All Chapters of The Cursed Alpha And His Hybrid Mate : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

KATHARINAI’ve been dreaming lately.Intermittent at first, then frequent.Not the fragmented old, dusty memories that occasionally surface when eternity grows dull, but something else entirely.There were of a man.A man I could swear I’ve never met.Never known. Not even an idea whether he was human or something else entirely.Yet from the very beginning, I was certain of one thing—He was alive.Living.Existing somewhere beyond the boundaries of this forest, somewhere in the outside world I had long since abandoned.His face was always blurred, as were his surroundings. The voices around him were indistinct as well, the details deliberately obscured. As though something unseen barred me from prying too deeply. As though forcing my attention onto him alone.And only him.In these dreams, I felt his pain as if it were my own.The relentless weight of responsibility pressing down on his shoulders. The quiet exhaustion he never allowed to surface. The fleeting moments of confusion he

XANDERReturning to the forbidden grounds hadn’t been easy—largely because of Jaxon’s vehement disapproval.He believed it was reckless for me to approach her again without first uncovering who she truly was and confirming whether she might be the mastermind behind everything.And honestly, I couldn’t fault his reasoning.But how were we even supposed to accomplish anything without getting close to her?We had searched the ancient records, and also subtly questioned some of the Elders about any previous sightings in the forbidden grounds.None of it led anywhere.In other words, she truly seemed to have appeared out of thin air.Or at least, before me, no one had ever been aware of her existence.Because of this and other unspoken concerns, Jaxon proposed that he go in my stead—or failing that, send someone else.I rejected the suggestion immediately.This was not something I could treat lightly. Excluding my ability to enter and exit the forbidden grounds unharmed, one thing was cert

XANDERI had always known I was destined to die young.But never had that truth struck me with such brutal clarity as it did in this very moment.I was only twenty-five.I had thought that even if I couldn’t live as long as Grandma Paulina, I would at least make it into my forties—maybe my fifties. After all, my predecessors had all reached, or come close to, the century mark.My father himself had passed at ninety-nine.So no, I wasn’t ready.Nothing was ready.Jaxon wasn’t prepared to take over. The Pack wasn’t prepared to lose its Alpha. Without proper succession or preparation, Crescent Ridge would plunge into chaos the moment I died.And with that, I would have failed—not just my people, but the ancestors who had sworn, generation after generation, to protect this land.A violent surge of hatred rose within me, sudden and unrestrained—directed at the ancient witch who had cursed my bloodline.Whatever grievance she had held against my ancestor should have ended with him.Why drag

XANDEROver here, I was blissfully unaware that my Beta was on the verge of a complete breakdown because of my disappearance.It wasn’t that I didn’t know he’d be worried: of course he would be. But what could I possibly do? My hands were tied.I couldn’t risk exposure by entering the territory in my current state, and I couldn’t send a mind link either—the range was limited. With no way to contact him, all I could do was make the best of my time here.And honestly?I was enjoying it.Here, I didn’t have to worry about anything. I didn’t have to rack my brain deflecting overt and covert schemes from within and beyond the territory. I didn’t have to shoulder my responsibilities as Alpha like an unrelenting burden.Ever since I took over from my father, this was the first time I’d felt genuinely relaxed.Of course, every now and then, concerns would creep in—about how Jaxon was holding up while covering for me, about the future of the pack.And there was also the matter of time.The thr

XANDER I stood where the whirlwind had dropped me off, staring into the dense fog ahead. From this spot, I only needed to take a few steps to return to Katharina’s domain—yet the distance between us had never felt greater. Just as I feared, she hated me for lying to her. For deceiving her. In her eyes, every action I had taken would now be tainted by suspicion. Even offering her my blood—something I had done with pure intentions—would become proof of ulterior motives. That… was the price of deceit. A sharp ache struck my chest without warning, stealing the breath from my lungs. I pressed a hand over my heart, my jaw tightening. Will I ever be able to regain her trust? Or worse— Will I ever see her again? For a brief moment after my cover was blown, I had considered telling her the truth. That I was her mate. That everything between us—our meeting, my actions, my choices—had all been because of that bond. That none of it was coincidence. That it was fate. But with her tr