Chapter 5

LUXURIA'S POV

The chill wind whipped through the stone archways of the Ash Mountain pack, filtering into the large chamber where I sat.

The chilling wind was nothing compared to the icy dread in my heart.

Outside, in the courtyard, the ceremony was prepared. Not a marriage ceremony, as my lineage demanded, but a mating ceremony, as requested by Alpha Parthe.

I would be the first in my lineage to be mated without a proper marriage ceremony. That is how ashamed my people were of me.

Tonight, I am to be joined, not to a man of my choosing. Not to the man I have always loved. Not even to the man close to my dream man. But to the beast who ruled the neighboring lands with an iron paw.

The Alpha Of The North.

Tonight was the night of the full moon. The day Alpha Parthe had picked.

Didn't they say the full moon was when his demons were unleashed? What is his plan?

Although the full moon isn't until a few more hours, I hope, above everything earthly, that the ceremony will be concluded before then so that Parthe can take his curse out of my father's pack before he unleashes it.

I think he picked today on purpose. He knew I wouldn't dare delay the ceremony for the safety of my pack.

I clutched the silver locket at my throat. A gift that had been given to me by Beta Kahel.

Kahel had vowed to challenge the Alpha of the North, Alpha Parthe, to fight for our love... but what if the darkness of this enemy, Alpha Parthe, had already seeped into my very soul, contaminating my innocence?

The other night, I had to stop him from doing something as stupid as going into the Wilf Wolf pack to 'fight' Parthe.

He was stupid in love. Otherwise, who would dare that?

A knock at the chamber door made my heart jump. It was Rella, the last person I'd rather see on a day like this.

"My lady," she purred, eyes glittering with malice far deeper than mere jealousy, her voice dripping with mockery, "He has arrived. The Cursed Alpha." She giggled, reveling in my plight.

The joy in Rella's voice. The satisfaction on her face. Sending me off to my death. They all couldn't wait to get rid of me. My father, stepmother, siblings, pack members. Everyone.

They all saw me as a curse. Finding out that I was mated to Alpha Parthe, they confirmed that I was truly cursed and deserve to be mated to someone as cursed as I was.

No woman has ever been mated to an Alpha from the lineage of the Wild Wolf pack ever lived more than a year. They all disappear mysteriously. So the rumors carried.

I saw my own reflection in the mirror. My warm blue eyes suddenly gleamed with a dull shade of red, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Quick enough for Rella not to have noticed it.

This was a secret no one knew about. A secret I tried to run away from after the forbidden night with the cursed Alpha. A night I have been living to regret.

I had fled from him as soon as it was dawn, even before he woke up from his slumber, but fate drew the perfect map and led him straight to my father's doorstep, coming to lay claims on his mate.

"I'll be out in a moment," I cleared my throat and finally replied to my beloved stepsister.

"Like you have a choice?" She snickered. "Don't keep your knight in shining armor waiting."

I was silent. I had no words for her.

"Come to think of it," Rella said, inching forward. "He is quite the catch. Really. Let's keep the curse aside. He is dreamy!" She said in a seductive tone, almost as if I were Alpha Parthe and she was shooting her shot at me.

I sat quietly, hoping she would leave soon. The glow in my eyes kept appearing even more frequently than earlier.

I needed to know what was happening to me. I had to do my research. I couldn't bring myself to ask Alpha Parthe.

What would I say? 'Alpha Parthe, are my eyes glowing because we were intimate?'

That's ridiculous. As if glowing eyes are the side effect of a night well spent.

"Rella. Not now," I said, trying to stand up on my feet, but she pushed me back on the chair.

"Sit back here, cursed witch!"

That wasn't new. I was used to it. The cruelty.

"Tell me, Luxuria, how does it feel knowing Kahel will finally be mine? After all the hoops you jumped through to keep him from me..." Rella's words curled around my gut, twisting the knife where she knew it would hurt most.

"If that makes you happy, I'd like to see you try," I say, standing up and brushing past her.

If there's one thing they all hated about me, it was my resilience. I feel the pain, just like anyone else, but I don't let it pin me down. I keep moving, always—because life doesn't stop, and neither do I.

Before I took two more steps away from her, Rella yanked me back by my hair and landed a stinging slap on my face.

"Rella!" I screamed. That wouldn't be the first time she'd slapped me, but I was taken by surprise today. "What was that for?"

"Nothing. Just a parting gift," she said with a chuckle, her thin lips curling upward in that manner that always made her look as ugly as a duckling.

She always held herself in such high regard. If only she could see past that smug grin to see how truly ugly she was, maybe she'd spend more time fixing that frizzy blonde mess and cracked skin than pick on me.

"I believe in a few hours, this thorn in your flesh will be gone for good. I do wonder what other fun things you'll have to do to keep you entertained here in the pack after I am gone." with that, I walked out the door, clenching my fists and preventing the tears from falling.

I couldn't let the tears fall. Not in front of anyone. And definitely not in front of Rella. She didn't deserve to see them.