Chapter 4

Her lips were soft. So soft that for a moment, I forgot who I was, forgot what I was, forgot that I was supposed to be the Alpha who ruled with power and pride. All I knew was that the pain was gone, and her lips tasted like the only cure I’d ever needed.

She hit my chest with her fists, small and desperate, trying to push me away, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.

Because for the first time since the curse began burning through my blood, I felt alive.

Then the pain of a different kind seared through me.

She bit my lip hard. I hissed and pulled back, tasting blood. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed, her breath unsteady.

And before I could say a word, she slapped me again.

The second one hurt even worse. Not because of the pain, but because of what came next.

Tears filled her eyes, her voice trembling as she whispered, “That was my first kiss.”

I froze.

“It was meant for my husband,” she continued, voice breaking, “not for an asshole like you.”

Her words hit me like a blade through the heart.

She turned away, wiping her eyes furiously. “You’re an asshole!” she spat, her voice shaking. “If I knew this was how you're going to behave I would have left you to die there.

I didn’t stop her. I didn’t say a word. I just stood there, watching her as she walked away, her small frame trembling, her anger fading into tears.

“The door slammed behind her.”

“And silence filled the room.”

My lips still tingled. My wolf was restless. I could hear his low growl inside me hungry, confused, wanting more.

“Nobody has ever dared to slap me,” I muttered under my breath, touching my cheek where her hand had landed. “Not once. Not even my enemies.”

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. “But you did, Corvina Vardan.”

Her name rolled off my tongue like a secret.

I smiled bitterly, tasting blood on my lip.

“I need to know more about you,” I whispered. “You’re not just any human. You can’t be.”

Because no human could calm an Alpha’s pain just by touching him. No ordinary woman could silence the curse that had been destroying me for years.

My heart was still racing, but not from the pain anymore. From her.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the door she had disappeared through. The air still carried her scent laced with something wild. Like the earth after rain.

My wolf growled again inside me, softer this time, almost like a purr.

"Mate."

I shook my head. “No. That’s not possible. She’s human. She can’t be my mate.”

But deep down, I knew the truth. The mark on her back. The way her touch soothed my curse. The way my heart reacted to her presence.

The goddess never made mistakes.

And yet… how could my mate be a human who despised me after what I just did to her now.?

I leaned back against the bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts spinning. Every nerve in my body still remembered the warmth of her lips, the softness of her breath. The way she trembled under my touch was not out of passion, but anger. And yet, I wanted to feel it again.

What kind of monster did that make me?

The moonlight slipped through the cracks of the window, casting a pale glow across the room. I could still feel the echo of her slap on my skin a reminder that even an Alpha could be humbled.

Maybe I deserved it.

Maybe I crossed a line I shouldn’t have.

But damn… the way she looked at me before she walked away it wasn’t just hatred. There was fear. Confusion. Something deeper that she was trying to hide.

I bit my lip again, remembering the taste of her. “Your lips are too soft for your own good,” I muttered, smirking faintly. “And I’ll make sure I taste them again… but next time, you won’t be able to walk away so easily.”

My chest rumbled with a low growl, half amusement, half longing.

Where do I even begin, I asked myself reaching for my phone beside me to call Joel.

Come pick me up at the hospital I only said as I ended the call not wanting to say much for now.