Aria's Pov
They called me his curse.
The girl who should never have been chosen.
I wasn't born of power, or bloodlines, or sacred myths. I was just a baker's granddaughter from a small city, a nobody whose biggest dream was to see the ocean one day.
But fate has a cruel sense of humor.
On the night of the Choosing, under a blood-red full moon, my name was written into the stars. His fate. His myth. His temptress.
And from that moment, the Alpha King's eyes never left me.
He wasn't supposed to want me. He wasn't supposed to need me. But every glance burned, every touch scarred, until I was trapped in a fire I couldn't escape.
He said I was his salvation.
They whispered I was his ruin.
Maybe they were both right.
Because when the moment came for him to choose his kingdom or me, he didn't hesitate.
He chose the throne.
And I died for it.
Damien's pov
They think kings do not regret. That power fills the void where love once lived.
They are wrong.
I regret every breath I take. Every sunrise that reminds me she is not beside me. Every night haunted by the sound of her last cry when I betrayed her.
Two years have passed, and still I see her in every shadow. Still, I crave her like a man starved, though she is gone.
I thought death would end her hold on me. But fate was not done mocking me.
Because I have seen her again.
Alive.
Breathing.
Unmarked by the memories that shatter me every night.
She does not know me. She does not remember.
But I would burn my kingdom to the ground before I lose her a second time.