Love Is Stronger Than Any Curse

Love Is Stronger Than Any Curse
Midnight arrived with a scream.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Jaden Gabe’s voice slammed violently against the steel walls, making Pearly flinch.

Two men dressed in black dragged him into the cage across from hers.

Pearly’s breath caught instantly.

Jaden Gabe looked barely conscious.

His body trembled violently as the men chained him inside. Sweat covered his skin, and under the pale moonlight spilling through the barred windows, Pearly saw his eyes slowly changing color.

Red.

Not green anymore.

Red.

Fear gripped Pearly’s chest.

But pity came faster.

“He’s in heat right now.”

Pearly immediately turned toward Donovan.

The older man looked almost entertained.

“Every Vox Vaughn suffers during their assigned full moon,” Donovan explained casually. “It’s their family curse. Their bodies burn with lust until they lose strength, sanity… sometimes even control completely.”

His grin widened.

“Third full moon for the third child. Fourth for the fourth. And Helios…” Donovan chuckled softly. “The first full moon, just like his father.”

Jaden Gabe writhed weakly against the floor.

A painful growl escaped his throat.

His fangs appeared briefly before disappearing again.

Pearly’s heart twisted violently.

He looked like he was suffering.

Really suffering.

And somehow that hurt Pearly more than his own fear.

“W-What can I do to help him?” Pearly asked shakily.

Donovan glanced at him lazily.

“There’s only one way to ease the curse.”

Pearly’s stomach tightened.

“By becoming his victim.”

The words chilled him completely.

Donovan stepped closer to the bars.

“That beast only wants one thing tonight.” His smile turned cruel. “He’ll keep taking until morning.”

Pearly’s breathing turned uneven.

“And you?” Donovan tilted his head mockingly. “You’ll probably die before sunrise.”

Fear surged through Pearly’s body.

But only briefly.

Because when he looked back at Jaden Gabe,

all he saw was pain.

Real pain.

Jaden Gabe’s entire body trembled violently as if he was fighting himself from the inside.

And Pearly suddenly realized something horrifying:

Jaden Gabe had been enduring this alone every year.

“Go,” Donovan ordered coldly. “Offer yourself to him.”

“No…”

Jaden Gabe’s voice came out rough and broken.

“Don’t come near me…”

His breathing sounded unstable now.

“Please… no…”

Pearly’s chest tightened painfully.

Even like this…

Jaden Gabe was still trying to protect him.

“Donovan…” Jaden Gabe struggled to lift his head toward the older man. “Please…”

The desperation in his voice made Pearly’s eyes burn.

“I’ll do anything,” Jaden Gabe whispered weakly. “I’ll bring Euria back to you. Just let Pearly go…”

Donovan ignored him completely.

Instead, he looked directly at Pearly.

“Sooner or later, he’ll come for you himself,” he said calmly. “And once he loses control completely?”

His smile darkened.

“He won’t even recognize you anymore.”

Pearly’s hands shook.

“Go on, nephew,” Donovan taunted. “Make me proud.”

Then he laughed softly.

“I’ll stay here and watch you destroy that little human yourself.”

Jaden Gabe’s eyes blazed instantly.

“I’ll kill you…” he growled weakly. “I swear I’ll kill you…”

Donovan only laughed harder.

Pearly could not take it anymore.

Slowly, he stepped toward the cage.

The moment he touched Jaden Gabe’s arm, intense heat burned against his skin.

Pearly gasped softly.

Jaden Gabe was burning alive.

Still,

he endured it.

Carefully, Pearly held Jaden Gabe’s trembling hand and brought it toward his lips.

Tears slipped silently down his face.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered shakily. “I judged you too quickly.”

Jaden Gabe’s entire body stiffened.

“I didn’t even let you explain,” Pearly continued brokenly. “I forgot everything you ever did for me because I was hurt.”

His voice cracked harder.

“I’m sorry… my love.”

Jaden Gabe shook violently.

“Please…” His eyes squeezed shut painfully. “Get away from me…”

“No.”

Pearly wiped his tears weakly.

“Love is stronger than any curse in this godforsaken world.”

For a second, Jaden Gabe went completely still.

Then a deeper growl tore from his throat.

Lower.

More feral.

His fangs extended fully now.

And yet Pearly was no longer afraid.

Because beneath the monster,

he could still see Jaden Gabe suffering.

And Pearly loved him too much to leave him alone in that pain.

Slowly, Pearly moved closer.

“I’m willing,” he whispered softly. “If this is the only way to ease your suffering… then let me help you.”

Then gently,

with trembling hands and tears still falling from his eyes,

Pearly placed Jaden Gabe’s burning hand against him.

The moment Jaden Gabe felt her warmth beneath him, something inside him snapped completely.

His restraint shattered.

With trembling hands, he stripped away the remaining barriers between them. The gentleness Pearly once knew was gone tonight. His glowing red eyes no longer looked human.

They looked starving.

Pearly gasped sharply when Jaden Gabe’s lips crashed against her neck.

Every kiss burned.

Every touch carried unbearable desperation.

“Ah, !”

A cry escaped her as his fingers sank into her roughly, his other hand gripping her shoulder tightly enough to sting.

Jaden Gabe kissed her harder, deeper, until Pearly could taste blood at the corner of her mouth.

But even through the pain,

he could still feel Jaden Gabe fighting himself.

Trembling.

Breaking.

“J-Jaden Gabe…”

Pearly’s breathing turned uneven as the man positioned himself between her legs.

The heat radiating from his body was overwhelming now.

And when she looked into his eyes,

there was almost nothing left of sanity inside them.

Only hunger.

Only the curse consuming him alive.

Outside the cage, Donovan laughed softly.

“Good job, Jaden Gabe,” he mocked. “Good job.”

Pearly squeezed her eyes shut.

Then pain tore through her.

A scream ripped from her throat as Jaden Gabe buried himself inside her in one brutal thrust.

His own broken cry echoed immediately after hers.

The sound did not resemble pleasure.

It sounded like agony.

Jaden Gabe moved against her desperately, almost violently, like something inside him would destroy him if he stopped.

Every thrust hurt.

Every grip bruised.

Pearly could already feel tears pouring endlessly down her face.

Still,

she wrapped her arms weakly around him.

Because beneath all this madness…

she knew Jaden Gabe was suffering too.

His breathing had become ragged.
Animalistic.

The curse kept pushing him further beyond reason.

And no matter how much Pearly cried from the pain, Jaden Gabe’s body continued seeking release desperately, helpless against the curse devouring his sanity.

Warm blood stained her thighs.

Their bodies trembled together beneath the pale moonlight while Donovan’s laughter continued outside like poison.

Pearly’s vision slowly blurred.

Her body had reached its limit long ago.

But before darkness fully consumed her, she forced herself to look at Jaden Gabe one last time.

Even through the madness in his red eyes,

she still saw him.

The man she loved.

Slowly, Pearly reached trembling fingers toward his face.

“I love you…” she whispered weakly through tears. “Jaden Gabe… I love you…”

A broken sound escaped him.

And that was the last thing Pearly heard before darkness swallowed her completely.