Disheveled Spongebob

"I saved you, and now you have to repay me." He bent down, stroking my cheek in slow motion, his face mere inches from mine. It was so damn close that I could feel his warm breath brushing against my flesh. "Repay you? H-how?" I managed to breathe out. "Marry me," Luxian's hand gently brushed her chin. His eyes locked into mine with a softness I didn't expect as he pushed back a few strands behind my ear. "And take this damned curse away from me...." he said firmly. *** Things can't seem to get any worse for Summer, branded as a lunatic, barren, and stabbed in the back by her husband, Rhys Glomarian, and stepsister, Virginia Paraguz. She loses it all in one day. *** It was Rhys' birthday, and he announced to everyone that Virginia was his fated mate and was expecting Rhys' pups. Three years of a nightmare marriage was enough for her. Summer decided to rescue herself from that hellhole, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. None of the guests that night were moved to save her despite her disheveled and scarred condition. They even looked at her with disgust and mockery. But just when she was beginning to lose hope, an unexpected savior appeared – a cursed Alpha, dreaded by all for his ruthlessness. Still, he is the wealthiest and the most powerful of all, Alpha Luxian Alderon. That night, he arrived to rescue Summer from Rhys' grasp and claim her as his fate mate. But her joy in escaping Rhys is cut short when she learns that Luxian comes with a deadly curse for anyone who becomes his mate.

My company had arranged a wilderness survival retreat deep in the heart of Moonshadow Forest—a place where even seasoned wolves tread cautiously. That night, a sudden downpour ripped through the campsite, drenching the earth and filling the air with the thick scent of damp moss and shifting soil. I woke abruptly, the cold seeping into my bones. Instinctively, I reached out to the space beside me, seeking the warmth of my mate. Empty. A sharp pang of unease clawed at my chest. My wolf, dulled by the suppressant herbs I had taken to blend into human society, stirred restlessly. Fumbling in the darkness, I grabbed my phone and dialed Nigel. The line barely had time to connect before he emerged from the undergrowth—disheveled, breathless. His grip was iron-tight as he seized my wrist, pulling me downhill. His scent was sharp with adrenaline, but beneath it—something foreign, something wrong. We ran, my boots sinking into the mud. My keen vision caught glimpses of his rumpled clothing, the way his collar was misaligned—and the faint imprint of lips on his jaw. My pulse pounded in my ears. Betrayal. I wrenched my arm from his grasp, my claws itching to unsheathe despite the human form I forced myself to maintain. "Where were you?" My voice came out low, edged with the danger of a wolf barely leashed. The suppressants in my bloodstream faltered under the weight of my fury. The storm had driven everyone into their tents, leaving the clearing eerily silent as we reached the base of the mountain. But she was there. A woman stood beneath the flickering glow of the emergency lanterns, her hair tousled, her fingers gripping Nigel’s jacket as if it belonged to her. I knew her. The new intern. Her face held an unsettling resemblance to mine, as if the Moon Goddess herself had carved her from the shadows of my reflection. The realization struck like a silver dagger to my chest. Even the mate who had once sworn to fight the world for me had given in to betr