The Cursed One

Life, as Amanda had known, was supposed to end in the confines of her home, but somehow she made it into the warrior's camp, a chance to prove herself.

What she did not plan for was a mate who wanted to protect her at all costs and also stand by and do nothing. It confused her; it confused everyone. So at the training day, some female wolves thought it was best to make fun of her.

"I am sure that after he saw you move those gnarly fingers, he was disgusted by the sight of you," one said behind her.

Amanda pretended she heard nothing. In fact, she wanted to turn and sign Were you talking to me? But she knew she would not get it, so she kept mute. Not like she had a choice anyway.

They kept on yabbing behind him as the instructor spoke. He heard it all, but he was not ready to involve himself in some catfight that wasn't his problem. If anything, he hoped that would fuel Amanda to want to do better, be better.

The alpha, Amanda's mate, stood in the distance. He could hear everything that was said about his mate, but he wanted her to stand up for herself.

"Won't you do anything?" his beta asked him after a while had passed.

"No, I don't want to step in, not here at least. It would be impartial,"

"Impartial? There is nothing impartial about your mate, our future Luna. She is mute, and I doubt she was taught how to defend herself that much," the beta sends in annoyance.

Lucien growled at him, "You will remember to whom you speak." his voice reverberated.

"I'm sorry, Alpha,"

Lucien’s gaze never strayed far from her. From the shadows at the edge of the grounds, he watched Amanda move with quiet obedience, following Sergei’s commands without complaint. Her silence was more than the absence of words—it was a shield she wore, fragile yet unyielding.

“Form pairs,” Sergei barked, his deep voice carrying across the training yard.

The trainees shuffled, pairing off eagerly. But no one stepped toward Amanda. They glanced her way, smirked, and deliberately looked elsewhere. Lucien’s jaw ticked, but he remained still, his arms folded across his broad chest.

Now wasn't the time to step in. If anything, he wanted to watch her. Her grace and the eyes that burned like she didn't know what it meant to give up.

“Very well,” Sergei said after a pause, his eyes hardening. “If none of you will face her, then Mara”—his voice snapped like a whip, summoning the same she-wolf who had mocked Amanda earlier—“you will spar with Valen.”

Mara’s lips curved into a wicked smile. She tilted her head toward Amanda as if to say Watch closely.

Valen, a broad-shouldered wolf with arms like tree trunks, stepped into the ring. His grin promised pain.

The fight began with a roar.

Mara moved like fire. She was fast, relentless, burning everything in her path. Her strikes were sharp, her defenses tighter than a steel trap. Valen had strength, but she had speed and ferocity, and within minutes, the ground shook with the force of their clash.

Amanda’s breath caught as she watched Mara pivot, slam her elbow into Valen’s chest, and send him crashing into the dirt. Gasps erupted around the circle, followed by cheers. She couldn't stand against her, not at the moment. She needed to know how to defend herself first.

Pride radiated off Mara as she stood tall, victorious, her eyes gleaming with savage delight. But Amanda’s stomach twisted.

If that was the strength expected of a warrior… what place did she have here?

Her hands fisted at her sides, nails biting into her palms. Her wolf whimpered low in her mind, restless with unease.

Then, Mara walked towards her and leaned down to her ear, "You see, your alpha should be with me, not you," she said to her, and laughed out loud when tears trickled down Amanda's face.

She was right, her mate doesn't deserve her. she was too weak to be an Alpha's mate, she wanted more than nothing than to learn to defend herself, to be worthy of being his mate, to be worthy of being the daughter to one of the strongest betas in the werewolf kingdom but here she was, muete, weak and fragile.

These settled in her head, and she stood up from where she sat. While others chatted away and mocked her, she walked off the training ground with tears falling down her face like a waterfall.

Across the yard, Lucien’s expression remained unreadable, but inside, his thoughts were a storm. He had seen the flash of skill in Amanda before—the instinctive grace when she moved, the stubborn fire in her silence. But it wasn’t enough. Not yet.

He needed to understand her.

That night, long after the camp had gone quiet, Lucien shut himself in his study, the weight of his position forgotten as he pored over old scrolls and records. Reports of the meteor shower seventeen years ago surfaced again and again—strange phenomena, omens the elders once whispered about but never explained.

At the heart of it was a single name.

Amanda.

His hand tightened around the parchment as he read the faded ink: “A child born under falling stars, cursed with silence, yet bound to light. She will carry both ruin and salvation. Her voice stolen by the heavens, her power locked until the blood moon rises.”

Lucien leaned back, the words sinking into his chest like stones. This wasn’t a coincidence.

Amanda’s silence wasn’t simply a flaw. It was a curse—ancient, deliberate, dangerous.

And she was his mate.

Although he knew he could not do anything about the wolves in the training ground, he was going to make sure they all suffered the consequences of making her cry.

She wasn't claimed yet, but he knew he would die before he saw anyone hurt her.