The Alpha's Curse.
---
The moon didn't rise that night.
No silver light. No soft blessing. Only cold darkness above the cursed lands of Nightbane.
Where there had once been power, now there was rot.
The crops had withered weeks ago. The rivers were veins of cracked dust. Even the pups — those born under full moons — wailed endlessly, sick with fever no healer could touch.
The wolves could feel it in their bones.
The curse.
The abandonment.
The silence of the goddess.
And though no one dared speak her name…
They all knew why.
Aria.
The girl they had cast out like a stain.
The one they said would bring ruin.
Now ruin stood at their doorstep, clawing to get in.
Inside the crumbling temple of council, Alpha Magnus paced with fury in his steps and fear in his heart. Seraphina sat quietly at the long table, arms folded, chin raised like a queen unfazed by the storm.
"The rains have stopped," growled Magnus. "The healers say the wombs won't take. And the warriors… they're too weak to shift."
"Then perhaps it's time we stop pretending this isn't a judgment," said Elder Lira, voice low.
Seraphina's eyes flicked toward her. Sharp. Unbothered.
"You'd rather believe in myths than fix real problems?" she asked.
"Everything was fine until we appointed you Luna," Lira said. "The Goddess gave us a sign. We ignored it. And now—"
Seraphina stood slowly, her gaze cutting like frost. "Enough."
The room fell into silence.
Magnus rubbed his temples. "If there's even a chance she's alive…"
"There is," Seraphina said calmly. "I've had reports. Rogue camps whisper her name in fear. Some call her Luna of the Forsaken."
"That's impossible," one beta muttered. "She never even shifted—"
"Then explain this." Seraphina reached into her coat and pulled out a silver blade.
Notched. Burned. Marked with Nightbane blood.
"This was recovered near the Eastern rogue borders," she said. "Three of our scouts. All dead. Each branded with a crescent carved into their chests."
Silence.
"She's sending us a message," Seraphina said.
"She's warning us," Lira corrected.
"I don't care if it's a warning or a war song," Alpha Magnus snapped. "If that girl is alive, she needs to be ended."
Seraphina's lips curled into a cold smile.
"I already have hunters watching. But I'll wait. Just a little longer. Let her think she's safe."
"And if the Goddess doesn't lift the curse?" one elder whispered.
"Then maybe…" Seraphina said, stepping out into the night, "she chose the wrong Luna."
---
Far from Nightbane, in a dark forest lit only by firelight and fury…
Aria slammed her fists into the training post again. And again. Until her knuckles bled.
Cain watched from the shadows.
"Again," he ordered.
She obeyed — gritting her teeth, ignoring the pain. Her strikes cracked wood. Splintered the target. She was no longer training for survival. She was training for war.
"Your form's cleaner," he said finally, stepping into the clearing. "But you hesitate when you aim for the throat. Why?"
Aria glanced at him, sweat glistening on her brow. "Because it means I want them dead."
"You don't?"
"I want them gone," she said quietly. "But I don't want to become like them."
Cain said nothing for a moment. Then he reached into his pocket and tossed her a pendant.
She caught it. The Nightbane crest.
Her eyes narrowed.
"This belonged to one of their scouts," Cain said. "He was found with his spine snapped. No blood. Just your claw mark on his chest."
Aria's hands trembled. "I didn't… I didn't mean to—"
"But you did." Cain stepped closer, voice low. "And you'll do it again. Because deep down, you're not just a wolf. You're a storm they couldn't cage."
She looked away.
"I'm scared, Cain."
He surprised her then — by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Good," he said. "The day you stop being scared… is the day you become them."
---
Later that night, she couldn't sleep.
Her wolf was restless.
Voices swirled in her mind — distorted whispers, threads of memory she didn't recognize. She saw flashes of blood, a silver crown, her mother's tear-stained face, a temple burning under a red moon.
She jolted upright in her cot, gasping.
Cain was sitting outside, sharpening his blade under moonless skies.
She joined him, silent.
He didn't look at her. Just said, "You ever think… maybe they knew exactly what you were… and that's why they threw you away?"
She said nothing.
"They weren't afraid you'd fail them," he murmured. "They were afraid you'd become something they couldn't control."
Aria turned her head toward the dark woods.
A branch snapped.
She stilled.
Cain's hand went to his blade.
But whatever it was… didn't return.
Still, the air had shifted.
And deep in her bones, Aria knew…
They were being watched.
---
The rogue camp had gone eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
No howls. No movement. Not even the wind stirred the treetops.
Aria stood near the outer edge, her breath fogging in the cold night air, listening.
"Something's wrong," she said softly.
Cain appeared beside her, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the distant treeline. "I know."
She looked at him. "How long?"
"Since yesterday," he admitted. "I didn't want to alarm the others. Not until I was sure."
"You should've told me."
He looked at her then. His eyes weren't cold this time. They were… haunted. "I'm trying to protect you."
Her voice was ice. "I didn't survive exile to be protected."
Before he could answer, a snap echoed from the trees — sharp, deliberate.
They both turned. Nothing moved. Not a leaf. Not a shadow.
Cain cursed under his breath. "Stay close."
He moved ahead, knife drawn, every step calculated.
Aria followed silently, eyes scanning the terrain like a predator.
That's when she saw it.
A body — small, slumped at the base of a tree. A girl. A rogue.
Blood stained the earth beneath her.
Aria rushed forward.
"Wait—!" Cain yelled.
Too late.
The moment Aria dropped to her knees beside the girl, the scent hit her — not just blood.
Wolfsbane.
The girl's body exploded with violet smoke.
Aria screamed, falling back, gasping as the poisonous mist clawed into her lungs. Her skin burned. Her heart pounded erratically. Her vision spun.
Cain was beside her in a second, pulling her out of the cloud.
She choked, claws tearing at the earth, coughing up blood. Her wolf howled inside her — not in pain, but in rage.
Cain dropped beside her. "Aria! Aria, listen—"
Her bones cracked. Her eyes bled gold. Her body trembled, shifting halfway, violently.
But it wasn't graceful.
It was monstrous.
Her fingers extended into claws that refused to stop growing. Her teeth bared unnaturally sharp. Her skin shimmered between flesh and fur, unable to settle.
Cain held her down. "You have to control it!"
"I—I can't—"
A scream tore out of her throat, but it wasn't just hers. Her wolf had taken over.
Her mind went black.
---
When she woke, the world was on fire.
Not literally. But the camp was chaos.
Tents were torn. Training posts shattered. Trees splintered.
And Cain stood over her, arm bleeding, shirt torn, eyes wide.
"You nearly ripped out my throat."
She flinched. "I—I didn't mean to—"
"Your wolf didn't recognize me. She wanted blood. Anyone's."
Tears burned in her eyes. "I lost control…"
Cain looked at her like she was something ancient. Something holy. And dangerous.
"You shifted," he said. "But not like a normal wolf. You shifted like something older. Something… forgotten."
She hugged herself. "I'm broken."
"No," he said, kneeling in front of her. "You're becoming."
---
Later that night, Aria sat alone near the ruined altar, the medallion in her hand.
She turned it over and over. The Nightbane crest. Her former life. Her betrayal.
A whisper curled in her mind like smoke:
"They feared you. They tried to erase you. So become the nightmare they whispered about."
Cain approached slowly. "The girl was a trap. Meant to bait you out."
"I figured," she said. "The wolfsbane nearly stopped my heart."
He hesitated. "There's more."
He tossed something at her feet.
A broken communicator.
"This was buried near her body. I decoded the signal. It came from inside Nightbane. They're tracking you."
Aria stared at it. "So someone in the pack… is feeding them intel?"
Cain nodded grimly. "And not just someone low-ranking. This tech isn't rogue-level. It's high council-grade."
Aria's eyes narrowed. "Seraphina."
"Possibly," he said. "But it means they're afraid. And fear means they're vulnerable."
She rose slowly. Her hands trembled, but not from fear. From focus.
"They want to kill me before I rise."
Cain met her gaze. "Then rise faster."
---
By morning, she was back in the pit — training, pushing herself harder than ever.
Broken ribs? She ignored them.
Bloodied knuckles? She wrapped them tighter.
By midday, the rogues gathered again. This time not just to watch — but to listen.
She stood before them, voice clear.
"They cast me out. Called me worthless. Said I'd never shift. Never lead. Never matter."
She raised the medallion above her head.
"But I survived. I bled. I rose. And now? Now I'm coming for everything they buried me to protect."
The rogues didn't cheer.
They howled.
Loud. Fierce. Wild.
For the first time… they weren't just rogues.
They were her army.
---