Eleven

Amoux’s POV

I watched Eira gently rubbing her head again and again, as she tried to form words.

I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at her in question.

What could she possibly want to discuss? Don't tell me that she wants to reject the proposal!

I instantly frowned at the thought.

“I want to ask about the Alpha King’s illness, can you tell me the symptoms?” Eira finally let out.

Is that what she wanted to ask? Or is there more to it?

What if I divulge it to her and she didn't want to treat it again?

Well, I just have to say it to know if she can extend his life a bit, if not Reagan only has a few years to live.

No, I have to give him hope.

Ever since Anika's demise, he had just been drinking and wallowing in total misery.

He wasn't the Reagan I know anymore, he looked more like the shadow of himself.

I almost wished we never knew about the existence of Anika. At least, we still have hope but now we just have to find ways to extend his life.

“We don’t know the sickness. It's actually a very strange illness.” I said to Eira as I watched her reactions.

If not because Dolphus said there's nothing she can't treat, I wouldn't be here because I'm very skeptical about this too.

Even Reagan didn't know that I'm here, only Dolphus and I knew about this journey.

I couldn't tell Reagan about the journey because he hadn't left his chambers ever since the day we came back from the forest after searching for Anika.

Reagan had locked himself inside the room after ordering us to tear down all the decorations we painstakingly made for the wedding preparation.

I felt so heartbroken for him, I sent Abigail up to him again because he seems to like the girl a bit when I brought her to him the day we found out about his mate but she was thrown outside by him.

He didn't even consider that she was an elder daughter, the poor girl almost broke her fragile neck.

“Can you describe the symptoms to me?”

“The illness always afflicts his body every full Moon and it makes him blind, ” I replied to Eira’s question and I watched as she frowned instantly.

“Makes him blind? Every full moon?”

“Yes, it always causes extreme pain.” I added.

“That’s not an illness, it's a curse.”

I was instantly got shocked by her reply. What did she mean by a curse?

If it's a curse, their pack which or anyone would have known that since.

“What did you mean by a curse?” I asked after a few minutes of surprise.

“Yes, Amoux, it's called the Atelis curse,”

“What is the Atelis curse?” I asked in amazement.

I've never heard of that kind of curse in all my 400+ years of life.

“Yes, but I cannot be sure until I see him because it's a very rare curse in the werewolf kingdom.”

“Okay, so if it's the uhm- Atelum or Atelis curse, is it curable?” I asked again in hope that there would be another cure aside from mating with his mate.

“Yeah, it's curable, ” I heard her reply and heaved a deep sigh.

“But why does he still have the curse? Hasn't he found his mate already?”

“Uh?”

I countered as if I didn't hear the words when she said it.

“I said, why does he still have the Atelis curse since he already found his mate? ”

“His mate is the cure?”

I let out slowly hoping that she would say something differently.

“Of course, it can only be cured completely by his mate.”

I felt my heart plunge immediately when I heard her reply.

Does Reagan really have no hope?

Does this mean that he would really die when he reaches five hundred years?

“Apart from his mate, is there any other cure or something to extend his life?” I asked hopefully.

“Haven’t he found his mate? That's the most simple way,”

Did she just say the simplest way?

She better not say this in front of Reagan, who waited for his mate for 400 years and she died on the third day that they met.

Finding his mate is definitely not the most simple way.

“She’s no more,” I mumbled slowly as I remembered the bad incident again.

“What?!” Eira exclaims. “Didn’t he just find her about a week ago?” She asked in surprise, her eyes widening.

“Yes, a week ago. She was killed by rogues on the day of their wedding. I came to find you two days after we found her body under the cliff.” I replied as I bent my head in sadness.

“Under the cliff?”

“Yes, we found her three days later under the cliff. Her body was intact but her face wasn't recognizable. We were able to recognize that she was the one because of the ring that the Grand Gemma said he saw her mother gave her because they left her pack. Also with her wedding gown.

“My condolences to the Alpha king and his family,” Eira said in a low voice.

“Thank you, ” I replied in the same low voice.

“This must be hard for you, too.” Eira spoke softly.

I nodded, she had no idea how hard it was on Dolphus and I.

Especially Dolphus, he couldn't stop blaming himself for Anika’s death, no matter how much I tried to explain to him that it wasn't his fault.

He kept on saying that if he had been more powerful than he was, he would have been able to protect his Luna. But how can he be more powerful than over 20 rogues who were all skillfully trained?

He wouldn't just listen, that was also why he made me come to the Red Moon Pack to find the healer he told us about the day we found Reagan’s mate. The same healer that Reagan said we wouldn't be needing anymore that day.

Dolphus said if not he will blame himself forever if Reagan really died on his 500th birthday anniversary.

“You said that's the easiest way. Is there any other way?” I asked Eira with my eyes full of expectations.

“How old is the Alpha King?"

I heard Eira asked suddenly, I couldn't help but

instantly frowned

What does Reagan's age have to do with this?

“He's over 400 years old, “ I answered back after a few minutes.

“Over four hundred years old? He has been living with the Atelis curse for four hundred years?” Eira asked, her eyes widening in shock.

Okay now, I'm getting confused. What's all these questions about?

“Yes, Is there a problem?” I asked her as I raised my eyes at her.

“If he has been living over 400 years, then I can't be sure if it's really Atelis,” Eira finally said after a deep thought.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is that, if it really was The Atelis curse, he should have died a long time ago from pain.” Eira added as she looked at me with pity.

“What?!” I was shocked by her statement.

“That's why I said I'm doubtful if it's Atelis or not but I can't be sure until I see him,” Eira concluded.

“So you have to see for yourself, right?” I asked again after getting over my astonishment.

“Yes, I'd have to see for myself,”

“Alright, when did you think we should start going? It will be another full Moon night soon,” I said as I calculated the days in my head.

“We can leave in two days if that's okay by you, by then my father would have been back on his legs,” Eira let out.

“Okay cool, we leave in two days then,”

As we were talking, I saw a shadow flashed by but I didn't think much about it because I couldn't see it again after checking around for a while.

Maybe it was just the wind.

“I think I will go back inside now, to assist Ma with the dinner,”

I heard Eira's tiny but clear voice let out and quickly nodded in reply.

As I watched her walk back into the house, I couldn't help but feel more confused by our conversation and what I learned so far.

Reagan’s strange illness is not an illness but a curse.

I think that was the highlight of the whole conversation because I haven't been able to stop thinking about that.

I remembered when we were still pups, the late Alpha King invited several popular healers and witches to cure Reagan’s illness but everyone said they can't cure it.

Until a certain age, when we were all teenagers and the late Alpha King found a witch who said that the only cure for Reagan’s illness is for him to find his mate and mate with her.

That was when Reagan had been looking for his mate until we found her a week ago only to die a few days later.

Is it really a curse as Eira said and the only cure or the easiest way as Eira puts it is “mating with his mate?”

Does that mean that Reagan really has no hope?