with a look of distaste. "You don't have to look very far to see how deeply entrenched our traditions subjugate females," she glares at Viggo who stiffens beneath me, anger filling his pheromones around me.

"Do you sit at my table and dare to insult my pack's traditions?" Viggo growls over my shoulder at her.

My mother holds his stare, "In my pack, I am as equal in my rank and status as Sebastian, but I come to your table and am expected to relinquish the rank I have earned and be just his female." She turns her angry accusing eyes to my father who leans back with surprise. "And you don't even question it."

"Genesis," My father begins but she shakes her head, cutting him off and turning to me.

"The real curse is in the minds of the males that rule our world. The same males who have looked at my sisters and nieces and rejected them purely for their inability to bear them male pups." I watch transfixed as my mother rises off my father's lap, his arms falling to the side. She walks to the seat beside him and sits and looks around the table.

"The real cure is changing what is wrong with our world."

I don't think I have ever been more in awe of my mother and the command she has taken over this table.

Viggo's displeasure burns in the air as he leans forward. "The traditions you abhor so much are some of the most beloved ones Lycanos has. You view this as subjugation, a lycan views it as an act of reverence to the most important person in our pack." He removes his hands from my thighs and places them on the wide wooden armrest, leaning back.