All Chapters of THE ALPHA'S CURSE (Shadows Of Vaelderen I): Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The air felt wrong here.Heavy. Dark. Like the twisted branches above me were reaching down with grasping fingers, trying to pull me deeper into territory I knew I shouldn't be in. The Moorfrost Reaches were dangerous enough for humans in the safe areas-and this was definitely not one of those.I pulled my cloak tighter, more for comfort than warmth. The strange blue- tinted aurora that perpetually lit the northern sky cast an eerie glow over the snow, making the shadows deeper, darker. More alive."Just find the flower and get out," I whispered to myself, though the words were quickly swallowed by the unnatural silence. "Simple."Nothing was simple about trespassing in werewolf territory. Especially not this particular part of their lands, where even the werewolves themselves rarely ventured. But I'd searched everywhere else, and Father was getting worse. The rattling in his chest deeper, the fever higher, his skin taking on a grey pallor that made my healer's instincts scream in war

Even with the door closed between me and the little healer, her scent lingered, clinging to me, filling my nostrils with the smell of wild herbs and summer sunlight-things that had no place in this cursed darkness. Things that made the beast in me stir with dangerous hunger. I forced myself to walk away from her door, from the pull of her presence. Through our newly forged blood bond, I could sense her emotions: fear warring with determination, exhaustion edged with curiosity. And underneath it all, a humming awareness of me that made the curse twist through my blood. Her presence buzzed at the edges of my consciousness like lightning before a storm-bright, wild, impossible to ignore. The bond let me feel every flutter of her pulse, every catch in her breath. It was... distracting. Troubling. No one should have this much awareness of another being. Especially not an alpha of his potential prey. The memory of her magic stirring in response to my pain lingered like a burn under my

The door to my chambers slammed behind me with enough force to crack stone. I didn't care. Anything to put more distance between myself and the healer below. My hands still burned where l'd touched her, steadying her after that healing attempt. The memory of her collapsing against me, trusting despite her exhaustion, made both man and wolf stir with dangerous interest. Through the blood bond, I could feel her now-a bright presence amidst the darkness of my curse, her magic humming even in her depleted state. This bond... it wasn't like the pack bonds. Those were familiar, ancient connections twisted by the curse into something darker. But this? Every breath she took echoed through me. Every flutter of her pulse called to something primitive and hungry that I thought the curse had destroyed years ago. I stalked to the window, bracing my hands against the warped frame. The glass reflected my eyes-more gold than usual, the beast too close to the surface. Below, I could sense her se

I slammed into my chambers, but Lily's scent followed me--wild herbs and summer sunlight now tinged with the silk of that cursed dress. With the memory of her magic burning through my veins. With the echo of her racing pulse under my hands. The curse seized on my weakness, black veins spreading like poison beneath my skin. Pain ripped through my bones as another wave of transformation tried to tear me apart. My spine cracked, halfway between forms, as the beast fought to break free. To chase her down. To mark- No! I forced air into my lungs, tasting copper and corruption as I fought back the change. The ritual scars across my chest writhed like living things, responding to the memory of her touch. To how her magic had met my darkness, pure light against cursed shadow. The way she'd advanced on me without fear, power gathering in her palms like celestial fire. The way she'd whispered "trust me" as if I had any right to trust, to want, to. The mirror shattered under my fist, shards

Her scent lingered in my study long after she left--wild herbs and summer sunlight now mixed with something else. Something darker. Something that spoke of desire and magic and dangerous possibilities. The taste of her still on my tongue, sweet and pure in a way that made the curse writhe beneath my skin. The echo of her magic still burned in my blood like liquid fire, making both beast and man remember how it felt when she'd yielded against me, when her power had reached into my darkness and made it sing. That kiss... it was supposed to be quick. Controlled. A test of magical connection, nothing more. Just another attempt to ease the curse. Not... this. Not the way my hands still tingled from touching her. Not how the beast paced beneath my skin, wanting to chase her down, to finish what we'd started, to- My claws dug into the mantle as another wave of transformation threatened. Black veins spread like poison beneath my skin, the curse surging in response to the memory of her tou