3- What Curse?

Serenity Knight

“Serenity is pregnant?” I heard Theodore ask the pack doctor, who nodded his head. He was staring at me with sympathizing eyes. 

“Yes, Sire. Miss Knight is pregnant. And it’s not normal for a human being to bear a werewolf’s child, that too a King. She is pregnant with royal blood, your highness. She needs special care.” The pack doctor continued, and my eyes burned with angry tears and rage. 

My eyes narrowed in a glare as I stared at Alpha King, who was too shocked to react. His gray eyes were changing colors. The golden flecks in them were getting consumed by the darkness, but other than that, he was not speaking a single thing. 

“I don’t want this child, doctor,” I said, and Theodore’s eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously in a glare as he stared at me in disbelief. His gray eyes turned dark. Something malicious swirled in his dark gaze as he bent down, leaning closer to me. 

“You’re talking about our child, Serenity. You can’t speak about aborting him.” The dangerous edge in his voice made me shiver, but I stood on my ground. 

“After rejecting me right after fucking me, do you think I will trust you with my child, Alpha King?” I sneered at him, and his eyes flashed like lava pouring out of his dark eyes, ready to burn me into ashes. 

The doctor cleared his throat, indicating his presence right there, reminding us of the lack of privacy. And that fuelled his anger even more because I saw the Alpha King’s eyes getting darker with the passing second. 

“Is there anything else you want to examine, Paul? Any tests you need to run or any injections you need to give?” Alpha King asked Doctor Paul, who gulped nervously and nodded his head. 

“We need to run a few tests to check if she is even healthy to carry the heir…..child in her womb. And only according to the reports can I prescribe any medicines or injections, Sire.” He said, looking down, and Theodore nodded his head. 

“I want you to run all the tests in the evening, Paul. Because before that we need to talk. Leave.” Alpha King said, his eyes focused on mine, barely moving away from me. Paul bowed down one last time before hastily leaving Theodore’s room. 

Once Doctor Paul left Theodore’s room, he closed the door and got back to me before I could get down from the bed in the blink of an eye.

“Get away from me, Sire, I need to get back to my job. Unlike you, I get don’t get paid for the hours I don’t work. So, leave.” I said, staring into his dark eyes and he scoffed, pressing his palms against the mattress, making it difficult for me to breathe. 

The smell of his cologne was clouding my senses, making it extremely difficult for me to maintain my glare. It was getting harder for me to not embrace him right then and there and kiss him until my heart desires. 

“Have you forgotten, my darling mate, whom you are talking to?” Alpha King asked me, the back of his hand gently caressing my cheeks as he leaned closer, even more, making me suck in a breath as I leaned back, unable to bear the proximity between us. The intoxicating proximity. 

I have paid a heavy price for letting myself get influenced by his charms once. And Serenity Knight never makes the same mistake twice. 

“Are you forgetting that I am the King of the world you live in? You humiliated me in front of my pack members, Serenity. Tell me, why should I let you go after you humiliated me in front of my people?” He asked me softly but I could hear the anger in his voice. 

“And what about the humiliation I will face once the word gets out that I am pregnant and my mate doesn’t want me, Alpha King? Or is it just your honor that matters and mine has absolutely no value?” I asked him and no matter how hard I tried to keep my tears at bay, they betrayed me by escaping my captivity. 

Theodore’s eyes widened when he saw my eyes getting teary. But before I could have embarrassed myself more, I quickly wiped them away, a little too aggressively, and winced when I harshly rubbed the cut on my forehead. It was an outcome of my Uncle’s abuse that refused to heal quickly, or maybe my immunity was too weak after getting abused so often these days. 

I immediately hid my bruise using my hair but it was too late. The hot, burning, and lethal fire burned in his dark eyes, revealing the golden specks in them as he gently grasped my jaw, taking me by surprise. Before I could have reacted, he pushed the hair out of my forehead and his jaw hardened as he saw my bruise. 

“Who?” Theodore asked me. It scared me how calm his voice was when his eyes were holding back a storm, promising me painful consequences of hurting me. 

“Alpha King…..”

“Who, Serenity? Who dared to lay a hand on you? Who dared to taint this skin of yours and cause you pain? Tell me. Who?” His voice and words didn’t belong to him. It was his wolf. It has to be. Because Alpha King Theodore Black barely cared for me. 

“Why does it matter, Sire? I am just a human being, after all. Just a human being who is unfortunately your mate now. And as if this misfortune was not enough I got pregnant with your child. I understand. No one will know a word about you getting me pregnant.” It was shameful how my harsh words came out as a painful cry and Alpha King tried to embrace me, to calm me down but I pushed him away with every ounce of strength I had. 

“Don’t touch me…..”

“Enough. Don’t…. Don’t speak like that for yourself or our child, Serenity. I agree, my human is a little dense, my mate. But he doesn’t hate you. It’s not you but your species. How can he hate you? You’re his mate, Serenity.” His wolf spoke, bending down and I scoffed, cradling myself as I stared at him in disbelief. 

“He has a very funny way of showing it then, wolfie,” I said, and his eyes glimmered as he stared at me wordlessly. 

“Who hurt you, Serenity? You can’t divert the topic, my mate. Tell me.” He pressed the question again and I swallowed harshly. 

I was not holding myself back from revealing the truth to save my Uncle, not at all. But I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust his wolf either. What if he uses it against me? What if he uses my weakness to hurt me more than I already am? Especially now that I am pregnant as well. 

“I fell down the stairs. It’s funny how you are asking me about the culprit when it was you who hurt me. I was too hurt, emotionally and physically after you used me that I didn’t notice I skipped a stair and fell down.” I lied through my teeth and his skin burned my jaw as he gripped my face, leaning closer to me. 

“You’re lying. I can feel it. I can hear your heartbeat. It’s too loud and too fast. You’re not even breathing evenly, Serenity. You can’t lie to me, to your mate.” He whispered, staring at me, down at my lips, making me forget to breathe once again. 

“I am not.” I was too stubborn to give in either. 

Theodore smiled bitterly at me, getting away from me as he nodded his head. 

“You are. Again. But don’t worry, Serenity, if you wish to continue lying to me, you can. But remember who I am, my mate. I am the King and nothing can be kept hidden from the master of the world.” He said, and I felt anger surging inside me. I placed my feet down to stand up but suddenly my head started spinning.

Before I could have met the floor with a painful impact, a strong pair of familiar arms again wrapped around my waist, preventing my fall, and pulling me closer to his chest. Once again.  

“And until I start trusting you with yourself, Serenity, you will not leave this palace. You will not step out of this room. And you will certainly not get down from this bed. I will ask Paul to come right away and take your blood samples and conduct whichever test he feels is necessary for your and our baby’s health.” He said, his voice holding finality and I took a deep breath to calm myself. 

“How many times do I need to repeat for your animalistic brain to understand that you have rejected me, your highness, and I am no longer your mate? You have no right over the child after you left me like I was a fucking doll after fucking me like a one-night-stand.” I spat angrily and Theodore’s eyes blazed perilously. 

“I have every single right on my child, Serenity. What my human did was in spite of the anger and pain of his past. You’re still my mate, and this,” Theodore said, touching my belly, making me gasp, “is my child. My child.” 

“Alpha King….”

“Rest, Serenity. I don’t wish to have any argument over this. Until you tell me who hurt you, caused you pain, you will stay here. Right in front of my eyes. I can’t risk you and our child, Serenity.” He said, and before I could have protested, he kissed my forehead and left me alone in his room. 

The moment he stepped out of his room, I threw the pillows down, shouting at the top of my lungs. 

***

Later that evening, Theodore brought Doctor Paul to his room to run all the check-ups. But along with them, I saw another person standing with them. A lady. Dressed in a black dress, reaching just above her knees, her lips painted red and a black hat over her head. Her long, red hair, was falling down on her chest as she carefully observed me, and stared at me with her sharp eyes. 

“Serenity, meet Jillian. She is a witch, a loyal member of my pack.” Theodore spoke when he saw my confusion. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as she walked near me, holding my wrist in her hand, making me feel uneasy.

“What are you doing?” I asked her, and she stared at me wordlessly before closing her eyes as she started chanting something, incoherent to me. It took her a minute to stop whatever she was chanting to look back at me. 

“You can’t let her go, Sire. You can’t reject your soulmate. Not her. She is sent by the Gods as compensation for the curse. She is the remedy of every pain, every curse that has been endured by our pack for the past many centuries. If you let her go, the child won’t survive your separation. And only she can give birth to your children. She is your only mate.” Jillian, the said witch spoke calmly, and my eyes widened in alarm. 

“What curse?” I asked her, and Jillian ignored me and stared at Theodore. 

“If you let her go now, the throne will never get its next heir. If you let her go now, your pack will not have the next leader, Sire. It’s not wise to enrage the fates, your highness if you know what I mean.” Jillian continued, casting a meaningful glance at me.

“The fates can go in hell for all I care! I am not staying here! You can’t make me.” I spat angrily and Theodore’s gray eyes gazed at me impassively, with no emotions at all. 

I got down from the bed and was about to leave his room when Jillian spoke again. 

“Go ahead, Miss Knight, if you wish to be responsible for your child’s demise, go ahead. But the moment you step out of the mansion, you will be responsible for the catastrophe you will cause.” Her words successfully stopped me in my steps.