A Curse Wears Her Face

Dravin's POV

The softness of the winds ruffling through my hair wasn't enough to calm the tension in my heart.  

How could this be? For the first time in over seven hundred years, I felt arousal. Not just an erection, but a deep lust toward a female. Even worse, it happened to be for a fat, ugly, scarred princess.  

There was something in her eyes, something too familiar.  

I can’t place my finger on it, but there was something about those eyes that drew me in.  

Something about those eyes aroused me in a way no other woman had for the better part of seven hundred years.  

It was both intriguing and unsettling.  

The only woman who had made me feel this way was...  

I shook off the thought of her name.  

That was a name and a memory I would rather keep buried, even though it has been all but impossible to forget.  

I've done my investigation into her life. She's been betrothed to me since she was a toddler, so I received reports regarding her life even though I never bothered to pay attention to them.  

I had gone through her profile before I went to claim her—only child of Alpha Darius, sharp, and easygoing—but they conveniently never mentioned that she was fat, ugly, and scarred.  

Out of all the princesses I had been with, she was the most hideous of them.  

A sigh behind me jolted me out of my thoughts, and I drew my dagger with practiced ease as I whirled in the direction of the sigh. I quickly got into a stance, poised to attack.  

It took a second to recognize the scent in the air.  

I sighed exhaustedly as I lowered my dagger.  

"I've warned you a thousand times to stop sneaking up on me like that, Soren. One day, I might just cut you."  

Soren, my Beta, let out a laugh, his dreadlocks tied up, and amber eyes glinting in the dark. He was an inch or two shorter than me but possessed lean, lithe muscles that barely seemed obvious from his outfit.  

He has always been a shifty fellow and built himself for speed and stealth.  

He was leaning on a wall behind me and smiled once our eyes met.  

"I'm sorry, Alpha," he bowed, his tone holding its amusement.  

I knew he wasn't sorry in the least, and he wasn't even trying to hide it.  

"When did you get back?" I asked, giving him no time to try exchanging pleasantries.  

"A while ago, Alpha," he answered, leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed above his chest while he crossed one leg over the other.  

Soren was my longest-surviving Beta. Two and a half centuries old, even though his physique could be easily mistaken for a man in his mid-thirties.  

He dipped his head in a small bow again.  

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it on time to visit the StormClaw Pack with you."  

This time, he seemed quite remorseful, so I let it pass.  

I sighed in response.  

"You should be grateful you didn't make it. There wasn't much to do or see there. I wish I didn't go."  

Soren arched a brow as he lifted his body off the wall to stand upright.  

"Did they denounce the promise they made? Did they defy your orders, Alpha? Are they trying to start a war? What happened, Alpha?"  

As he asked the questions, Soren's eyes seemed to narrow even as he never got answers. By the time he took a breath, he already had a furious frown on his face.  

I stared at him for a few seconds before looking up at the moon. It was a full moon tonight.  

"You know they wouldn't dare to defy me. No one is stupid enough to start a war with the Devil himself."  

His frown soon turned into a curious look.  

"Then, what happened over there?"  

"They fulfilled their promise. The problem is the princess," I replied.  

"What about the princess?"  

"She's a sore sight," I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "One that is unfit to be called a princess, much less my Luna."  

Soren stared at me like he was looking for a hint that I was joking. We stood in silence for a few seconds as he assessed me.  

His laughter soon echoed through the hall once he realized I was serious. He doubled over in laughter and ended up crouching to control himself.  

I frowned at that.  

"What's so funny, Soren?"  

"I'm sorry," he said between bouts of laughter. "For a moment I thought she had escaped or something. There has never been a princess you considered attractive, Dravin."  

"Well, Elora is the worst of them all," I stated, walking away from the balcony, Soren following closely behind. "You should see her face. Her body, attitude, and everything about her irks me."  

"Wow, Elora. What a beautiful name for a princess," Soren remarked.  

I scoffed at the sound of that.  

"A beautiful name that is being wasted on a hideous being like her."  

"Come on, Alpha, she can't be that bad." He laughed. "You just need to get used to her."  

His apparent amusement at my dilemma was getting on my nerves as I turned to face him, causing him to halt in his steps.  

"Well, tomorrow at the ritual ceremony, you will get to see for yourself."  

I turned around to continue walking.  

"Wasn't it supposed to be done today?" he asked.  

I scoffed again.  

"Well, Princess Elora thinks I'm going to have her head cut off."  

"Ouch!" Soren chuckled as his hands flew to his chest in feigned hurt. "Your reputation keeps getting worse every day. I can't blame them though. You keep giving them enough reason to make you the stuff of nightmares."  

"I am the stuff of nightmares," I replied.  

"I'm beginning to like Princess Elora though," he smiled. "Most girls would have been frozen solid from the fear. She's a survivor."  

"Let's see if you can say that when you see her tomorrow," I shrugged.  

He was silent as we walked some more.  

"So, about the Crescent Pack, what did their Alpha say?"  

"My bad, I completely forgot about the reason I came here," he facepalmed. "Alpha Asher said he would be more than happy to oblige."  

I nodded at that.  

"You just got back. Go get some rest. We will continue about it tomorrow after the ritual."  

He bowed lightly. "Yes, Your Highness."  

***

It was past midnight already. I had spoken to maids who would be in charge of her, but I couldn't bring myself to go back to my room.  

After drinking myself to a stupor, I had no choice but to clumsily stagger to my room.  

She was gone by the time I reached the room.  

"Thankfully," I muttered as I fell on my bed and immediately drifted off to sleep.  

...  

"Do you love me?" I asked Irikah.  

"I love you to the moon and back, Nivard."  

Typical Irikah, always calling my name backwards.  

I smiled at that as I pulled her into my arms.  

It felt so right.  

My Irikah.  

Suddenly, the air in the forest where we stood changed, and Irikah was pushed miles away from me.  

"Nivard, please help me, please!" she yelled as she moved farther away.  

I chased after her, but she moved faster than I ran. Her screams grew louder as she got farther, but I wasn't able to do anything.  

***  

I jolted awake, soaked in my sweat.  

I looked around my surroundings in search of Irikah and was greeted with the familiar surroundings of my room.  

"It was a dream," I muttered as I reached for the glass of water on my bedside table and emptied it.  

The contents of my dream replayed themselves in my head as I sat upright on my bed.  

Not a dream.  

A nightmare.  

It was so ironic that I almost laughed at my predicament.  

The Demon Alpha.  

The Devil himself.  

The stuff of nightmares.  

Who would have thought I would be haunted by nightmares of my own?  

The sight of Irikah was one I could never forget even if I tried.  

'Irikah, please forgive me,' I thought as her screams replayed themselves. 'I never meant to. I was foolish. If I could turn back the hands of time, I never would have...'

I could no longer sleep after that.  

I couldn't bring myself to face Irikah anymore tonight. Not even in my dreams.  

Ever since Irikah, none of my brides had lived past two months.  

It was a curse I had to bear.  

It was even rumored that I killed them myself.  

I thought about Elora as I put on my robe.  

It might be insensitive, but I was happy about the curse this time.  

At least, two months from now, she would be dead just like the others.  

I doubt I can stand her longer than that.