All Chapters of The Curse Within : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

(Sofia's POV)I should have turned back the moment the trees started closing in. They seemed taller tonight, more oppressive, the branches reaching across the sky like skeletal hands trying to blot out what little light remained. The path ahead was dark, unfamiliar, and yet, I kept going. I didn’t care where I was headed. The aimless drive was all I had left to hold onto.I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the leather cold against my skin. The hum of the engine was a dull background noise compared to the echo of my thoughts,thoughts I couldn’t outrun, no matter how fast I drove.I missed them. God, I missed them so much. It had been years, but the ache was still there, lodged in my chest like a thorn I could never pull out. My parents. The people who had given me everything, who had loved me unconditionally… and who had been taken from me without warning. I could still remember that day as if it had happened yesterday.The phone call in the middle of the night. The police officer’s

Sofia's POVThe cold stone floor of the dungeon pressed against my legs, but I hardly felt it. The guilt was too heavy, suffocating. Every time I closed my eyes, the boy’s face appeared, lifeless, the awful truth crashing over me again: I’d killed him. By accident, sure, but it didn’t matter. He was dead because of me.The air was thick with the smell of damp and despair, but I barely noticed as footsteps echoed down the corridor. When the cell door creaked open, I lifted my head, heart racing. Several men entered, their faces hard, and I instantly felt small. Their attention wasn’t on me, though. Their focus was on one man in particular.I didn’t have to be told who he was. His presence spoke for itself. Power radiated off him like heat from a flame. He was taller than the others, broader too, and though his expression was set in a fierce scowl, it was impossible not to notice how handsome he was. It was the kind of handsome that belonged in a movie, not in the middle of this nightma

Thorn's POV.The weight of grief was unbearable. My chest felt hollow, a deep ache settling in where my heart used to be. How could Alaric stand there and speak of accidents? How could he possibly expect me to believe that the death of my son,the only thing in this life that truly mattered,was an accident?No. My boy was gone, and someone had to pay.I paced the floor of my quarters, my mind racing, a thousand thoughts crashing into each other. The echo of my son’s laughter, his voice, his small victories in the training yard,they haunted me now. Alaric had tried to play the role of mediator, to keep the peace, but his words had only fueled the fire inside me. It wasn’t just the boy’s death that burned in my veins. It was everything. Years of being sidelined, of watching Alaric rule over this pack like some invincible king, while I stood in the shadows, always the loyal warrior. But loyalty had its limits, and Alaric had just crossed mine.He could claim it was an accident all he want

Sofia’s POVI sat at the edge of the bed, my fingers curling into the fabric of the duvet as I stared at the floor. The room was silent, but my mind wasn’t. It was loud, chaotic even, and the one person responsible for the storm in my head was the last person I should be thinking about.Alaric.His name was a whisper in my mind, a shadow that refused to leave. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face, those piercing eyes that seemed to see everything I tried to hide. I hated how much space he took up in my thoughts. It was ridiculous. I barely knew the man, and yet he felt like this immovable force in my life.And as much as I feared him, oh, and I did fear him, there was something about him that made me feel safe. Safer than I’d felt in a long time, and I couldn’t figure out why.“Ugh, get out of my head,” I muttered to no one in particular, running a hand through my hair.But no matter how hard I tried, he was there, lingering in the corners of my mind, his presence as unavoidabl

Sofia’s POVSofia woke up the next morning to an unfamiliar scent in the air, a soft, sweet fragrance that made her feel oddly at peace. She stretched, her body still feeling the ache of the previous day's emotional whirlwind, but there was something different today. Something new, something that felt a little more like herself, even if it was just the faintest flicker of hope.As she pushed herself up from the bed, her eyes fell on the clothes neatly laid out at the foot of the bed. They were simple, but undeniably elegant. A pair of black leggings, a soft gray sweater, and a loose, cozy scarf. She couldn’t help but smile a little, wondering who had placed them there. It wasn’t like she had asked for anything, but here it was, as though someone had anticipated her needs.A thought flashed through her mind. Had Alaric brought this for me? Her heart skipped a beat at the idea. Did he sneak into her room while she slept? Did he watch her as she slept peacefully, unaware? The thought ma