Rejected Luna Of The Cursed Alpha

The curse is winning

Draven's POV

The rain didn't do anything, it didn't relieve the fire burning in me, It didn't drown out the animal that wanted to get out of me.

It couldn't break the curse.

Each breath hurt as I leaned on one hand on the tree trunk of a very old oak tree. My fingers dug into the bark and some parts started breaking.

My wolf was trying to fight me again.

No.

He wasn't trying to fight me.

He was begging me. "Let me out!" The voice resounded in my mind.

Crude.

Desperate.

Painful.

I closed my eyes. "You know I can't." A wave hit me again.

My spine curved.

There was a crackling sound throughout the forest as one of my shoulders went out of place before falling back again.

Blood dripped down from my hands as my nails cut into my palms. This became my everyday routine now. Each shifting attempt ended up the same.

Hope.

Pain.

Failure.

And then even more pain.

A twig broke behind me.

"I figured you would be right here." Cassian.

I didn't even feel like turning around. "You are supposed to be at the castle."

"You could say the same to me."

I released an awkward laugh. "The castle turned into a prison."

Cassian kept on walking until he came to stand next to me. The rain poured through his coat, but he didn’t care. He looked into my eyes.

He always did.

Examining.

Evaluating.

Estimating how bad the curse had gotten during the latest fit.

He clenched his teeth. "The poison spread again."

"That always happens."

"No." His tone became more serious. "This time it was quicker."

I looked down, black veins were spread across my forearms. Last night they only covered my wrists. By now, however, they had already made their way up to my elbows.

Soon enough...

They would make their way all the way to my heart.

Neither of us needed to say it.

But Cassian still decided to speak. "The healer returned."

"I told you to kick him out."

"He refused."

"And?"

"He claims he found a new treatment."

I laughed.

Not because it was humorous but because I had heard this exact sentence far too many times before.

A new treatment.

A new cure.

A new miracle.

Every healer.

Every witch.

Every elder.

Every scholar.

All of them had claimed that they could offer something similar.

None of them had succeeded.

And I feel they just wanted to be the one who healed me of my curse, not like they were doing it because they wanted to or that they even knew what they were doing.

They were all just trying.

Risking my life in the process.

I pushed myself away from the tree. "I have listened enough."

"My King…"

"No."

Cassian stood in front of me. "You have not slept."

"I don't sleep."

"You have not eaten."

"I was not hungry."

"You were almost killed this morning."

"I was not."

He dropped his shoulders. "I don't know what to do with you anymore."

It was the first time in weeks…

I met his gaze. "I can't." I just can’t go on with different trials until life is taken out of me. However, I can’t deny the fact that right now, I am not living, or how could an alpha king who hasn’t shifted in a long time claim to live?

I miss my wolf.

His face became serious. "I refuse to accept it."

"Think whatever you want that would let you sleep at night."

"It does not."

An awkward silence fell upon us.

Cassian had been my Beta for almost ten years now. He had seen the curse take parts of me away piece by piece.

First my shifting.

Then my patience.

Then my laughter.

Then everybody I have ever trusted.

Cassian was the only one left.

Another wave of pain hit me.

This time stronger.

I bent down.

A growl slipped through my lips.

My body started shifting.

Gold fur appeared on my forearm skin.

During one moment…

That one impossible moment…

It worked!

My wolf!

He was finally out!

Hope filled my heart.

And then…

Everything froze.

The fur retracted.

The claws disappeared.

My wolf howled.

The noise reverberated within my head before dying into total silence.

I fell down on one knee.

Breathing.

Sweating.

Shaking.

Another failure.

Cassian was right beside me instantly. "My King."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"I told you..."

I pushed him away. "I'm fine."

We stayed there for a few moments until I got up.

The rain started pouring.

There was thundering in the sky.

Cassian turned towards the mountains.

"A rain like this one is bound to flood all the trails in the lowlands."

"I noticed."

"We should go back."

"I don't want to go back."

"Where do you intend to go?"

I stared ahead. There was only one place around where I could stay away from the storm. An abandoned hunter's hut.

I would normally not wait out the rain, I would have sprinted to wherever I was going, as a wolf, of course. "I'll wait it out here."

Cassian frowned. "I'll accompany you."

"No."

"My King..."

"I need to be alone."

"You keep saying that every time."

"And I mean it every single time."

He scrutinized me for a while before reluctantly nodding. "I'll stay close."

"I said you'll stay at the castle."

He let out a deep sigh. "Loyalty is such a tiring thing."

"But i never asked you to..."

“You never have to ask."

I did not allow him time to protest any further. The rain dampened my footfalls as I walked farther into the depths of the forest.

He is a wolf, he shouldn’t be waiting out the rain. Unlike me, it would be disheartening to see him wait with me when he could go.

Where I would wait out was not very far from here. I used to hide in it when I patrolled.

Nobody resided there.

At least, that's what I thought...

There was a faint orange hue coming from the woods.

It was fire.

I paused in my tracks.

Somebody was inside.

My senses were heightened.

My hand automatically went for my dagger.

Rogues?

Hunters?

Travelers?

Slowly but surely, I ascended the wooden steps.

The worn-out porch moaned under my feet.

I touched the knob.

Opened it.

The hinges whined as the door slowly opened. And then, standing by the fire, with an iron poker firmly grasped in her shaking hands was a human woman.