Bound to the Cursed Alpha

Chapter 4

Lucien’s POV

The forest was silent, except for the distant snapping of twigs under heavy paws. My senses were stretched to their limits. Every shadow, every rustle, every whisper of wind carried a threat. I could smell the fear radiating off her even from a few steps behind. Aria. Her name rolled through my mind like a mantra I could not escape. I had claimed her at the Rite, yet now, out here, it felt more real than anything I had ever known.

She stumbled behind me, bare feet bleeding, skirt torn and muddy. I wanted to gather her in my arms, shield her, tell her to trust me. But I knew better. The bond was real, yes, but it had not yet tempered the raw instincts of the blood in me. If I held her too close now, I might never let go.

Then I sensed him.

The Alpha trailing us was precise, disciplined. Powerful. But arrogant. They always underestimated me. The Cursed Alpha. That is what they called me. A monster. But I was more than the whispers. More than the curse. And I would prove it tonight.

“Stay close,” I muttered over my shoulder, voice low, gruff. My eyes scanned the darkness, muscles tensed for the strike. “Don’t fall behind.”

Her small form nodded, but she was trembling. Not from cold, but from the primal fear of being prey in a forest where monsters walked like kings.

Good. Let her be afraid. Let her know she is human. Let her understand the danger. She needed to feel it before she could survive it.

The Elders’ Alpha emerged from the shadows with a low snarl, claws glinting faintly in the moonlight. I shifted, my body bending, bone and muscle reshaping with ease. Fur sprouted along my skin, and my height doubled as I became the wolf I was born to be. Every inch of me radiated power. The air shimmered with the pulse of the bond between me and her, silver light tracing the edges of my fur, casting long shadows across the clearing.

The intruder froze. He should have known better than to challenge me. Everyone did. But he had not counted on me protecting her. Protecting her like no one had ever dared.

“Back,” I growled, each word a ripple of power through the clearing. My voice was deep, a predator’s promise, and yet, part of me wished it could soothe her instead of terrify. “She is mine.”

The Alpha lunged. I met him midair, the collision shaking the ground beneath us. My claws sank into him with precision, strength, and controlled rage. I could feel her behind me, frozen, heart pounding. She didn’t move. She never had to. I would not let a hair on her head be harmed.

“You are not to touch her,” I snarled through gritted teeth. Every movement was fluid, efficient, lethal. The intruder was fast, but I was faster. My wolf’s senses guided every strike, every step, every motion. This was no longer just survival. This was possession. Protection. Something older than me had stirred the moment she had sat beside me in the Rite.

She gasped behind me. I could feel her trembling through the bond. My wolf wanted to reach out to her, to wrap her in fur and warmth, to claim her in a way the world had forbidden. But the human in me held back, struggling against instinct.

One swipe, one twist, and the intruder went down. I growled low in my throat, warning the others in the shadows. No one dared come closer. The pack knew the legend. They knew the cursed Alpha was deadlier than any threat they could muster. And now, she was with me. My mate. My responsibility. My obsession.

I turned my gaze to her. Aria was wide-eyed, lips parted, hair plastered against her cheeks with sweat and mud. She looked small. Vulnerable. And yet… something inside her had changed tonight. The fear was there, yes, but so was awe. Wonder. And maybe even the first spark of understanding.

“Come,” I said, voice softer now, human beneath the predator. “We are not safe yet.”

Her legs moved, tentative, following me as I shifted back to human form. The transition left me raw, heart pounding, scent heavy in the air. I could feel her pulse racing alongside mine.

“You’re… terrifying,” she whispered, voice shaky, barely audible.

I didn’t answer. Not yet. How could I explain what she already knew? That the blood in me, the curse, the bond, all of it recognized her? That she was the first human, the first soul, to stir something inside me I thought had died long ago?

The clearing stretched ahead, shadows deepening. The intruder and his accomplices were still out there, hidden, waiting. I could smell them. Every wolf in the forest knew to fear me, and now, every human would too. But she needed to see that I would not waver. That I would fight until the last breath to keep her alive.

“Lucien,” she said, reaching toward me. Her voice trembled with need, fear, and something else I could not name.

I turned sharply, grasping her wrist gently but firmly. “Do not reach for me,” I said. “Not yet. Not until we are safe.”

Her eyes searched mine, seeking understanding, pleading silently. I felt the bond tighten. I wanted to pull her close, protect her in every way my wolf could imagine. But I also needed her to survive this. To endure what the Rite had begun.

“You are stronger than you think,” I said, my voice low, rough with warning and something deeper, something almost tender. “The bond chose you. The moon chose you. And if you survive tonight, it will demand everything from us both.”

She nodded, trembling. I could feel her heartbeat through the bond, syncopated with mine. Faster. Unsteady. Alive.

Then a branch snapped. My wolf stiffened. The other Alpha had returned, circling, calculating.

“Aria,” I said, pulling her slightly behind me. “Hold still. Do not breathe more than necessary. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered, fear laced with something braver than I expected.

I crouched, senses sharpening. I could feel the bond with her pulsing, a tether between our souls stronger than fear, stronger than any curse. And then I made a decision.

We would fight. Together.

The intruder lunged again from the shadows. This time, I met him head-on, every strike precise, controlled, deadly. And I felt her pulse, quickening in tandem with mine. The bond, the Rite, the curse, all weaving together. It was the first time I allowed myself to recognize it fully: she was mine. Mine to protect. Mine to claim.

And she could feel it too, whether she wanted to or not.

When the fight ended, bodies scattered, and the forest fell silent once more. I shifted back to human form. My chest heaved. The blood, sweat, and adrenaline coursing through me made me ache in ways that had nothing to do with battle.

Aria was trembling, tears streaking the dirt on her cheeks. She looked at me, fear and wonder mirrored in her gaze.

“You’re alive,” she whispered.

“Yes,” I said, voice low. “Because I will not let them touch you.”

She stepped closer, small hesitant steps, but the bond hummed louder between us. The air vibrated with tension, unspoken desire, and an understanding we could not yet name.

And I realized: the Moon Rite had done more than choose a fated mate. It had chosen us both, and nothing in the world could change that.

A distant howl echoed across the forest, cold and commanding. More hunters were coming. And I knew the Elders would not stop until she was theirs or dead. I turned to Aria, gripping her hand tightly. “Run. Stay close. Trust me. Or we die here.”