ALPHA’S CURSED MATE

A KISS

[Nancy Pov]

“Take her away! She is cursed. She will bring bad luck to this land!”

The guards grabbed my arms.

I was already so tensed.

Then a voice cut through the noise.

“Let her go.”

I knew that voice.

Demo.

The same man who had saved me from Adam not long ago.

Instantly the guards released me.

My body was visibly shaking.

Demo walked out from the crowd slowly. He did not rush. He did not need to. His presence alone made people move away. He was cold. Powerful. The kind of man people feared without knowing why.

He came forward then he punched the man who had given the order to kill me.

The man bent over in pain.

“You do not treat a woman like that Ragnar,” Demo said. His voice was low and firm.

Then he turned slightly toward me. His voice dropped even lower. So low that only I could hear.

“My woman.”

I stopped breathing.

I could not move. I could not speak.

I was confused. I was shocked.

But there was something else too something I could not explain. I noticed that Demo looked very much like the other man. The one he called Ragnar. It was too clear to ignore.

Without another word Demo took my hand and led me out.

Behind us, a voice shouted loudly across the hall.

“Prepare for a wedding! Ragnar has found his mate!”

Voices filled the room all at once. People were talking. Whispering. Murmuring.

But I could not hear any of it clearly.

I only felt fear and I just wanted to go home

Everything about Demo felt cold. His voice. His eyes. The way he carried himself. Like a man who had stopped feeling things a long time ago.

And yet…

When his hand held mine, there was warmth there. Small. Quiet. But real.

As we got into the room he shut the door harder than he needed to and stood with his back to me.

“You must have been frightened?” he asked.

“I… I am fine. Thank you,” I said softly. “But I do not understand what is happening…”

He went very still.

“How long will you keep doing this to me, Elma?” His voice was heavy. Tired. Like a man carrying something he had held for too long. “I know what I did before was wrong… but please. Stop pretending you don’t know me.”

“I truly do not understand, sir,” I said carefully.

“You do!” He turned sharply. His eyes were burning. “You are from Azura’s clan!”

My chest tightened.

“Yes…” I said slowly. “That is my father’s name… my last name.”

Before I could say another word, he moved toward me quickly and kissed me.

It was sudden.

It was intense.

I wanted to pull away. I told myself to pull away.

But something inside me… did not want to.

After a moment, I stepped back. My heart was racing.

His face changed immediately. Like something had clicked in his mind. Like he had just understood something.

He let go of me and stepped back.

“Sleep here tonight,” he said. Cold again. Distant. Like the kiss had never happened.

“Tomorrow, I will take you home.”

Home.

That word should have made me feel better.

It did not.

I stood there, my mind full of questions I could not answer.

And I wondered if he knew something about my father’s death.

(Demo’s Pov)

“I will do what I must, Cast,” I said. My voice was calm. Empty. “I will not lose her again. Not to anyone.”

“Even if she already belongs to your son?” Cast asked.

“Yes.”

“I will not make the same mistake a second time.”

Cast let out a long breath. “The seal was broken long ago, Demo. Is that why you never told Ragnar the truth?”

He moved closer. His eyes were full of disapproval.

“You planned that whole gathering just so Ragnar would know she cursed and reject her. You are trying to break something that was meant to be. And you know it is wrong.”

“I have only just started,” I said. My eyes did not move from his. “When Ragnar finds out she is human, he will walk away from her. My son does not accept weakness. He never has.”

I let the smallest smile touch my lips.

“And when he walks away Elma will have no one left. No one but me.”

“Demo!” Cast’s voice rose. “You are going against fate itself. You cannot rewrite what is already decided, She is not Elma!”

“I can,” I said quietly. “And I will.”

I looked at the guards standing nearby.

“Take him out.”

Cast had never once stood against me before today.

It bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

As the doors opened to let Cast leave, someone else walked in.

Aivy.

She was clapping. Slowly. Mocking me with every step.

She had heard everything.

“So,” she said, amusement dripping from her words. “She is human. And she is already mated to Ragnar your own son.” She tilted her head. “This just keeps getting better.”

“Be quiet,” I said sharply.

She smiled. “Maybe I should go tell Ragnar. I think he would be very interested to know his father wants what belongs to him.”

Something snapped inside me.

Before I could think, my hand was around her throat. I lifted her off the ground like she weighed nothing.

“The day anyone finds out,” I said, my voice dangerously soft, “is the day you take your last breath.”

I released her.

She fell, coughing hard. Her eyes were wide full of fear, full of hate.

I turned away.

Then a voice came from the doorway. Quiet. Steady.

“Find out what?”

I closed my eyes.

Ragnar.