Bound By The Alpha’s Curse

MIRA I stood at the heavy oak doors of the Seattle pack’s Great Hall, and the rain was still dripping from the hem of my jacket. The two guards at the entrance didn’t move to open the doors for me, but they didn’t stop me either. They just stared with wide, shocked eyes as if they were looking at a ghost. I didn't wait for an invitation. I pushed the doors open myself, and the sound of the hinges cut through the low murmur of the crowd inside. The room went dead silent. Every head turned, and I felt the weight of a hundred gazes pressing against my skin. At the far end of the hall, seated on a raised chair that looked more like a throne than a piece of furniture, was Lucian Wolfe. He looked exactly the same, but harder. His shoulders were broader, and the silver streak in his dark hair seemed more prominent under the chandeliers. He didn't stand up when he saw me. He just gripped the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white. “You have a lot of nerve showing your face here, Mira,” Lucian said, and his voice was a low growl that vibrated in my chest. I walked down the center aisle, my boots clicking against the stone floor. I stopped ten feet away from him and kept my chin up. “I’m not a rogue, Lucian. I was born into this pack, and I rightfully belong to the Seattle territory. You cast me out once, but you can’t send me away again.” A man to Lucian’s left stood up abruptly. It was one of the council elders, and his face was twisted in disgust. “You destroyed our legacy,” the elder shouted, and he pointed a shaking finger at me. “She broke the sacred curse of the alpha line. She didn't just break a law; she spat on our ancestors. She deserves to be executed, not welcomed back.” The room erupted into a chorus of agreement. I heard the words "traitor" and "exile" hissed from the every corner. The council members began arguing loudly, and most of them were demanding that I be banished for life or killed on the spot to satisfy the blood debt. They didn't care that I had been a child when the chaos started, and they certainly didn't care about the truth. “I didn’t do it to hurt the pack,” I said, and I looked straight at Lucian, ignoring the shouting men around him. “I did it for you. I was trying to save you from it. I’m not your enemy, Lucian. I never was.” Lucian finally stood up, and the room went quiet instantly. He was a head taller than anyone else, and the power rolling off him was suffocating. He didn't look at the council, and he didn't look at the pack. He just stared at me with those piercing green eyes, and for a second, I thought I saw a flash of pain there, but it was gone before I could be sure. “I’ve heard enough for now,” Lucian said, and he signaled to the guards. “Take her to the holding rooms. Keep a watch on her. No one touches her until I give the word.” He didn't wait for my response. He turned and walked out through the back exit, his long black coat billowing behind him. The guards grabbed my arms, and their grip was tight and bruising. They led me away while the council continued to scream about justice and blood. They put me in a small room with a heavy iron door and a single window high up on the wall. I sat on the edge of the cot and tried to keep my hands from shaking. I could hear the pack outside. They weren't even trying to be quiet. I heard voices talking about how I was a curse myself, and how the Alpha should have finished me off years ago. No one wanted to hear my side of the story, and no one was happy I was back. I was the villain in their history books, and they wanted a conclusion. Hours passed, and the sun began to set, casting long, orange shadows across the floor. I thought about leaving, but there was nowhere left to go. I had spent years running, and I was tired. If I was going to die, I wanted it to be here, on the land that was supposed to be mine. The door creaked open, and Lucian walked in alone. He didn't have his coat on anymore, and his white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. He looked tired, but his gaze was still very cold as he stood by the door and watched me. “The council wants your head, Mira,” he said. “I know,” I replied. “What do you want?” “Come with me,” he said. He led me back into the Great Hall, and the entire pack was gathered there again. Lucian stepped up to the podium and looked out at his people. “I have made my judgment,” he announced, and his voice carried to every corner of the hall. “Mira Thompson will be allowed back into the pack.” The silence lasted for exactly one second before the room exploded. The elders were on their feet, red-faced and screaming. “You can’t be serious!” one yelled. “She is a criminal!” “She’s a danger to us all!” another added. Lucian slammed his hand down on the podium, and the sound was like a gunshot. Everyone flinched. “I am the Alpha,” he barked, and his eyes glowed a faint, dangerous gold. “My decision is final. I will not hear another word against it.” The council members backed down, but their eyes were full of hate. Lucian turned back to the crowd. “She will return to the pack, but she will not be roaming free. She will live and work in the palace under my direct supervision. I will keep an eye on her myself.” He paused, and his voice dropped a fraction. “After all, she isn't a stranger. She was my mate. I won't send her out a second time.” A collective gasp went through the room. I felt a wave of relief so strong I almost moved toward him, but the look on his face stopped me. He wasn't doing this out of love. He wasn't doing this because he missed me. The meeting was dismissed, and the pack filtered out, whispering and casting dark looks over their shoulders at me. I stood in the middle of the hall, feeling small and exposed. Lucian waited until the last person had left before he moved. He walked toward me, and I didn't back away. He didn't stop until he was inches from me, and he leaned down so his breath brushed against my ear. He cornered me against the edge of a heavy table, and his hand gripped the wood beside my hip. “Don’t think this is a mercy, Mira,” he whispered, and his voice was cold enough to make my blood freeze. “I only took you back so I could keep you where I can see you. I want to find a better reason to kill you myself. I want to be the one who finishes what you started.”

MIRA The sun hadn't even come up when the head maid kicked the door to my small room. I sat up quickly, my heart beating so fast, and she threw a pile of grey linens at my feet. Her name was Mrs. Gable, and she had worked in the palace since I was a child, but she didn't look at me with any recognition. She looked at me like I was a stain on the floor that she couldn't quite scrub away. "Get up," she said, and her voice was cold. "The Alpha didn't bring you back here to sleep. You start in the kitchens, then the laundry, and I want the floors in the east wing scrubbed by noon. If I see you sitting down once, I’ll tell the Alpha you’re refusing to work." I didn't argue with her. I knew Lucian wasn't bluffing about wanting a reason to kill me, and I wasn't going to give it to him. I got dressed in the plain clothes they provided and spent the next four hours hauling heavy crates of meat and vegetables. The other maids wouldn't look at me. When I walked into a room, they stopped talkin