Aria's POV
Damon's wolf was close to the surface. I could scent Rhein's fury beneath the words.
"It's beyond me," Noah answered evenly. "I would never go that far."
The healer interrupted. "This is an old curse. It was cast around twenty years ago. Possibly longer. The weave is so deeply seated it had to have been placed when the mind was still young and open. Breaking it by force would shatter what's left of him."
Twenty years. Who could have done this to my father? The thought sat in my stomach like cold lead.
Damon's gaze never left Noah. "Swear it. On your wolf."
Noah didn't flinch. "I swear on my wolf I had no hand in this curse."
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Damon's shoulders stayed rigid, but he didn't press further.
---
Later that day, after Ryde
