Athena: Bride of the Cursed Lycan King

Athena POV “Isn’t she beautiful?” A faint voice whispered. It was the voice of a woman carrying a baby, her gaze softened as she admired the baby, as if it were the only thing that mattered. The baby’s eyes glowed like dragonfire under the dim light, with ancient inscriptions in the mother’s tongue all over her body. The warmth lasted only for a second, suddenly everything turned into horror. The room became surrounded by dead bodies drenched in a pool of blood. The woman’s body trembled at the terror before her, but she held the baby tight like her life depended on it. She tried moving her legs to escape, but they were stuck. Tears blurred her vision, she wondered if they could make it out alive. “P-please, save us…” she cried and everything turned blurry. I jolted up, eyes wide awake with beads of sweat covering my face. I took in deep breaths to slow my racing heart, the nightmares were recurring again. When my father was still alive, he would ask the pack doctor to prescribe sleeping pills for me but since he died, Grace, my vicious stepmother ordered the pack doctor not to attend to me again. “It can be put to better use on kids who have an actual wolf, not the useless ones.” Those were her exact words. When I turned sixteen, everyone waited for me to get my wolf but she never came. I became the bane of their existence, an abomination. Four years down the line no wolf and no mate, I had become the laughing stock of the pack. If I weren’t the late Alpha’s daughter, I would have been kicked out of the pack long ago. And although I wasn’t kicked out, I was treated like a plague, especially by Grace. Grace used to be a sweet, caring stepmother to me but after my father’s death, she became my walking nightmare. When Axel, her son, became Alpha, his lustful eyes always wandered around my body in a way that made my skin crawl. If not because of a pact my father made before he died that until I find my mate I must know no man, I do not want to find out what Axel would have done to me. There was something about my scent that drew unmated wolves to me, I never really understood why. Some said it was because I have the smell of pure Alpha virgin blood, others said it was heaven’s punishment for me for not having a wolf. All it took was an unmated wolf’s touch, and my scent would fail me. I never met my biological mother. According to my father, she died after giving birth to me but I knew there was more to it, I always saw it in his eyes but any further questions about her always made him sad, so it became a forbidden topic. The noise from outside brought me out of my thoughts. I opened the window to see that everywhere was buzzing with activity. Everyone was up and doing something as if there was an occasion. That was when it dawned on me. f**k! Today is Axel’s birthday party at the pack house. I quickly grabbed a plain long gown—nothing that would draw attention to me. The beating I would get if Grace found me still in my room while others are working made me hasten up. The thudding footsteps coming from the corridors made my stomach twist, it better not be her. The door burst open, speak of the devil. “There you are, lazing around in your room while everyone is working their ass off.” She stepped into the room and her eyes swept over my body with disdain, “and where do you think you are going?” “The pack’s hall… for Axel’s birthday.” Slap! My cheek stung hard as my stepmother’s hands collided with my cheeks. “You dare call your Alpha by his name?” “But he’s my—” I swallowed back my words as tears welled up in my eyes. “He’s your what?” She snapped, her eyes full of pure hatred. “You know… the worst mistake your father made was leaving you stuck with me. You should have just followed your parents to their graves.” A loud gasp tore from my throat when she yanked my hair backwards. “Listen up b***h, you’re not going anywhere near that hall, I wouldn’t want you turning heads with that filthy scent of yours.” She sneered, “why don’t you make yourself useful and start cleaning the house by starting from my precious son’s room?” She pushed me away like I was some cheap dirt on her clothes. “Rubbish!” She spat and walked out. Tears flowed freely as I let out the pain. After a while, I cleaned my tears and hurried to grab a broom, the last thing I needed was another beating. As I entered Axel's room and his scent hit me like bile in my throat. There was something about him that always put me on edge around him and now that I’m inside his room, it only made it worse. I brushed off the gut-wrenching feeling and began cleaning but after a while, the hairs on my skin suddenly rose like I was being watched. I looked towards the door but no one was there so I ignored it and continued what I was doing but my guts didn’t agree with me. I turned again and came directly face-to-face with Axel. “Easy there, Athena,” he teased, his eyes roaming around my body lustfully. “Axel,” I quickly stepped backwards. He sensed my fear and came closer. “Avoiding me now?” He replied, licking his lips in a disgusting way. Oh No. The thought of things going wrong made me keep moving backwards until my back hit the wall and there was nowhere else to hide. He blocked every escape route and hovered over me. “P-please Axel, don’t do this,” I gritted my teeth, sensing my thighs heating up already and that only meant trouble. “You mean this?” He said, placing his hands on my b***bs and pinching them. A loud moan escaped from my lips before I could stop myself, which made his eyes immediately dilate with lust. “Never knew you were this needy, why don’t you be a good girl and let me satisfy your dirty desires—” “What the hell is going on here?” Grace stormed into the room, looking at me with burning fury, I knew it was all hell breaking loose. She and Axel shared an exchanged look like they were having a heated conversation through the mind link, he suddenly smirked at me and left the room. Grace turned to me, “You just needed to be more pathetic, huh? Seducing your Alpha?” Grace spat, her voice laced with venom. “Guards!” “No, no, no, he came after me… please you’ve got to believe me.” All my begging fell on deaf ears. “Take her to the dungeon!” Grace ordered. The guards dragged me forcefully to the dungeon and threw me into the dark cell. The stench from the cell was so strong that bile filled my throat and I threw up everything I had eaten the night before. I sat on the floor, wondering how my life could have taken such a drastic turn, it felt like my fate was cursed. I went from being the golden girl to being treated worse than a slave. I didn’t know I had dozed off until the cage opened and a guard stepped in, “Today’s your lucky day, you are coming with me.” He said and dragged me out. Did Grace finally realize I was right? Or was it Axel who ordered me to be released out of guilt? Many thoughts ran through my mind as the guard dragged me towards the pack’s hall, where the ceremony was held, making my confusion grow bigger. Immediately we entered, a familiar voice shouted, “Here is your price, virgin daughter of the late Alpha, Athena.”