59

59
Jaden’s POV

The shadows never tired.

They came at me in endless waves, jaws dripping smoke, eyes burning like coals in the dark. My wolf’s claws tore through them again and again, but every kill turned to mist, reforming as if the curse itself mocked me. My chest heaved, ribs aching with every breath, and blood slicked my fur where their teeth had found me.

Still, I refused to fall.

I had learned long ago that pain was survival. That weakness was death. And yet tonight, something was different. The curse was fiercer, hungrier, clawing deeper into me than before.

Then I felt her.

The bond snapped taut like a whip, and her fear shot into me as sharp as a blade. Thalia. She was here. Not in flesh, but through the tether the curse had twisted between us.

“No,” I snarled, my voice half-growl, half-human. “Not her. Leave her out of this.”

The shadows only laughed, their growls blending into a cruel echo. They circled wider, and in the black haze I saw her image flicker—her wide eyes, her trembling hands clutching her wrist where the mark had spread. My stomach dropped. She wasn’t supposed to bear this.

I lunged at the nearest shadow, tearing it apart, fury fueling me. But every strike, every kill, only made the tether pull harder, drawing her closer to the heart of my torment.

Her voice whispered in my mind, faint but desperate: Don’t let it take me.

The sound of it nearly broke me.

For years, I had fought alone, cursed to bleed in silence. Now she was inside this nightmare with me, and all I could think of was how to shield her. The curse had chosen her—because I had. Because somewhere along the way, I had stopped seeing her as a pawn and started seeing her as mine.

But I couldn’t admit that. Not even here.

The shadows surged, sensing my distraction. Teeth raked across my flank, searing agony tearing through me. I roared, twisting, snapping bone between my jaws. Smoke exploded, choking me.

The bond pulled again, and through the haze, I felt her heart racing with mine. The pain echoed in her body, faint but real. My chest tightened. If I bled, she bled. If I fell—

No. I couldn’t let that happen.

Digging my claws into the ground, I forced myself upright, trembling but unbroken. I gathered every shred of strength left in me and pushed it outward, into the bond. Not pain this time, not fear—only defiance.

You are mine, I told her silently, fiercely. And I will not let this curse have you.

Silver light flared along my fur, the streak on my flank blazing brighter than ever before. The shadows recoiled, hissing, their smoke curling back. For the first time in years, they faltered.

Hope. A dangerous, fragile thing. But it was enough.

I launched forward, silver light cutting through the dark. Every strike scattered them farther, until the endless corridor cracked, stone splitting beneath my paws. The air trembled, and the curse screamed—an ugly, hollow sound that shook the very bones of the realm.

And then, silence.

The shadows dissolved, the ground vanished, and I collapsed into blackness.

When my eyes opened again, I was on the floor of my chamber, sweat pouring down my skin, my body bare and broken from the shift. Blood streaked my arms, my chest, but the wounds were already sealing shut.

I dragged myself to the mirror across the room, bracing on the edge. My reflection stared back—eyes still glowing faint silver, veins pulsing beneath the skin of my neck. The curse had not been beaten. It never truly was. But something had shifted.

The bond was stronger.

My gaze dropped to my wrist, where faint black veins spread like cracks in porcelain. Not mine. Hers. Thalia’s mark. My chest clenched as the memory of her voice echoed again, soft and afraid.

She carried part of me now. Or maybe I carried part of her.

Either way, we were tangled in this curse together, and I hated myself for it. She should have been free, untouched, safe. But instead, my darkness had claimed her.

I slammed a fist into the mirror, the glass cracking down the middle. My reflection split in two—the man I had been and the beast I was becoming.

A knock sounded on my door.

“Alpha,” came a voice, low and cautious. One of my guards. “The pack is restless. They heard the growls again. They fear the curse is spreading.”

I clenched my jaw. Of course they did. The curse always spilled beyond these walls, rattling the hearts of those I was supposed to lead. My pack wanted strength, certainty. Not weakness. Not a cursed Alpha bound to a girl who didn’t even belong here.

“I’ll handle it,” I growled, forcing steadiness into my voice.

Footsteps retreated, leaving me alone again.

I sank to the floor, pressing my back against the cold stone. My body trembled with exhaustion, but my mind churned. Thalia’s face wouldn’t leave me, her voice wouldn’t fade. And worst of all, the curse itself seemed to hum with satisfaction, as though binding her was what it had wanted all along.

“No,” I whispered into the empty chamber. “You won’t have her.”

But even as I said it, I knew the truth: the curse already did.

The bond had sunk too deep, and now every choice I made would drag her further into my nightmare.

I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back against the stone. For the first time in years, I wasn’t afraid for myself. I was afraid for her.

And I knew, with a certainty that made my blood run cold, that I would burn this entire world before I let the curse take Thalia from me.