Levante Blackthorne

Levante,

Two hundred years ago, when the Lycans ruled the world of Werewolves, forcing the entire earth to kneel and beg for their mercy, my grandfather, the late Lycan King, captured countless women and she-wolves to build his own harem.

On a full moon night, while the Kingdom of Werewolves remained busy bonding with their mates, he found a woman with silver hair and purple eyes taking a moon bath in the clearings.

The deepest and dirtiest desire overtook his judgement. Despite having a hundred she-wolves in his chamber, eagerly waiting to be selected by him, he decided to take her by force.

Not knowing that she was the descendant of the Moon Goddess, a loyal servant who lived in the Holy Moon Castle and devoted her life to serving the Goddess herself.

That night, she left her son with the nanny before walking straight into the Room of Celestial Fineness, where souls were meant to be purified.

Instead, she dragged a sharp silver knife across her palm, letting her blood spill as she announced the curse.

A curse of destruction. One of my grandfather's descendants would carry the curse. Whenever a woman touched them, or they touched a woman, they would lose their mind, their humanity, and every sense of control. They would go berserk, turning every living thing into an enemy.

And the Moon Goddess's wrath would fall upon us.

Since then, my uncle took his own life after trying to touch his mate and killing her instead. He murdered my aunt while she carried my unborn cousins inside her womb.

Grandfather forced every descendant of his bloodline to have as many children as possible, ensuring that the bloodline would never disappear.

However, among my thirty cousins, none carried the curse.

So when my mother, filled with hope, decided to get pregnant with her third child twenty-five years ago and ended up having me, fate mocked her cruelly.

The moment the unmarked nanny touched my body, I cried. My eyes turned red like bleeding rubies.

That was when everyone knew.

I had become the target of the curse.

A vicious curse that turned my entire life into hell.

Earlier, I had taken the back entrance, as always, whenever my parents dragged me to different packs in search of the descendant of the Moon Goddess's servant.

A desperate attempt to find the cure.

However, the moment I stepped into the garden—

"Prince Levante, right?"

A voice came softly, light as cotton, carrying the scent of nectar and jasmine.

My head snapped toward the woman standing there with a gentle smile, looking fragile enough to break. She wore an indecent dress. I looked away immediately. I might hate their presence, but I would never disrespect a woman.

"I am Barbara, Luna Beatrice's sister. Nice to meet you."

My eyes darkened the moment she introduced herself. Even her scent felt like claws digging straight into my skull.

I ignored her. Years of living with the curse had already filled me with hatred toward she-wolves.

However, I could not even take a single step forward before she suddenly grabbed my arm, pressing herself against me.

The reaction was immediate.

My Lycan, Dante, snarled violently inside my chest. My entire world turned red. A sharp, agonizing noise slammed into my head, twisting my body painfully.

The sound of people's conversations vanished. My eyes turned into bleeding rubies before my attention snapped toward her.

She still clung to my arm, smiling shamelessly. My attention immediately shifted to her neck, to the loud sound of blood flowing beneath her veins.

"Maybe we can go to my room and—"

Before she could even finish speaking, my aura exploded uncontrollably, coiling around her throat and squeezing mercilessly.

"Ugh!"

She gasped in terror. That was when she met my eyes.

A sharp electric shock pulsed through her body alongside a dreadful groan. Her eyes rolled back before she collapsed into my arms.

I smirked faintly, leaning closer as my fangs reached her neck. The moment I sank my fangs into her flesh, blood flooded across my tongue.

However, just as I prepared to rip the veins apart from her throat, the bitterness of her blood made me gag in disgust.

I yanked her across the garden. Her body slammed violently against the wall before collapsing onto the ground.

"Disgusting," I hissed coldly.

"Oh my God!"

A horrified gasp rippled across the garden.

I turned slowly, only to see those irritating veins throbbing beneath everyone's skin, producing those unbearable noises. Another wave of pain and rage smashed into my consciousness.

"Kill them. The noise will stop!" Dante snarled, unsheathing his claws. "STOP THE FREAKING NOISE!"

The women had already collapsed onto the floor in terror. I grabbed one of them and bit into her neck, yet her blood tasted just as bitter as the previous one.

Four more she-wolves gathered nearby. The moment they approached me, horrified, they fainted instantly beneath my aura.

I tried everyone's blood. None of them tasted right.

Another wave of disappointment crashed into me. I looked around before grabbing another she-wolf by the throat.

Just then—

A soft yet terrified gasp echoed behind me.

I slowly turned, glancing over my shoulder.

My eyes darkened the moment I heard the loud heartbeat. The same irritating noise from before.

She dared to stand there and watch.

Yet I noticed my dark aura surging around her feet. To my absolute surprise, she did not faint.

I walked toward her slowly, conflicted by her strange bravery. She dared to watch me, yet she still remained standing.

I reached for her neck, lifting her effortlessly while releasing as much aura as possible. I wanted to destroy her.

The fact that she still breathed beneath my grasp, her heartbeat pounding loudly against my senses, felt like pure provocation until—

Something felt wrong.

The noise inside my head stopped. Dante winced, yet he did not howl. Her pulse no longer sounded like sharp knives tearing through my skull.

"Why aren't you fainting?" I asked sharply.

She opened her mouth before closing it again, yet she still showed no reaction to my aura.

A slow smirk spread across my lips.

"She is not reacting to us," Dante muttered in disbelief. "She could help us. The noise is gone. Take her. Claim her now. She is the only person we can touch, so—"

He suddenly paused.

So did I.

My gaze dropped toward the wedding ring resting on her finger. Yet she carried no mark.

"She is taken!" Dante growled in disappointment. "I want her. I want to make her my mate!"

My eyes darkened dangerously. I barely acknowledged Luna Beatrice standing nearby, staring at us with visible disappointment.

Did she set her sister up to approach me?

How dare she?

"Lycan Prince, I have already selected two she-wolves—"

"I want her. She will take care of me while I am here."

The moment I released her, I turned and walked away.

My eyes were still glinting red, my veins flaring up.

But for the first time in my life, the bloodthirst was gone.