bChapter /bb37 /b

bNyssa /bbpov /b

–

The story behind the Lycan King’s curse I had heard it countless timesb. /b

bIf /bbit /bbwasn’t /bfrom my father recounting bit/b, then it was from the gossip whispered by the maids around meb, /bor the idle bchatter /bbof /bthedies during their tea parties.

bNo /bbmatter /bwhere bit /bcame from, it was a tale that had been passed down from generation to generation.

And like all legends, bover /btime, the bdetails /bbhad /bbe twisted. Events were exaggerated, bfacts /bblurred, and truth became something almost impossible to bgrasp /bbespecially /bafter the king closed off his pack away from outsiders. The only way we could bhear /babout what truly happened was through the stories passed down by our bancestors/b.

But one thing remained certain about the tale behind the king’s curseb: /bhis mate- his queen had been killed. Some said it bwas /bthe fault of the pack membersb, /bwho believed she bwas /bunfit to be their queen because she was wolfless. They poisoned her, hoping the king, who had been bewitched by her beauty, would choose someone more suitable for the position.

Othersb, /bhowever, imed that the real mastermind was the king’s brother, who manipted those around him to bseize /bthe throne for himself.

Either way, the end result was the same: death swept through the pack. Darius had gone rogue and annihted half of his pack by himself, killing everyone who had been involved in his mate’s death, one way or another. But he didn’t stop there- he ughtered their families too.

Yet, even in his rogue state, with little to no control over his mind, he neverid a finger on the children.

bYet /bwhat he did was enough to anger the goddess herself, and before he knew it, her wrath descended upon him.

He was cursed to live forever, forced to watch everyone around him wither and die, one after another.

Cursed to carry the memory of his dead mate for eternity.

No matter how he tried to end his life- no matter who tried to kill him, death would nevere.

The only thing capable of ending his existence was the blood of a white wolf but white wolves hadn’t been seen in centuriesb. /bThe chances of the king dying were next to none.

That was the story behind the great king cursed to live for eternity- the same king who now stood before me, currently sniffing my scent.

Kill me.

“What am I doing? I’m checking if you’re truly my mate. If the goddess bis /bcruel enough to make you my mate,” he whispered, his voice low and cutting, sending shivers down my spine and making my body instinctively tense.

bWhat /bwas going on? Why bwas /bhe acting like this? It was obvious we were mates even now, I could feel the bond between us, pulling me toward him like a spell.

bI /bshut my eyes bas /bthe tip of Darius’s nose brushed the curve of my neck, trailing slowly upward. A gasp escaped me when his hand slid to the back of my neck, guiding me closer to him. My hands clenched into fists, and all I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart.

Oh Goddess, it bwas /bthe mate bond. That had to be the reason my body was reacting like thisb, /bwhy heat pooled between my blegs /bbat /bhis touchb, /bwhy I had this unbearable urge to hold him bclose/b.

b1/2 /b

bto /bbstop/b. I had to bstop /bbthis/bb. /b

But then I froze.

His lips brushed against my bneck/b.

My breath hitched, my bface /bturning a bdeep /bcrimsonb. /bbI /bbstared /bahead, lips parted in shock, my mind struggling toprehend what bwas /bhappening.

And then, my heart plummeted.

Because the next thing I felt bwas /bthe faintest sting, his fangs grazing my skin. Darius had opened his mouth

Was he about to mark me?!

My first instinct bwas /bto push him baway /band run but this bwas /bthe Lycan King we bwere /btalking about. bI /braised my hand and pressed it against his chest, trying to shove him bback/b, but he didn’t budge an inch.

Panic surged through me bas /bI felt the sharp sting of his fangs grazing my skin. A hiss escaped my lips from the pain, but just before they could fully sink in, the words leaving my lips before bI /bcould stop them.

“Please stop” I gasped out.

Darius stopped. His fangs retreated, and I inhaled a shaky breath, my chest rising and falling in disbelief.

I watched as he slowly pulled away from my neck, stopping just inches from my face. The moment our eyes met, I swallowed hard, my body trembling instinctively under his intense gaze.

Darius’s face remained expressionless, his lips pulled into a subtle frown but it was the look in his eyes that stole the breath from my lungs. Was it lust? Anger? Or ia /itwisted mix of both? I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that he looked ready to sink his fangs into my neck and mark me.

“You really are my mate,” he murmured. The word mate didn’t sound like a curse this time- no, it wasced with quiet indifference, his cold gaze locked on mine. “That is really a shame.”

I stared at him, stunned, confusion clouding my thoughts. What the hell was happening? Why did he seem so… different?

I parted my lips to speak, to ask what was going on, but Darius calmly walked up to the couch and took a seat, his gaze fixed intently on me.

He held up two fingers.

“I’m giving you two choices,” he said, his voice smooth and unwavering. “Both will lead to the same oue, your death but you get to choose how it happens. What do you say?”

bAD /b

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