The Cursed Territory

Bianca’s POV

“Wake up! It’s time to go!” A guard barked, banging on my door.

I jolted out of my nightmare ridden sleep and instantly grabbed my satchel.

I had prepared it all last night before I had fallen asleep crying.

The Alpha’s wagon was already waiting at the edge of the pack grounds.

I climbed aboard while clutching my small satchel to my chest.

I turned back for one last look at the mountains, the only home I had ever known.

Some of the wolves were gathered at the gates, staring and whispering.

I searched their faces but I found no comfort, just indifference.

“I guess I wasn’t that important after all,” I whispered to myself.

The only thing on my mind was my grandmother’s letter.

“If the bloodline awakens. Then if I am still alive, I won’t break it.”

The mountains faded behind me until what lay ahead of me was the cursed lands—the feared Southern Territories.

The wagon stopped so suddenly I was nearly thrown forward in the tiny cabin.

I held my satchel to my chest, hoping nothing had fallen out.

I was breathless as I spoke.

“What is happening?”

The wagon driver pulled on the horses’ reins.

I looked out to see his hands holding tightly as the horses neighed dangerously.

He tried coaxing them and pulling them but the horses strained against him.

They didn’t want to be calm.

“They won’t go any further, “ one of the guards muttered.

I peered out of the wagon to the path that was even darker than the road behind us.

It was a gloomy there even though it was barely past midday.

It was already so dark.

Was that what the cursed southern territory was like?

“This is it,” the driver said with panic in his voice. “The border of the Southern territories.”

I stepped down.

My legs were as weak as my heart that pounded against my ribs.

But I steadied myself.

I somehow felt different the moment my boots touched the ground.

It was like everything instantly and strangely became colder.

“There is something really wrong with this place.” I muttered.

“Why do you think they call it the cursed lands, healer? For your sake, I hope you don’t die.” The guard said with a snort.

We stood there, not crossing beyond that point.

“What are we waiting for? Aren’t you meant to take me there?” I asked, concerned that they had been ordered to kill me instead.

“You think I am going to go in there with you?" He asked.

His question was laced with so much disbelief and scorn.

"I am not a healer. We are waiting for their guards to come for you, for the transfer.”

We waited together.

I didn't speak again lest more subtle insults because thrown my way.

Soon I heard footsteps marching down out of the gloom.

I saw that these guards who were dressed in all black.

As they approached, my healing light flickered instinctively in my palms.

There was a soft glow that I hadn’t been able to summon consistently since the rejection.

But now it came out bright, even though it wasn’t yet as bright as before.

It was only for a heartbeat, before disappearing again.

But it gave me hope.

I clutched my hands.

“Come back!” I yelled at the stupid glow which had flickered away.

Someone made a tsk sound.

I looked up to see that the guards were in front of me now.

“The land doesn’t like strangers, it twists powers. Healers get sick, and warriors lose their strength. The curse breaks all who enter,” one of the southern guards said.

“If it is that bad, then why haven’t all of you left me the land?” I swallowed hard, my throat dry.

“Because he hasn’t.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Alpha Logan…”

Him.

The man I was sold to.

Logan.

That name had fueled rumors for quite sometime.

He was the cursed Alpha who destroyed everything that he touched and being in his presence alone could kill you.

He was the stuff of nightmares and yet he was my destination.

The guard from my pack had already turned back.

They cruelly left me alone with these southern guards whose eyes flickered nervously over me.

We went on foot.

I felt like I had just stepped into an active land mine.

I stumbled after a few steps.

The nauseating smell filling my senses and made it hard to breathe.

My healing surged again.

The light sparked out of my hands before going off in a painful way.

One guard hissed.

“Did you see her hands?”

It was a whisper but I heard it.

“She glowed,” another whispered with fear in his tone. “The curse already hates this one.”

I pressed my palms together, shaking. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I am not controlling it.”

“Knock it off.” He snapped, “don’t use it here unless you are asking for trouble.”

I bit my lip and nodded obediently even though there was a silent dread in my mind.

My power wasn’t obeying me anymore.

It was as if it was answering to something in this place and pulling it out of me like a test.

The walk was endless.

The deeper we went, the worse everything I saw became.

Everywhere on the way smelled like decaying flesh but I couldn’t see any carcasses lying around.

There was something dark and unnatural moving around the trees, and they were quick.

“Don’t look at them, they won’t attack you. Keep your powers on a leash too,” one of the guards muttered when I gasped.

“What are they?” I asked as curiosity began to plague me.

“They are people swallowed by the curse but not yet dead. They are in between and it is only a matter of time before…”

His face was pale.

I forced myself to look forward, fear squeezing in my chest.

We walked for what felt like hours.

Then just as it became even darker, I noticed a valley.

My breath caught in my throat.

The houses were built in crooked lines and dark smoke rose from the chimneys.

But as we moved closer, I noticed something was wrong with the wolves there.

They were hunched over.

Some limped and coughed violently and their bodies were frail and with pale skin.

“What…” I whispered, horror in my throat. “Why are they all sickly?”

“What did you think the curse does? It doesn’t just poison the land, it marks us. It’s like a plague that no one can escape. Some say it’s from the blood of our Alpha, a poison spreading sickness through the pack but that’s a lie. I’m with the others who say it’s punishment for the sins of our ancestors.” The main guard replied in hushed tones.

“Then why don’t you just run away from the cursed lands? Maybe move to the other territories and packs?”

He turned to me, his eyes hard. “Because even if we are cursed. It is our curse and we will no sooner die than abandon our Alpha. It is the way of the world, the hierarchy of our existence.”

His words sent chills down my spine and I knew I had offended him.

I felt the weight of eyes on me as we moved through the settlement.

There were murmurs, low but audible.

“Another worthless healer…”

“This one already looks like she’s under the curse. She won’t last a week…”

“The other territories must be holding out on us on purpose, sending their weakest healers. She’ll end up like the others.”

The guards silently moved me through until we got to the heart of the territory.

There the ground rose into a hill that held a fortress.

Each step closer to the massive doors caused my pulse to thunder.

The guards that stood in their armor looked like statues, despite being sickly.

They opened the doors, the sound echoing loudly.

Inside the fortress was even darker than outside at night.

In the shadows stood a figure.

He was tall, broad shoulders and quite huge.

He didn't move but his presence was palpable.

He turned to me and his eyes met mine.

My jaw fell slack.

I froze because in that moment recognition tore through me.

My damaged bond, broken and dead courtesy of Marcus, suddenly burned back into place.

It was instantly blazing through my chest with impossible heat.

It wasn’t painful.

It was like something that was curing me from past pain.

My knees buckled from the sensation and my heart screamed one word.

Mate.