Jane

Jane

As I stirred awake, I looked around me as the memories of last night flooded my mind. 

Alpha Liam! I jumped up to see him but to my greatest disappointment, I woke up alone.

I was on the bed and the sheets beside me were cold. His scent lingered faintly in the air but the alpha was nowhere to be found.

A sudden tightness gripped my chest. I wanted to know if he slept well. To know if his pain had relieved him. To hold him this morning if he still needed me to. But he left. He left before I woke up. 

I got up slowly, pulled on my dress, and stepped into the hallway. Because he didn't wake up beside me doesn't mean I can't check up on him in his room. So with determination, I went to his room. 

Another wave of disappointment washed over me when I got there. His room was empty, the fireplace was dying. Where would he be this morning?

Maybe his study.

I turned and made my way to his study, hoping he’d be there buried in books. But he wasn't there either. 

Where was he? I wondered as I walked back. Where would he have gone so early? I just want to know if he's fine. I just want to see him, maybe he will talk about what happened last night. 

But as I reached the main hall, I saw someone approaching. Not the person I want to see but she could be of help. 

“Josephine,” I called out.

She turned, carrying a tray of herbs in her hands. “Jane,” she said, her voice calm but curious. “You’re up early.”

“Yes. It is a good morning,” I said, scratching the back of my neck. “Have you seen him?” I asked, trying to hide the worry in my voice. “Alpha Liam. He is not in his study.”

Josephine shook her head gently. “No one has seen him since last night.”

My stomach dropped. “Since… last night?”

Last night, he was in my room, in my arms. A part of me was thankful that no one knew about it. But this morning, his absence is questionable. Did he leave my side last night? Or this morning?

“You don't have to worry about his absence,” she said after noticing the worry etched on my face. “He does that sometimes. He goes away without a word.”

She began to walk away but I followed her. 

“But why?” I asked without thinking twice.

“He is the alpha. He has the right to do whatever he wants,” she said.

“I know but… this is different. You know his condition.” 

Josephine stopped . She glanced around, then leaned closer. “Are you talking about his curse?”

That’s the word I was scared to use but she did. She used it like she knew more about it. Maybe I should ask her about it. She might help me with some useful information. 

I swallowed. “Can you tell me what it is? What exactly is wrong with him?”

Josephine hesitated. Her eyes searched mine, perhaps she was weighing what I already knew… or what she feared I might not know. 

“It is not my story to tell,” she said after getting my hopes up.

Sorry for her, I wasn't ready to let her go unless she told me something about the Alpha's curse. 

“Josephine, just tell me something. You know I work with him directly, having knowledge about his condition will help me serve him well.”

She hesitated for a few seconds before she began. “Eighteen years ago,” she said softly, “everything changed. There was a mistake that changed his life.”

“What kind of mistake? I asked.

“His parents were part of a secret association of powerful alphas. They knew spells, they performed spells. They mastered spells. But that night, something went wrong with the ritual and all the people present there, including the children were affected.” 

I listened, hanging on her every word. So he is suffering from his parents' mistake. Poor alpha Liam. 

“After that accident,” she continued, “he grew cold and distant. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he would wake up screaming. Other times, he’d collapse from the pain. His chest burns when the curse stirs. We tried every healer, every ritual but nothing worked.”

I whispered, “What could have gone wrong during the ritual?”

But Josephine pressed her lips into a thin line. “That, child,” she said, “is not mine to tell.”

I opened my mouth to ask more, but she was already walking away again, her tray rattling softly.

Eighteen years ago. Why did that number strike something deep within me? Why did it feel… familiar? And why, whenever he was in pain, I felt something stir within me? 

Josephine has refused to tell me the whole story. I doubt she would help me find a solution to help the alpha. 

I ran after her again. “Josephine,” I called her.

“What's the issue, Jane?” She asked without stopping. 

“What do you think can help the alpha?” I asked her.

She stopped and turned to me, flashing me a questioning look. “What do you think I am, Jane? A seer?”

“You've been with him for a very long time. You know what happened to me. I feel like you should know how to go about it. You are older than everyone around him,” I said. 

“You feel wrong, Jane. Truly, I've tried to find answers because like I said earlier, he was not the only one affected. Some of us were also affected by the sin we know nothing about.”

“You… you were affected?” 

She didn't say anything. Instead, she dropped the tray on the dining table with a loud slam. She looked angry and disturbed. I guess my questions are disturbing her. 

“I'm sorry, Josephine. I didn't mean to open up new wounds. I thought I could be of help to Alpha Liam.”

“Maybe you should worry more about yourself before you worry for others. Who are your parents? Why did you grow up at the orphanage? Why did Elder Thorne take you in? Why you are wolfless.”

I never told her all these things about me. Did Alpha Liam tell her? If not, how did she know all of these?

“Before you look for answers for Liam, find answers to those questions about you. Knowledge is power, Jane and you have neither of them.”

With that, she picked up the tray and walked away. This time, her low heels echoed louder than ever. She had stirred up something in me. Something I've been avoiding all my life. 

I turned away with my heart racing. I have to find answers, not for myself alone but for alpha Liam too.