My Cursed Alpha Prince

CHAPTER 1

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A prickly black scorpion slithered across the sand as the fading sunlight glistened off its back, its tail poised and ready to strike. With each passing second, it sought out its prey, having sensed the presence of someone in its territory. But even as it searched desperately, it took almost four minutes before it finally located its first victim.

Only to be crushed by the boot of prince Caspian as he slid a few inches to the right, his eyes narrowed as he watched the cottage standing in the middle of the desert. Not a single life form had swayed since he and his men took up their positions on the small hill which overlooked the place, and he hadn't even noticed the scorpion he had just killed. Sweat dripped down his back, but he remained where he was, with two of his men on either side.

"Look," the one on the left said. "The sun is about to set."

Caspian glanced over at the western horizon, where the sun was dipping below and the mountains, stretching out the shadows to the east. He could feel the air becoming cold, almost seeping into his bones and causing him to tremble slightly.

But he gritted his teeth and ducked his head even lower, his ears pricked as he watched and waited, watching for any sign that would tell him that his enemies were stirring.

And then, just as the sun finally dipped under the horizon, and a dark cloud swept overhead, the cottage door swung open and three men marched outside, stretching and yawning. Caspian gripped his sword tighter, and his eyes were full of hatred as he stared down at them.

"Do you smell that?" one of them asked.

"Werewolves," another replied. "And a whole bunch of them, I think."

"The whole b****y country stinks of them," the third one said. "What's new about that?"

"I hate the stench," the first one said. "I can't wait to leave this place and never have to smell them again."

"Our orders are to scout and report back," the third one said, extending his fangs and yawning loudly. "The sooner we get to do that, the faster we get to leave this awful place."

"I'm starving," the second one said. "Let's get something to eat first. Preferably a nice young teenage girl. Their blood is always so fresh and warm, especially in the winter."

"We can't feed just yet," the third one said. "But we can get a couple of wenches to warm our bed tonight. Afterwards, we can feed before going to bed."

"I like the sound of that," the first one laughed loudly. "Can we get that blonde woman with the big t**s? There's so much of her my hands can hardly go around her waist."

All three of them laughed, and Caspian felt his blood stir.

"My Lord," the guard beside him whispered, "shall we attack now?"

Caspian raised his hand, signalling to his archer who was several feet away, perched on his own sand dune. He waited with his hand in the air, his eyes watching their movements carefully, waiting for the moment when they would move just far enough apart that they wouldn't be able to escape in time.

And then he struck his hand down, and an arrow came sailing through the darkness, stabbing directly into the eye of the first one, who howled in pain and dropped to the ground. Caspian drew his sword, and at his command, both his men charged straight at the vampires, who were looking around confusedly. With his wolf speed, Caspian lunged at both of them, sword raised and eyes glistening with a fury which had been held back for several hours now.

His blade kissed the cheek of the second one, who ducked out of the way and leapt back towards the cottage. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his men charge at the third, and the two were locked in battle as Caspian circled his enemy.

"Well, well," the vampire chuckled. "If it isn't Prince Caspian himself. I had a feeling we might get a visit from you sooner or later. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And unfortunately, it will be the last," Caspian replied.

"We'll see about that," the vampire chuckled before lunging at him. Caspian brought his sword up to block the attack, narrowly missing the vampires claws as he took a swipe at him. He curled his sword and slashed at his face, but all he got was a slight grazing of his cheek. The vampire leapt back, then dashed at him with his fangs protruding.

It took every bit of skill to hold the creature off. Caspian weaved and ducked away from his attacks, then came back at him with such force that the ground shook. Again and again, Caspian drove his sword at the vampires neck, looking to slice off his head cleanly. But he only ever got close, and the last few inches were what he couldn't get.

Until finally, with a stroke of luck, he saw the opening he wanted. Curling like a python around his opponent, Caspian drove his sword cleanly into the vampire's neck, and pulled it out along with his head. Blood splattered across the ground as his body fell, and the head rolled across and landed at his feet. When he turned, the vampire was already turning to ash.

His men were still fighting, but as soon as Caspian joined, it was over. He captured the creature, and wrapped him up in silver chains so it would burn his skin.

"We will take him back to the palace," Caspian said. "I believe my father will want to know what these vampires are doing so far in Xanian territory."

"As you wish, my prince," they both said, bowing as he turned to clean his sword. From atop the hill, Jurien came down with his crossbow still in his hands.

"You missed all the action," Caspian pointed out, digging his sword into the sand to clean it.

"I was too busy taking care of that one," he replied, pointing at the last vampire who was turning to ash on the other side of the cottage. "He tried to run once the arrow pierced into his skull."

"He should have known he was a dead man from the moment you set eyes on him," Caspian chuckled.

"What do you think they are doing here?" Jurien asked.

"Spying," Caspian replied. "I think they were sent to watch us, and report back to their master."

"The vampire king, perhaps?" Jurien suggested, having harboured a hatred for the man his entire life. Caspian frowned as well. He had considered the possibility that perhaps the vampires who had been trooping into Xania were sent by their king, to spy on them and prepare for war.

But that seemed highly unlikely. For almost a hundred years, the vampires of Dalmatia had stayed out of Xania, with a silent recognition that they were both equal in power. So why now? Why did they suddenly decide to change?

"We'll find out everything once we interrogate that one," Caspian said, turning to his men. "Load him onto the wagon."

"Or we could interrogate him over here and be done with it," Jurien suggested, unsheathing his dagger. "Let's cut his heart out and be done with it. He's already dead anyway."

"No," Caspian insisted. "We take him back to the palace. My father will want to hear whatever he has to say."

Jurien didn't seem convinced, but he bowed anyway and went to help the others. Together, they dragged the vampire who had passed out from his screaming, heading back down towards the village where their horses and wagon were waiting for them. By the time they reached the inn where five royal guards were waiting for them, the storm clouds had gathered already and a light drizzle had started to drop.

By the time they got back to the palace, the drizzle had turned into a full-blown storm. They marched in once the gates were thrown open, and Caspian made his way straight to his chambers. In the main hallway, all the servants stopped to bow as he passed, with a quick muttering of, “My prince.”

Caspian made his way back to his room, only to be surprised by his mother’s presence in the room.

“Mother,” he said, his voice laced with confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” she replied. “They say you went to find some vampires. Is that true?”

“Scouts,” he explained, kissing her on the cheek. “We’ve killed two and captured one. I’ve asked the guards to take him to the dungeons. Father would want to question him.”

“Of course,” she said. “It’s a shameful thing that they keep trying to sneak into Xania. King Raemon will have to answer to this very soon.”

“There’s a reason why they keep coming here,” Caspian said. “Dalmatia is a barren wasteland, and they come here to feed. I think they’re looking to expand their territory, so an invasion could be at hand.”

His mind was already racing, looking for possible weak points in their defences where the vampires could poke holes and attack. He was so absorbed in this that he didn’t realise his mother was looking at him with an amused expression. When he finally noticed, however, he raised an eyebrow in question.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Your birthday is exactly a month from today,” she said.

“What about it?”

The queen shook her head as she hid a secret laugh. She was surprised by how clueless he was in the matter, but that was to be expected. Caspian wasn’t the sort of person who would pay attention to things that didn’t concern him. And this was something which he didn’t particularly care about, but was absolutely necessary.

“It’s not every day a prince turns twenty five,” she said. “You’re a quarter of a century old, and that is cause for celebration.”

“I am led to believe that there is a celebration already being planned,” he said, setting his sword aside. “Is there something else I need to know?”

“Really, your father should be the one telling you all this,” she said. “But he doesn’t seem ready to do it, so I’m just going to come out and say it.”

Caspian could feel that something awful was coming, and he didn’t know what to say or how to stop it. From the look on his mother’s face, he knew that she was dreading this conversation perhaps as much as he was.

“As the prince of Xania,” she said, “it is your duty to marry and have children so that the royal bloodline may continue. And I understand that you do not care for marriage or intimacy, but it cannot continue any longer. You will have to choose a bride on your birthday, one who shall become queen and bear your children in the future.”

Caspian grimaced at her words. The last thing he wanted to hear was talk of marriage. That was something he had hoped would never come up in regards to him. When the time came for his duty, he fully intended to pick out any random woman and have her become his wife. After all, what purpose was a woman to serve if not procreation?

But his mother’s next words were what really drove the knife into his heart.

“You cannot marry a Xanian girl,” she said. “You will have to marry a human girl. And your father has chosen Avarel as the kingdom you must choose from.”

Caspian could have screamed in frustration. His rage was like a torrential downpour which threatened to destroy the entire castle. His eyes flared with a fire which his mother had never seen before, and she was lost for words at this display.

Indeed, at that exact moment, neither of them were aware that hundreds of miles west, in a dark room at the top of a lonely old house, Diana rolled over in her bed, fast asleep and unaware that she had muttered a single word in her slumber.

“Caspian.”

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