CHAPTER 7

ARIA’S POV

Dr. Chen turned the scanner so I could see the screen. It showed what looked like a 3D image of my body, but threaded through everything—my organs, my bones, my blood—were black tendrils that pulsed with sickly dark energy.

“What is that?” I whispered.

“Dark magic,” Dr. Chen said quietly. “A curse. Ancient, powerful, and woven directly into your DNA.”

The room tilted. I grabbed the edge of the examination table to steady myself.

“A curse?” My voice came out small. “What kind of curse?”

Dr. Chen pulled up a chair, sitting so we were at eye level. “The kind designed with very specific purposes. From what I can see, this curse has three primary functions.”

She tapped the screen, highlighting different areas.

“First, it suppresses your wolf. Your wolf should be active, vocal, present. But the curse has bound it deep inside you, preventing it from emerging fully. That’s why you’ve never shifted, why you can’t access your wolf’s strength or instincts.”

That explained so much. I’d always wondered why my wolf was so silent when other pack members talked about constant communication with theirs.

“Second,” Dr. Chen continued, “the curse manipulates your metabolism and hormones to cause unnatural weight gain. Not from overeating or lack of exercise—purely magical manipulation. It makes your body store fat regardless of diet or activity level.”

My breath caught. “You’re saying… my weight isn’t natural?”

“Your body is natural,” Dr. Chen corrected. “But the curse has forced it into an unnatural state. Without the curse, your body would settle at whatever weight is healthy for you. But the curse ensures you gain and maintain weight specifically to make you appear ‘undesirable’ by conventional standards.”

Rage and relief warred in my chest. Rage that someone had done this to me. Relief that maybe I wasn’t fundamentally broken.

“And the third function?” I asked, voice shaking.

Dr. Chen’s expression darkened. “The curse affects how others perceive you. It doesn’t change your appearance, but it… amplifies negative reactions. When someone looks at you, especially a potential mate, the curse triggers their insecurities and prejudices. It makes them see you as unattractive, unsuitable, unworthy.”

Derek’s disgusted face flashed in my mind. “So when Derek looked at me…”

“He saw you through the curse’s filter,” Dr. Chen confirmed. “His own shallow beliefs about what a Luna should look like were magnified a hundredfold. The curse ensured he’d reject you on sight.”

I pressed a hand to my mouth, fighting tears. “Who would do this to me? Why?”

“Someone who knew exactly what you are,” Kael said, his voice tight with controlled fury. “Someone who wanted to ensure you’d never reach your full potential.”

Dr. Chen nodded grimly. “This isn’t a random curse, Aria. This is targeted, specific, and incredibly sophisticated. Whoever placed this on you knew about your bloodline. They cursed you to prevent something from awakening.”

“What bloodline?” I asked. “I’m just—I was just a Beta’s daughter. Nothing special.”

“You’re far more than that,” Dr. Chen said. “But we’ll get to that. First, you need to understand the full extent of what this curse is doing.”

She pulled up more data on the scanner. “The curse is also slowly killing you. It’s designed to appear like natural aging—gradual organ failure, weakening bones, deteriorating health. Most people cursed like this die in their forties or fifties, and no one suspects magic.”

My stomach dropped. “How long do I have?”

Dr. Chen’s expression was sympathetic but honest. “At the current rate of deterioration? Maybe a year. Two at most.”

The words hit like physical blows. A year. Maybe two.

I’d survived Derek’s rejection, escaped Crescent Moon, found a second chance mate—only to discover I was dying anyway.

“No.” Kael’s voice was absolute. “We’re breaking this curse.”

Dr. Chen set down the scanner. “Kael, I need to show you something else.”

She pulled up another screen—this one showing a different magical signature. The black tendrils were similar, but the pattern was slightly different.

“This is from five years ago,” she said quietly. “From Sera.”

Kael went very still.

“The curse on Aria is nearly identical to the curse that killed Sera,” Dr. Chen continued. “Same magical signature. Same witch magic. Same deadly intent.”

“The same witch cursed them both,” Kael said, voice dangerous.

“It appears so. Which means whoever cursed Sera five years ago has been planning this for a long time.”

I looked between them, pieces clicking together. “Kael, you said you couldn’t diagnose what was wrong with Sera. That healers couldn’t find anything.”

“Because we didn’t scan for dark magic,” Kael said bitterly. “We assumed it was natural illness. By the time we considered curses, it was too late.”

Dr. Chen touched his arm gently. “You couldn’t have known. This curse is designed to be undetectable until it’s examined with very specific magical tools. Most healers would never think to look for it.”

“But now we know,” Kael said. “And we can fight it.” He turned to me, silver eyes blazing with determination. “We’re going to break this curse, Aria. I couldn’t save Sera, but I’ll save you. I swear it.”

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that fierce certainty in his voice.

But Dr. Chen’s next words shattered that hope.

“Kael, there’s a problem.” She pulled up more data, her expression grave. “This curse is woven into Aria’s life force. It’s not just attached to her—it’s part of her now. Breaking it incorrectly could kill her instantly.”

“Then we’ll do it correctly,” Kael said.

“To do it correctly, we’d need a witch who understands dark magic intimately enough to reverse it safely. Someone who knows the exact spell work, the binding patterns, the release sequence.”

Kael’s jaw clenched. “A witch created this curse. We’d have to trust one of them with Aria’s life.”

“Exactly.” Dr. Chen’s expression was sympathetic. “And witches are our enemies. They’re the ones hunting Royal Wolves—” She stopped abruptly.

“Royal Wolves?” I repeated. “What do you mean?”

Dr. Chen looked at Kael, who nodded.

She turned back to me. “Aria, there’s something else I need to tell you. Something the curse was specifically designed to hide.”

My heart pounded. “What?”

“I’ll need to run more tests to confirm, but based on the curse’s design and your body’s reaction to treatment…” Dr. Chen took a breath. “I believe you’re a Royal White Wolf. A bloodline thought extinct for two hundred years.”

The words made no sense. “That’s impossible. I’m just—”

“You’re not ‘just’ anything,” Kael interrupted. “Royal Wolves are the most powerful wolves in existence. They can command other wolves, they’re immune to magic, and they possess strength that rivals Lycan Kings.”

“But I can’t do any of that,” I protested.

“Because the curse is suppressing it,” Dr. Chen explained. “Everything you should be—strong, powerful, commanding—the curse has locked away. It’s kept your Royal Wolf bound so tightly you never even knew it existed.”

I stared at my hands, trying to process this. Royal Wolf? Powerful? It seemed absurd.

But it would explain why someone cursed me so specifically. Why they wanted to ensure I’d be rejected, isolated, powerless.

“So we break the curse,” I said, looking up at Kael. “We find a witch who can help, and we break it.”

“It’s not that simple,” Dr. Chen said gently. “Breaking the curse incorrectly—even slightly off in the spell work—would cause a magical backlash that would kill you instantly. We’d need a witch we could trust completely. One who wouldn’t sabotage the process.”

“And witches created this curse specifically to suppress Royal Wolves,” Kael added. “They’re the enemy. Trusting one with your life…”

He didn’t finish, but I understood.

We needed a witch to save me.

But witches were the ones trying to kill me.

The impossible choice hung in the air between us.