~ Alaric's POV ~
I was dying.
The damn curse was taking my life.
Not in the way warriors speak of when they take a fatal blow on the battlefield. No, this was slower. Crueler. A decay that gnawed at my bones, clawed at my mind, stripping away control until all that remained was the beast and the darkness.
The curse had been quiet once. A shadow at the edges of my vision. A murmur in my blood. Now it sang in my veins, a twisted melody of pain and madness.
And yet… she was here.
Seraphina.
Her scent was like wild rain on ash, earth after lightning, anchoring me to the mortal coil when everything inside screamed to let go. I didn’t deserve her. And still, the moon goddess, fate, or the damned thread of our bond wove her into my life.
She should have run the moment she came across me,
