chapter 8
1368 Words
Chapter 8 – The Goddess’s Curse
Serena’s POV
The first thing I felt when I woke was fire.
Not flames licking my skin, not Asher’s heat pressing too close—but something deeper. A burn beneath my veins, thrumming through my pulse. I gasped, clutching my chest, afraid I was still in the Shadowbeast’s grip.
But when my eyes blinked open, all I saw was canvas. The walls of a tent. Flickering shadows from a lantern.
And him.
Asher sat on a chair beside me, one arm draped lazily over the back, the other resting on his knee. Silver eyes gleamed in the half-dark, studying me like a predator watching its prey stir awake.
“You survived.” His voice was low, velvet and smoke. “Good. I would’ve been… disappointed otherwise.”
My throat was dry. “Where am I?”
“In my camp. My tent.” His lips curved, dangerous and slow. “My bed.”
I shot upright, ignoring the pain stabbing my ribs. “You—you bastard.”
He was faster than my breath. One second I was scrambling back, the next his hand was on my shoulder, shoving me down into the furs. His body hovered over mine, heat radiating, his scent wrapping around me like chains.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You’re weak. Broken. And you glow when you bleed. That makes you valuable. To me.”
I glared, fighting the tremor in my voice. “I’m not yours.”
His thumb brushed across my collarbone, lingering where the skin still pulsed faintly with silver light. “Not yet. But your power says otherwise.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” I snapped. “Whatever happened back there—it wasn’t me.”
“It was.” His tone was final, like a verdict. “The Moon Goddess put fire in your blood. And I intend to claim every spark of it.”
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Serena’s POV
I shoved at his chest, but it was like trying to move stone. He didn’t budge. His smirk deepened, as if he enjoyed my struggle.
“I’ll kill you,” I hissed.
“No, little wolf.” He leaned closer, lips grazing my ear. “You’ll crave me first.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. Not from desire—never desire—but my traitorous body shivered all the same. I hated it. Hated him. Hated how close his mouth was to the place Christopher used to kiss.
“Get off me,” I whispered.
For a moment, his eyes darkened, the smirk slipping into something sharper. Then he pulled back just enough to let me breathe, but his hand stayed firm on my wrist.
“Rest,” he ordered. “You’ll need your strength. That beast wasn’t the last.”
“What was it?” I demanded.
He tilted his head, silver eyes reflecting the lantern’s flame. “A Shadowbeast. They were myths. Until tonight.”
“And it came for me.”
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. “No. It came for your power. Which means—someone knew what you are before you did.”
His words hit like ice. “What I am?”
His smile was all teeth. “Cursed. Blessed. Chosen. Call it what you want, Serena—but you’re not ordinary. And now? Neither Alpha can afford to let you go.”
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Christopher’s POV
Every mile toward rogue lands felt like I was dragging chains through mud. The bond burned hotter with every step, choking me, pulling me to her.
Serena.
I saw her face in every shadow, heard her scream in the rustle of every tree. My rejection hadn’t severed us—it had twisted it into something crueler.
“You’re wasting your time.”
Cassandra’s voice slithered behind me as she rode, her dark hair whipping in the wind. “She doesn’t want you anymore, Christopher. She unleashed that power in the arms of another. You felt it, didn’t you?”
I gritted my teeth. “I felt her fear.”
“Or was it hunger?” Cassandra’s smirk was sharp, poisonous. “Don’t fool yourself. The bond isn’t pulling you because she needs saving. It’s pulling because she’s choosing him.”
My hands tightened on the reins. “Shut. Up.”
Cassandra’s laughter was cold, echoing through the trees. “Mark my words. When you get to her, she won’t be begging for you. She’ll already belong to him.”
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Serena’s POV
The days blurred together in Asher’s camp. Rogues came and went, their eyes sharp, suspicious, some hungry with interest when they looked at me. But none dared come close—not when Asher’s presence burned like a warning at my side.
Still, I felt the cage.
Every step I took, his shadow followed. Every time I tried to slip away, he was there, catching me, dragging me back with that infuriating smirk.
Tonight, I snapped.
I lunged for the tent flap, sprinting into the cold night air. My heart pounded as I bolted across the clearing.
But silver flashed. In a blink, Asher was there, blocking me. His hand caught my wrist mid-swing, twisting me against a tree.
“Running again?” His breath fanned my face, hot, dangerous. “Do you enjoy making me chase you?”
“Let me go!” I fought, kicking, clawing.
He pressed closer, pinning my hands above my head, his chest crushing mine. “You think Christopher will come for you? You think he’ll risk his perfect little pack for a mate he already threw away?”
Tears stung my eyes. “At least he didn’t chain me like an animal.”
His jaw tightened, eyes flashing. “No. He broke you instead. Left you to bleed.”
The words sliced deep, sharper than his grip. I froze, my breath shuddering.
Asher’s voice dropped, softer, darker. “I don’t leave things broken, Serena. I fix them. I claim them.” His lips hovered a breath from mine. “I claim you.”
My chest heaved, fury and heat clashing in a storm. I wanted to spit in his face, but my body betrayed me, leaning just slightly into his heat.
“No,” I whispered. “Never.”
He smiled like a devil. “Keep saying that. I like the fight.”
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Asher’s POV
She thought she could resist me. Every tear, every scream, every trembling denial—it only bound her tighter.
I didn’t need her to admit it. I could feel it. The power in her veins thrummed to my touch. Her wolf whined for mine, even as her lips cursed me.
She was fire. And I would burn in her until she couldn’t tell where I ended and she began.
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Serena’s POV
That night, I dreamed.
At first it was darkness. Cold. Empty. Then a voice, ancient and soft, wrapped around me like silk.
Serena… child of the Moon… cursed by choice, bound by fire.
“Who’s there?” My voice trembled.
The Goddess. You carry my mark. You carry my war.
Flashes burned through my mind—blood on my hands, two Alphas kneeling at my feet, their eyes hollow, broken. Behind them, fire swallowed the world.
“No!” I screamed. “I don’t want this!”
You don’t choose destiny, Serena. Destiny chooses you.
The ground split beneath me. I fell, choking on light, until the voice whispered one final word.
Sacrifice.
I woke with a scream, drenched in sweat, Asher looming over me, silver eyes narrowed.
“What did you see?” he demanded.
My lips trembled. “Blood.”
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Christopher’s POV
By the time I reached the edge of rogue lands, my heart was a storm.
And then I felt it.
Her scream. Her fear. Her power.
It rattled the trees. Split the sky. And for a heartbeat, I saw it in my mind—Serena glowing with fire, Asher’s shadow at her side.
I dropped to my knees, gasping.
The bond whispered one truth, cruel and merciless.
If I didn’t take her back soon… I would lose her. Not to death.
But to him.
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- Writer
