The forest erupted in chaos.
The howl that shattered the night wasn't from any wolf I recognized—it was deeper, twisted, soaked in malice. A shiver crawled down my spine as shadows thickened along the treeline, stretching and twisting into monstrous shapes that had no place in our world.
The pack warriors instantly formed a defensive circle, their wolves snarling and snapping, but I could smell their fear. This was no ordinary threat. This was the curse. My curse.
"This is because of her!" a voice from the crowd cried. "She brought it here!"
The words cut deep, but I didn't flinch. They were right. I had felt it stirring inside me the moment Damien touched me. The bond had awakened something far darker than I'd ever imagined.
"Silence!" Damien's growl thundered over the chaos, his Alpha aura crashing down like a storm. Even the bravest wolves lowered their heads, their protests dying in their throats.
He moved forward, placing himself between me and the shadows that slithered closer. His presence was like an unbreakable wall, his aura radiating strength.
"Stay behind me," he ordered, his voice low but commanding.
I opened my mouth to protest, but then the first creature stepped out of the trees.
It wasn't a wolf. Not anymore.
Its body was warped, bones twisted beneath fur so black it seemed to swallow the moonlight. Its eyes glowed crimson, burning with hunger and hate. A corrupted wolf—spawned from the curse that had haunted me my whole life.
Gasps rippled through the pack. Some took a step back, others bared their teeth in fear.
My chest tightened. I knew that face.
It was one of ours.
Once a proud warrior of the pack… now reduced to a monster.
The creature snarled, drool dripping from jagged fangs as it fixed its blood-red gaze on me. My knees buckled. The bond inside me pulsed violently, as though the curse was calling out to me, trying to pull me into the darkness.
Damien's hand brushed against mine, steady and firm. His touch anchored me, pulling me back from the edge of despair.
"Don't look away," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Face it."
And then he shifted.
The crack of bones, the ripple of power, and suddenly, standing where he had been was the largest wolf I had ever seen. Midnight-black fur shimmered under the moonlight, eyes glowing like burning coals. Power radiated from him in waves, forcing even the shadows to falter.
He was terrifying.
He was magnificent.
He was my mate.
And as the cursed wolf lunged toward us, the battle truly began.
The cursed wolf lunged, its claws slicing through the air. Damien met it head-on, his massive black wolf colliding with the creature in a thunderous crash. Growls and snarls tore through the night as they rolled across the ground, teeth flashing in the moonlight.
The pack scattered into formation, some shifting, some holding the perimeter, but none dared interfere. This was a battle between something far darker than them.
I stood frozen, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched Damien's wolf sink his fangs into the monster's shoulder. Dark, tar-like blood splattered across the ground, sizzling as it touched the earth. The stench burned my nose—it wasn't natural. Nothing about this was natural.
The cursed wolf shrieked, its voice jagged and broken, like metal tearing apart. Its eyes flickered between crimson and gold, as though a piece of the warrior it once was still fought inside.
My throat tightened. "He's still in there…" I whispered.
The bond between Damien and me pulsed violently, almost painful now, tugging at my soul. The shadows seemed to thrum in response, growing stronger, hungrier, feeding off my fear.
"Control it," a voice hissed inside my head. It wasn't Damien's voice. It wasn't mine either. It was something… ancient. Something tied to the curse.
"No," I whispered, clutching my head. "Leave me alone."
But the harder I tried to push it away, the more the shadows coiled around me, whispering, tempting. My wolf clawed against my skin, desperate to be released, but I was terrified. What if shifting meant losing myself to the curse completely?
Damien slammed the corrupted wolf to the ground, his massive paw pinning it by the throat. But the creature's strength was unnatural—it twisted violently and threw him back, sending his massive body skidding across the dirt.
"Damien!" I cried out, my heart seizing in my chest.
He rose, shaking off the blow, his glowing eyes snapping to me. Even in wolf form, I could hear his voice inside my head, raw and commanding.
"Don't give in to fear. Fight it."
The cursed wolf turned its gaze back to me, lips curling over jagged fangs. It wanted me. I was the source. I was the curse.
My legs trembled as it charged toward me.
Every instinct screamed to run, but my wolf surged forward inside me, her voice loud and unyielding:
Shift. Now.
Heat erupted through my body, fire racing through my veins as my bones began to crack and twist. My vision blurred, colors sharpening, sounds growing sharper, louder. The ground shook beneath me as my knees buckled, but I didn't fall.
The cursed wolf was almost upon me.
And for the first time in my life… I let go.
The fire tore through me like lightning, every bone snapping, reshaping, every muscle burning as though molten steel was being poured into my veins. I screamed, but it came out as a howl, raw and wild, shaking the very air around me.
The pack froze. Their eyes widened.
My body bent and shifted, fur bursting across my skin—white, glowing like fresh snow under the moonlight, but threaded with streaks of silver that shimmered unnaturally. My paws hit the earth with a force that cracked the ground, and the shadows recoiled as though burned.
Gasps rippled through the warriors.
"The cursed one has shifted…"
"No… her wolf—look at her wolf!"
I lifted my head, vision sharper than ever before. Every heartbeat, every breath, every flicker of shadow—I saw it all. And when my gaze locked on the cursed wolf charging toward me, something deep within me snapped.
A growl thundered from my chest, not weak or broken like I'd always feared, but powerful, commanding, laced with something ancient. The creature stumbled, its crimson eyes flickering again, as if my presence alone weakened it.
The bond between Damien and I pulsed, but this time it wasn't painful. It was strong, steady, wrapping around me like an anchor. His massive black wolf stood across the clearing, blood staining his fur, his glowing eyes wide as he stared at me—not with fear, but with awe.
Our bond sang.
The cursed wolf lunged. I met it head-on, my claws flashing. The impact rattled the ground, my teeth sinking into its shoulder as power I didn't understand surged through me. Shadows screamed as they tore away from its body, writhing in agony before dissolving into nothing.
The creature wailed—a sound of pain and relief, its body collapsing to the dirt. Its crimson eyes dimmed, fading back into gold for just a heartbeat, long enough for me to see the man it used to be.
"Thank… you…" he whispered hoarsely before the light in his eyes went out.
Silence fell across the clearing.
I stepped back, chest heaving, my white-silver wolf trembling from the surge of power. The pack stared at me, horror and wonder warring in their eyes. They had called me cursed, a bringer of death… yet I had just saved them.
Damien padded toward me, his black wolf towering beside mine. His eyes glowed, fierce and unyielding, but in them burned something I had never seen directed at me before.
Pride.
And then, in the hush of the night, his voice rang through my head, steady and certain:
"You are not cursed, little wolf… you are chosen."