Chapter Three – Where’s Hazel?

Stavros’s POV

“Stav, open your eyes!” I could hear Hera’s voice far away, but I couldn’t open my eyes. The pain in my chest was unbearable and I could feel myself slip into unconsciousness. I knew I couldn’t bear to reject Hazel, my mate. I loved her with all my heart and soul. For the last two years, she was all I could think of. I waited patiently for her to turn eighteen when I could claim her. 

A shuddering sigh escaped my lips. It was a lost dream now.

“Stav? What happened to him? He was fine a while ago?” It was my best friend, Zephyrus. He was more than my best buddy. Zephyrus was my family, brother, confidante, and right hand. We might not be blood-related, but he meant everything to me. I wouldn’t have been alive if he hadn’t rescued me from the fire that burned my family alive. 

It was that fateful night almost ten years ago when the Whiteridge Pack used unfair means to overpower us. They torched our home while my dad, Theodore Bergeron, was out on the battlefield fighting to save our pack and territory. 

I was trapped in my room while my younger brothers, Leonard and Kennard, were burned alive in the devastating fire. I was indebted to Zephyrus, who braved his way through the fire and rescued me. At such a tender age, we could do the unthinkable job of rescuing the pack members and flee our home, our village. Ever since, we stuck together in Aromania, Zephyrus’s father’s home, all except Hazel. Her grandparents took her away with them to Alaska. I was heartbroken, but Hera always updated me about her. It kept me alive, hoping I would see her again when we grew up. 

I did, only to lose her forever. 

I didn’t want to open my eyes. There was no one to live for. I hated this cursed life. What did I ever do to deserve such a painful punishment? I lost faith in the Goddess now. She didn’t love me at all. 

“He rejected Hazel. Ever since he’s been this way. If I hadn’t brought him here, he would have been unconscious by now.” 

“Rejected? Why? We could have found a remedy to get rid of the curse. Why did you do it, bro?” I could sense the pain in Zephyrus’s voice as he waited for my reply, but I couldn’t utter a single word. 

“Curse? What curse?” asked a clueless Hera. I forced myself to open my eyes and gesture to Zephyrus to stop. I didn’t want anyone to know about my predicament. The handful who were with me on that dreadful night only knew the truth. Hera would inform Hazel and she would hate me more. 

“Where’s Hazel?” I croaked to divert her attention away from me. It worked, and she smacked her forehead, remembering we had left Hazel stranded in the Secret Garden. I didn’t want it to happen this way. Now I was concerned more about Hazel than me. I didn’t care whether I lived or died, but Hazel should be alive and happy. She didn’t deserve a cursed beast like me.

“Shit! I forgot. I’ll check up on her.” She dashed out of my room, and Zephyrus turned to confront me. He knew everything about me since he witnessed what happened that fateful night a month ago. 

“What’s this, Stav? How could you reject her outright? You know you can’t live without her.” I slumped back into the bed, the energy draining from my body. I felt weak, like a corpse, except for the pain in my heart and head. 

I closed my eyes helplessly, unable to face the harsh reality. Hazel and I were separated forever.

She wasn’t my mate anymore.

“What choice did I have? It’s been a month, yet there’s been no hope whatsoever. It was the only way to save her from a beast like me.” My throat choked up with painful emotions, but I couldn’t ease myself. I couldn’t cry my heart out like everyone else. Ever since I witnessed my brothers being burned alive right in front of me, I had gone into a shell. For years, I bottled up the hurt in my heart. I couldn’t shed tears at all at the drop of a hat like the others. It all bottled up inside me, unable to find a vent. 

Zephyrus sighed, knowing what I was going through. I didn’t need to explain myself to him. He could read me like an open book. 

“You aren’t a beast, Stav. You’re just a Grypwolf. I’m sure if she truly loves you, she will overlook it. In the meantime, we can look for a cure.” I shook my head vehemently. It wasn’t just that. There was more to it than met the eye. 

“The curse doesn’t stop there, right? Even if I turn back into a normal shifter wolf like you, what about the other part of the curse? Believe me, Zeph, this was the only way to save Hazel’s life. There’s no cure.” 

He sat beside me, holding his head in his hands in despair. “What about your life, bro? I can’t see you this way. Please release me from the promise and let me seek help from Uncle Georgios. After all, it was all done to save Aromania.” I shook my head, opening my eyes to beg him to not tell a soul. 

“No one can help me. Uncle Georgios will throw me out of Aromania. I don’t want the judgmental looks, the pity thrown my way. The promise stays, Zeph. You can’t tell a soul, not even Hera.” 

Before he could protest, the door opened and Hera came rushing in. “I can’t find Hazel anywhere. Her luggage is missing too.” I sprang from the bed, forgetting my pain. Fear gripped my heart now. Had she left? I hadn’t expected her to leave tonight. It was already late and the road to Ioannina Airport was treacherous. 

“How can she leave so late in the night?” I rushed out to go looking for my precious mate. Yes, she was still my mate. There couldn’t be another for me. 

Zephyrus grabbed my arm to stop me from going out. “Stop, Stav. You aren’t in a condition to go anywhere. I’ll look for her and update you.” 

I wrenched my arm free of his hold and ran ahead. I didn’t care about myself at all. “No, I can’t let anything happen to her.” 

I rushed down the corridor as fast as my legs could carry me until I reached the Secret Garden. Her scent was in the air, but there was no sign of her, just as Hera had announced. I followed her scent and reached the main gates. Now I was sure she left the palace and me forever. Panic gripped my throat, and I ran towards the guards stationed there. 

“Have you seen Hazel Lavoie leave? She was the royal guest who arrived this morning.” The guards nodded and one of them informed me about her departure twenty minutes ago.

Zephyrus joined me soon and pulled me towards his car. “Let’s go. We might find her on the way to Ioannina Airport,” he said, starting the ignition. 

“But we will only ensure she reaches the airport safely.” He nodded and drove on. The treacherous condition of the road made it impossible for us to speed and it took us almost two hours to reach Ioannina Airport. There was no sign of Hazel on the way, but I could sense her scent as we went. At the airport, we checked with all flights leaving for Fairbanks and found Hazel’s name listed in the one ready for takeoff. 

“Yes, the passenger has just boarded the flight, sir,” informed the lady at the check-in counter. 

It relieved us to know she had safely boarded the flight. There was nothing we could do but return to the castle. “She’s safe. Maybe you can go to Fairbanks and check up on her a few days later,” said Zephyrus to comfort me. 

“No. She should forget me.” We drove back to the castle in the wee hours of the morning. The reality of the situation sank in. Hazel had really accepted my rejection and left with a shattered heart. Maybe she would move on from me, but I could never. For me, she was the only one I loved and lost. 

I mourned my loss in my way by keeping myself busy. The whole day I spent at college and the rest of the time in the fighting arena, practicing until exhaustion overtook my senses. It was the only way to forget Hazel and sleep. 

If only I could get rid of the curse from my life. I could pursue Hazel and patch up the fated bond between us. 

I closed my eyes and thought about the most dreadful night of my life when I turned into a cursed Grypwolf, a dragon-wolf with exceptional fighting skills. It wasn’t what made me reject Hazel, though. It was the other curse. 

The curse of death!