Cursed to the Alpha

Chapter 7: The Mark That Burns

Ridah’s POV

Silver flashed. The forest exploded into motion.

I didn’t think. I moved.

One second the lead wolf was lunging, claws out, eyes locked on me like I was prey. The next, Forsaken was between us, a snarl tearing out of his throat that didn’t sound human at all. They hit the dirt in a blur of fur and fangs, rolling hard enough to snap a sapling in half.

“Get behind me!” Forsaken barked, even as the other wolf raked his shoulder open. Blood hit the leaves. The curse in my chest hummed, faster, hungrier.

I couldn’t get behind him. Not anymore.

“I’m done being invisible,” I whispered to myself.

The mark on my wrist burned. Not pain — fire. Like it recognized what was happening and wanted in. My vision went sharp at the edges, sounds stretching thin. The curse wasn’t evil. It was awake. And it was mine.

“Ridah, move!”

Too late. One of the other wolves broke off and came for me, low and fast. I saw the flash of silver in his teeth, smelled the iron in his breath.

My body acted before my brain did.

I shoved my hand out.

Golden light burst from my palm.

It hit the wolf dead center and threw him back ten feet into a tree. He hit with a yelp and didn’t get up. The forest went quiet again. Only the sound of my own breathing, ragged and wrong.

Forsaken froze. The wolf under him froze. Everyone froze.

Because that wasn’t wolf magic. That wasn’t pack magic.

That was something older. Forbidden.

The lead wolf wiped blood from his mouth and grinned. “So it’s true. The womb curse runs deep.”

I looked down at my hand. It was still glowing. Faint, but there. Gold against the blood on my skin.

“Your choice,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Walk away now, or find out what else I can do.”

Forsaken’s eyes met mine. Shock. Pride. And something darker, like fear.

The lead wolf laughed. “You can’t control it, girl. No one can. That’s why they bind it before birth.”

He was right. I couldn’t control it. Not yet.

But I could choose.

I stepped forward, putting myself between Forsaken and the pack that wanted to take me. The mark on my wrist burned hotter, like it was agreeing.

“Then watch me learn,” I said.

The forest held its breath again.

For three seconds, nothing happened. The pack hesitated. Even Forsaken looked unsure whether to pull me back or let me burn.

Then the lead wolf moved.

He didn’t lunge this time. He circled, eyes never leaving my wrist. “You think light makes you safe? The curse feeds on defiance, girl. The more you use it, the faster it takes you.”

The curse hummed in agreement, and I hated how right it felt. Every time I used it, it got easier. Like it had been waiting for me to stop pretending I was weak.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I’d rather burn fast than live on my knees.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

The lead wolf blurred forward.

This time Forsaken wasn’t fast enough.

I saw the claws coming for my throat and did the only thing I could think of — I grabbed his wrist with both hands.

The golden light didn’t burst out. It _pulled_.

Like the curse inside me had been waiting for skin-to-skin contact. Power ripped out of me, down my arms, into him. I felt him stagger, felt his wolf recoil as something ancient and wrong hit him.

He screamed.

It wasn’t a wolf scream. It was human. Raw. Afraid.

The light died.

He fell back, clutching his arm, skin blistered where I’d touched him. The mark on my wrist had gone dark again, but my chest felt hollowed out. Drained.

Silence fell.

Forsaken was on his feet in an instant, between me and the pack. “Enough,” he said. His voice was Alpha now. No room for argument. “She’s with me. Touch her, and you answer to me.”

The lead wolf spat blood. “You’ll regret this, Forsaken. The council won’t let this stand. A cursed mate? An unbound womb curse? You’re finished.”

Forsaken’s jaw clenched. “Then let them come.”

For a long moment, no one moved. The pack looked between Forsaken and me, weighing old laws against the girl who’d just thrown one of them ten feet with a thought.

Finally, the lead wolf stepped back. “We’re leaving. For now.” He pointed at me. “But the council will hear about this. And when they do, you won’t have an Alpha to hide behind.”

He turned and shifted. The others followed, melting into the trees with low growls.

Just like that, it was over.

The forest exhaled.

I collapsed.

Forsaken caught me before my knees hit the ground. “Ridah.”

My vision was swimming. The curse felt quiet now, sated. But my limbs felt like lead. “I’m fine,” I lied.

“You’re not fine.” He lifted me easily, cradling me against his chest. His shoulder was bleeding, his breathing rough, but he didn’t seem to notice. “You used too much.”

I wanted to argue. I wanted to stand on my own. But I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.

“Did I… hurt him bad?” I mumbled.

Forsaken was quiet for a second. “You hurt him enough that he’ll think twice before touching you again.”

Good.

He started walking. I felt the rhythm of his steps, the heat of him, the bond between us pulsing slow and steady. It wasn’t burning anymore. It was calm. Present.

“I’m not sorry,” I said quietly.

“I know,” he said. “Neither am I.”

We broke through the treeline into the clearing where we’d left the bikes. The moon was high now, bright and cold. The full moon was two days away.

Two days until the curse got worse.

Two days until the bond snapped tight for good.

Forsaken set me down against a tree, kneeling in front of me. He took my wrist carefully, turning it so the mark caught the moonlight. It was faint now, just a thin gold line under my skin.

“You can’t keep doing that,” he said quietly. “Not alone.”

“I don’t have a choice,” I said. “If I don’t use it, they take me. If I do use it, it takes me.”

“Then we figure it out together.” His thumb brushed over the mark, careful, like he was afraid it would burn him. “No more hiding, Ridah. No more pretending you’re just a girl who works double shifts and pays rent.”

I met his eyes.

“I’m tired of being just a girl,” I said. The words felt different this time. Not desperate. Certain.

His mouth quirked. “Good. Because you’re not.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. It was brief. Chaste. But the bond flared between us, warm and steady.

“Rest,” he said. “We ride at first light. The pack needs to know what happened. And the council needs to know we’re not afraid of them.”

I nodded, too tired to argue.

As darkness took me, the last thing I heard was Forsaken’s voice, low and dangerous:

“If they want a war over you, they’ll get one.”