A Cure For The Cursed Alpha

CHAPTER NINE

ISABEL'S POV.

I sat stiffly beside Alpha Leo on the bed as he slept, barely daring to breathe for fear that I might end up waking him and having to deal with him all over again. His behavior had been erratic all day, strange , wired and scary all in one. It was like he was an entirely different person altogether. After what happened at breakfast, I knew better than to make any sudden moves now I'm. Every movement I made angered him. It was clear that he currently viewed me as some sort of possession, a property that he didn't want taken away from him.

Though he still appeared to be in his human form, the man lying beside me wasn’t really Alpha Leo anymore—his wolf, Archer, had taken complete control. The primal energy radiating from him was terrifying. It felt so raw and so intense that it felt like it could tear me apart at any moment. Like it could swallow me whole.

My muscles screamed in protest from staying still for so long, but I didn’t dare shift, not even to scratch the itch that had been driving me crazy for hours and hours. Earlier, when I had tried to move, he growled so deeply that the sound seemed to vibrate through my bones. In fact, I was so sure the roof was about to blow off of the building just from how loud he growled. His grip tightened around me until it was bruising and hard to breathe, and when I begged him to loosen his hold, he snarled, hoisted me over his shoulder, and brought me here—to his room.

Even now my heart pounded as I recalled how he had tossed me onto the bed. Panic had taken over me then, thinking he might... Well, you know. The way his eyes gleamed with possessiveness had chilled me to the core and caused me to shiver in dread as thousands of different scenarios flooded my head, none of anything good. Would he try something with me? He was unpredictable now, more beast than man. What if he tried to force me into something I don't want? I couldn't take him. He was so much more stronger than I was. I was wolflesss and pathetically weak. There was no way I would be able to stop him.

“Alpha…” I had whispered, my voice barely audible, as I tried to scoot away from him.

He growled low in his throat. “Archer,” he corrected, his voice rough and filled with dominance and danger as he bared his fangs at me, " You call me Archer, not Alpha."

“Archer,” I repeated, the name tasting foreign on my tongue as I continued to inch backward, my heart racing with every second that ticked by. I wasn't used to addressing his wolf. I don't even think I've actually said it out loud before. What Bussiness would I have with his wolf when I'm barely even around the man himself?

I barely moved an inch before he lunged forward, grabbing me by the shoulders. “Don’t run from me,” he growled, pulling me toward him with a startling amount of strength. “It makes me angry, little mate.”

His words sounded so wrong to my ears. So, so wrong. I wasn't his mate, not in the way he was starting to make it look and sound.

I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut as I waited for the worst. But instead of pain, instead of anything funny, his touch grew unexpectedly calm and gentle. His rough hands cupped my face, and he tilted my chin up to meet his eyes. “Mine,” he growled, the possessiveness in his voice making my stomach twist as my breath picked up.

I shook my head, trying to find my voice, to reason with him. “Alph_ I mean, Archer, I’m not—”

“Say it,” he interrupted, his tone sharp and demanding.

I blinked, unsure of how to respond. Before I could come up with anything, his grip tightened on me. His growl deepened, more angry and more menacing this time. “Say it!” he roared, making me yelp in fear.

“Fine! I’m yours! I’m yours!” I blurted without even stopping to think of what I was agreeing to as I nodded frantically. Anything. Anything to stop that angry rumble that I could clearly hear in his chest. Anything to stop the angry glow that I could see in his eyes.

His expression softened instantly, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he stared down at me. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing my skin in a way that made my heart stutter in fear. I held my breath, hoping—praying—that my submission would be enough to calm him. If not then I was as good as dead.

He pulled me against him, holding me tightly to his chest as he lay down on the bed. I stayed frozen, feeling his heavy arm draped over me like a weight that kept me pinned in place. Like a restraint. Chains. Hours passed and soon the room was filled with his deep, breathing as he finally fell into a deep sleep. Only then, when I was sure he wouldn’t wake, did I dare to slip out of his grip. It wasn't easy, but I managed it after a few trials.

Now, sitting beside him on the bed, my mind won't stop racing. I ached to escape the room, to flee and run as far as I could from this impossible situation. My body hurt from staying still for so long, so many hours, and the fear continued to eat at me, making my stomach churn. I suddenly felt like I was about to puke.

I tried to stand up but I ended up falling back unto the bed as I was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. I hadn't had anything to eat for a while now. The last time I ate was a piece of bread and water. Food isn't something that comes very easy for me around here these days, not ever since alpha Henri died anyway. It's like Erica has eyes everywhere and the moment I grab anything to eat she's there and causing trouble. Once upon a time when Alpha Henri was still alive I was able to eat whatever and whenever I wanted and now even a single meal a day has become a luxury that I was no longer able to afford. When did life become so hard?

I tried again to get up only to end up falling back down again as another wave of dizziness hit me.

Maybe I should sit here for a while, I thought to myself as I brought my hand to clutch at my suddenly aching stomach.

The again I don't think that's a very good idea. What if Erica found me? She already hated me even more than she did on a normal day, fully convinced that I was trying to steal Alpha Leo from her. This would only make things worse.

I sighed, my heart feeling heavy as I thought crossed my mind. Was this my life now? Trapped, a slave not just to Alpha Leo but to his beast? To his curse. I had always dreamed of finding love, a real love that didn’t come with chains and this miserable life. I wanted a family someday, one I could call my own. Maybe a simple life, with a human even, someone who wouldn’t demand so much from me. Someone who wouldn't care that I was an Omega or that I had no wolf. Someone who would want me for me. But that dream seemed so far away now, so impossible. There's no way I'll be able to get away from this place and build that life that I'd always dreamed of. I was stuck here for as long as it takes for alpha Leo to be fully cured of the dark shift curse. He won't let me leave, not before he got what he wanted out of me. And I have no idea how long it will take for that to happen.

After a couple of minutes I startted to feel better and I was ready to leave. But just as I rose from the bed, a loud crash startled me from behind, causing me to wince, nearly jumping out of my skin. I immediately spun around, my eyes widening in alarm at what I saw.

The window. The window was shattered, glass scattered across the floor of the room. But that wasn't what had my blood running cold. Instead it was what I found in the mess of the broken glass. Right there, lying in the shards was the lifeless body of a bird. A raven, its feathers was streaked with blood and it's eyes were wide open with blood coming out of it.

My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at the dead bird and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was some kind of bad omen. It had to be. A bird crashing through the window—it couldn’t just be a coincidence could it? And the bleeding eyes...

I glanced at the bed. Alpha Leo—Archer—was still asleep, thankfully. His deep breathing remained steady, oblivious to the chaos around him.

I had to get out of here. I don't know what this is or what it means but I can't be found here when alpha Leo wakes up and find it. Not wanting to be blamed for the broken window—or the bird and whatever it was doing here—I turned around and quickly slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

I don't know how alpha Leo was still able to remain asleep even with that loud sound of the window shattering but I'm grateful. I knew he would have found a way to blame me for it too just like he does with everything else. Not today. I already had enough problems for one day.

But even as I hurried down the hallway, the image of the shattered window and the dead raven stayed with me, haunting my thoughts. Something about it just didn’t feel right.

Somehow I had a feeling it wasn't ordinary.