ALPHA PARTHE.It's been days, and I haven't seen her yet. I made sure to keep myself in check in order to be able to tame whatever feelings were growing in me.I know she's been suffering. That Squalid dungeon is a place no one will ever pray to end up in. Thankfully, those stupid feelings were dying off already. All thanks to Shikta, who has been there to make sure I forget all about Luxuria, even though a fragment of her still lingers in me."Alpha," Vixtin, one of my loyal guards, called from the mindlink, "You have a guest," he said."Who is it?" I asked, hating to be disturbed at this time. I was having my alone time. If it isn't someone important, I'll just have to dismiss them."It's Alpha Nelfas," Vixtin said, and I frowned.I hesitated. What is he doing here?Alpha Nelfas has always wanted to be close to me as a friend, but I do not keep friends. I only keep allies.Nelfas is from a lineage the Moon Witch warned my lineage never to have anything intimate to do with. This was
ALPHA PARTHE.No matter what happens, I don't think I want Luxuria to die in the dungeon. It's been a week now, and she still languished in that cold, suffocating darkness.I had sent the maids to retrieve her—ordered them to bathe her, cleanse her of the grime and damp. She was to be brought to my chamber. There are rules she must follow if she seeks to survive peacefully here in my pack, under my protection.The heavy oak doors to my chamber creaked open, and I turned, expecting Luxuria.But it was Shikta.I stiffened. She wasn't who I was meant to see tonight.She strode in with a practiced grace, her figure draped in fabric that clung to her curves, deliberately dressed to steal my attention.Her lips were painted dark, matching the lustrous black silk that clung to her... Just as I liked it. The flicker of candlelight caught the sheen of her skin, a thin layer of sweat glistening along her collarbone.I knew what she wanted. But I was in no mood for that."Parthe," she purred, he
LUXURIA.I had been knocking on the door but got no answer. I was nervous to death. I was angry at him. At my mate. For putting me through such hell.That dark, cold dungeon had nearly shattered my spirit, molding me into something else. It broke me.I hated him for it. For everything. For tearing me down, breaking me piece by piece until the rebellion inside me died a natural death.I had no will to be rebellious or disobedient anymore. I wouldn't want to go back in there.He'd turned me into a version of myself I barely recognized, too afraid to resist. Yet, no matter the rage burning through my veins, I couldn't avoid him forever.Thanks to Zendaya for her intervention. She seemed to have delivered my message to the Alpha.I had sent her to tell him that I'd like to see him. And instead of coming to see me, he had released me instead. She must have put in a good word for me.The knot in my stomach twisted tighter with each passing second as I waited outside his door.I knocked once
LUXURIA.His words ripped me out of my treacherous thoughts, and I snapped my gaze back to his face, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Tears stung the corners of my eyes, a flood of emotions swirling inside me—anger, humiliation, betrayal, and a twisted desire that I couldn't control.But the tears came anyway, unbidden and shameful. I blinked them back, but I couldn't stop the trembling of my lips, the weakness in my knees.How could I feel this way about him after everything? After what I'd just witnessed?His cold, coal-black eyes bored into mine. The command in his words wasn't lost on me, and I had to fight against the wave of heat pooling between my legs.His threat wasn't idle. The atmosphere between us crackled with tension, charged with something dark, something dangerous."I… I didn't mean to—" I stammered, trying to form words, but my voice faltered, the weight of his presence too much to bear."You barged in," he said, his voice a soft but lethal growl. "Uninvited.""
LUXURIA.The tension in the room was stifling.Shikta sat across from me at the long dining table, her fingers delicately tracing the rim of her goblet.The morning sun rays caught her smug expression, and I could feel the weight of her gaze on me like a snake poised to strike.It was strange. This is my first time sitting in the dining hall of the Wild Wolf pack. If I were to choose, I'd prefer to eat alone in the confines of my chamber.Besides, of all his mistresses, why had he chosen me to eat with them?The dining seemed to be for high-ranking pack members alone - The Beta, Gamma, Shikta, three other men who I have never seen, and of course, the Alpha.Alpha Parthe wasn't there for breakfast yet, and I sincerely wished he wouldn't be joining us.I haven't recovered from last night's experience. The shame. Desire. Torment. And dismissal.He left me craving more. And I hated it.He didn't even care to ask how I was faring after locking me up in that unforgiving dungeon.Although a
ALPHA PARTHE.The moment I stepped into that dining hall, something in me snapped.How dare she dress in that manner for other men to see? She was too exposed for my liking.This wasn't just a mistress but my mate. I couldn't tolerate that. I had to ask her to leave.I saw the disappointment and embarrassment in her eyes, but who cares? As long as she is shielded from the hungry eyes of other men, then I am fine. Call me selfish."Alpha," Tervan's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I lifted my gaze from the scrolls I was meant to be reading before my thoughts drifted away."Tervan," I gave him my attention, "sit."I and Tervan have been friends since childhood. His father was the Beta of our pack, but something tragic happened to him when I became Alpha, and Tervan has been my Beta since then."You wanted to see me. What's the matter?" I asked him. He is the one person I can feel free with."I have been bothered about something, Parthe." He began, addressing me less formally. "An
LUXURIA.I desperately scanned through the large books on my table. My hands were trembling. My fear was getting the best of me.The glow in my eyes was becoming difficult to keep in check. It appears and disappears at will.What is wrong with me? Who can I talk to? What if I am truly a cursed one? Otherwise, how do I explain this?Everyone called me CURSED. I think I am beginning to agree with them.I couldn't tell the Alpha about this. What if he kills me because it is evident I am cursed? My curse is spreading faster now.I had to hide this as much as I could.For days now, I still haven't found a possible explanation as to what exactly triggered the curse in me. I was only able to find some herbs in a medicine book that treat acute anxiety problems.I might as well start with that first.As I feverishly flipped through the pages of an old tome, I stumbled upon a chapter titled "The Cure of Hera." The name made my heart race as it caught my attention.I skimmed through it, searchin
LUXURIA.I had scanned through every single page of the book, but the part I was interested in was nowhere to be found.I was going insane with worry.I do not have anyone to talk to about this. I felt so alone in this world. If only my mother were alive...I wiped off a tear from my eye.Whatever it was that happened to my mother was unfair to me. I was raised to suffer alone in this wicked world where no one cared.My hands trembled. I had to get hold of myself in order not to snap. I don't know what would happen if I truly allowed the full extent of this strange illness to take over me.I know I am just sick. Nothing more. I just had to find a solution to it. I only chose to call it a curse because it has tormented me even more than I could bear.I am sick. That's all it is. I had to remind myself every day.I wouldn't want to see what happens the day I let myself snap and reach the peak of whatever feeling this illness always tries to push me to.It was getting late already, and I
ALPHA PARTHE.Rage. Desperation. Fear. It all crashed into me like a wave.I shook, my vision blurring with red – the kind of red that wanted me to spill the blood of just one man... Rorden.My hands clenched into fists so tight my claws punctured my palms when he strode lazily toward me with a smug smile on his face.Like this was all some cruel fucking joke.Like this wasn't the end of my fucking world.I snapped my head up, my vision tunneling to where he stood, amusement dripping from every inch of his face."I will kill you." I gritted out."You should be thankful I didn't kill them, Parthe. I had the chance to." He shrugged, his voice dripping with arrogance. "But at least I got a taste of her so many times that my cock still juices up at the thought of it…"My breath hitched. My vision blurred."Well, even if it was without her consent…" A slow smirk twisted his lips as he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know how we, AshBloods, are… We take even the things p
ALPHA PARTHE.Rorden had seen it, too, because the smugness on his face slipped. His head snapped towards the gates, his eyes narrowing as he took in the approaching army.For the first time since this bloodbath started, panic flickered across his features.Good.Because he hadn't seen this coming either. And if Urik was also here to betray me, I sure as hell knew that he'd be attacking Rorden's warriors, too.A battle horn sounded from the gates, and Urik raised his sword high and muttered, "Finish them all!"And his warriors crashed into the enemy like a hurricane.These weren't just any soldiers.They knew exactly where to strike. How to strike.And their weapons—they were designed to kill Rorden's men.How?I barely had time to process it before Urik reached me. His horse skidded to a halt, kicking up dust and blood-soaked dirt.I waited and braced myself for the betraying words he would drop to my face, but to my surprise, he jumped down and hurried in my direction with his sword
ALPHA PARTHE.The battlefield was chaos.A brutal, blood-soaked chaos that should have fueled me, should have ignited the monster within and sent me storming through the carnage like the wrath of the gods themselves.But my mind—my fucking mind—was splintering.Rorden was cutting down my warriors, hacking through them like they were nothing. The bastard was laughing, reveling in the destruction he was causing.And I was stuck.Torn between the bitter truth he had shoved down my throat and the beast snarling before me—my mate.Luxuria.I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my mate was actually the cure to my curse, as well as that of Rorden's.If I didn't act—if I kept standing here like a fucking fool, trying to grasp what had already unraveled before my eyes—she would rip me apart.And the worst part?I wouldn't even fight back.Not against her.Not against my own damnation.She moved too fast.One second, she was snarling, her monstrous form rippling with barely contained fur
ALPHA PARTHE.A whimper caught my attention, and I shifted my gaze to Luxuria.She was pale. Too pale.The sight of her, so fragile and bound, weakened by their cruelty, made something in me twist. For a moment—just a moment—I faltered. The need to rip her away from these bastards ate at my insides like a beast clawing to get free."Luxuria..." I was only able to take two steps forward before the rope around her tightened, violently yanking her backward.She stumbled, her breath hitching, before crashing against the chest of that halfwit, Alpha Jalar. His thick, dirty fingers dug into her shoulder as he held her in place. His grip was both possessive and triumphant."Aha..." He exhaled, amusement curling at the edges of his voice. "Not that fast, Monster."My muscles coiled, every inch of my body screaming to lunge at him, to carve the satisfaction from his bones.He smirked, tightening his hold on her. "I told you, didn't I? That one day, I'd take her from you?" His lips curled wider.
ALPHA PARTHE.The atmosphere was thick with smoke and the scent of blood—metallic, raw, suffocating. It clung to my tongue, burned in my throat, and stung my eyes.Agonizing screams could be heard through the battlefield, mixed with the clash of steel and the snarls of shifting wolves.But I had no time to process all of that. They'd only distract me because those were my people being slaughtered.I lifted my eyes and saw Kira and the other witches running into the heart of battle. They were barely even up to thirty in total. The rest of them had gone to Valor Shield for the war.I was a bit more fucked than I ever wanted to admit.Men rushed toward me in a frenzied charge with their weapons glinting under the flames that burned through my very own pack. Their faces were twisted in a blind rage, but I saw no honor in their fight. No cause. Just slaughter.I didn't wait. I lunged while I made my way toward Rorden.I wanted to talk to him. Wanted to ask him questions...Questions like, '
ALPHA PARTHE.I moved quickly through the corridors, my boots slamming against the floor as I made my way back to my chamber. Chaos reigned outside—screams, war cries, the crackling of flames eating through wood and stone. The scent of blood was thick in the atmosphere, mingling with the acrid burn of smoke.As I entered my chamber, my gaze landed on the weapon mounted on the wall.A black-handled axe, the blade forged from dark steel, its edges still gleaming with the polish I had given it weeks ago.It was my father's axe, which was passed down to me. It was a weapon that had tasted war, that had been passed down through generations of Wild Wolf Alphas.I reached for it, my fingers curling tightly around the worn grip. The second it was in my hand, a strange sense of steadiness settled in my chest.But who the fuck was attacking us? And for what reason? We weren't weak. We had made no foolish moves that would warrant such an invasion. So why—My thoughts cut short as I turned toward
LUXURIA.It all happened like a bad dream.The kind where you're paralyzed, screaming with no sound, running but never moving—trapped in a nightmare that only tightens its grip the more you struggle.But this wasn't a dream. This was real.And I was forced to watch it unfold.The scent of blood clung to my tongue, my skin, my very soul.I saw those I once called my people being slaughtered like animals.Screams filled my ears from all sides as we took the Wild Wolf pack warriors guarding the gates by surprise. They never stood a chance against these vile men.A sharp pulse tore through my veins, curling up my spine like a searing brand.I sucked in a breath, my fingers twitching against the restraints as the sensation slithered through my blood.No. No, not now.The chaos was awakening something dangerous in me - my curse.The beast in me seemed to enjoy the sight before us, but I fought it back.For the past few days, Xurie had gone totally silent. I couldn't tell if it was because s
LUXURIA."I told you the time will come faster than you even imagine..." Rorden traced a lazy path along my cheek, "The time when you'd stand by my side as mine... The time is already upon us, dear Luxuria."My restrained hands twitched, aching to curl into fists, to drive my knuckles into his jaw and watch his smug mouth spill blood.Instead, I did the only thing I could. I spat in his face."You will never succeed in this evil you plan," I hissed, watching as the glob of spit trailed down his cheek. "The goddess will never accept the abomination you just committed in the name of rituals."Rorden didn't flinch. He simply exhaled through his nose, dragging a thumb across his cheek, wiping the spit away with an infuriating calmness.I scoffed, shaking my head. "How could you even harness such thoughts against your own brother?"My eyes scanned the large field, taking in the fearful-looking men who were being fortified with Rorden's blood mixed with some kind of powerful herbs and subst
ALPHA PARTHE."It took you long enough, Urik," I said when I saw him striding into my courtroom like a man walking towards his own execution. "Finally got some nerves to face me?"Bharon and Kefas had the perfect look of displeasure on their faces as their gazes rested on Urik.Like everyone else, they had been disappointed—furious—with the way things had turned out two days ago, and Urik made sure to stay away from everyone's eyes. I hadn't seen him since the day of the false alarm.He had vanished the moment things went south, leaving me to clean up his mess.Coward.Tervan kept on asking me what really happened and how we got the information about an attack that never happened. He was also curious as to what pack was going to attack us and all, but I never gave him any reasonable explanation.Because what was I supposed to say? That I had suspected my own right-hand man of treason? And that we had gone to such lengths to actually catch him in the act... In an act that he was never