THE CURE

*THE CURE - Chapter 1: `Mine`* The kitchen smelled like iron and old soup. Serena had her back to the table. Again. Her two sisters stood in front of her. Blocking the door. Blocking the light. “Weak,” Liora spat. Her wolf was already showing in her eyes. “You’re not even a wolf, Serena. You’re nothing.” “Yeah,” Mara chimed in. She shoved Serena’s shoulder hard. “A Vale with no wolf.” Liora’s lip curled. “Worse. She’s an Omega.” The word landed like a slap. “Omegas are supposed to be rare. Precious. Breeders for Alphas. Healers.” She laughed, ugly. “But you? An Omega with no wolf. You’re broken. A disgrace to the Vale name.” Mara snorted. “Breeding stock that doesn’t even work. What are you even for?” Serena didn’t answer. She ducked the second shove and shoved back. Pain burst across her cheek. Liora’s hand. “Don’t you dare touch me,” Liora snarled. “Or what?” Serena’s voice was rough. Her fists were up. No wolf to help her, but she’d learned to fight anyway. “You gonna hit me again?” They crashed into the table. Bowls clattered to the floor. “You’re embarrassing us,” Liora hissed, yanking Serena up by the collar. “No power. No mate. Just scrubbing floors while we bleed for the pack.” Serena swung. Her knuckle split against Liora’s jaw. Liora howled and hit her back. Twice. Serena tasted blood. But she was still swinging. Because if she stopped, they’d never stop calling her weak. The door slammed open. The air in the kitchen dropped ten degrees. _Alpha Kade Vale._ Serena’s father. He filled the doorway like a storm. Broad shoulders in a dark fur-lined coat, the crest of Blackwood Pack pinned at his chest. Rain ran down his jaw. Behind him, his Beta stood. Older, scarred, eyes sharp. Kade didn’t shout. He didn’t have to. His eyes were ice. Pale grey, cutting. Cold. And he was handsome in the way authority is handsome. Sharp jaw, black hair streaked with silver. Tall. Built like someone who’d led wars. But there was no warmth in it. Just the Alpha. The room went silent. Even Liora let go. “Release her,” he said. Low. Final. Liora’s hand dropped from Serena’s collar instantly. Kade’s eyes cut to Serena last. Not cold like with the others. Worse. Contempt. “You,” he said, voice flat. “Scullery. Tonight. All of it. Blood, guts, and the floors the healers couldn’t clean. You’ll do it on your knees.” “Like the wretched child you are,” he added. Quiet. “No mother to teach you better. And no use to this pack besides taking up space.” Liora flinched. Mara looked down. Then Kade turned his glare to his two daughters. A silent warning. _Don’t you dare touch her again._ They both dropped their eyes. The front door banged open again. A guard stumbled in. Covered in mud and something darker. “Alpha!” he gasped. “Blackwood territory. North woods.” Kade’s jaw tightened. “It’s happened again. The Terror.” “Found him at dawn. Torn in two. Spine to throat.” The guard’s voice shook. “The brutality, Alpha... it wasn’t quick.” Kade didn’t move. But the air around him went dead. “The curfew stands,” he said finally. “No one in the woods after sundown. Anyone who breaks it answers to me.” Then he turned and walked out. His Beta followed. Leaving Serena in the kitchen with blood on her lip, and the sound of another body in the woods. --- _SERENA POV_ The scullery was cold. Stone walls, one small window, and the stink of iron that never left. My knees already hurt. I was on them. Like he told me to. The bucket water was pink. My hands were red and raw from the lye soap. I’m eighteen today. Eighteen, and still no wolf. My hair was falling out of its braid, dark brown and damp, sticking to my neck. The old dress they gave me for chores was too thin. Grey. Patched at the hem. I’m built wrong for this house. Wide hips. Large busts that Liora calls “slutty.” Five-foot-six, curves on curves, and no fangs to show for it. My eyes are pale blue. Just like my mom. The only thing she gave me that she couldn't take back. Father hates it. Father hates me for three reasons. One: I killed my mother. Two: I never wolfed out. Three: I’m a broken Omega. Omegas are supposed to be valuable. To heal. To bear pups. But I’m defective. No wolf. No scent. No use. In Kade Vale’s house, a broken Omega is worse than nothing. The town kids used to call me “The Wretched Vale.” They stopped when I was 14 and broke a boy’s nose for it. The whispers never stopped. Liora and Mara get respect. They’ll get mates. Good ones. Me? I get the scullery. I get curfew. I get my father looking through me like I’m glass. But I’m eighteen now. Bond age. Somewhere out there, the moon could pick me a mate. Someone who sees me and doesn’t see “wretched.” I pray for it every night. Anyone but this. The door creaked. I didn’t look up. Heavy boots. Slow steps. Beta Toren Vale. Head of the Military. Kade’s cousin. The one who ran drills at 4am. He’d always been cruel to me. “Fall in line, Vale. You’re dead weight.” And stupid me. I had a crush on him. A secret, pathetic one. Like crushing on a knife. “Report,” he said. His voice was low. “Floor three, sir. Blood and tissue. Healers’ wing overflow.” Silence. Then his boots stopped right behind me. “You’re slow,” he said. “I’m almost done, sir.” “Look at me.” I did. He was standing over me in full leathers. Scar through his left brow. Amber eyes, sharp. His eyes dropped. Took in the wet dress, the way it clung to me. Disgust flickered. Or maybe it was something else. “Eighteen today,” he said. “Yes, sir.” “Still no wolf.” “No, sir.” He crouched. So we were eye level. Too close. “You know what happens to broken Omegas in wartime, Serena?” My name. He used my name. “They get culled first,” he said quietly. “Useless mouths. For the good of the pack.” “Finish the floor,” he ordered, standing. “Then report to me. Curfew is in an hour. The Terror is still out there.” He turned to leave. And I sat there. On my knees. In blood and water. Hating him. Burning for him. I wrung out the rag and went back to scrubbing. That’s when I saw it. A flicker. Orange against the stone wall. Fire. From the bucket. Tiny flames licked up from the pink water. My breath caught. The hay had burst into flame when I was ten. Everyone said it was a faulty lantern. Father said it was my fault. "You attract disaster, girl." But wolves can’t do magic. The flames died just as fast. Leaving only steam. My hands were shaking. Curfew bell rang in the distance. An Omega alone after dark. I stood. Knees screaming. And I told myself I was going to report to Toren like I was told. I really did. --- TOREN VALE POV Curfew in 47 minutes. The Terror took another one in the north woods. Spine to throat. And I was thinking about a girl’s hips. Unacceptable. I’d told her to finish the floor and report. But Serena Vale? She’d looked at me like she wanted to burn the whole house down. With those pale blue eyes. Damn her. I am Toren Vale. Beta of the pack. Forged by war. I command the pack’s military forces. Duty is the air I breathe. For years, I have hunted the Night Terrors. Every mission ends the same way, with my enemies dead. My loyalty belongs to my Alpha alone. I despise weak Omegas. In my world, strength is earned. Yet Serena was different. I watched her grow from a stubborn little wolf into a fierce warrior. The coming darkness will test every pack, every warrior, every bond. When that day arrives, I will be exactly what I was created to be. The hunter in the dark. The blade no one sees coming. The nightmare that hunts nightmares. I heard a knock at the door. My whole skin tensed. Wrong time. Curfew in 10. And then I smelled her. Pink water. Soap. Blood. And her. _Mine._ Ash snarled the second her scent hit me. The word slammed through my skull. My jaw locked. I knew that feeling. You don’t spend 18 years in Blackwood and mistake a mate bond. My mate was at the door. “Come in,” I said. Voice rough. I moved faster than I should have. Unlocked it. And the ground dropped out from under me. Gobsmacked. Standing there, dripping, was …… ---