Chapter 1: The Cursed One, The Pack's Taboo

DEXTERA

Blood. Screams. A wailing howl. My once cream-coloured dress which had turned crimson red. Blood-soaked fingers. Dark stares from people surrounding me piercing through my core. The lifeless giant white wolf just at my feet.

"Monster…”

“Cursed one...”

“Devil sent to us...”

“Devil among us....”

The words were hurled at me from every corner of the Bisclaveret pack.

“Kill her! She should be put down!!”

A fully armed and enraged mob of pack members encircled me, all ready to end my life. The sharp sword above my head caused me to be jittery with fear.

“Aargh...no, please.... I didn’t do it!” I screamed, bolting upright on my makeshift bed.

Oh heavens! It was another dream. I let out a sigh.

“Girl, you’re still asleep?” Valeria walked in after hearing me scream, completely unfazed. “It’s time to get up.”

I didn't pay attention to her as my mind reeled from the aftermath of the dream; the very same dream I’d had for years, always playing out the exact same way. That’s because it wasn't just a dream, but a past memory that has haunted me for a very long time. The day Alpha Nelson died wasn’t something I could bring myself to forget.

“Are you even listening?” Valeria mumbled over the pile of clean clothes she had in her arms. “Have you forgotten what day it is?”

Still in a daze from sleep, I cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

She walked closer, flicking my forehead. “Today is the 15th.”

That's right. The 15th Day of the Lunar month. How could I forget the very day every member of the pack is wary of me?

“What are you going to do this time?” Valeria's question snapped me out of my reverie.

I let out a loud sigh, burying my head in my palms. “Sincerely, I have no idea. We both know I can’t control this thing.”

Valeria was the only one I could turn to for help in the pack, since every other Bisclaveret pack member tried their best to stay away from me.

I was a monster. The cursed one. The pack’s taboo.

My family was no exception. Being the Beta's child, everyone had high expectations of me. Yet, fate decided to make me a wolfless, broken, monstrous Omega with no mother. All I had left aside from my father was Margaret, my step mother and my sassy, cunning, step sister, Adira, who claimed the bond that should have been mine and got mated to my fated mate.

“Are you going to try asking him for help again?” Valeria asked.

Him. Kestrel Wagner, the current Alpha of the Bisclaveret Pack, my best friend and fated mate whom I've loved ever since we were teenagers. His father was the Alpha of the pack, mine was the Beta.

“I can't, Valeria.” I shook my head, disgusted by the mere thought of it. “You know I can't.”

«You are not my mate. You are not my equal. You are nothing but my father’s murderer, a burden I was forced to bear. I, Kestrel Wagner, Alpha of the Bisclaveret Pack, reject you, Dextera Neville, as my mate. »

These words never stopped echoing in my head for once. They served as a relentless reminder of his raw hatred for me.

Valeria snapped me out of my thoughts. “If you ask me, I would say you still give it a try. There is always a chance for change.”

“Kestrel will never give in. He'll never help me.”

The reason I needed Kestrel's help on days like this was because a healer who once examined me had claimed only an exchange with my fated mate, blood or intimacy, could keep me sane.

Though, I had no wolf, something far worse lived inside me and it only appears on the 15^th and 16^th of every Lunar month.

Kestrel was compelled to be with me on these days when his late father, Alpha Nelson was alive. But he only had eyes for Adira. He fell completely for her tricks, totally ignoring the sacred bond meant to be between us. Now, he had bonded with her and marked her.

Ever since their mating ceremony, he never paid me attention except when it was time for his pleasure. If there was anything Kestrel needed me for, it was just sex and I wanted more than that. I wanted to be with him; mind, body and soul. No doubt, he wanted me too, but unreasonable rage and hatred has a way of blinding even the best of beings.

“It's almost night, Dextera." Valeria reminded me, scared to her core. “Who knows what will happen again? The last time, you injured...”

I cut her short, knowing exactly what she wanted to say. “I dismembered a guard and almost killed his young pup. You don’t have to remind me. I’ve been haunted enough.”

“Exactly my point, Dextera.” Valeria affirmed, concerned. “You don't need this stubbornness right now.”

After a moment of back and forth with her, she successfully convinced me to meet Kestrel and plead with him to keep me sane this time.

Then, there was a knock.

“Dextera Neville, you're called for.” A masculine voice uttered from the door.

Valeria scrambled to her feet, rushing to check who it was. “Who called for her?”

“The Alpha.” he replied. "He needs her in five.”

Five minutes? What for? Sex? Whenever Kestrel gave time for my presence, it was usually for intimacy. However, he had made it clear since he took over as the reigning Alpha that he was never going to lay with me on my feral nights. And he hadn’t.

Could it be he changed his mind?

I knew Kestrel to be a rigid and egotistical person who never goes back on his words. Still, desperation has a way of creating false hopes in me.

I slipped into a short, knee-length gown quickly, headed for his quarters.

“Play it cool, Dextera.” Valeria whispered after me. “Don't be stubborn.”

I rolled my eyes at her as I left with the messenger who waited outside my door. I trailed behind him in silent hope that Kestrel’s call was exactly as I thought. At least, I wouldn't go feral tonight.

“Wait here, please.” The messenger paused and signalled to a waiting guard.

What's with the unusual protocol? The messenger exchanged stares with the guard and I knew instantly they were communicating through the pack’s mind-link. Since I had no wolf, I couldn’t connect with other werewolves through the link. It was easier for them to talk without me knowing what they discussed.

The guard gestured for me to follow him, and I did. The route we walked through was a familiar path which led to a secluded part of the pack house. We soon stopped moving after several turns and Kestrel stood right there, awaiting my presence.

My heart beat faster as I took a step forward. It was evening already and the moon was slowly brightening up.

Kestrel’s sharp blue eyes were locked on me, showing nothing but disdain and the silence was so absolute that a pin-drop would have sounded like a thunderclap.

I swallowed hard, thinking of the right thing to say to dissipate the awkwardness.

“Why are we here?” I asked as calmly as I could, despite the unease curling in my stomach. “Why not your quarters?”

Kestrel's face clouded over, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“Do not question me, Dextera,” he snapped. “You do not get to question your Alpha.”

My lips pressed into a thin line. This was nothing new. He hadn’t treated me with kindness in a long while; not in public, not in private, not ever. But there was something different about this night. The energy in the air was heavier and more hostile.

Before I knew it, the heavy sound of approaching boots reached my ears.

I turned my head in time to see a group of guards arrive at once, each carrying massive chains made of thick, gleaming silver. But these weren’t ordinary chains. Barbed thorns jutted out from the links, designed to dig into flesh, pierce deep and draw blood.

Along with them, they brought a large contraption, an iron collar lined with wolfsbane spikes on the inside, connected to a set of wrist and ankle cuffs by heavy locks and rods meant to keep their victim in a rigid stance.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Kestrel’s gaze remained impassive as he replied me in an icy tone.

“I can't let you murder any more of my pack members like you did to my father.” He replied without warmth or hesitation. “This was designed specifically to restrain you when you go bonkers.”

I was labelled a cursed one because it was believed I killed Alpha Nelson, Kestrel’s father, on one of my feral nights. That was my sin. But it wasn't my fault. I didn’t deserve the hatred and ill treatment they meted out on me.

My entire body tensed as my nails dug into my palms. A part of me wanted to plead, to tell him again like I did in the past, that it wasn’t my fault, that Alpha Nelson’s death wasn’t something I intended, but I knew better.

Kestrel never believed me after the incident.

To him, all I narrated was nothing but made-up lies.