The Soulmate's Curse

By Dahlia Rose

The Valentino men are cursed to become wolves without a single wound. All because of love and the destiny to find their soul mates. One Valentino man loved the wrong woman and now the whole line of men is cursed from generation to generation--to become the wolf and kill their beloved before she can ever conceive a child. They all have managed to find a way to add one more to the Valentino name. Lucas Valentino is the last and he has felt the pull of his mate. So he ran not just to save himself but to save her. Now in a small town called Destiny nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, she has found him by accident. Sonja Stone has unwittingly walked into the path of her soul mate and his dangerous family curse. In the snowy mountains, they find an intense passion and love. They must work together to find a way to break the curse or suffer the ultimate sacrifice...their death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dahlia Rose
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311098245

Dahlia Rose

Dahlia Rose is the best-selling author of contemporary, military and paranormal romance with a hint of Caribbean spice. She was born and raised on a Caribbean island and now currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her five kids, who she affectionately nicknamed “The Children of the Corn,” and her biggest supporter and longtime love. She has a love of erotica, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and the things that go bump in the night. With over six dozen books published Dahlia has become a reader favorite. Not only because of her writing but her vivacious attitude in talking to her fans online and at various events. Books and writing are her biggest passions, and she hopes to open your imagination to the unknown between the pages of her books. http://hearttoheartwithdahliarose.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/author.dahliarose www.twitter.com/dahliarose1029

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Dedication

To my BFF Debbie for always being there and the unending support you give!

You’re the best incurable romantic I know!

Prologue

There is a legend, a legend that spans a thousand years. It is of the Valentino men, who on their thirtieth birthday sense their life mates and claim them as their own. The ability to sense their mates remains hidden throughout most of their lives. Until they turn thirty, when everything changes. The Valentino man could be anywhere, at work or walking down a street, when he feels his mate. The sensation is that of the hairs standing on the back of his neck. An instinct to find his love follows. What the woman’s situation is does not matter—whether she is married, cloistered in a convent, a whore, or a servant girl. When a Valentino man feels his soul mate, she is his and God help anyone who stands in his way of claiming the one he loves. Nothing stops him or his mission to have this woman who holds his heart.

These women were loved well and long by the Valentino men, carrying on the line from generation to generation. Until the time came when the woman claimed was the daughter of a witch doctor in New Orleans. Kaleen was stolen away in the middle of the night to become the wife of Lucien Valentino. In time, she bore Lucien a son, Marcus. On their son’s first breath and cry, the witch doctor cursed them for an eternity. No Valentino man would find happiness again in the arms of his beloved. Instead, the wolf in him would kill her, and her blood would spill into the earth before they could create a child.

It started with Lucien and Kaleen’s son, Marcus. From there, the curse went on. The only way to continue the Valentino line and their hopes of finding a way to break the curse was for the male Valentino to have a child with one who was not his beloved. She would be the one to teach the child of his destiny and his cursed fate. After the death of his beloved, each Valentino man killed himself. The agony of what he had done to his beloved was too much for him to bear.

The curse can be broken, but only on a Valentine’s moon, and there is only one every five hundred years.

This is the year of the Valentine’s moon.

There is only one left in the line now, and his time is coming. He is the descendant of Lucien and Kaleen’s only son, Marcus. Born not from his father’s soul mate but from the woman who tried to comfort him after he had spilled his true love’s blood. Jonathan Valentino told her the secret of his ancestors. Even in his grief, he knew he had to give his descendants another chance to break the curse. His tears fell into the hair of the woman who comforted him and who took his seed inside her. She swore to let his son know the truth of his birthright. He wished his son well and hoped he would be the one to be able to hold on to his love. Then, in his sorrow, he drove his car into the deepest water he could find. As he felt the cold water fill his lungs, he saw the face of his beloved. She beckoned him to join her on the other side of death, where they would be free to love.

Now Lucas Valentino is the only one left, and he has felt the pull of his soul mate. He knows of the curse and what it holds for him, and he runs away to the mountains. Not only for himself, but to save her from a fate that is not of her choosing. The legend will continue, and the lives of those involved will be destroyed forever. The soul mate’s curse will end only when the Valentinos are gone and their seed wiped from the Earth, unless . . .

Remember the Valentine’s moon comes . . .

Chapter One

February 1st, 2007

This is just freaking great, Sonja muttered to herself, looking at the flat tire of her little Fiat. She had been driving along just fine, trying to get to her friend’s cabin before dark, but some idiot had left a nail in the road. She kicked the flat tire once again and went to the trunk of the car to retrieve her spare and jack.

Oh, this is relaxing, she thought, squatting down beside her car. How the hell was she supposed to change a tire? She had never gone to mechanic school. But in the cool Appalachian Mountains, she’d have to give it a go. Her friend, Brian, had insisted she take his cabin for a few weeks to get away from the stress at work. What stress?

Go up to Destiny, he had said. Take a few weeks at my cabin, he had said. Relax, he had said. She mimicked Brian’s voice in her head.

This is freaking great, she muttered under her breath. She loved the pace of being an EMT. But the last call she had been on had hit her hard, too hard, and she didn’t know if she could go back. Maybe Brian was right; she needed a break. She would take it, too, if she ever got off this mountain road and to the fucking cabin. God, all she wanted to do was sit in front of a roaring fireplace and sip a glass or two of wine.

After the second time of trying to use her jack and ending up grating the skin of her knuckles, Sonja sat on the cold asphalt and leaned against her car. Muttering curses under her breath, she hoped that the town called Destiny was not too far to walk to. It was getting colder by the minute. They’ll probably find me frozen and some animal using me as a salt lick, she thought.

As she rose to start her journey, the bright lights of a vehicle lit on her and Sonja froze. The truck pulled over to the side of the road. Sonja could not see whether it was black or midnight blue. The lights of her car illuminated long, lean legs unfolding from the cab before going off. Those legs in high boots slowly ambled toward her. Sonja bent down to pick up the metal handle of her jack. If this person was offering her more than just help, she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. The man turned on his flashlight as he walked toward her.

What are you going to do with that, pray tell? a deep, male voice drawled.

Hit you with it if you do anything stupid, Sonja retorted.

"So, that’s how