The Cursed Harvest
640 Words
The morning brought news that traveled through the underworld faster than a sniper’s bullet. By 8:00 AM, the Marcello-Moretti alliance was in a state of total, bloody chaos. My father had discovered his empty bank accounts, and just as I had planned, the digital trail led straight to Silas’s private vault.
But as I sat on the balcony of the Volkov estate, sipping coffee and watching the grey Atlantic, a call came through on a burner phone I had hidden in my silk robes.
"Rena? Is that you?"
It was Leo. His voice was frantic, breathless, and filled with a terror I had never heard before.
"Leo? What’s happening? Is my father
"It’s not just the money, Rena," Leo interrupted, his voice shaking. "The Silver Moon Pack... it’s dying. Since the moment Silas rejected you at the Gala, a curse has settled over the territory. The crops in the outer rings withered overnight. The pack's nursing wolves have lost their milk. Even the strongest warriors are falling ill with a fever no doctor can explain."
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. "A curse? Leo, that sounds like old wives' tales."
"It's not," he whispered. "The High Priestess Selene says the balance of the moon was broken. Silas rejected his fated mate, a girl with the White Wolf bloodline, and in doing so, he rejected the pack's protection. The land is rejecting him. Silas is losing his mind, Rena. He’s telling everyone you 'stole' the pack's luck and that you’ve used Russian witchcraft to poison the wells."
I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles turning white. "He’s looking for a scapegoat because he’s a failure."
"He’s gathering a hunting party, Rena," Leo warned. "He’s not coming to talk. He’s coming to the Royal Capital to 'reclaim his property' and force you to break the curse. He said if he can't have you, he’ll make sure no one else can."
I hung up the phone just as Viktor stepped onto the balcony. He was dressed in a simple black shirt that strained against his muscles, his eyes scanning the horizon. He didn't need to ask what the call was about; he could smell the fear on the air.
"He's coming?" Viktor asked, his voice a low rumble.
"He's coming," I confirmed, standing up and letting the silk robe fall open to reveal the dagger I had strapped to my thigh. "He thinks I’m the cause of his misfortune. He thinks he can force me back into that cage."
Viktor stepped closer, his amber eyes flashing with a predatory light. "And what are you going to do when he reaches our gates, my Queen?"
I looked out at the storm clouds gathering over the ocean, the wind whipping my hair around my face. I didn't feel like the discarded girl from the stairs anymore. I felt like a storm myself.
"I’m going to show him that the 'luck' he lost wasn't something he owned," I said, my voice as cold as the Atlantic. "It was a gift he didn't deserve. And I’m going to show him that a White Wolf doesn't need a pack to survive she only needs a King who knows how to hunt."
At that exact moment, a thunderous explosion rocked the base of the cliff. The security monitors in the study began to wail. Silas had arrived, and he had brought the entire Silver Moon vanguard with him. They weren't there for a wedding; they were there for blood.
I looked at Viktor, and without a word, he handed me a heavy, silver-plated pistol.
"Let's go greet our guests," I said, a dangerous smile spreading across my lips. "I’ve been waiting a long time to say goodbye."
- Writer
