3 ~ Curse on The Young Alphas

THIRD PERSON’S MULTIPLE POV

Aurelian stood in line at the food collection stand, tray in hand, trying to decide between meat and pasta.

“The pasta’s safer,” a voice said beside him. “Trust me.”

Aurelian turned to find Astarian standing there with his own tray, his brown eyes friendly.

“Oh. Thanks.” Aurelian reached for the pasta.

“How was your first day?” Astarian asked as they moved down the line. “Besides the… earlier incident.”

“Fine.”

“Your hand okay? I saw what Rhydian did.”

Aurelian’s fingers tightened on his tray. “It’s fine.”

“Listen, I know the academy can be rough when you’re new.” Astarian collected a bottle of water and an apple. “If you want, you could sit with me. Might help if people see you’re not completely—”

“I don’t want to be friends with an alpha.” The words came out harsher than Aurelian intended.

Astarian blinked, clearly taken aback.

Aurelian forced his voice softer, more apologetic. “I just… I don’t want trouble. Your friend already hates me. If I sit with you, it’ll only make things worse.”

Understanding flickered across Astarian’s face, followed by something that looked like disappointment. “Yeah. I get it. Rhydian can be… intense.”

“I appreciate the offer though.”

Astarian nodded slowly, reluctantly accepting the rejection. “Okay. But if you change your mind, the offer stands.”

Astarian walked away, heading towards where Rhydian and Tavian sat at a table in the center of the cafeteria while Aurelian found a corner table, sat alone, and ate his pasta while watching them from a distance.

‘Phase one complete,’ he thought. ‘They’ve noticed me. Killing the alpha kings will be next.’

~~~~~

Finally, the last bell rang.

Aurelian packed his bag slowly, waiting for the classroom to clear. Most students rushed out immediately, eager to escape. A few lingered, chatting by the windows.

“—tonight at eight,” Tavian said. “Pool party. Private. Just us and a few others.”

Aurelian glanced up. Tavian had his arm slung casually over Dylan’s shoulders at the entrance, grinning in that easy way that made everything seem like an invitation to fun.

“Your place?” Dylan asked.

“Rhydian’s, actually. The Gravefang palace. Our fathers would be away on pack business, so we have the run of it.”

“Should I bring anything?”

“Just yourself.” Tavian’s grin widened. “And maybe those ridiculous swim trunks you mentioned. I want to see if you were exaggerating about the pattern.”

Dylan laughed, playing into the flirtation perfectly. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

They left together, still talking.

Aurelian finished packing his bag. A pool party. At the Gravefang palace. Where Alpha Kael lived.

His mother’s murderer’s home.

“No matter what,” he paused, then continued, “I have to attend that party. One of the alphas have to die tonight.”

~~~~~

The private meeting room in the Gravefang palace was designed with dark wood paneling, furniture and Pack crests on every wall. The three Alpha Kings sat in high-backed chairs and their sons stood before them like defendants awaiting verdict.

“One month,” Alpha Kael said, his voice cold and precise. “You have just one month left before your twentieth birthday. One month before the curse takes what it’s owed.”

Rhydian’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

“Have you made any progress?” Alpha Lucien leaned forward, his eyes on Astarian. “Any sign of your mate? Any connection, any pull, anything at all?”

“We’re looking,” Astarian said carefully. “But we haven’t—there’s been no one who—”

“No one?” Alpha Soren’s voice rose. “You’ve been at that academy for a year. Hundreds of wolves. How can there be no one?”

“Maybe the curse was wrong,” Tavian suggested, his tone light despite the tension crackling through the room. “Maybe there is no mate. Maybe we’re supposed to figure out how to break it ourselves.”

“The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” Kael snapped. “The curse is real. The mate exists. You’re simply not trying hard enough.”

“Not trying hard enough?” Rhydian’s voice was dangerously quiet. “We’ve met every eligible wolf in the three territories. We’ve attended every gathering, every ceremony, every—”

“Then expand your search! The mate could be anywhere.”

“Or maybe—” Rhydian’s control finally cracked. “—maybe this curse is punishment for something you did, and we’re the ones paying for it!”

Silence.

Alpha Kael stood slowly, his expression darkening. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me.” Rhydian’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “This curse appeared before we were even born. The Moon Goddess cursed you, and you passed it down to us like some genetic disease. So maybe instead of blaming us for not finding our mate, you should explain what you did to deserve divine punishment in the first place!”

Kael moved faster than should have been possible. His hand cracked across Rhydian’s face with enough force to snap his head to the side.

Tavian and Astarian both tensed but didn’t intervene. They knew better.

Rhydian straightened slowly, a red mark already blooming on his cheek. His eyes held nothing but cold fury.

“Get out,” Kael said quietly. “All of you.”

The three heirs turned and left without another word. The door closed behind them.

At the hallway, Rhydian walked fast, his footsteps echoing off the marble, his boy barely containing the rage within.

“Rhydian, wait—” Tavian jogged to catch up, Astarian close behind. “He didn’t mean—”

“Didn’t mean what?” Rhydian whirled on them. “Didn’t mean to blame us for a curse we were born with? Didn’t mean to act like it’s our fault the Moon Goddess decided our lives were acceptable collateral damage for whatever sins they committed?”

“We don’t know that the curse is connected to—”

“Of course it is!” Rhydian’s voice cracked. “Curses don’t just appear randomly, Tavian. They’re punishment. Divine retribution. And we’re the ones who have to die for crimes we didn’t commit because our fathers did something so terrible that a goddess intervened.”

Astarian stepped forward carefully. “We’ll find our mate. We still have time—”

“One month. We have one month, Astarian. And we have no idea who we’re even looking for.” Rhydian laughed bitterly. “We don’t know if it’s an alpha or a beta. We don’t even know if she’s in this territory or across the world. We don’t even know if we’ll recognize her when we find her.”

“We’ll know,” Astarian said quietly. “The bond will—”

“Will what? Make itself obvious? Because so far, all we’ve felt is absolutely nothing.” Rhydian ran his hand through his hair, destroying its careful styling. “Maybe there is no mate. Maybe the curse is just going to kill us, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth.” Rhydian’s shoulders slumped. “We’re going to die in a month, and the only thing our fathers care about is whether it makes them look bad.”

Silence fell. None of them had an argument against that.

Finally, Tavian spoke. “Pool party’s still happening tonight. Dylan’s coming. We could use the distraction.”

Rhydian nodded without enthusiasm. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”

He walked away, leaving Tavian and Astarian standing in the ornate hallway, surrounded by the wealth and power and legacy that would mean nothing if they were dead in thirty days.