The elevator groaned, and Alex’s heart slammed against her ribs. She’d been avoiding James Warden for a month, ever since he’d transferred her to marketing after that disastrous birthday night. Now, trapped in a failing elevator car, she heard his voice through the ceiling. “Alex, can you hear me?
”
“James, the elevator’s stuck. I think it’s going to fall. ”
“Stay completely still. I’m coming down.
”
“What? No, you can’t. ”
But he did. He pried open the ceiling panel, dropped into the car, and boosted her up to safety before climbing out himself.
They stood on the maintenance platform, her body pressed against his, trembling. “You’re touching me,” she whispered. James blinked, confusion replacing the fear in his eyes. “Yes.
”
“See? I told you. I told you you could. ”
He kissed her then, hard and desperate, as if fifteen years of isolation were pouring out of him in that single moment.
She kissed him back, her anger dissolving, her heart pounding. “I’m still mad at you,” she managed between kisses. “I know,” he said, and kissed her again. A sharp voice cut through the haze.
“What is going on here? ”
Evelyn Warden stood at the edge of the crowd that had gathered, her expression a mixture of shock and fury. Everyone dispersed quickly under her command. Once they were alone, she turned on them.
“Get away from my brother,” she ordered Alex. James tightened his arm around Alex’s waist. “No. ”
Evelyn’s composure cracked.
“What are you doing? You’ll change. ”
“I kissed her, Evelyn. I’ve been touching her for the past fifteen minutes, and I didn’t transform.
”
“You kissed her? Are you insane? After everything? ”
“I think I’m allowed to kiss the woman I love.
”
Alex went still. “The woman you love? ”
Evelyn continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “There were people.
They could have seen. How could you be so reckless? ”
“Excuse me,” Alex interjected, “but can we go back to the part where he said he loved me? ”
James looked down at her, a smile breaking through his serious expression.
The look made her knees weak. “Oh, for crying out loud,” Evelyn snapped. “Of course he loves you. He’s been miserable for a month.
That isn’t the point. ”
“Then what is the point? ” James asked. “Alex and I can touch.
Nobody saw anything unusual. Shouldn’t you be relieved? ”
“The curse can’t be broken,” Evelyn said, her voice rising with panic. “There are no takebacks.
The magician was very clear. ”
Alex watched her closely. “It looks like you don’t want the curse to be broken. ”
Evelyn tensed.
“What are you talking about? ”
“Well, do you? Are you happy we can do this? ” Alex deliberately turned to James and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, threading her fingers through his.
James visibly melted at the contact. “Get away from my brother,” Evelyn cried, the words tearing from her throat with unexpected violence. “You don’t want me to touch him,” Alex stated, realization dawning. “You’re afraid.
Why? ”
“The curse,” Evelyn began weakly. “He could change. People could see.
”
“There’s no one around, Evelyn,” James said, frustration edging his voice. “He wants me to touch him,” Alex said softly. “That’s why he isn’t changing. Because he wants me to touch him.
”
James looked down at her, confusion creasing his brow. “I don’t understand. ”
“You cursed him and your pack for protection,” Alex said, turning back to Evelyn. “What happened to you?
”
Evelyn went completely still. “Something happened. Something bad. You weren’t just trying to protect everyone.
You were trying to protect yourself because you were scared. ”
“That’s not true,” Evelyn protested, but the words sounded hollow. “Because something happened to you,” Alex finished. Evelyn’s face crumpled.
The elegant mask she’d worn for fifteen years finally broke. James stepped toward his sister, his expression shifting from confusion to dawning horror. “Evelyn,” he asked softly. “Did something happen to you?
”
A sob escaped her, then another. “It was at the regional council meeting. Mat, the northern pack alpha. He wanted to merge our packs.
I refused him. ”
James went completely still, his face draining of color. “He put something in my drink. I don’t remember everything, just fragments.
Waking up, the pain, his weight. ”
“Evelyn,” James whispered, horrified. “Why didn’t you tell me? ”
“Tell you what?
That your sister, your alpha, was weak? What good would that have done? ”
“I could have helped you. ”
“I handled it,” Evelyn interrupted sharply.
“I made sure he lost everything. But then, when you got drunk at the pack celebration, I saw history repeating itself. You were so vulnerable. Anyone could have taken advantage.
I couldn’t bear the thought of that happening to you. ”
“So you went to the magician,” Alex said softly. “I asked for protection. I wanted us all to be safe from unwanted touch.
He warned there would be a price, but I didn’t care. ”
“The price was your alpha status,” James whispered. “And the curse—I didn’t think it would be so extreme. Instead of protecting us from unwanted touch, he made all touch impossible.
”
“But you let me believe it was my fault,” James said, his voice thick. “All these years, I thought I’d caused this. ”
“I wasn’t trying to punish you, James. I just wanted to make sure no one could ever hurt either of us again.
”
James took a step toward his sister. “I would have protected you. You didn’t have to carry this alone. ”
“I was supposed to protect you.
I was the alpha, your big sister. I failed. ”
“No,” James said quietly. “You survived.
”
Evelyn looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. “I am so sorry, James. I thought I was protecting you. ”
“I know.
But I don’t need protection anymore, Evelyn. And neither do you. ”
In the silence that followed, Alex felt the weight of fifteen years of secrets finally breaking free. Months later, they found the wish granter.
Not the original one—Adrien was gone, vanished, according to the young witch named Iris who ran the dusty bookshop where his trail ended. But Iris confirmed what they’d already suspected. “The curse works exactly as you thought,” she explained, her sharp eyes studying them. “Only unwanted touch triggers the transformation.
But fear and paranoia had made every touch unwanted. ”
“Can the curse be broken? ” Alex asked, hope evident in her voice. “Since he who granted the wish is no longer present, the curse can be lifted if the wisher no longer desires its protection.
”
Alex looked through the window at her mother’s garden, where Evelyn sat on an iron bench beside Mrs. Baker. Her mother had gone through something similar years ago, and with help, she’d healed. Now she was reaching Evelyn the same way.
“My mom will get it,” Alex said, leaning against James’s side. “She went through something similar and got help. Now she’s better. ”
They watched in silence as Mrs.
Baker said something that made Evelyn’s perfect composure finally crumble. The elegant woman who had intimidated executives and pack members alike for fifteen years broke, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Without hesitation, Mrs. Baker pulled her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair soothingly.
“It’s okay,” they could faintly hear through the window. “It’s okay now. ”
The curse still technically existed. Pack members still transformed when touched by those they feared or distrusted.
But understanding its mechanics had changed everything. They were working on healing, learning to welcome touch again, to distinguish between real threats and phantom fears. For James and Alex, the curse hadn’t affected their relationship since that day in the elevator. Whatever obstacles remained, fear of touch wasn’t one of them.
James reached for her constantly—his hand finding hers under tables, his arm wrapping around her waist in every room, his unconscious reach for her in sleep. He never asked, but she saw the need in him, raw and vulnerable. She gave freely what he couldn’t bring himself to request. “You’re staring again,” James observed, looking up from his book.
“Just admiring the view. CEO by day, baby whisperer by night. Very sexy combination. ”
He rolled his eyes, but the smile tugging at his lips betrayed him.
Setting his book aside, he pulled her against him. “I’m sorry,” he said suddenly. “For hurting you. For pushing you away.
For wasting an entire month we could have had together. ”
Alex traced the line of his jaw with gentle fingers. “You did risk your life to rescue me from that elevator. ”
“You wouldn’t have been in there if it wasn’t for me.
I never want to hurt you again, Alex. If you let me, from now on, I’ll make you happy. ”
“You already make me happy,” she whispered, leaning in to press her lips to his. When they broke apart, he kept his eyes closed for a moment, savoring the sensation.
“Besides,” she added with a mischievous smile, “I’m told I’m very good for your heart rate. ”
His eyes snapped open. “Is that so? ”
“Mhm.
Enhanced senses, remember? I can tell when your heart rate increases. ”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you? ”
“Not a chance, Wolfie.
”
He groaned at the nickname, but pulled her close, his forehead resting against hers. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you, too. ”
The remaining effects of the curse, Evelyn’s ongoing recovery—they’d face them together.
A woman who never backed down from a challenge, a man learning to be vulnerable again, and an adorable baby who was turning the fearsome CEO into a complete softy. But that was a story for another day.
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