DRAVEN'S POV.
My curse roared to life like fire in my veins. I felt it, the surge, the pull, the invisible current that always came before death. It burned under my skin, climbing my arms, searing through my chest.
She gasped, her eyes meeting mine. And then… there was nothing. No scream. No collapse. No death. The fire stopped halfway. I stared down at her, stunned. Her fingers were still gripping my cloak, her pulse racing against my chest. She was alive.
Alive?!
Zayn's horse circled closer. "My king—?"
I couldn't answer, I couldn't move. I could only stare at the impossible thing clinging to me…the first living being to touch me in ten years and still draw breath.
Behind us, the wolves growled again. Their eyes glowed crimson through the mist, their bodies were tense as their paws sank into the wet earth. But there was something different about their movements. These weren't wild beasts.
Slowly, I turned my gaze toward them. "What do you want?"
The words carried power, filled with the weight of an Alpha command. The wolves stiffened. Then, before the girl could even draw another breath, their bodies began to shift. Bones cracked, flesh stretched, the sounds were sharp and unnatural, echoing through the forest as the creatures contorted, limbs twisting until fur gave way to skin. Within seconds, two figures stood…naked, trembling, eyes lowered in submission.
They were rogues.
"Y–your Majesty," one stammered, his voice hoarse. "We…we didn't know it was you."
Zayn's sword was already half-drawn, the metallic ring slicing through the silence. "You hunted a human on royal land," he growled.
The rogues dropped to their knees, fear radiating off them. "She crossed into our territory," one of them said quickly. "We were starving, we didn't mean—"
"Silence." My voice came out calm.
The rogues immediately froze, bowing their heads lower. I looked down at the girl still clinging to me. Her eyes were wide now, darting from me to the shifting forms before us. The scent of terror poured from her skin. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The shock hit her too fast, her pupils dilated, her body trembled. Then her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed against me. For the briefest moment, instinct made me flinch. My hands hovered above her, terrified to touch her again. But she didn't die, she only went limp.
Zayn dismounted quickly, his boots crunching against the forest floor. "She saw them shift," he said, scanning the rogues with disgust. "A human. That's a problem."
"It's more than a problem," I muttered, staring down at her pale face. "It's impossible."
The rogues whimpered again, trembling. "Your Majesty, please—"
"Take them," I ordered quietly, not looking away from the girl.
Zayn's men moved instantly, binding the rogues with silver cuffs. Their protests faded into the forest as they were dragged away. The only sounds left were the wind, the horses, and the soft, unsteady rhythm of her breathing against me.
I should have felt nothing. Maybe I should have turned back and left her to her fate. But the fire beneath my skin…the curse that had always burned with death, was quiet now. For the first time in a decade, my touch didn't kill. And that terrified me more than anything ever had.
***
I stood in front of the cage, looking down at the frail little creature I had brought back to the palace. She was still unconscious, her breathing was still shallow but even, her chest rose and fell like she was at peace. Peace…something that had no business existing within these walls. I should have left her there in the forest, fed her to the rogues, or better—ended her myself, but I didn't. For reasons I couldn't explain why I brought her here.
The flickering torchlight cast bars of gold across her skin. She looked small, fragile…too fragile for the curse that has consumed everything I've ever touched. Her wrists were bound in silver, though it was pointless. She wasn't one of us. Or at least, she shouldn't be.
She smells human, but I know better. Something is off. The scent is too clean, like someone wrapped her in a false layer of humanity. I crouched closer, watching her face. There was nothing remarkable about her, and yet…there was something I couldn't look away from. No woman survives my touch. None has ever lived to breathe the same air as me again.
So what is she?
Behind me, I heard Zayn's boots scrape against the floor.
"You've never brought a human back before," he said quietly. "What makes this one special?"
"She's not human."
He hesitated. "You're sure?"
"No," I said. "And that's exactly the problem."
Zayn stepped closer to the bars, peering down at her with a frown. "You think she's masking her scent?"
"It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to send something into my court," I muttered. "But no one's ever been bold enough to send me a curse wearing a human face."
Zayn folded his arms. "What if she's not a curse, my king? What if she's the key?"
I shot him a sharp look. "There are no keys to what binds me, Zayn. Only death."
The girl stirred then, a faint sound escaping her lips. The chains rattled softly. For a moment, the air around her shifted…warm, foreign, and unsettling. And deep inside me, my curse stirred again. Not in hunger…but in recognition.
I rose to my feet with a tight jaw.
"Double the guards," I said, turning away. "No one touches her. No one speaks to her until I say so."
Zayn hesitated. "And if she wakes?"
"Then she'll tell me who sent her." I paused at the door, letting my gaze linger on her one last time. "Because no human walks into the den of an Alpha king and lives to tell the tale."
I turned to leave. The guards were already moving to lock the chamber when a faint sound stopped me. A gasp. Her gasp. The girl jerked awake with a choked breath, eyes darting wildly as she sat up inside the cage. For a moment, she didn't seem to know where she was. Then her gaze caught the iron bars and she scrambled back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself like they could shield her from the world. Her breathing was fast, and ragged. She looked like a frightened animal, cornered and trembling.
"Where…where am I?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "What…what is this place?"
I said nothing, only watched, curious if her fear was real.
Her eyes darted from me to Zayn and the guards. "Who are you people? What do you want from me?" she demanded, voice cracking as the chains rattled.
"Those…those things! They turned into men! I saw it!" She sounded frantic, the words tumbling out faster than she could shape them.
The moment I stepped closer, her body went rigid. The scent of fear hit me first. Beneath it, though, was something else I couldn't name.
"You should be dead," I said, low and flat.
"W-what?"