Marked by The Cursed Alpha

•Slave•

“You’ll scrub the floors of the grand staircase as punishment for being so insubordinate,” Madam Henrietta said sharply, her hands planted on her waist.

“But I just went to get some more sheets like you instructed,” I said.

Smack!

I felt a sharp sting on my cheek as she struck me with a wooden spatula.

“Do not speak until you are spoken to,” she hissed, her eyes glinting with hate.

“Yes, Madam Henrietta,” I murmured, keeping my gaze fixed on the floor.

I could practically hear the smirk curling on her lips before she spoke again.

“Get back to work, and make sure you’re nowhere near the throne room. Filthy humans like you are not allowed there.”

She turned and walked away, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

I stood frozen for a moment, then wiped the tears sliding down my cheek and headed for the grand staircase.

The halls were long and empty. At this hour, most pack members had retired to their quarters, leaving only the guards and soldiers patrolling the palace grounds.

That’s why it startled me when I heard voices coming from the throne room, nearly silent whispers, but I caught words like bond and eternity.

Curiosity flared in my chest, and rebellion crept right behind it. Everything Madam Henrietta had said about staying away from the throne room vanished from my mind.

I took one step, then another, until I was peering through the slightly opened door. Inside, the throne room lit with dim light, and a crowd gathered around what looked like a ceremony.

I slipped inside quietly, tiptoeing along the dark edges of the room, unnoticed.

The light centered on two people kneeling before the Alpha, who stood at a podium holding a massive book.

“Is this… a ritual?” I whispered to myself, my curiosity deepening.

I walked further in, and I thanked the shadows for hiding me well.

A chair was nearby, someone already sitting at its edge. I didn’t pay them any attention, I sat beside them, pretending I belonged there, praying no one would notice my human scent.

“You could be killed for this, you know,” the person beside me said, his voice low and cold.

It had a sharpness that might have scared me, if I were easily intimidated.

“I’m dead either way,” I muttered. If Madam Henrietta went to the grand staircase and didn’t find me there, she’d beat me until I couldn’t move.

“What’s going on here?” I asked, finally turning toward him. In the dimness, I made out his outline, long hair brushing his shoulders, a sharp jawline, and a blood-red jewel resting at his throat.

“The mating ceremony between werewolves,” he said flatly. “Humans are forbidden here.”

“Sounds complicated. So why aren’t you standing with the others?” I asked.

He hesitated before replying.

“I’m cursed. I repel people, humans and wolves alike. Can’t you feel it?”

I frowned, scanning his face through the darkness.

“You seem fine to me.”

His gaze locked on mine, burning straight through me. That’s when I noticed it, a scar ran from his forehead down his right eye, jagged and raw-looking, giving him mismatched eyes that glowed faintly in the dark.

His stare was very unsettling, yet magnetic it made fear run down my spine, but my stubborn curiosity won again.

“Who is this man?” I wondered silently.

Then, suddenly a flash of red light erupted between us. Strands of glowing red strings danced through the air, circling us like ribbons.

Gasps echoed through the hall as heads turned our way.

“What’s happening?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

“The mating bond,” he said quietly. “It’s happening… to us.”

Terror spread through me. “Wait!! no, I’m human. I can’t mate with a wolf!”

The hall buzzed with shock and fear.

“And once again, the cursed wolf finds a new bride,” said a woman wearing a red robe, her body painted in white markings as she strode toward us.

“Another unfortunate soul doomed to die by his love and bond.”

“W..what are you saying?” I stammered, my entire body trembling.

“A human?” she said, circling me with amusement.

“You’re a human girl. That’s new.”

Then I could hear voices rise from the crowd.

“What’s a human doing in a mating ceremony?”

“Is this the cursed one’s rebellion against the King?”

“We’re doomed if he grows stronger through this bond!”

Their words slammed into me like stones.

“Your Majesty,” the woman in red said, bowing deeply as the Alpha King approached.

He studied me for a long, silent moment before speaking.

“Cursed One,” he said to the man beside me, “must I remind you that humans are forbidden from werewolf mating rites?”

“No, no he didn’t bring me here!” I interrupted quickly, panic lacing my words.

“I came on my own. Please, forgive me, Your Majesty.”

The King’s gaze lingered on me, unreadable. Then, with chilling calm, he said..

“Kill her, and make sure it is a warning to the other slaves,” he said finally.

The guards moved, their boots pounding against the marble floor, their shadows closing in.

My heart slammed against my ribs, not just fear, but disbelief. This was how I was going to die.

And just as one drew his blade, a deep voice said from the darkness behind me.

“No one will touch her.”