The Curse

Lila's POV

I woke up expecting pain.

Not the acute type, not the fear, not even the regret, something solid and real to remind me that the night before had really passed. There was warmth, but my body was heavy, sore in parts I would rather not have to think of at that moment. The bed I was lying on was broad, and strange. The air smelled clean.

I lost track of where I was momentarily.

Then all at once memory came back and my eyes opened.

I turned my head slowly.

Daniel was lying asleep with his back turned to me on one side of the bed. Marcus was lying across on the other with one arm across his chest. They both appeared composed, serene. Mighty Alpha kings, lying there in bed, as nothing in life could awaken them.

I gulp and fidgeted, and my body was complaining with the action.

And all at once I recalled , I was marked last night by the two alpha kings!

I experienced a combination of feelings at that time, I was glad that I had managed to find my mate but I was saddened by the fact that they could decide that they do not want to follow the mate bond and keep me as a breeder, not a mate.

My hand went to my neck.

My fingers brushed bare skin.

No heat. No ache. No mark.

My heart skipped a beat.

"No," I whispered.

I rose too fast and disregarded the dizzy feeling, and ran to the mirror that was on the wall.

There was nothing there.

No twin bite marks. No bruises skin. No trace of my being taken possession of. No mate mark!

My breath came out shaky. "That's not possible."

I retreated just in time to see Daniel aroused. His eyes slowly opened, but blurred in the beginning, and then becoming clear as he beheld me standing before the mirror.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I didn't answer. I was scared. How would they react?

"What happened?" Daniel requested the same, more sternly this time.

I just pointed at my neck. "The mate mark..." I started to say something and the words choked me.

He scowled and sat up, and came nearer. Marcus awoke with a jerk a few seconds later.

Daniel touched me, and tilted my chin. His fingers were hot on my flesh. He looked at my neck, his brows furrowed.

"Where is it?" he asked quietly.

Marcus moved nearer and looked at my throat. I saw his face turn, at first puzzlement, and then a sense of disbelief.

“No, this is impossible,” said Marcus. "I marked you."

"So did I," Daniel replied.

I crossed my arms to them. "It disappeared. I woke up and it was gone."

Silence filled the room.

“No that cannot happen,” said Marcus.

Daniel straightened. "It has never happened."

My stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

Daniel looked at me. "A mate mark doesn't fade. Not overnight. Not ever."

Marcus stroked his hair and walked once around the room. “Unless the mate bond had been false.”

Daniel shook his head no. "It wasn't. I knew what I was doing! I know I felt something that made me mark her!”

They both stared at me at the time, as though they were trying to find something I was not able to provide.

“I did not do anything,” I said hastily. "I swear."

Marcus stopped pacing. "We know."

Daniel exhaled sharply. "This isn't your doing."

The atmosphere in the room became heavier. I might have been feeling it squeeze in, weighing and uncomfortable.

“This has never occurred to us,” Marcus said . "To anyone."

Daniel swiveled around to the door. "Send for the witch. Now."

Marcus nodded and put on a robe, walked to the door and instructed the guards outside to get the witch.

“Calm down.” Daniel said as he led me back to the bed, but I was not steady enough to do that. My hands were not able to cease shaking.

"What does this mean?" I asked.

Daniel was sitting opposite me in an upright position. "It means something is wrong."

“Whats wrong?” I asked, even though a thought of my curse being at work here crept up my mind, I tried to ignore it.

His gaze softened slightly. "We will find out what it is."

The witch came sooner than I had imagined.

She was more mature, dressed in black robes, and her eyes were keen. As soon as she entered the room, she stared at me.

"Ah," she said. "So it is you. The fated mate. Here at last.”

That didn't help my nerves.

Daniel gestured toward me. "Explain."

The witch approached slowly. Once she came round me with narrowed eyes. "You were marked."

"Yes," Marcus said. "Both of us."

“And now she is not any more,” the witch answered.

"Why?" Daniel demanded.

The witch raised a hand. “First, I have to be sure of something.”

She stopped in front of me. "Child, look at me."

I did.

Her eyes shone dimly when she put her fingers slightly below my collarbone. I flinched at the contact.

“Thou art their destined love,” she said.

Daniel's jaw tightened. Marcus exhaled sharply.

"We know, we felt it hence we marked her," Marcus said.

“You sure?” I asked, the same time Marcus spoke.

“Yes, there is no doubt child, you are the kings fated mate.” Said the witch. "The bond exists. Better than the majority I have seen.”

"Then why is the mark gone?" Daniel asked.

The witch darkened her features. "Because she is cursed."

The word dropped down in the room.

I felt cold all over.

“Cursed?” Daniel mumbled

“Yes, yes,” she said, and looked straight at me. "A binding curse. Old. Deeply rooted."

Marcus took a step forward. "What kind of curse?"

“One that denies saying,” the witch responded. "No wolf can mark her. There is no bond that can be anchored to the full extent.

Daniel tightened his hands into fists. "That's impossible."

"It is rare," she corrected. "Not impossible."

My voice came out small. "So... what does that mean for me?"

The witch sighed. “It is that you are rejected by your body in terms of mate marks. They will always fade."

Silence followed.

Marcus gave one sharp, humorless laugh. “You are telling me that goddess gave us a mate that we cannot claim.”

Daniel didn't laugh. His face was unreadable. "Can it be broken?"

The witch shook her head in slow time. “We mortals are mere slaves to the will of the goddess...”