Chapter Five She Is a Cursed  

Aria’s POV

“And…the wolfless servant decided to humiliate us.” Selene walked out behind him.

The moment my eyes landed on her, my chest tightened painfully.

She was no longer in that gown I had gone to buy for her to wear in receiving Alpha Thalos. She was now in something more like underwear. Something that spoke volumes about the intimacy that had happened before they were disturbed and stepped out.

Her lips curved slowly. Her eyes filled with satisfaction as though she had waited her entire life for this exact moment.

I felt my stomach twist.

Not because she had been with Alpha Thalos. But because of the look in her eyes. The cruel excitement. The victory.

“Forgive us Alpha Thalos,” Selene said softly as she moved closer to him. “We thought we could do her a favour. But now, she doesn’t even know how to stay in her own place.”

My throat tightened.

“If you may, I will call for my mother. We will label her a stray and then if it satisfies you, you can lay a curse on her and we will send her to the woods to wander the earth until she dies from your curse.”

“Selene…?” I murmured weakly. My legs trembled beneath me. Even my fingers had gone cold.

The air around me suddenly felt suffocating.

It was under the divine prophecy of the Moon Goddess that only the strongest Alphas and Lunas could curse a wolf. And worse, a wolfless being after they had been labelled a stray.

A cursed stray never survived for long.

Even if Selene hated me, even if I was wolfless, she did not need to destroy me like this just to have Alpha Thalos.

My heart ached so badly it felt unbearable.

She wanted him to curse me without hesitation. Wanted me thrown out of the pack residence like I had never existed.

At that moment, I finally understood the true gravity of my situation.

Even if I was eventually going to be cursed, at least let it be remembered that I tried to save myself first.

Slowly, I dropped to my knees.

“Alpha Thalos, I am a denied. Please give me time to see my wolf. The denied under the first moonlight saw theirs. I will do my best, I know there is a wolf for me too, I just need more time. But if eventually, nothing happens, I swear I will leave myself. I will label myself a stray and walk into the hands of a cursed myself.”

My voice shook badly toward the end.

For a moment, silence settled around us.

The wind brushed past the trees. The guards standing nearby lowered their gazes. Even Selene looked briefly stunned that I had dared to plead for myself.

Then Alpha Thalos finally spoke.

“Leave!”

His voice sliced through the atmosphere like fire.

My body stiffened instantly.

“Yes, leave Aria,” Selene snapped quickly. “Do not wait another second.”

“No.”

Alpha Thalos’ voice came again, colder this time.

“You, butter princess. Leave!”

The moment he turned to Selene, I saw it clearly. His silver and golden eyes had become icy and unreadable. There was no warmth in them. No desire. No softness.

Only authority.

“Me?” Selene’s voice cracked in disbelief.

I saw it immediately.

The shock on her face.

It was almost loud enough to hear.

Her heartbeat raced. Her breathing faltered.

If anyone was supposed to leave the scene, it should have been me. I was the wolfless one while she was the beloved princess. The very woman who had just shared a bed with the great Alpha.

Yet she was the one being dismissed while I remained before him.

Nothing about this made sense anymore.

“What was really happening?”

***

Alpha Thalos’ POV

(Twenty Minutes Earlier)

The blades of the helicopter still spun heavily above me as I stepped onto the grounds of the Wolfhaven residence.

And immediately, I perceived it.

The scent.

It hit me harder than anything I had ever encountered before.

Not perfume.

Not flowers.

Not rain.

It was warm and dangerous at the same time.

It reminded me of moonlit woods after a violent storm, mixed with a faint sweetness that lingered deep inside the air and wrapped around my senses possessively.

The moment I inhaled again, my wolf stirred violently within me.

Mine.

The Luna of the residence stepped forward proudly with her daughter beside her. Guards bowed instantly around us. 

At first, I thought the scent belonged to the princess standing beside the Luna.

For years, I had waited for this moment. Waited for the woman destined to stand beside me as my mate.

So naturally, my attention shifted toward her first.

But the closer I stepped toward her, the clearer the truth became.

Damask rose.

Artificial.

Perfume.

The type human women used to tempt men into their beds.

I watched the princess carefully. The way she adjusted her cleavage subtly. The way her lips curved with practiced confidence. The way her body leaned closer each time I looked away.

She wanted my attention desperately.

I had ruled the SilverGold pack since birth. I had walked through wars, bloodshed, and battles stronger men could not survive.

Because of my strength and power, many women had thrown themselves at me throughout the years. Some I entertained briefly. Others I discarded without a second thought.

So I recognized the desire immediately when I saw it.

The mother offered her daughter.

The daughter willingly presented herself.

None of it moved me.

Because deep inside my instincts, one thing had already become clear.

My mate was here.

And whoever she was, she was hiding.

I followed the princess into the residence silently.

Inside the room prepared for me, she tried her best to seduce me further.

The elegant gown she had worn downstairs was gone. Her body was now exposed beneath thin fabric that revealed more than it covered.

Her breathing had already changed. Heavy. Anticipating.

I could smell her desire filling the room.

Pleading for my body. Pleading for the privilege of carrying the heir of my bloodline.

But none of it mattered.

I rose from the edge of the bed.

“Dress up,” I ordered coldly.

Her expression immediately changed.

“Alpha,” she said softly as she stepped closer. “You are supposed to do whatever you want with me. I am willing to stay with you until the Alphas and Lunas of the Reed Sea arrive for the meeting.”

“Until they arrive?” I repeated with a dark chuckle.

I walked toward the window with my hands behind my back.

I already saw through their intentions.

They wanted my seed tied to their bloodline before any official union was announced.

But before I could dismiss her completely, the scent returned again.

Stronger this time.

Closer.

My wolf growled immediately inside me.

I turned sharply toward the door.

She was near.

****(Present Time)****

My mate had finally stepped out of hiding.

Without another word, I left the room immediately and walked outside the residence.

The scent guided me effortlessly toward the tree standing beside the building.

And there she was.

A young woman.

She looked almost identical to the princess. Yet everything about her felt different.

Quieter. Softer. Broken in places she should never have been broken.

The moment I stepped closer, I sensed it clearly.

One sister had been raised with luxury and affection.

The other had been treated like a servant.

My jaw tightened instantly.

“You.”

“How dare you spy on me?” I asked coldly, though I already knew the truth.

If I could perceive her scent this strongly, then she must have perceived mine too.

So why had she hidden herself from me this entire time?

Why had she not come forward the moment I arrived at this residence?

Then the princess suddenly appeared behind me and began speaking rapidly.

“Forgive us Alpha Thalos. We thought we could do her a favour. But now, she doesn’t even know how to stay in her own place.”

“If you may, I will call for my mother. We will label her a stray and then if it satisfies you, you can lay a curse on her and we will send her to the woods to wander the earth until she dies from your curse.”

The moment those words left her mouth, I almost laughed.

Not because it amused me.

But because everything suddenly became obvious.

Bitterness.

Jealousy.

Hatred.

The two women were sisters. Yet one wished complete destruction upon the other without hesitation.

That alone told me enough.

“Leave,” I ordered coldly.

She immediately protested.

Perhaps she believed the moments we had shared alone in the room gave her some claim over me. Perhaps she thought exposing her body to me guaranteed victory.

Foolish woman.

I smirked coldly.

“I said leave.”

Her face paled.

“Whatever you want from me, you cannot get,” I continued.

“I already belong to another.”

My gaze shifted toward the trembling wolfless girl kneeling before me.

My mate.

“I have finally found her.”

“And it is the same girl you called wolfless.”