The Alpha's Mate--Cursed Heart

Episode One—Call of The Curse   It was a beautiful high hilltop. Long green grass beneath me.  An array of colorful wildflowers surrounding me as if painted on a canvas to perfectly capture this moment.   If I was going to die, at least my last breath would be taken as I lay in the midst of beauty.  Unless of course I looked down and see the sea of red below me.  Bodies that continued to bleed as other souls also left this world…souls that left because of me, the mighty Alpha of the Blue Dragon pack.  The departed souls had no one to blame but themselves however, as they were the ones that came after me.  Although they were under direct orders from their own Alpha, I have always felt that if one had a good conscience and knew what they were doing was wrong, there was a choice…you could leave a pack.  For that matter, if you were a decent person, you would never allow yourself to follow an Alpha who was without a soul even when they were alive.  So, again, in the end…the choice was theirs to die today.   My pack…they entered my mind as I worried in labored breath how many of my brothers and sisters were forced to follow me to the other side.  I salvaged a bit of strength as I opened my mind to search for their thoughts.  It opened a flood gate of words colliding into my head.  “Where are you, Alpha?”, “Are you okay?”, “The battle is done, Alpha…we won”, “It is time to celebrate”, “But, why did they attack?”, “Doesn’t matter…no one challenges the Blue Dragon pack and survives.  Not even them.”, “Alpha?”   Relief eased the tension of my locked jawline as I realized my pack seemed to be accounted for, although I couldn’t account for all of them and only hoped that was truly the case.  They were my family and stood up for me to fight by my side always, even in my cursed life.  For that, I would be eternally grateful.   I closed my mind to their thoughts and hoped that in their dedication, they would forgive me for my abandonment of them in this world.   I closed my eyes and a face gracefully made its way to the forefront.  The most beautiful face my wolf and I had ever seen in our life.  Deep blue eyes that would simply connect with my gaze sending our heart into a crazed adoring frenzy.  Those eyes held everything for me.  She was the only thing that kept me sane as my fears of death finally finding me came to fruition.  I don’t know how I ever managed to maintain my sanity before I met her.  Another labored breath slowly passed from my lips as I diverted my attention and focused on her blond hair with luscious curls falling gently around her perfectly sculpted neck and shoulders.  I lowered my gaze down to her slender frame and long legs that I had dreams about every night since that fateful day she appeared in my life, gracefully gliding her into a room.  A room that instantly was filled with such beauty, such joy, such…love. She was an innocent in all of this.  A young woman trapped in a body and a family that would not allow her to fully live her life, just as I was a werewolf who was trapped in the depths and abyss of a cursed life.   Thinking about it now, it seemed she was cursed just as much as I was.  The pain from that thought felt worse than the wounds that were slowly leading me to my end.    After a few moments of devastating reflection, I came back to my favorite feature, her face.  My pain was forgotten momentarily as my heart took control once more sending waves of the intense love I had for her throughout my body.  Every expression beautiful—even despair—although it tore me to shreds at the sight of her in any form of pain.  Her perfectly heart shaped face with cheeks that blushed so easily.  When the crimson would slowly fill and start to radiate through her cheeks, desire would race through my veins and cause my pulse to quicken.  And those luscious full pink lips that my wolf begged me to claim as our own especially when they were close to mine.  My chest heaved again for more for air, but this time the exhale was one filled with deep adoration and satisfaction.  My mate held no imperfections…none!    My mate!  There was nothing I or my wolf wouldn’t do for her, nothing we wouldn’t do to protect her…yet, there was nothing in her that was bound to us.  Not in the way we wanted—needed—her to feel—to be.  Why?  I knew why…   The curse inflicted upon me was real.  That damn curse that haunted me my whole adult life and that of my family before me.  I didn’t know when or where it would strike until now, but it was always in the back of my mind taunting me that my days were numbered. It should have ended long ago yet refused to back down.  The initial intended victim was dealt with early, but the vengeance of its perpetrator proved that a broken heart knew no bounds when it came to revenge for its loss.  Even if their victim was in fact innocent and only defending themselves from the keeper of the perpetrator’s heart.    Part of me now understood the depths of that kind of love.  Before meeting my mate, I never knew what true deep rooting love could be and once I did find it, it exceeded everything I thought it could be.  But I would never go to the extreme of punishing an entire family for one person’s trespasses.  Even as I lay in death, there was only one person that needed to pay for his crimes against the woman I loved.   Only him…   The beauty of that face…it returned once more as it always did when my thoughts waned towards anger and hatred.  However, my mind could not resist temptation as one last negative thought passed through my conscience as her scent flew around me like an exhilarating gentle breeze from my memories.  Now that I knew her, knew that she was out there and I no longer had the chance to love her completely with my entire being, in the end, the curse was my greatest enemy and against my will, it had defeated me.  With that, I had to endure my last regret.   I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my mind and refocused on her face and the memories of what little time I was given to experience the beauty of what having a mate was, even if it was one-sided.  The curse obviously was not done with its torture yet, however, as that was taken away with the rush of footsteps coming towards my mortally wounded body.    I could tell from the scent that it was Vincent, my closest confidant and my best friend.  A year older than me, in my heart he was my brother in every way that counted and I loved him as such.  An Alpha in his own right, his pack, the Gilded Swords rivaled my own in their power and strength but was much smaller in size.  He was one of the best men I have ever known and I hoped that my pack would join with him.  Allow him to be the leader he was born to be and give him the numbers I knew he needed to protect his kingdom.  Especially since his kingdom was about to become incredibly vast as I had already put my plan in place for him to take over my reins as King and rule both of our kingdoms and packs together as one.  He stands for everything that is right, just as I tried to stand for.  If only the curse would have let me be…   I felt Vincent’s hands on my shoulders as he shook my weakened frame and reprimanded himself, “I shouldn’t have taken so long to get here, my brother!  But I had no idea of the plans he had made in his hatred for you!  Speak to me!  Please!”   I gathered what strength I had left and opened my eyes, looking up at him and forcing a smile, my weakened voice replying, “You are not late, my brother.  I have a cursed life, remember?  A cursed life and a cursed heart.  This ending was inevitable.”   “No!” Vincent shook his head in complete denial, his voice broken as he choked out, “How many times do I have to tell you, you are not cursed?”   I forced myself to take in a painful deep breath, saddened that this would be my final conversation with him, “My time is done, my old friend.  I accept it.  Even more, I embrace it.  In the name of our friendship, please take care of my pack. Let them know that my dying wish is to become one with your pack.  And Seraphina—I am her only family, Vincent.  I need you to now become her family and ally.  Lean on each other and work together to move forward, I beg you.”  A slight hitch caught in my throat as I made my last request of him, “Most of all, I need you to promise me that you will protect her!  I need to know that she will no longer suffer in this world!”   “I have always been by your side, my brother,” Vincent desperately reassured me, “Anyone that is important to you, is important to me and will be protected always.  And right now, I am going to protect you even if you won’t protect yourself!  A doctor is on his way.  Just hold on!”   I didn’t reply.  I could feel my body slowly giving way to allow my soul to enter eternity.  Vincent, as always, was the optimist.  I admired that about him.  But, I had walked throughout my life with the weight of knowing deep inside my life was never my own.  The curse would not allow it any other way.  Externally, I faced it head on with a calm determination and kindness as much as possible unless provoked, but as time went on, I knew…   The face once again returned to my thoughts and she was all I could see or think about, blocking Vincent’s plea.  Appearing again for calmness and serenity.  The love that my wolf and I had for her so powerful, I prayed eternity would allow me to carry it into whatever lay ahead.    Just then, a bright blinding light suddenly appeared out of nowhere. My wolf began to howl weakly.  It had been silent up until now.  Apparently, it was time.  Our mind was conflicted with longing, love, sadness, regret, acceptance, and relief all battling each other relentlessly.  But my wolf and I knew that we couldn’t focus on that.  I had to keep that face in front of us, I had to keep her with me.  Only then maybe, just maybe, I could have her with me forever.  Especially since the curse wouldn’t allow me to have her by my side as my mate in this life. So, I fought with all that I had left to do just that.  I was determined to let nothing stop me from clinging to her even in the face of death.   Just as my will started its battle, a calmness flowed over me a beautiful voice called out to me, filled with its own love and adoration as I conceded into entering oblivion, “Marcus.”