The Cursed Mate

Arlene’s POV I could still smell the scent of blood that filled the air. I could still hear the echoes of my uncle’s last and defiant growl. But I was already fading fast beneath the deafening cheers of my pack. My pack. My chest was rising and falling as the weight of what I had done washed over me. Phineas Vegas was dead. I had won. I stared at his body as I stood at the center of the ceremonial grounds. The duel had been brutal. There were fresh wounds on my body but they can’t be compared to the triumph bustling through my veins. The man who had stolen my birthright, who had dared to rule in my place, now lay lifeless at my feet. Tonight, I am going to finally claim what was mine. The council, once divided in their loyalties, now knelt before me. The pack, once hesitant, now roared their approval. My parent's throne, my throne, was no longer a dream. It was reality. Carl found me first, his strong arms wrapping around my waist, lifting me off my feet as he spun me in the air. His golden eyes gleamed with something unreadable, but I saw pride there. “Arlene love, you did it,” he whispered against my ear, his voice laced with emotion. “You can now take your rightful place as Alpha of the Vegas Pack.” He rasped and I smiled, my chest squeezing with relief. “And after the mating ceremony, you will stand beside me as my Alpha Consort,” I said to him because this was the moment we’d been waiting for. His lips curled into a slow smile. “Of course.” The crowd parted as the High Elder stepped forward, raising the bloodied dagger I had used to end my uncle’s life. “Arlene Vegas,” his voice rang across the wide space, “by the sacred laws of our ancestors, you have claimed victory through combat. You have proven your strength. You have upheld the honor of the Vegas bloodline. Kneel.” I did. The cold steel of the blade pressed against my shoulder, and I bowed my head, ready to accept my title. “By the authority of the council and the will of the pack,” the Elder proclaimed, “I name you Alpha of the Vegas Pack.” A deafening roar filled the night. Wolves howled in celebration. My people called my name. The power of the Alpha bond surged through me, tethering me to every wolf under my command. I had never felt stronger. Until Carl opened his mouth. “I reject you.” The words cut through the celebration like a blade, silencing the pack in an instant. Our mating ceremony was to commence next after my victory. That was the plan. But what is this? I froze. I must have misheard him. The High Elder turned, confusion flickering in his old eyes. “What did you say?” Carl took a step back from me, his expression unreadable. “I, Carl Dregs, reject you, Arlene Vegas, as my mate.” My heart slammed against my ribs. A chill spread through my limbs. “Carl,” I breathed, searching his face for some kind of explanation. Some kind of reassurance that this was a cruel joke. But he wasn’t done. “I cannot stand beside a mate who would sell her soul for power.” Gasps rippled through the crowd. Whispers rose like wildfire. And my heart was racing as if it was being chased by an unknown force. “What are you talking about?” My voice cracked. Carl turned to the pack, his expression shifting—anguish, disappointment, disgust. A performance. “She isn’t the rightful Alpha,” he declared, his voice ringing with conviction. “She used dark magic to win her duel. She didn’t earn that throne. She cheated!” No, he wasn’t supposed to reveal that. He was the one who took me to them. To the demon… The ground beneath me swayed. And words got stuck in my throat. What do I say to counter that? “The power she wields,” Carl continued, his voice a venomous whisper that slithered into the ears of my people, “is not her own. It was given to her… by the Demon of the Black Triangle.” The gasps turned into panicked murmurs. I could feel the shift in the air—the way their awe was slowly turning to fear. “No,” I snarled, shaking my head. “You’re lying. Wasn’t it you who—” “Who what, Arlene?” He cut me off quickly. The fiery look in his eyes says everything I need to know. Carl had planned this. This wasn’t a change of heart, this was something he had carefully orchestrated. The realization struck like lightning, burning through the haze of betrayal clouding my mind. “How do you even know about the demon?” I demanded. My voice wavered, but I didn’t care. “If you are not involved, how did you know Carl? You f*****g took me there!” I screamed. Angry. Carl smirked then turned to the crowd gathered around us with a changed expression, “I was there when she made the deal. She had forced and threatened me to witness such evil.” A heavy silence fell over the pack. I staggered back, my breath catching in my throat. No. No, he couldn’t be doing this. He can’t just abandon me like he was not the sole person behind this. “The mark of betrayal is upon her,” Carl announced, continuing talking without sparing me any mercy. “A curse that only witches can see. She stands before you as a tainted Alpha, cursed by the darkness she invited into her soul.” I quickly reached for my power, the strength the demon had granted me, maybe I could silence him from spilling more things. But…. Nothing happened. The air left my lungs in a rush. No. No, no, no. Panic clawed at my chest. I tried again, reaching deep into the bond I had forged with the dark entity, but the power that had been mine was gone. And then I saw it. Carl’s hand, subtly curled into a fist. And on his index finger… my ring. The enchanted ring that bound me to the Demon of the Black Triangle. The source of my newfound strength. The key to my survival. He had taken it. At some point—during the ceremony, during the duel, maybe even at that moment when he had spun me in his arms—Carl had slipped it from my finger. I was powerless. A slow, wicked smile stretched across his lips as realization dawned on me. This had never been about love. He had played me from the very beginning. “You planned this,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the murmurs of the pack. Carl tilted his head, feigning innocence. “I did what had to be done. I couldn’t let our people be ruled by a traitor that is so frail and weak.” The betrayal hit so hard that my knees nearly buckled, but I forced myself to stand tall. “The council must decide what is to be done,” the High Elder said, his voice cautious. He was torn, I could see it in his wrinkled face. He had just named me Alpha. Stripping me of my title so soon would shake the pack to its core. Carl knew this. And he didn’t care. “There is nothing to decide,” Carl said smoothly. “She cannot be trusted. She cannot be Alpha. Or alpha.” The whispers erupted aging, too many of them. Doubt spreads like rot in the heart of my pack. My family. The council members, the same ones who had just bowed to me, now turned their wary eyes toward me. “She killed Phineas,” someone murmured. “She won the duel,” another countered. “But with dark magic.” “She cheated.” No. Even though I hadn’t won fairly, this throne was rightfully mine by birth, But Carl had planted the seed of doubt, and it was taking root. “Strip her of her title.” The words came from a voice I had trusted for years. Elder Graves. One of my fiercest supporters. The man who had once told me I was destined to be the greatest Alpha of our generation. “Banish her,” another council member agreed. “Send her to exile.” Each voice chipped away at the last of my defenses. And then Carl delivered the final blow. “I, Carl Dregs,” he announced, his voice echoing in the silence, “will take responsibility for our people in this time of uncertainty. Until a suitable leader is chosen, I will stand as Alpha in Arlene’s place.” The crowd erupted in cheers. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear him apart. But I had no power. No allies. I had nothing. The High Elder turned to me, his expression grim. “Arlene Vegas, you are hereby stripped of your title as Alpha of the Vegas Pack.” A sharp pain tore through my chest, my connection to the pack shattering in an instant. My knees finally buckled. It was gone. The bond. The power. The home I had bled for. Everything was gone.