Bound To The Cursed Lycan King

ZARA’S POV. Who would’ve thought my wedding celebration would be this hectic and filled with utter chaos. The palace had never hosted so many people before. Wolves are running everywhere, preparing the grounds to look as nice as possible for visiting packs, which are already trickling in. The cooks are busy in the kitchen, whipping up an entire feast, the smell of carrots, tomatoes, and diced onions filling the air. Today isn’t like any other day; it is the day I’m getting married to Alpha Leonard, one of the finest and highly regarded men in known history. This moment feels more like a fever dream than reality. I try to sit still while the makeup artist does her work on my face, but my anticipation grows stronger and stronger with each passing minute. Alpha Leonard and I have been together for quite a while, building up our relationship against the storm hanging over our heads, but today proves that we’ve succeeded. Or, rather, I have. Finally, I’m free from the shackles of s*****y I had to endure with my stepmother and sisters. Nothing will be able to tear me and my mate apart, not my family, not anyone. I glance at myself in the dresser mirror, checking my makeup and gauging my appearance. My hair is long and silver, stretching down my back as beaded necklaces hang around my neck. I have been transformed into a ravishing beauty and I can’t wait for Leonard to see me. The air-con in my room whisks cold air, but despite that, sweat crawls up my back in the long-sleeveless fitting gown I’m wearing. It’s custom-made, designed by a popular fashion brand I’ve envied for years, and the moment my eyes landed on it, somehow, it felt like it was made for me. But now, wearing it, I’m oddly uneasy as though everything will go wrong. It’s like a premonition and I can’t seem to shake myself out of the dread crawling up my spine. Suddenly, the door creaks open, and my heart leaps out of my chest. One of the maids in the castle walks in. “Your father sends for you, Ma’am,” she begins in a wobbly voice, “he’s asked you to come out with me at once.” The urgency in her voice makes me pause and for a moment, I am frozen, not knowing what to do or say. Usually, if my father wanted to see me, I was in trouble for something. But, what? “I’ll be right with you,” I manage in a shaky tone, nodding to the maid. She bows her head, the soft click of the door announcing her departure. My hand trembles from fear, and I clasp them together, hesitantly rising up from my seat. The makeup artist steps aside as if sensing the sudden switch in my mood, her face moving to mine. I don’t pay any attention to her, my head filled with lots of thoughts as I make my way around the vanity. What has happened? Did Leonard suddenly have a change of heart? I check the time on the grandfather clock on the wall above the crammed shelf, seeing that there are two hours left until the wedding. It’s too soon for that to happen. What then? As I follow behind the maid with trembling legs, my heart pounds louder and louder with each step I take. Tension and nervousness strike me with full force, my chest tightening as though it is being wrung out of my body. The pit-patter of the maid’s slippers on the floor of the hallway further escalates my blood pressure and I fear I’ll pass out before I get there. The constant straightening of my spine keeps that from happening. “They’re in there.” The maid stands back, pointing. They? Who are they? “Thanks.” I turn in the direction she’s pointing, a frown descending upon my face at the inscription on the top of the door ‘Council.’ I have never entered this place before and I hesitate for a second, the urge to turn around and run back to my room surging up inside me. However, I stand my ground, turning the door knob. I sense my mate before I see him, his aura permeates the space, but he’s not alone. In the council room are my father, Leonard’s family members, my step sisters and three strange men. All of them stare at me, the venom in their eyes as clear as day to me. The visitors waiting downstairs for the wedding ceremony suddenly seem so far away and I can hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears. “What is this?” I mutter, apprehension filling me. My father is the first person to speak and my vile stepmother stands behind him, her hands on his shoulder. It must be a silent act of support. “Leonard here knows you deceived us about your status.” His voice is deep, authoritative, and fills the room with power. It sends goosebumps down my arm and I blink in shock. The earlier excitement of the wedding instantly dissipates into nothing but sadness. “Deceived?” I whisper, my eyes scanning all the faces in the room before settling on Leonard’s. His expression remains stoic as if the entire conversation disinterests him when truly, it doesn’t. His piercing brown eyes turn dull and his wolf slowly withdraws from me, leaving me empty. Panic grips me as I see the last of the light in his eyes die. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Oh, really?” My father says again, and I reluctantly draw my gaze back to him. I swallow the lump building up in my throat, my makeup sticking to my face like a second skin. “So, you didn’t keep the secret of your wolf away from us and away from Leonard?” I frown, confused. My wolf? What does that even mean? Before I can dwell much on the thought, my father continues. “You’ve been sleeping with the head of the castle guards. Haven’t you?” His words hit me like knives to my chest and I feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Rage and betrayal clashes within my soul. Oh no… This can’t be happening. Of all the reasons I had imagined for my father summoning me, this isn’t one of them. “I..I don’t understand,” I stammer, ignoring the ache in my chest. “Slept with a guard?” The accusation is unheard of, and I don’t understand how my father can utter something so outrageous with a straight face. He’s the only neutral one amongst my vengeful family, or so I had thought. Now, he is revealing his true colors. “Yes,” another utters. I whip my head to stare at the tall man dressed in a blue and white striped uniform, my eyes widening in horror. His belly is bulging against his shirt, threatening to tear it. My stomach boils with disgust at the sight of it. This is who I’m being accused of sleeping with? Surely, Leonard doesn’t believe them. I turn to him for help, but he looks away as though he’s ashamed to even admit his wife-to-be is a w***e. Several witnesses testify that I slept with the guard and tears prick at the corner of my eyelids, my heart crashing in defeat at the fear of losing Leonard. He’s the only one who’d never misjudged me and had claimed me as his mate despite my stepmother’s futile efforts to convince him otherwise. She wanted her own elder daughter, Georgia, for him but he had blatantly refused, taking a nobody like me instead. Now, they’re making him pay. All of them concorting stories that aren’t true to tarnish my name. “Leonard, I didn’t do it,” I mutter, trying to make him see reason, but he doesn’t respond, the chasm between us growing wider with every passing second. Silence hangs between us, thick and suffocating. This is supposed to be a day that will mark a new beginning in our lives, a day that we will look back to with nothing but love and happiness, but in a matter of seconds, it has taken a dark turn. My evil stepmother is partly to blame. Ever since the death of my birth mother and her marriage to my father, all I’ve known is maltreatment upon maltreatment. My step siblings, clouded by her hate, resorted to treating me like a mere serving girl and would use the fact that I couldn’t shift into a wolf to taunt me. On one occasion, I had almost gone insane, but my father had been there to save me. Now, they’ve corrupted him and Leonard and turned them to their side. “Please, babe… I swear I didn’t. They’re all lying against me,” I beg desperately, blinking back tears. I can’t cry here, not in front of Leonard. He abruptly turns to me, his gaze like shards of broken glass slicing through my soul and I know my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. “You’re not worthy of me, Zara. On account of cheating, I, Alpha Leonard, of the Moonwealth pack, reject you as my mate.” A voice so low and powerful. A voice like ice. I open my mouth to speak, to beg for him to accept me, but I am exhausted, the words stuck in my throat. I can’t fathom a rejection so monumental. Not here, in front of my family, and certainly not today of all days. It feels as though a carpet has been pulled out from under my feet, but instead of the ground, there is only open space. Suddenly, the room is suffocating, the walls closing in around me. Before I can process the pain of his rejection, his next words shatter everything. “You’re hereby banished from the pack.”