Ayla's POV

"I prefer treating other students than touching her. She's cursed."

A woman fumes near me.

My eyelids open slowly, I lift up my head but immediately set it down back from the throbbing pain.

"Shhh... she's awake," another says.

My hearing keeps getting wilder every day. It wasn't like the other werewolves. Maybe I was really cursed.

"Now that you're awake, can you rid yourself of this place?" the nurse says.

I lift my body gently but I'm surprised, I don't feel any pain besides the headache. I rip the bandage round my torso and check my injury.

My head snaps to the nurse as I get to my feet.

"How long have I been here?"

She only stares at me like I carried the plague before storming out.

"A few hours," the other lady says.

At least there are still people in this academy who don't mind talking to me- I hear what she says again.

"I can't possibly heal in a few hours, what happened to me?"

She only shrugs and hands me a bag before heading out.

"Wait..." I went after her – but she was gone.

I rummage through the bag to only find some of my clothes, my journal, and two other important possessions. The dagger had a crescent moon encrusted into it; it belonged to my father. The other is my mother's ring.

They were the only two memories I have left of my parents.

The silhouette of a woman approaches me. I step back- clutching the bag to my chest and holding the dagger towards her.

By the time she appears closer, I see her full body frame and my eyes widens. The same woman from my dreams. The dagger I held dropped to the ground as I stepped backwards.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" My voice trembled. Her presence made my blood boil and I felt my wolf growl inside of me.

"Easy there, little tiger. That's not how to act to someone who saved you from the brink of death."

"I'm Kiara," she stretches her hand towards me.

"No!" I snapped.

"If you saved me, then why are you trying to poison me with the wolfsbane you've dipped your hands in?"

Her face lightens up and she begins clapping.

"You're the only wolf who has noticed that. I guess it's you then," she whispers, and her eyes begin glowing a deep shade of purple.

Oh goddess- my day just keeps getting better.

"What are you?" I growled. My claws itched to come out but my heart is pounding too fast.

"I instructed you not to talk to her!" a deep voice snarls.

Kiara's eyes immediately went back to their normal violet shade and I also felt some sort of relief, it was like she had some sort of spell over me.

"I was only checking if it was her," she purrs.

The tall and muscular man strides towards me and grabs my bag. I can't tell if he's a wolf or something else because he's masked his scent, but I know he definitely has some power.

"You're coming with us."

He throws the bag at me. I stumble in a bid to catch the bag.

"Why should I-"

Kiara snaps her thumb and middle finger, and for the second time that day, I black out.

***

By the time I gain consciousness, I'm in a strange room. It was empty except for my bag – I grabbed it and went through it. My dagger was gone.

My jaw twitched and I furled my fists tight.

Whoever took it is going to feel my wrath, but firstly, I need to get out of this room.

I shut my eyes and focus on my hearing, trying to understand where I am or just listen to conversations.

"If she's the one, you'll have to sacrifice her quickly. You're running out of time."

"Tonight or never."

My eyes widen and my heart starts racing. I really hope I'm not the person he's talking about. I try to focus again but my chest is beginning to ache. I linked with my wolf once more to heighten my senses but it led to nothing.

Something was wrong somewhere and I sensed danger.

The door slams open, bouncing against the wall and startling me. My body instantly jumps into fight or flight mode. I haven't come this far to just lose like this.

"Follow me," the muscular man says.

I want to tell him no- what makes him think he can throw commands at me? But if I am going to escape, I need to get out of this room first.

My teeth grind against each other as I follow him.

We walked through a room with high walls. It is very different from the academy, which didn't have any beautiful architecture, but it was where I grew up comfortably. Golden moon crusts were embedded into the wall and several ancient writings of which I didn't understand.

The middle of the room contained sculptures of wolves slaughtering night creatures. The only one I recognize is the basilisk; a deadly night serpent. Thank goddess they're not real.

We stop in front of a large door.

"Wait here," the man says.

I only nod, but the moment he enters, I glance around. When I see no one around, I run towards the exit, moving as light as my feet can carry.

I managed to find a door. It was open and empty. I turn to leave but my mind keeps pulling towards the room, like a magnet to iron- I finally entered.

The strong scent of that same male I don't know fills the room. It had a huge bed, ceiling-to-floor burgundy curtains, and a sharp wood and spice scent. My wolf stirred.

I let my hand graze the wooden cupboard in the room... then I sensed it, there was something in there. My wolf instincts doubled and were instantly sharper- I heard footsteps coming and I immediately ran into the closet to hide, ensuring I held my breath as the huge stature strides in.

The scent hits me again- dark spice and wood. My wolf shudders inside me. It's him. The stranger who saved me. The one my instincts crave.

He enters the room, and that's when I see his face. He's the man who handed me my bag at the infirmary. He had masked his scent then, so I couldn't recognize him.

He begins taking off his shirt, and as much as I want to look away, I'm forced to stare. His upper body is perfectly sculpted; six abs were a common thing at the academy, but this man had eight, and they shone with sweat. I let out a breath when I saw his deep v-line.

He stopped in his tracks. He glances through the room until his gaze lands on the closet.

My pulse stops. He knows I'm here. Shit. I think I might be fucked.

Ayla's POV

"Come out now" He growled.

My breath stutters as I try to come up with something, a lie or anything- but my mind blanks.

I push the door open slowly, and come out of the closet, the air feels heavy and charged with his scent and rage.

I glance at the exit, then back at him before a tiny smile tugs at my lips. 

"Don't" He tilts his head at me.

But I run – and in the next second, I'm airborne, his speed is unreal as he catches me easily and throws me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing. 

"Put me down!" I scream, kicking my feet against him as my fist pounds on his back. but his hold only tightens around my waist. 

We arrived at a secluded clearing, surrounded by stone pillars and a few people who were gathered around. I spot Kiara among them, she looks different this time, draped in a flowing white robe trimmed with gold. 

Alpha Kael, as I've picked from other wolves, sets me down on a flat stone...  the hard surface burns cold against my skin. I try to rise, but Kiara steps forward, holding a round object wrapped in dark cloth. She lifts a hand and murmured something under her breath. 

I freeze. Not just freeze, my body refuses to move and my limbs are glued to the stone. 

"What's going on?" My voice cracks. No one answers, not even a glance. 

"I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry- so please, just release me!" I shout, my voice breaking.

Alpha Kael doesn't look at me, his jaw only tightens as he glides the blade along a smooth stone. 

"Please don't kill me, I'm not the one you're looking for, I swear." 

My vision blurs as hot tears sting my eyes – my chest feels like it's collapsing, but I bite my tongue and lift my gaze to the sky. 

goddess please don't let them do this to me. I beg you. 

Alpha Kael stalks towards me, like a predator to prey. 

"No-no-" I shake my head rigorously, breath trembling.

"I'm sorry" he only says as he brings the blade to my neck. 

The moment I feel the cold blade touch my skin, Alpha Kael stumbles back, his eyes shut and he falls to his knees, the blade slipping from his hand and clattering to the ground. 

He holds his chest as his mouth curls, Kiara runs to him. 

"Alpha, is all well?" 

He mouths something to her and her eyes widen in shock. 

A man runs to our midst and speaks to Kael. I try to listen to what he's saying but the the only word I can make out is "rejected"

Kael turns to me, his eyes darkens and he mutters to the betas by his side.

"Take her to my room" 

He doesn't take his eyes off me as he commands. 

They both look at each other for a second till he snaps again, 

"Take -her -to -my-room. Now!" 

Two of the muscular men walk towards me and both grab my arm. My legs scrap the dirt as they drag me along the pathway.

By the time I'm back to Kael's room, my whole body is on fire and my head throbbed.

My body is flat against the floor and I want to move but not an ounce of strength is in my limbs. 

The door creaks open and  Alpha Kael steps in, he turns towards me and crouches to my position. My jaw clenches as he brings up an arm to trace my cheek. My head tilted away from his burning touch. 

"What are you?" He whispers.

My eyes widens and my muscles twitch and I know If I wasn't so weak right now, I would have head butted him so hard he would want to kill me this time.

"What do you mean what am I?" My words sliced through the air. 

"You stole me from school, to use me for your stupid sacrifice and now you're asking me questions?" The words spill out of me before I can process it. 

"Fuck you!"

Kael's brows are now knitted together as he rubs his chin. After a minute of staring at me, he gets to his feet.

"Hungry?" 

My stomach decided to betray me at that moment by growling loud. 

"No, I don't want your poison!" He shakes his head and leaves the room. After some minutes, he returns with a tray of food and drops it on the table.

"Kiara would bring you clothes, eat and take a shower" he says, with a low and smooth voice. 

The moment he leaves the room, my stomach rumbles at the sight of the steak on the table. After much hesitation, I began eating the food. 

"There's more than enough if you want." She chuckles as she glides into the room with some folded clothes. 

I don't say a word, I just remain where I am, stroking my mother's ring on my fingers.

"What do you know about that ring?" Kiara questions. She had dropped the clothes and now her hands are on her hips.

I turn to face her, my eyes narrowed as I reply to her "What do you mean?  It's just a ring" I shrug.

"No darling" She moves closer to me and picks my hand up. I wanted to stop her but I was curious about what she had to say. I still haven't mentioned the fact that she had been terrorizing me in my sleep. 

She slips her shirt off a bit and shows me a mark on her shoulder, the same mark inscribed in my ring. 

"I bet you've started seeing the signs already" She releases my arm and covers the mark on her shoulder.

"I hope you're prepared," Kiara says before stepping out.

Ayla's POV

"Kiara!"

"What do you mean prepared?"

She doesn't turn back or answer me. At that moment my head snaps up and my body begins trembling.

The room glows an ethereal light and my body feels impossibly light-like the air itself is pulling me upward.

I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder-When I turn, a tall brunette woman stands behind me-beautiful, unreal, and her eyes glowed like moons reflecting on water.

"Who are you?" I whisper.

She only smiles and brushes her fingers against my cheeks.

"When the moon bleeds and the cursed wolf kneels," her voice echoed, soft yet thunderous, "love shall either heal the wound... or end the world."

Then she's gone.

"Wait!" I scream out, but the room is back to normal.

Before I can process what just happened, Kael bursts in.

"What did you do?" he growls.

My brows furrow. "What do you mean, what did I do?"

"You can summon the messenger!"

"Look, I don't-know. I was here and there was suddenly light and-and-I don't know," I stuttered.

His nostrils flare as he scans the room, every inch of him vibrating with tension.

"Do it again," he barks.

"What do you mean-do it again?"

"I just told you, I don't know how it happened!" I snap back at him.

My anger has been simmering too long now, and it's beginning to boil over. I step closer to him and point my finger at him.

"You dragged me here, you tied me to a rock, and now you're throwing questions at me-like I asked to be a part of this nightmare!"

"Watch your tone!" he seethes.

"No! You watch yours." My voice is shaky but I don't care.

"I'm not your slave, I don't belong to your pack, and I'm not a sacrificial lamb to you! Do not treat me like I'm an object! I don't care who you are."

I pause for a moment to catch my breath. "Take me back to the academy now!"

"And what will you do if I don't?" He closes the space between us so that I can feel his hot breath against my skin. I feel the hair on the back of my neck rise for a while. 

I huffed. "Dear Alpha Kael... trust me, it'd be the greatest mistake you'll ever make."

He tilts his head and I see a small smile form on his lips.

"Is that a threat, Ayla?" his stare hardens as he mumbles.

"Oh, trust me, Kael. You don't want to find out," I taunted.

He takes a step away from me and turns to leave, but when he reaches the door, his body jerks backwards and he falls to the ground.

I run to him when he doesn't move or get up.

"Stay away from me," he mutters with teeth glued together.

His hand flies to his chest and a low growl rips from his throat.

"I didn't do anything!" I begin to panic. If the pack finds out I hurt their dear alpha, my head would be on a spike before the day ends.

"Kael, Alpha Kael!" I call out.

His eyes flicker and his iris turns a very bright red color, brighter than any wolf I've seen. The veins along his neck and arms pulse violently, turning a black shade of color.

"What in the goddess' name is happening to you?"

He doesn't answer. His head snaps back and a sound, half-growl, half-roar, tears from his throat. Sharp claws are now emerging from his fingers.

Kiara runs inside, and the moment she sees him, she freezes.

"Oh goddess..." she breathes.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, panicked.

Kiara's face drains of color. "The orb," she whispers.

"The what?"

Kael's head snaps towards her, his red eyes darkening into black.

"Shut up!"

"You have to tell her! She might know a way!" Kiara yells at him.

"No!" Kael snaps back.

"It's draining you, Kael. You're going to die if you don't break the curse." Her breath comes fast and her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Kael's gaze flickers-not in anger this time, but fear-and I almost pity him for a second.

"Tell me what? What the hell is going on?!"

Kael's gaze sweeps over me. His claws are retreating now and the dark veins had begun fading. His jaw locks like he's stopping himself from speaking.

"You know what? It's fine!" I shrug. "Since no one is going to say a word, I'll just do y'all the favor of disappearing."

I get to my feet and leave, but Kael's grip stops me-rough and firm but not enough to hurt me.

I halt. His touch sets my skin on fire and burns through me.

I look at him, then at Kiara, and back at him again. I want to pity them for a moment, then I remember how I was tied down some moments ago.

I unwrap his hand from my wrist.

"Look, I can't sacrifice myself to save anyone if that's what you want. Besides, how do all these concern me?"

Kiara gets to her feet, tears strolling from her eyes.

"You're Liora's daughter-the Sayer who fell in love," she mutters.

"What are you saying?" I laugh out loud.

"My mother's name is Leah. And what does Sayer mean?"

I'm trying not to get overwhelmed at the turn out of events today.

"You summoned the messenger," Kiara speaks.

"When the moon bleeds and the cursed wolf kneels..."

"Love shall either heal the wound... or end the world."

We both say the last sentence together.

"How do you know that?" My lips quiver as I speak.

It's not possible. Kiara wasn't here when the woman appeared to me.

"Because you, Ayla, are the daughter of a great Sayer. And Kael is-"

"The cursed wolf," I complete her sentence.