The curse:Twelve moons

KING VYAN’S POV

I sat at the head of the long obsidian table, Kylian at my right, the six Elders of the Lycan Court seated in a half-circle before me.

I could smell their unease. They hated meetings like this because they knew my patience for politics was thin.

Elder Theros, the oldest of them all, cleared his throat first.

“Your Majesty,” he began, his voice hoarse, worn down with age. “The packs are growing restless. We’ve heard whispers that some are questioning your choice not to take a mate and not to have an heir."

I didn’t move.

He pressed on, growing bolder now that he’d begun.

“If the throne remains heirless, it invites challenge. And now you bring a wolfless Beta’s daughter into the palace, protecting her as though she were…”

“She is mine,” I said, my voice low but carrying enough weight to silence the fire itself. “Her presence here is not for this council to debate.”

I let my golden gaze slice through him before he could finish. The room went still.

A wave of tension swept through the room, but Elder Cael slowly leaned forward, unshaken.

“Forgive us, Alpha Supreme, but appearances matter. The anniversary of the Peace Treaty is forthcoming. The Alphas will gather. They might question your… decision. If your reign appears softened by sentiment…”

“My reign does not soften,” I cut in, sharper this time. “And any Alpha foolish enough to think so is welcome to test me.”

Even Kylian’s jaw ticked at the sound of that.

But Theros did not stop. “The people need more than fear to follow you, my King. They need security. A future. An heir.”

I leaned back slowly, my fingers pressed together, their words sinking like cold iron into my chest.

An heir.

For years I had ignored that demand, that chain they sought to wrap around my neck. I did not need a Luna to rule. I did not need an heir to hold this throne.

But my thoughts betrayed me, drifting to the girl.

Alicia.

The memory of her last night, standing there while her own father cast her out, while her mate chose another, refusing to fall to her knees even as they threw stones at her stirred something different in me.

She was not like the others.

“Enough,” I said at last, my voice final. “I will attend the anniversary. And she will attend with me.”

That got their attention.

The Elders shifted, uneasy glances passing between them. Theros spoke again, hesitant.

“She? You mean the girl?”

“Yes.” I let the word drop like a stone in a well. “If she is under my protection, the world will see it. And if any Alpha wishes to question it, let him do so to my face.”

No one argued after that. They bowed their heads in unison.

When the chamber cleared, only Kylian stayed back. 

“You’re risking a lot by keeping her close,” he said quietly.

“I know.”

“Do you trust her?”

I turned toward the window. Down in the courtyard, Nadia had Alicia running drills, the wooden staff clumsy in her hands. She fell, got up again, and fell once more. Still she did not stop.

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. My wolf stirred under my skin, restless, watching her.

Kylian said nothing.

“If she proves to be a weakness,” I said, my voice calm but cold, “I will cut her out myself.”

My gaze followed Alicia as she got back on her feet, fire flashing in her eyes despite the dirt on her clothes.

“But if she is meant to be mine…” a small smile tugged at my lips.

“Then the world will bow.”

That night, sleep refused to come.

My reflection stared back at me in the mirror as my golden eyes glowed faintly, the mark of a Lycan King. But even now, the power under my skin felt thinner.

The curse was a noose squeezing around my neck.

On my eighteenth birthday, a curse was laid, the same night my father was killed, the night I tore out the witch’s heart and claimed the throne. Her words still haunted me, whispering in my mind like a ghost.

"You will rule without a mate, you will reign without an heir, If you fail to break the curse by the thirtieth year of your life, your throne, your strength, your wolf will be taken away from you."

Twelve moons left.

A year.

After that, I would lose everything that made me King. I would be just a man.

My hands clamped onto the windowsill, claws digging in so hard they almost tore through the stone.

I had spent years refusing to bow to that prophecy. I had taken no Luna, had no heir, dared the curse to strip me, yet it did not relent.

But now…

My thoughts drifted to her again. Alicia.

The way she held her head high, refusing to bow, even when her pack rejected her.

The small bruise on her wrist that made my wolf growl with anger. How her lips had almost touched mine before Nadia interrupted and for the first time in years, I felt something alive stir in my chest.

Could she be the key?

“She’s our mate.”

My wolf, Leo’s voice rumbled through me, raw and impatient.

“You knew the moment you saw her. Why haven’t you told her?”

I ground my teeth, staring out the window at the moon in the sky.

“She’s just a girl,” I muttered. “She doesn’t even have a wolf.”

“She’s not just a girl,” Leo snapped. “She’s ours. You’ve felt it. You still feel it every time she’s near. The curse kept her from us until now and every moment you stay silent, you risk losing her. And me.”

Leo was right, I had felt it. The pull, the heat that shot through me when I first laid eyes on her at the Silvermoon Pack. The way her scent clung to me, soft but stubborn, even now.

But she didn’t deserve this.

“I won’t paint a target on her back,” I said, more to myself than to Leo. “Every enemy I’ve made will come for her the moment I claim her. She doesn’t even know who she is yet, and you want me to throw her into the fire?”

Leo snarled, pacing in my mind.

“You think keeping quiet will keep her safe? If you don’t claim her, she’ll think she’s nothing to you. And when the last moon comes, you’ll lose everything, including me. Do you want that?”

No, I didn’t want that. But I also didn’t want to see her broken, not because of me.

I sat on the edge of the bed and dragged a hand through my hair. Her face haunted me, those wide hazel eyes, the way her chin tilted up even when she was surrounded by hatred.

I’d never fallen for anyone before. Never let anyone close enough to tempt me. But Alicia… she’d slipped past every wall I’d built.

And when I closed my eyes, I could still feel how close we were in the garden, her breath warm on my lips, the world going silent for one perfect moment before we were interrupted.

“If she’s truly mine… fate will have to prove it,” I whispered into the empty room.

Leo only growled in frustration, his voice vibrating through me, reminding me of everything at stake.

Twelve moons. That’s all I had or I’d lose everything.