4. A Scent That Calmed the Beast

Lucien POV

I walked angrily through the hallway leading to my personal chamber, my heavy footsteps echoing against the stone floor of the castle. Rage burned violently inside me, though I could not fully understand the reason behind it. The guards standing outside my chamber immediately lowered their heads the moment they saw the deadly expression on my face. None of them dared to utter a single word. They knew better than to cross my path whenever I looked like this.

When I reached my chamber, I gripped the door handle tightly, prepared to push it open. However, after a few moments, I slowly pulled my hand away. A deep growl rumbled in my chest as I turned around and walked away from the building. I could not stay inside those walls tonight. My mind was far too restless.

Stepping outside, I made my way toward the vast backyard that stretched beyond the castle. A thick forest surrounded the land, while several small mountains stood proudly in the distance beneath the moonlit sky. Without thinking, I continued walking until I reached the top of one of the mountains. There, I stood in complete silence, staring at the full moon hanging high above the darkness. The cold night breeze brushed against my face, yet it did nothing to cool the storm raging inside me.

After a long while, I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, my breathing becoming heavier with every passing second as my sharp claws threatened to break through my skin. I did not understand what was happening to me tonight. For years, no bride had ever been able to stop the monster living inside me. No bride had ever calmed the cursed beast buried deep within my soul. Yet tonight... everything had changed because of a single woman.

My new bride.

The very thought of her made my jaw tighten.

I had married countless women before her. Twenty brides had entered my life, and every single one of them had died before sunrise on our wedding night. Their terrified screams still haunted the darkest corners of my mind. It was never something I truly desired, but once the beast took control of me, there was no stopping it. The curse inside me always demanded blood. No woman had ever survived its endless hunger.

And tonight was supposed to be no different.

This curse had followed me since before I was even born. My parents had spent years searching for a way to break it. They traveled across kingdoms, seeking the greatest sorcerers, ancient witches, healers, and mystical creatures. Every one of them failed. I still remember the hopelessness in my mother's eyes the day she finally told me the truth.

"No power in this world can break your curse," she had whispered painfully. "Except one soul destined by prophecy."

For years, I waited for that prophecy to reveal itself, but nothing ever happened. Eventually, I stopped believing it altogether.

When King Throne offered his daughter's hand in marriage to end the war between our packs, I accepted only because peace was necessary for my kingdom. Deep down, however, I already knew what awaited the poor girl. She would die just like every other bride before her.

Or at least... that was what I believed.

The moment I entered the marriage chamber tonight, something impossible happened.

Her scent reached me.

Sweet.

Intoxicating.

The instant her scent filled my lungs, the beast inside me suddenly grew calm.

Completely calm.

I had frozen where I stood because never in all my years had that cursed creature inside me reacted that way. Usually, my beast became even more violent whenever a woman came near me. It craved destruction. Blood. Death. But my new bride was different. Her scent wrapped around me like magic, soothing the darkness clawing endlessly inside my soul.

Even now, I could still picture the way she stood there trembling in fear. Her innocent, wide eyes.

A low growl escaped my throat as the memory tormented me.

I had kissed her.

Gods…

I had actually kissed her.

I had never planned on kissing her. But the moment my eyes fell upon those soft pink lips, I completely lost control. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. The moment our lips met, something deep inside me melted. I could not explain the strange feeling, nor did I understand why it happened, but for the first time in years, I had felt... peaceful.

I did not even realize when my fangs grazed her lower lip until the metallic taste of her blood filled my mouth. Yet strangely enough, I felt no regret. Her blood was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. Sweet. Addicting. She was the first woman whose blood I had ever tasted, and it was the sweetest thing I had ever known.

Worse still…

I wanted more.

The realization only fueled my anger.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I muttered, dragging a rough hand through my hair.

I had warned her not to fall in love with me.

That warning had not been for my own sake.

It had been for hers.

Long ago, it was said that the wicked witch who cursed me had once been my father's betrothed. She had loved him deeply, believing she would one day become queen. But after my father, the former king, discovered that she was a witch, he immediately ended their engagement and chose my mother instead. Consumed by jealousy and hatred, the witch sought revenge. She placed a terrible curse upon any child in my mother's womb.

Her curse ensured that I would become the destroyer of every woman who entered my life... especially the ones who truly loved me.

That was why I had warned my bride.

If she wished to survive, she must never love me.

Pushing those memories away, I lifted my head and looked back at the moon, my thoughts drifting elsewhere.

For many years, only one person had ever been able to calm me whenever I lost control.

Seraphina.

Seraphina had lived in this castle ever since I rescued her from dying alone in the forest years ago. Since that day, she had remained here, becoming one of the few people I trusted. Somehow, whenever my beast became uncontrollable, she alone could soothe it. Even now, I still did not understand how she managed to do it.

She had once asked me to marry her.

But I refused.

Not because I hated her.

But because I was terrified of killing her.

The curse had already destroyed every woman who had entered my life, and Seraphina meant too much to me. I could never bear to watch her become another victim of the monster living inside me.

Yet tonight…

Another woman had done the impossible.

My bride had calmed the beast even more than Seraphina ever could.

A furious roar suddenly erupted from my throat, echoing throughout the silent forest.

Within seconds, my body shifted completely into my enormous wolf form. Thick black fur covered my body as powerful muscles rippled beneath my skin. My golden eyes glowed brightly beneath the moonlight, and my massive paws dug into the earth.

Without wasting another second, I took off into the forest at incredible speed. Trees blurred past me as the cold wind crashed against my fur. I needed to run.