Three-month Killer Deal With The Cursed Lycan King

CHAPTER ONE | THE SECOND MATE EVELYN HART Someone is trying to kill me and the cursed Lyacn is my only salvation. Ethan Sinclair sat on a gigantic throne at the far end of the room, his eyes locking onto mine the moment I stepped inside. The servant who had escorted me bowed deeply before him, keeping his head lowered as he introduced me. “Alpha, this is the woman you asked us to let in.” Ethan remained still, his attention fixed entirely on me as though he were studying every movement I made. After several seconds, he finally looked at the servant. “You can leave now.” His deep voice echoed through the enormous room, carrying an authority that made the servant straighten immediately before turning and leaving without another word. I wasn't surprised by the intensity of Ethan's voice or the power that seemed to accompany every word he spoke. What caught me off guard was his appearance. For years, I'd heard nothing but terrible stories about the legendary Cursed Lycan King, and I'd always imagined him as an ill-looking, terrifying man with a half-mauled face and scars left behind by the curse that had plagued his bloodline for decades. Nothing could have prepared me for the man standing before me. There was nothing monstrous about Ethan Sinclair. If anything, he looked as if he had been carved by the hands of a Greek god, with dark hair falling carelessly over his forehead, sharp features and eyes so cold and calculating that I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He rose from his throne and walked toward me in slow, controlled steps until only a few feet separated us, and the moment his scent reached my nostrils, I shivered involuntarily. Lavender, pinewood and something else I couldn't quite place. I immediately hated the reaction my body had to him. “You must be the legendary Evelyn Hart.” A faint chuckle escaped him as he picked up a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. “I've heard a lot about you, Queen. I'm quite surprised to see you show up in my pack unannounced.” I accepted the glass he offered me and forced a polite smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Ethan.” He stared at me for a moment before laughing again. “I doubt that's true.” I was suddenly short of words, and for the first time in my life, nervousness seemed to have taken over every cell in my body. I knew exactly why I'd come to see him, and I'd rehearsed what I wanted to say countless times during my journey, but now that I was standing in front of him, I couldn't seem to find the right words to ask him for help. Ethan took another sip of his wine, and then every trace of humor disappeared from his face. “How long?” His question caught me off guard. “What?” “How long do you have left to live?” The air seemed to leave my lungs all at once. I stared at him, unable to hide my shock as a dozen questions raced through my mind. How did he know I was dying? How had he figured out the very reason I'd come here without me telling him anything? “How do you—” “It's an ability the curse brought with it.” I released a shaky breath, feeling a strange sense of relief that he'd brought it up himself. At least I didn't have to find a way to explain the most terrifying part of my situation. “Three months.” The words barely left my lips. I lowered my gaze as I fought to keep my emotions under control. “I have three months left before my wolf dies completely. I went to see a witch before I came here because I didn't know what else to do. I've been unable to shift for months now. At first, I thought it was stress because I've been under a lot of pressure, but I kept getting weaker, and eventually, I couldn't feel my wolf anymore.” I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Today, I found out that someone has been poisoning me slowly for years, and it's too late for me to get my wolf back. The witch told me that the damage is already too severe, and when my wolf dies, there will be nothing left to keep me from following it.” I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. Now that my wolf was barely a whisper inside me, I felt human. For the first time since I became an Alpha, I understood what it meant to be powerless. Every bit of control I'd fought to gain, every ounce of strength and dominance I'd spent years establishing, suddenly felt meaningless. I had become an Alpha who could no longer shift, a woman whose own wolf was slowly dying inside her, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. “Why are you here, Evelyn?” I opened my eyes and looked at him. “I need you to help me find whoever has been poisoning my wolf. I might not be able to stop my death, but I want to bring whoever did this to justice.” Ethan nodded slowly before taking another sip of his wine. “And why do you think I'll be of any help? I'm sure there's someone from your pack who can assist you better than I can.” “I can't trust anyone from my pack at this moment, not even my family or my mate. I need to do this secretly because if I tell them what I've discovered, whoever is responsible will know that I'm investigating and could destroy whatever evidence they left behind.” “That still doesn't explain why you chose me to help you.” I hesitated before answering. “I was told by the seer that the person responsible is someone close to me. She also told me that finding the truth would require someone with abilities beyond those of an ordinary Alpha. You're the only person I know who can do that.” Ethan finished the rest of his wine in one gulp and placed the glass on the table before walking toward me again. He stopped when we were close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body, but I refused to step back despite the intimidating presence surrounding him. “You're a little slow, aren't you?” I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to push him away. Since I became an Alpha, no one had dared speak to me in such a condescending manner, and anyone reckless enough to try had always paid a heavy price. For the sake of my request, I swallowed my anger. “You're the only one who can help me.” His gaze dropped to my hands before he reached for them, and the moment his fingers brushed against my skin, a strange sensation shot through my entire body. It felt like a wave of electricity beneath my skin, spreading from my fingertips through my arms and settling somewhere deep inside my chest. I instinctively pulled away and stared at him, confused by the reaction. Then I remembered his scent. Lavender. Pinewood. That unfamiliar scent beneath them both that seemed to awaken something inside me. My heart began pounding as a horrifying realization slowly settled in. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “It's impossible.” Ethan's expression changed immediately. “You're mine, Evelyn.” There was no smile on his face when he said it. Instead, every trace of color drained from his features as though he'd just discovered something that terrified him. “My mate.” I stared at him in disbelief. “It's impossible. I already have a mate. This must be some sort of mistake.” Even as I said the words, I didn't believe them. I knew this feeling. I'd experienced it before. I'd met Gregory on the same day I turned eighteen during the coming-of-age banquet my parents had hosted for me. The moment our eyes met across the crowded room, my wolf had recognized him, and I'd known without a doubt that he was my mate. We accepted each other that night, and he marked me before the celebration ended. So how could Ethan possibly be my mate too? “You have a mate?” There was something different in Ethan's voice now, something colder and more guarded. I quickly pulled down the collar of my shirt to expose my shoulder. “See? I'm already marked.” Ethan's eyes narrowed as he examined my shoulder, but his expression slowly changed when he found nothing there. I placed my fingers against the spot where Gregory's mark had always been, expecting to feel the familiar warmth that had accompanied it since the day he'd marked me. There was nothing. I pressed my fingers against my skin again, but the mark was gone. It had disappeared as though it had never existed. “What the hell is going on?” Panic began to take over, and Ethan must have mistaken my fear for something else because his expression hardened. “I, Ethan Sinclair of the Infinity Pack, reject you, Evelyn Hart, as my mate and Luna.” My eyes widened. “No. No, why would you do that? At least let me figure things out first.” “It's obvious you don't want to be mated to a cursed Alpha, and that's why you keep lying about having a mate. I understand your decision, but I don't appreciate you lying to my face.” I knew there was no point arguing with him when he had already made up his mind, but I couldn't let him walk away. I reached for his hands and forced him to look at me. “I'm telling you the truth. Before I came here, I had a mate, and I had been marked by him. I can't explain what is happening, but I know what I saw and what I felt. I don't accept your rejection, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this.” Ethan stared at me for several seconds before pulling his hands away. “You need to accept my rejection and leave my pack. I have nothing to lose, but you have everything to lose. I'll only destroy you, Evelyn, and with your life already so short, you can't afford to make me part of it.” “I don't mind.” My voice trembled, but I refused to look away. “Even if I die in two weeks, I'll have no regrets as long as I find the person who did this to me.” I took a deep breath, knowing I had one last card to play. “There is something else you need to know. I'm a descendant of Queen Aria, the witch who placed the curse on your bloodline decades ago.” Ethan's expression changed. For the first time since I'd entered his castle, I saw something that looked almost like disbelief in his eyes. “If you help me,” I continued, “I'll find a way to lift your curse.” His clenched his fist. “And if you don't?” I swallowed hard. “Then I'll take up your curse and die with it.” His eyes widened slightly. “I'll find a way to break it, Ethan. But if I can't, I'll carry it with me when I die. I have nothing left to lose.” The room fell silent, and for several seconds, neither of us moved. I tightened my grip on his hands and looked directly into his eyes. “Please, Ethan. Help me find the person who's been killing me.”