Fated To The Cursed Alpha

Chapter 3

~LEILANI RAVENWOOD ~

My father's council chambers echoed with the sound of raised voices. Desperate ones.

I pressed myself against the cold stone wall outside, peering through the narrow crack in the heavy door. The air inside was thick with tension, and my father sat at the center of it surrounded by his council of betas. His expression was solemn as they spoke.

"Alpha, something has to be done." One of his betas said. "We cannot delay any longer. The deadline before the ancient beast promises to come for us all if Leilani isn’t surrendered to him is close."

Another stood up abruptly. "The Eastern District packs have already begun pledging allegiance to him. They call him high king. Even some from our Western District have gone to his side. His power and influence is growing faster than wildfire."

The others murmured in agreement, but my father dismissed it. "Rumours." He said flatly.

"I'm afraid it isn't rumours Alpha. Our spies confirmed this information to be truth. He's taken ownership of the popular House of veils. Its pleasure houses and fighting pits. All under his command. He grants every mans desire and feeds every sin. The humans are falling for his charm, and the wolves for his power."

Another beta added. "They say he’s feeding Alphas with his cursed blood. It makes them stronger, more powerful, feral and vicious than their natural kind. The Eastern Alphas who swore to him now rip through their enemies like rabid beasts. Their hunger can’t be sated. And still, they praise him for it"

My father rose suddenly, his hand slamming down on the table. “Enough!”

The room went immediately silent.

He looked at each of them in turn, his voice cold steel. “I will not hand my daughter to that monster. I would rather die defending her than live with the shame of offering her to him.”

“Alpha,” one began carefully, “as it is we do not have what it takes to go against this ancient being that has awakened. I fear we may have no other choice than to surrender her.”

My father’s voice thundered once more. “I said no. I will not give my daughter to that beast. Let him come. Let him burn every field and tear through every wall. I will not sacrifice her. Before alpha, I am first a father, and I will not give up my girl without a fight.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

My heart stung with every word. They were fighting because of me. Because I bore the mark that doomed us all.

I should have listened and never wandered outside our territory. Sebastian wouldn't have set his eyes on me then.

I couldn't bear to listen anymore to the council's conversation. So I turned away, tears blurring my sight, and I ran outside.

**********

The night air was cold against my skin as I fled the packhouse, heading straight to a place I hardly ever wandered to.

Rashidat's hut.

The priestess seperated herself from us, in the woods, in a place where silence hung heavy and the whispers were the ones from the trees. When I reached her door, my hand hesitated before knocking.

It opened before I could.

Rashidat stood there, draped in white linen and her hair, white as frost, fell to her waist. Her blind eyes, clouded and white met mine as though she could see right through me.

“I’ve been expecting you, child.” She said softly. Her voice always sounded like it knew all the secrets of the world.

My throat tightened. “Then you know why I’m here.”

She stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter. The air inside her hut was warm and thick with incense. Candles flickered on every surface, and a bowl of moonwater sat in the center of the room, glowing faintly.

I sank to my knees before her, my body trembling. “Tell me why, Rashidat. Why did the goddess mark me? Why did she have my path intertwined with the one referred to as 'Cursed and Ancient'? I did nothing to deserve this fate.”

She appeared to study me in silence for some long seconds. Then, she said, “You call it a curse because you see only the suffering it brings. But the goddess’s touch isn't punishment. It is purpose.”

“Purpose?” I choked out, bitter laughter escaping me. “To doom everyone I love? To tie my fate to a monster? I hate her for it. I hate the goddess.”

Rashidat’s hand came down gently on my head, the touch warm and grounding. “Do not blaspheme against the mother, child. Even pain serves its place in her weaving. The threads of your life are not random. They were spun long before you drew breath.”

I shook my head, tears sliding freely. “He’s stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. You didn’t see him that night, Rashidat. He isn’t a wolf, he’s something else, something wrong and ancient. I could feel it in my blood when he touched me. I’m powerless against him.” I said, last night's dream flooding back into my memory. He had infiltrated my dreams and spoke to me, and even did something more. His powers were something I'd neither heard nor seen before.

"No, you're wrong, Leilani." Rashidat smiled faintly.

I blinked, lifting my head. "What do you mean?"

“You hold more power over him than he dares to believe.” She said, voice low and rhythmic, like a chant. “You are not merely bound to him. You were made to balance him.”

“Balance him?” I echoed, confused.

“Yes.” She reached out, her wrinkled hand finding mine. Her touch was warm, pulsing with strange energy. “You are his cure and key to freedom but more importantly, his undoing and damnation. The same blood that burns in his veins answers to you. You can reverse what he has corrupted.”

My heart skipped. “Reverse? You mean the Alphas? The ones who’ve taken his blood?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes. You can break his hold on them. Undo the curse he spreads like wildfire. Heal what he poisons.”

Her words barely made sense. “I don’t understand. How could I possibly—”

“The mark on your back bears the goddess’s crescents. One for creation. One for destruction. You are the moon’s child, Leilani. You were born to undo the night.”

I sat there, trembling, her words echoing in my head. Undo him? Heal what he poisons? Reverse the effect of his blood? Its all too much to digest.

“I never asked for this,” I whispered. “I never asked to be her weapon.”

“No one ever does ” Rashidat said softly, her clouded gaze seeming to look through me. “But destiny does not wait for permission. When the goddess calls, every wolf submits."

Her hand pressed lightly to my shoulder. “Be careful, little one. The beast hunts what he fears most, but be not afraid for neither will the goddess stop guiding you.” She murmured.

**********

I walked the path in the woods back toward our residence, trying to quiet the storm in my head. Rashidat’s words still echoed in my head. Undo him. His cure. His damnation. What did any of it even mean?

Then… the air shifted

A rustle of wind, too deliberate to be the forest’s own hit me and it made me go still.

“Leaving the safety of your pack’s walls at a time like this?” The voice came from behind me. Smooth and darkly amused. “One would think you’d be wiser. More careful… for someone being hunted.”

Every muscle in my body went rigid at the familiarity of the voice, and I turned back slowly.

He stepped out from the darkness like the night itself birthed him.

Sebastian Kol.

The moonlight caught the sharp angles of his face. His high cheekbones, strong jaw darkened with stubble and lips curved in a slight smirk. His hair, dark as pitch, framed his face in a perfect disarray, and his eyes glowed a haunting blue. The black coat he wore trailed behind him as he advanced slowly towards me in a predatory manner.

He looked young, far too young for a creature said to be five centuries old. But there was something in his gaze that told the truth, a depth that no mortal should carry.

“I said I’d come for you." He spoke, voice low, threaded with humor that didn’t reach his eyes. “And I never go back on my word.”

I swallowed hard, stepping back. “Stay away from me.”

He chuckled softly, the sound sending a shiver up my spine. “Stay away? I'm afraid that is something I do not have the luxury of granting.”

“Go to hell!"

He tilted his head. “I just awoke from one.” He smirked, danger lurking in his expression. "Seeing as I’m the predator here… and you’re the lovely little wolf wandering alone in the dark…” His eyes gleamed, the corner of his mouth curving upward. “I believe this is where you.... run.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

Then I ran.

Branches tore at my skin as I sprinted through the trees, my breath coming in sharp bursts. Behind me came nothing. No sound.

Then another rush of air hit me from behind.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me effortlessly off the ground as if I weighed nothing. I gasped, kicking, struggling to be free, but his grip only tightened, his hold as strong as steel.

“Caught you.” He whispered, his lips near my ear, a cruel amusement in his tone.

The world spun, my vision blurring as darkness closed in at the edges, against my control. I was slipping into unconsciousness and the last thing I heard before the world went black was his low, satisfied murmur.

“Now, let’s see what the goddess truly made you for.”