The Cursed Mate

A New Identity

Arlene’s POV

The snow had long since melted from my skin, but the cold had settled inside me, curling deep in my bones. The night was silent now. Too silent.

I had seen death before. I had felt it. And I had delivered it. But it was nothing compared to the way the Demon of the Black Triangle had erased Carl’s men. No struggle. No screams. Just shadows swallowing them whole, reducing them to nothing but whispers in the wind.

And I had been next.

But he spared me.

Why would he spare me?

I sat curled against a jagged rock, my breath coming in slow, uneven drags as I stared at the figure before me. The Demon stood at the edge of the clearing, his form shifting like black smoke in the dim moonlight. His presence twisted the air, bending it around him in ways that defied reality.

“You belong to me now.” His voice was a thing of nightmares—silken and sharp, like a blade wrapped in shadow.

“I belong to no one!” I immediately replied with the last strength left in me.

“You are mine, Arlene Vegas. And what happened just now is an example of what I do to those who try to take what is mine or run away with it.” He said, but I refused to accept such a fate even though I wasn’t sure whether I was going to survive it or not.

“But I don’t have the ring anymore. It’s with Carl. He’s the one who you should deal with. Not me.” I said.

“Did you think losing the ring makes you no longer mine?” He laughed, but it sounded like a squeaking growl in the air. It hurt my ear, but the discomfort is less compared to my shattered heart and spirit. “You signed a contract with me. Our pact remains whether you have the ring or not.”

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around my arms. “You saved me. Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I do not grant favors, little wolf. I am merely protecting my investment.”

The weight of his words sank into me, heavy and suffocating. My soul was his. Whether I wanted to believe it or not, I had sealed my fate the moment I placed my name on that cursed contract.

A foolish girl’s desperate bid for power. Encouraged by her deceitful man who she never thought could betray her.

And now, power has forsaken me.

I met his gaze, ignoring the way my skin prickled beneath his scrutiny. “Then why let me live?”

He tilted his head slightly as if amused by my defiance. “Because your story is not finished. You can’t die yet.” He stepped closer, the ground blackening beneath his feet. “Because your throne is still occupied by the wrong person. A mere commoner. A thief. And until you reclaim it, you are of no use to me.”

A slow, cruel smile curved his lips. “Fail me, and I will collect what is mine.”

A sharp, searing pain flared across my chest as if something inside me had been branded. I gasped, clutching at my ribs, but when I looked down, there was nothing there. Nothing except the invisible weight of my servitude.

The Demon stepped back, his form was beginning to fade into the darkness. “The power is not attached to the ring. It’s within you.”

“So why couldn’t I use it?” I asked.

“Because you are too weak.” His reply made my rage burn a little more as I recalled that’s what Carl had called me.

“Run, little wolf. The world is not kind to those who have nothing left.” The demon is completely fading.

And then he was gone.

The forest stretched endlessly before me. I ran without thinking, without direction, my feet carrying me deeper into the unknown.

I didn’t know how long I moved—minutes, hours, days. My body ached, and my limbs screamed for rest, but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t.

Stopping meant thinking. And thinking meant remembering.

Carl’s voice still echoed in my head, the taste of his betrayal still bitter on my tongue. I had been a fool. I had let love blind me. I had trusted a snake and let him sink his fangs into my skin.

I should have seen it coming.

I should have been stronger.

A branch snapped beneath my weight, and my knees buckled, sending me crashing to the ground. I let out a shuddering breath, my fingers digging into the frozen earth.

I couldn’t stay here.

But I had nowhere else to go.

A rustle in the trees. A presence, watching, waiting. My breath hitched, and I forced myself to my feet, my vision blurring with exhaustion.

Then, a voice. Soft, measured, ancient.

“You carry darkness within you, child.”

I turned sharply, my body tensing, but what I saw was not a threat. Or maybe she was.

It was a woman. But not just an ordinary one. She was a witch.

She stood opposite me, her cloak woven from the very night itself, blending into the shadows. Her face was ageless, her eyes bright with secrets.

I had heard of them before. The witches of the mountains. A forgotten people, hidden away from the wars of wolves and men.

I swallowed. “Who are you?”

She stepped closer, her gaze piercing. “A guide. If you wish to live, come with me.”

I didn’t trust her. But trust had gotten me nothing but ruin.

So, I followed. And I wasn’t expecting a witch to welcome someone marked by the demon of the Black Triangle.

The witches’ sanctuary was unlike anything I had ever seen.

It was hidden deep within the mountains, nestled beneath layers of ancient magic, it pulsed with a quiet energy. Candles lined the stone walls, casting flickering shadows over worn books and strange artifacts. The air smelled of incense and something older—something powerful.

The woman led me into a chamber where others waited. They watched me with guarded curiosity, their eyes lingering on the invisible mark the Demon had left on me.

She turned to face me fully, her hands folded before her. “I am Liora, leader of this coven.”

I swallowed my exhaustion, straightening. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Because you are not meant to die yet.”

I scoffed, the sound bitter. “And you know how?”

Liora studied me for a long moment, then murmured, “Because you have been written into prophecy.”

A cold weight settled in my stomach. “What?”

She gestured to an old, tattered scroll resting on the altar. “Long before your time, the fates whispered of a wolf cursed by darkness, yet destined to heal what had been broken.” She stepped forward, her gaze never leaving mine.

“The cursed heart shall mend the broken crown,

And yet in the shadows shall the savior be found.”

A chill swept through me, deeper than the winter air.

Liora tilted her head. “You seek vengeance, but your path does not end with Carl. It is far greater than you know.”

I clenched my fists. “I don’t care about fate. I don’t care about destiny. All I want is to take back what was stolen from me.”

A ghost of a smile crossed Liora’s lips. “Then you must become something new.”

She turned, retrieving a silver pendant from the altar and pressing it into my palm. The metal was cool against my skin, humming with unfamiliar magic.

“If you wish to reclaim your throne, you cannot return as Arlene Vegas.” Her voice was quiet, but firm. “The world believes you are dead. Let them.”

I frowned. “What are you saying?”

She stepped closer, her eyes dark and knowing.

“I am saying that Arlene Vegas is gone.”

She reached up, brushing strands of my blood-matted hair away from my face.

“From this day forward, you are Silver.”

A name without history. A name without burden.

A new beginning.

And, perhaps, the first step toward my revenge.