His Firebird: Obsession of the Cursed King

Chapter Five

Alora.

Their screams awaken me. The way Elena's fingers dig into my mother's dress, begging her to save Father while her eyes search for mine, pleading that I don't let the big bad wolf kill him. Hauntingly.

But I was as useless as I was powerless. I couldn't do anything to stop their pain. The screams increase, and then I remember the way he split their necks open.

Gasping, my eyes snap open, and I clutch my hands on my chest, feeling the organ behind my sternum thud fretfully. It is a dream...or perhaps it isn't.

My surroundings suggest the latter. I'm definitely not in the packhouse, nor have I been in this kind of room before. Taking in the sight of the king-sized bed with a medieval design of a bedframe, the brown sandalwood furniture, and the elegant wall decorations, my senses fight between adoration and bafflement.

I whisper underneath my breath, "Where could this be?" My eyes are still wandering about the spacious, fantastic, dark room when the door opens with a voice command, and a woman walks in. Her steps are calculated, her jet-black hair tied in a ponytail and her eyes fixed to the ground.

"He said you'd be awake. Here is your dress, Miss. Please, be quick. Dinner will be starting soon, and the king isn't known for his patience." Her tone is as soft as a feather, but I'm confused about what she's saying. Plus the fact that I've never seen her before.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Aisha. I'll be your handmaid for tonight."

Looking around again, I further. "Where am I? Where is this? And why am I..." A shock spirals down my spine when I notice I'm naked. I'm only wearing a bra and panties. And I smell of milk, honey, and lavender.

Just then, I notice that my hair is freshly washed. My instinct pushes me up, heading towards the lady and making a stoic expression, which surprisingly she is unfazed about. "What the heck happened to me?"

"I bathed you in your sleep. He knew you'd soon awaken to your new life." She says. What the actual hell is that supposed to mean?

"Who are you talking about?"

"The Cursed King. You are in his castle." Her words made me lose my steps.

Staggering backwards, I shake my head. Just then, the memories start to come back. He uses his powers on me, compelling me to a forced sleep. He must have taken me then... oh, my. My family! Elena!

"Where's my family?" My fear is evident, grabbing the shoulders of the lady.

But instead, she's not concerned. "We must hurry. The King will be at the table anytime soon."

"What? I'm not having dinner with that bastard. How could you serve him?" I take a long glance at the lady, an observatory one, realising she's a werewolf. I may not have my wolf with me, but I'm still a She-wolf, and so I have some heightened senses.

"Get dressed, please." She stares down, and I hit the dress from her hand, letting it drop onto the floor.

"No, I need to get away from here. I'm the daughter of the Alpha of the BlueMoon pack. I'll not be someone's property, and you should be ashamed of yourself." I speak with venom, my anger directed towards the lady.

I must have gotten on her nerves because she yells at me all of a sudden. "It doesn't matter! My family was taken away from me, as well. He does that to everyone. I am a slave here, and if you don't come with me, he'll kill me." Then, she exhales sharply, her voice softened again like she didn't just scream at the top of her lungs. "Don't expect to ever see your family. He would have killed them."

I shudder, my feet losing their grip on the wooden floor. That's not possible.

Aisha grabs my hands with a teary face. "Please, get dressed and come with me."

My mind is running with a million thoughts. I don't want to take the risk of having an innocent wolf die because of me, and I know very much that the cursed king is just as barbaric as he is described. He's the devil. An idea pops in my head out of the blue. Maybe I can take him out. Being in his castle means it'd be hard to escape, so maybe if I can kill him, I'd end his hellish existence from this world.

I pick up the dress and put it on. It's a simple purple gown, except it is embroidered with fancy lilac designs, flares down the thighs, covering my feet, where I have matching heels on. Aisha helps me pack my hair into a bun and powders my face with light makeup. Throughout the entire time, I think of a thousand ways to kill that bastard and to find out where my family is. I refuse to believe they are dead.

A few minutes later, I'm walking down the stairs with Aisha next to me. The hallway is huge, plastered with expensive portraits and other artistic works. Finally we reach the dining room. It's enormous with candlelights glistening the space. All the windows are shut close, which makes me feel uneasy. It's absolutely eerie.

The table is filled with lots of foods, but I have a simple dish in front of me—red pepper pasta with a juice. The cutlery catches my eyes, and I steal a butter knife, placing it behind my dress with a lump forming in my throat.

Music plays, ethereal and magical, and a double handle door opens. The Cursed King enters. He walks gracefully right before he sits at the very end, opposite from me.

"You slept for quite a long time, Alora." His accent is strange and different. It's very mature, antique even.

"You monster! Where is my family?" I yell at him, ignoring the fact that there are a few of his men at the doors and the chefs surrounding the table, Aisha included, and any of them could hurt me for talking out of turn.

"I shall like for this to be a lovely evening. Plus, you can call me Grey. It's my name." He says in a singsong tone in line with the music playing. It could have been splendid in a different situation.

My hands grip the tablecloth, creating creases, and I stand up with gritted teeth, ready to walk up to him and pounce on him, but nonchalantly, he picks up his cutlery as his voice thickens. "Sit."

Gravity changes, and my legs take a reverse, placing my butt back into the royal chair, and then he adds. "Take a bite." My hands pick up the fork, dig into the pasta, and place it into my mouth to chew.

He's controlling my entire body, and I can't even physically freak out because he's still in control.

"Look at me." He orders again. I'm staring at him, my entire body frozen under his demand. I'm forcing my muscles to do something else, but it's completely impossible.

Another woman in rags is dragged in, and she rambles to his feet. "Thank you for choosing me, Alpha Grey. I'll worship you to the very end. Please, feed off of me." Says the woman in a quivering tone. She looks like she's passed through hell on earth.

"Of course, you shall serve me." Agrees the monster before he cups the woman's face and, smiling at her, a stretch of light channels from her face, glowing from her veins, into his palms.

Grey inhales sharply, channelling more of the glow from the woman into his body. At first, I understand nothing until I see the woman's skin, turning into flakes as she dries up. She goes pale and weak, dropping down, but he continues to suck the life out of her.

"It's... they say you wouldn't... wouldn't kill me. I... I served... please, I served you..." Her voice is almost inaudible, and my attention is entirely placed on the awful scenery. I couldn't look away. He's commanded it.

The woman's survival instinct kicks in, but it does nothing. Soon, she stopped breathing as well as the glow. Every essence of life inside her is gone.

I'm terrified. My entire body is trembling on the inside, except I couldn't show it out because he's still in control of my muscles, but if I could run; my legs would be dashing out of here. I've never seen such a demonic action like that before. Then he releases me from his compulsion.

What did he just do?

He picks up his cup to drink the content, then wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Now, my rules are simple, Alora. You are my property now, and so, I can do anything I want with you. The moment you made the choice to do the impossible—invading my mind—you brought with it this life of chaos and danger. I have a mission to do the same. I would like to know what it takes to break you off of that innocent, resilient, and hopeful woman you are. It is quite a simple explanation, isn't it?" Finishes Grey.

My mind is still wrapped around the scene he performed earlier. The woman is dead and being dragged away by two bulky men in black suits and white inner shirts. He just freaking killed someone and didn't even feel it, and now he's telling me he wants to enslave me?

My insides twist, my systems go haywire as I stand up to my feet, fear dripping off of me as I talk. "When I first received the letter, I didn't quite understand it. Not even when you attacked my pack and killed hundreds of innocent souls. I didn't understand what you wanted to achieve, but it's clear now." With each word, I walk towards him.

I am scared to the point that my entire nervous system is spiking because I know he's capable of everything horrendous except killing me. Something inside me just knows that. When I finally reach his front, he raises his gaze, locking his eyes on mine.

"Did you kill my family?" I ask simply, something inside me desperate for him to say no.

Only a blink. "What do you think?"

I find myself staring into his eyes even more, something swirling inside them. There's a flash of his big bad wolf, his monster, and then there's a flash of him. His alluring grey eyes in their natural state and the one of the devil he can be—all shades of scary reds.

I feel an intensity growing between us, my chest tightening, all the fear suddenly gone as if I know he actually doesn't want to hurt me, but this is who he "has" become.

"I saw who you really are. You want me. You are in love with me, or perhaps I should say you're infatuated, so much so it has become an obsession for you. You are simply pathetic!" Finishing saying, his brows crease right before I pick out the knife and dig it into his left pec.

He growls like the animal he is, and I rip it deeper, making sure it hits his cold heart. He screams even more. You would expect his men to come and save him, but no one moved; however, I didn't pay much attention to that, but maybe I should have, because in a second, he slams my back against the edge of the wooden dining table and pins the knife against my neck.

My hands are holding onto his chest to restrain him from breaking my spine into two as he's using too much force than my non-shifter body can maintain.

"I should add hilarious to your character. You really did think I'd go down that easily?" He smirks and stares into my eyes again.

The sensation builds up again, temporarily making me forget that I'm in the middle of a crisis. Against my left hand, clutching into his shirt, I feel his strong muscles, but most especially, his heart. It's beating.

According to the stories, the cursed king's heart is dead. "And that was why I asked: how did you make my heart beat, little cherry?" His voice is a whisper. Now, he is reading my mind too?

I didn't know what to answer. My head is a fog. The closure between us dines with confusion, and then, the heavy doors open again, this time, a tall, fierce woman walking inside in a majestic gown that streams down her body and drags on the floor. Her figure carries power, and Grey releases me.

"We'll continue this conversation later, Alora. For now, keep your mouth shut." His voice sounds inside my head without him saying them loud, making me fidget. It is a warning.

"What is happening here?" The woman's eyes shift from the cursed king to me, a look of discontent in her eyes.

"Well, nice to meet you too, Mother. I didn't expect you here." He forces a smile.

Wait, what? A devil like the cursed king has a mother?