A Cure For The Cursed Alpha

ISABEL “Isabel!” My eyes snapped open the moment I heard a sharp voice call out to me. I had no idea when I had dozed off, but realizing I was supposed to be working, panic set in. My heart raced in fear, knowing the consequences. Before I could gather my thoughts, the door to my small, cluttered room swung open violently. Erica, the luna-to-be and chosen bride of 25-year-old Alpha Leo, stormed in. Her eyes were blazing with anger, her lips curled into a snarl. I scrambled out of bed, barely getting to my feet before she delivered a brutal kick to my stomach. “You dirty thing!” Erica screamed, her voice was shrill as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me forward. The pain shot through my scalp, but I could barely react before she hit me again. My stomach ached from the earlier blow, but the fear of her rage kept me from showing weakness. "Are you supposed to be sleeping right now, huh?" She growled, towering over me. "A slave—that’s what you are! You have no right to sleep before finishing the tasks I’ve given you!" With a swift, cruel motion, she threw me against the wall. My back collided with the rough surface, and I gasped as her hand wrapped around my throat. “E-Erica, I—I’m sorry,” I choked out, struggling to breathe. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I—” My words were cut off as her grip tightened. I was an omega, and she was a beta. Her strength was overwhelming, and I could feel the bruises forming under her touch. Her face twisted into a hateful frown. I knew what was coming next. "What did you just call me?" Her voice dropped into a low, dangerous tone. My blood ran cold. Before I could correct myself, she slapped me hard across the face. "Who do you think you are, calling me by my name?" she hissed. "You’re a mere omega, 20 years old and still without a wolf! A disgrace to the pack!" She let go of my throat, shoving me down to the floor like I was nothing. "At 20, I’m already a beta, the future luna of this pack. In 3 days, I shall be married to the alpha. You will call me ‘Luna,’ understand?" I stayed on the ground, gasping for air, my body trembling. Erica glared down at me, clearly satisfied with my submission. “Bring the alpha his pills, now!” she ordered, her voice as sharp as ever. She stormed out of the room, leaving me crumpled on the floor. I lay there for a moment, catching my breath. It had been years of living like an outcast in the Blood Moon Pack. Eighteen years ago, I had been found and brought here by Alpha Leo's father, the late Alpha Henri. My old pack, the Flaming Moon Pack, was wiped out when I was just a child. I had no memory of my parents, no clue what had happened to them. All I knew was that I was the only survivor. Alpha Henri had treated me well, providing me with food, clothes, and training as a potential warrior. But when he died, his son Leo took over—and that was when everything changed. Leo despised me from the start, using my failure to find my wolf at 18 as an excuse to torment me. He kicked me out of warrior training, labeling me a disgrace, and made me his personal servant in the packhouse. I became a slave. Every day, I prayed that I would find my wolf. But every day was the same—getting slapped, kicked, and berated by Erica, who seemed to hate me even more than Leo did. Shakily, I got to my feet and walked to the shelf. I grabbed the bottle of Alpha Leo’s pills—medicine he had been taking for years. He suffered from a strange illness that came and went, ever since he was ten. The pills helped prevent the fever from returning. Whenever this fever came down on him, he would shift to his wolf form and have no control of himself, almost becoming a beast. He had killed several pack members by accident in several cases were he caught this fever. Some said it was a curse. I headed to Alpha Leo's room, trying to compose myself. When I arrived, I saw the door was already ajar. With a glass of water in one hand and the pills on a small plate in the other, I stepped inside. “Alpha Leo, I brought your—” My words died in my throat as I turned and saw him. Alpha Leo stood by the bed, completely naked. His back was turned, but when he heard my voice, he spun around in shock. My heart skipped a beat as I realized what I had just walked into. The glass slipped from my hand, shattering on the floor, but I barely noticed. He stared at me, his face contorted in rage and embarrassment. His eyes narrowed, and I knew I was in deep trouble. "You," he growled, his voice was cold and full of rage. He didn't even bother to cover himself as he took a step toward me. "How dare you enter my room without knocking?" I froze, lowering my gaze to the floor, desperate to avoid eye contact. Trembling, I knelt down to pick up the broken glass, but my hands shook so badly I could barely gather the shards. It was just an attempt to escape his anger. “I’m talking to you, slave!” He snapped, grabbing me by the shoulders and yanking me to my feet. His grip was rough, almost painful, as he shoved me back against the wall. He loomed over me, still not bothering to cover himself, his sculpted body uncomfortably close. "Did you sneak in here to see me like this?" His voice was a low, a dangerous whisper that sent shivers down my spine. "Is that what you want? To see what I look like without clothes?" “I—I didn’t mean to, I—” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. But before I could finish, he grabbed my chin and forced me to look him in the eyes. Seeing his eyes, a lump formed in my throat. He hated me before, I had just made things worse. "Listen to me, slave," he said in a low growl. "Not in your wildest dreams would I ever look at you like that. You should know your place. You're pathetic. You hear me? Pathetic." Before he could continue tearing me down with his hurtful words, the door to his room flew open. My heart nearly stopped when I saw who had entered—Erica, his Luna-to-be. Her eyes went wide in horror, taking in the scene before her. Alpha Leo, naked, standing over me with his hands still on my shoulders. Her face twisted in shock as she stormed toward us. “What is going on here?!” she screeched, her voice shaking with rage. She slapped me hard, sending me sprawling onto the shards of glass on the floor. I winced as the shards pierced my skin, but I didn’t move. I was too terrified to even breathe. “Erica, relax,” Alpha Leo said, trying to reach for her arm. “I was just scolding her for barging into my room without knocking.” Erica yanked her arm away, her face red with anger. “Leo, is this what you do with her?” she spat. “I told you to get rid of this slave when your father died, but you refused! And now I find you naked with her? Is this what you've been doing? Cheating on me with her behind my back?!” I stayed on my knees, blood trickling from the cuts on my skin as Erica grabbed a fistful of my hair. My head pounded from the force of her grip. “Erica, nothing happened,” Alpha Leo insisted. “You know I would never cheat on you. And even if I did, it wouldn’t be with her! Just look at her—she’s a disgrace, a waste of space in this pack. She’s a slave, have you forgotten?” Erica’s eyes narrowed. “Then prove it,” she said with an icy voice. “Sell her.” Both Alpha Leo and I stared at her in shock. "If she's really just a slave to you, sell her tonight," Erica demanded. "I heard Alpha Drew is looking for a wife. We'll marry her off to him." My heart pounded as her words sank in, the shock hitting me like a wave.