The memory from three days ago comes back to me, when I see Rex walking in the garden this morning. I try to wipe off the image of the most powerful Alpha, Rex, whining in pain as something invisible crushes him from the inside.
I still remember the way his breath came out weakly, the way he squeezes his face in pain as he tries moving his body. The picture haunts me whenever I shut my eyes.
I also remember how my body responds to his touch, even in pain. It's like he transferred all he's feeling to me at that moment. I now struggle to eat, sleep or even think straight. All I could feel is the pain crawl through my veins.
That afternoon a thought hit me and I decide to pay Mirelle a visit. I wait for the sun to go down before walking to her place.
My body tenses as I walk down to see her, not knowing what to expect. The calmness that surrounds her place makes me shiver, my head trembling as I knock on her door.
I knock once. Before I can do it again the door opens. Mirelle looks at me confused for a long time, her eyes tired like she is just waking up
"Raya, what are you doing here?" she ask, her tone gentle.
I don't speak for a while, trying to find my voice.
"Ma'am, please I need to talk to you."
"It's Mirelle." She corrects. "Are you fine?"
I nod. "Yes I am fine. I'm not here for myself, I came here to talk to you about Rex."
She stays quiet for a while, her eyes scan my face. Then she moves away, making way for me to pass. "Please come in."
I enter and she closes the door behind me, the smell of herbs fills the room. A fire gums low in a corner of the room, she moves about, pouring something dark into two cups.
"Sit."
I do. The cup lands in front of me, steam coming from it.
Mirelle sits in front of me, her hands wrap together.
"What is it about Rex that you want to talk about?" she asks.
"About what I saw the first day I walked into his chamber, but this time it was different." I reply, slowly.
I tell her everything that occur three days back, the black waves, the way I could feel his pain, the way I carry his emotions without asking.
When I'm done, she heaves a sigh. "It's the bond connecting your emotions to each other. That's why you can feel it."
"Feel what?"
"The curse."
The word makes me freeze to the chair, as I raise an eyebrow curious.
"Curse?" I echo.
"Yes." Mirelle's voice is quiet, but there's a heaviness beneath it.
"The Alpha bears something ancient. Something that shouldn't exist in this world anymore."
I lean forward. "What is this curse?"
She stares at the fire, her eyes void of emotions.
"No one knows exactly where it began. Only that it's tied to an old prophecy. A bloodline marked by the moon and shadow, bound to destroy or redeem the pack. When Rex was born, there were signs, black storms over the hills, the old stone in the temple split in two. Everyone whispered he was chosen. Or doomed."
Chosen. Doomed. I can't tell which one sounds worse.
"But he looks healthy most of the time," I continue. "He's strong. He leads them."
"Strength doesn't erase a curse, Raya. It only delays its hunger."
Something turns in my stomach. "I saw you help him that day."
She nods. "I manage it. Contain it when I can. The darkness feeds on his power, on his anger. Sometimes it wins. That's what happens when it means."
I'm speechless for a while. "Do you have any clue why it all started?"
"No."
I stare at her. "No one knows?"
"Not even him." She meets my eyes. "He doesn't speak of it. I doubt he remembers the last time it took hold fully."
I lean into the chair, letting every word sink in. So this is what he's been hiding. This is why he pushes everyone away, why he keeps himself locked behind that cold stare. He's been bleeding from the inside, carrying something too dark to name.
Mirelle studies me. "You shouldn't be so close to him, Raya. The bond…"
"I never wanted it," I interjects. My voice comes out sharper than I intended. "They sealed us. I didn't choose this."
"I know. But choice doesn't change what it can do to you."
My pulse stumbles. "What do you mean?"
"The curse recognizes his mate."
The words make my chest tighten. "Recognize?"
She nods. "The energy you feel when he's in pain, that's not just empathy. It's the curse pulling through the bond. If he loses control again, you could be pulled into it."
For a moment, I can't breathe. "So it's killing him… and it could kill me too?"
Her silence is answer enough.
I look down at my hands. They're trembling. "He doesn't even know, does he?"
"No," she says softly. "And he mustn't. Not yet."
I shake my head. "Why not? He is the reason I am in this mess."
"And when he finds out?" Her voice turns sharp now.
"What do you think he'll do? He already carries the weight of every death this curse has caused. If he learns that you suffer because of it too… he'll blame himself."
"That's none of my business." I snort.
"It is because you will feel everything he feels." She explains.
"Then he should ask the Council to free me from this bond!" I shout, losing my cool.
"He has, but they threatened to make his pack face the consequences if he insists on freeing you." she begins.
I press my palms to my face, my breath shaking.
"So I am tied to him?" I whisper.
Mirelle's expression softens. "The bond is cruel that way. It gives and it takes in equal measure."
I look at the fire again. "When I'm near him, it's like I'm burning from the inside. I can't think straight. I can't control what I feel."
"That's the bond responding to his energy."
"It's more than that," I admit, voice low. "It's like something in me knows him. Like my body remembers him even when my mind tells me not to."
Her lips press into a line. "And yet you still came to me. That means you're stronger than you think."
I wish I believed her.
We sit in silence after that. The kind that hums with things neither of us can say. Outside, the night wind moves through the trees, low and restless.
When I finally stand to leave, she doesn't stop me.
At the door, I turn back. "Mirelle… if this curse is tied to prophecy, does that mean it can end?"
Her answer comes slow, almost like a sigh. "All things end, Raya. The question is who survives the ending?"
The door closes softly behind me, and I stand there for a long time, letting the night air cool my skin.
The moonlight glints against the mark on my neck. It pulses once, faintly in time with a heartbeat that isn't mine.
And I know, with a clarity that terrifies me, that whatever binds Rex and me together runs deeper than any ritual or curse.
It's in the blood. It's in the bone. And it's already too late to turn back.