Chapter 2 My curse
ELEVEN YEARS LATER
Rain’s POV
Every time it rains, I dream of him. A monster with eyes like mine.
The same nightmare of screams, blood and darkness.
I jolted upright, drenched in sweat, heart hammering against my ribs. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan. I pressed a palm to my chest and forced myself to breathe.
“Just a dream,” I muttered, though it never felt like one. It always felt like a memory.
My reflection stares back at me through the cracked mirror, violet eyes glowing faintly like twin flames.
The curse again.
I’ve had these eyes since I was a child. No one knows where they came from. Not even me. My foster mother said I was found bleeding at a marketplace, barely breathing, and when I opened my eyes, they glowed purple.
Everyone called it a gift. I called it a curse.
Because when I cry, things break.
Mirrors crack. Lights flicker. The ocean near town rises violently as if trying to reach me and anything I touch with my bare hands burn.
I shake the thought off and grab my bag. It’s another long day at Velvet Bloom, the cafe I worked at.
Customers come and go, but I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me.
My shift at the café was long and uneventful until the stupid vending machine decided to hate me.
"Ugh, c'mon!" I rolled my eyes in frustration, kicking the metal box.
“Not now, please…” I tried again, but the machine made a dying rattle.
Perfect. Another deduction from my paycheck.
“Rain,” Tayo called from behind the counter, smirking. “You look ready to murder that thing.”
“I might,” I said flatly.
He laughed. I didn’t. I grabbed my apron and went back to my station, looking the usual me. Cold, Detached, Uninterested.
When the shift ended, I changed into a plain blouse and shorts, tied my hair up, and grabbed my bag. Another day, another disappointment.
I had just stepped out when I heard someone shouting my name.
“Babe!”
I turned to see Annabelle, my half-sister, waving like she was in a parade. Her hair bounced, her smile too bright for the kind of day I’d had. She pulled me into a hug before I could dodge.
“Guess what?” she said.
“You found a new therapist to scam?” I muttered.
“No!” she huffed. “And stop calling men traumas!”
“Then stop dating disasters. So what's making you this excited?"
"I found an old witch down the hills, she can help break your curse!"
Urgh, not again.
“Annabelle, we’ve been through this,” I cut in. “Every so-called witch or healer ends up stealing our money or giving me some useless prophecy about moonlight and destiny. I’m done.”
She folded her arms. “Then you can sit in your misery forever. Or you can try one last time.”
I sighed. “You’re not going to drop this, are you?"
“Nope. Get in the car.”
I groaned but climbed in. Fighting Annabelle was pointless, she always won.
The drive was long, the silence thick. The city lights faded behind us, replaced by narrow roads and tall trees. Eventually, she stopped in front of a rusted gate covered in vines.
Annabelle got down, but I remained in the car not sure about going further.
"What are you doing?" She whispered.
"I don't think this is a good idea. This place is creepy. Forget my curse, life comes first."
"Get your ass down here before I dragged you from the car."
"Okay, fine. Fine." I huff, slamming the door hard.
We walked up a muddy path to a crooked house that looked one strong wind away from collapsing. Annabelle knocked. After a moment, the door creaked open to reveal a woman barely four feet tall.
My jaw nearly dropped. “She’s… small.”
“She’s a Liota,” Annabelle whispered to my ears.
“Oh. That explains it.”
The woman said nothing. She motioned us inside, where the air smelled like herbs, rust and old secrets. She poured us tea. I didn’t touch mine. Annabelle, of course, drank hers.
“How can you trust people so easily?” I whispered to her ears.
“Because not everyone’s trying to kill you,” she whispered back.
The witch finally spoke, her voice sharp despite her size.
“Is she the one with the curse.”
I nodded stiffly.
“Take off your gloves.”
My stomach turned.
“I-I can’t.”
"You have to, for me to see through you."
"But I...I'm scared." My voice cracked.
Annabelle placed her hand over my shoulder.
“It’s okay babe, just do it.”
No, it wasn’t okay but I did it anyway. Slowly, I took the gloves off. The air felt heavy against my skin. My chest tightened as flashes of everything I’d destroyed clawed their way back into my head. I remembered the people that died by these hands.
The witch looked at my hand, mumbling some incantations we don't understand.
"You have the royal blood in you." The witch said.
“I already know that,” I replied coldly. “My father is the Alpha king, he slept with my mother — A human."
"What about your mother? Where is she? "
"She died years ago."
“That's why you can't shift dear. Your mother's blood is dominant and stronger than your dad's. That makes you half human, half werewolf"
"I've heard this countless times. Can we focus on the curse please." I raised my voice growing impatient.
"Your curse comes from a punishment for a broken oath.”
“What oath?” I leaned closer to her.
“An oath of the soul. Eleven years ago. You saved a man who was never meant to live.”
The witch furrowed her brows.
"This man is a monster. A cursed monster. Not only did you save him, you made a oath to be his wife."
I burst into laughter hearing that.
“But I was a child eleven years ago!”
"A child that should've been chasing butterflies and candy, not taking an oath with a cursed monster." She paused.
"You need to find Aiden."
"Who the hell is Aiden?"
“Your husband.” The witch’s eyes flickered gold.
Annabelle burst out laughing. I didn’t.
"Find him. The second option is to shift to break the curse."
My jaw dropped.
"That's impossible! I will never be able to shift."
"Well, those are the two ways to break the curse."
The the hell is this witch saying! Shifting is impossible for me because I'm a hybrid with no mystical abilities.
Also, how will I find this Aiden husband. Is this dude even alive?
Shit!
I stood up with annoyance.
"I knew it. You are some quacks that rob people of their money. Let's go Annabelle."
“You must find him before the next full moon,” the witch continued, voice low. “Only then will your curse be undone.”
“I’m done with your lies! All the witches I had a session with never mentioned anything about a husband.”
I turned to the door, but the witch’s voice followed me, low and echoing like thunder:
“Under the full moon, at the fountain. The kiss will change everything.”
"Kiss?" I scoffed, finding it unbelievable.
"What am I ? a disney princess?"
"Is there any cue to find the man?" Annabelle pressed on, ignoring me.
.