Bride of the Cursed Alpha - Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Lucien POV
The Shaman had called me on an urgent basis last night. I didn’t want to leave Auren, but I knew that I had to go. He was there to uncover the mystery behind her birthmark, which was very important for me.
Every day she was near, my craving deepened. It was like an ache that coiled tightly in my chest. Remus prowled beneath my skin, restless, agitated, demanding what was ours. Her intoxicating scent clung to me like a torment I couldn’t escape. I didn’t want to escape. When her soft gray eyes looked at me, speaking a silent surrender, it took everything inside me not to give in.
It was my fear that gnawed at me. What if she couldn’t take my mark? But the need that burned inside me was unbearable. Every second without me marking her felt like a war I was losing.
When I reached the Eldermere ruins, I saw that my warriors were standing all around it, their faces etched with tension.
“The Shaman is at the altar,” Tarian said as he guided me inside.
This was the third time I had come here, and couldn’t help feeling the familiar oppressive darkness. It was like it was pressing its cold hands on me. I took a deep breath as I followed Tarian inside.
The Shaman was standing near the altar, watching something through the dome above it at an angle. “This is what I’ve been thinking,” he murmured.
I went to stand near him and looked at the open roof from where we could clearly see the sky where the moon hung low. It was bizarre how it had golden edges when seeing it from here. It seemed shackled by the thorny vines that surrounded the altar and its columns. Goosebumps lined my skin as it reminded me of Auren’s birthmark.
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?” the Shaman asked.
I couldn’t even reply. This could be a great coincidence or nothing at all. But I refused to believe that it was nothing.
Shaman pointed at the moon. “I was waiting for it to become full before calling you. Can you make out how it looks like it is shackled by the thorny vines? Just like her tattoo? This could be an indication.”
I stepped closer. “Indication of what?” I asked, my eyes going wide as I studied the pattern.
He took a deep breath in. “That Auren is the one. She is key to breaking the curse.”
I went utterly still. My breath halted, my world shifting beneath my feet. My muscles tensed. “Auren?” I said as my mind warred between hope and fear. I felt violently protective toward her. If she was the answer, then danger lurked closer than I thought. Remus growled inside me, demanding to lock her away, to shield her from my enemies who would stop at nothing. If she was the key, then fate had just painted a bigger target on her back. “How can you be so sure?” I asked, my voice raspy.
“I called the Shaman of the Crimson Howl pack and asked about Auren.” He walked away from me, studying the altar, as he circled it. “He said that Auren was found at the steps of the Moon Goddess temple in his pack with a gold chain and a ring. He had given her to a caring couple to take care of her. The couple died while saving their Alpha. The Alpha was kind enough to allow her to study, but when Alpha Bram took over, her life spiraled down. You know the rest…”
“She is adopted?” I asked with disbelief.
“Yes, she was adopted. The Shaman doesn’t know where she came from though he tried to find her real parents. She has had that tattoo on her back since birth. Apprehensive, he warned her adoptive parents not to reveal it to anyone, because it was a curse.”
I dropped on my knees, stabbing my fingers in my hair. The Moon Goddess sure knew her way around to bring Auren to me. I don’t know why but the thought made my eyes sting with tears. Auren always belonged to me.
“Now—” Shaman continued. “This is all a speculation, but chances are that Auren is the one this pack has been seeking to break the curse. That would mean that she has become the prime property of the pack. She should be protected at all costs. And you should mark her as soon as possible.”
“So what other evidence do you need to prove that it is the truth?” I asked. All I wanted was to go back to her and mark her. To declare the world that she was my mate. Remus was growling in my head to run back to her.
“I want to stay back and see something else. For that I need you. You have to open your clothes and sit in front of the altar.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you have the same tattoo, she has, all over your body.” He looked up at the moon. “I can sense spirits here. The shadow wolves. I want to see their reaction to your tattoos. If what I think will happen, then Auren is definitely the one.”
I clenched my jaw because it was taking all my energy to not run to her. But still because I wanted to ascertain this finding, I agreed. I opened my clothes and sat in front of the altar, waiting for the shadow wolves to appear. Auren had related to me that they appeared when she was here. I was sure that they would come back. For me.
I heard the first hiss in less than an hour. Shadows emerged from the crack in the altar. As Tarian and the Shaman stepped back, I stayed there with clenched fists. The shadows morphed into smoky wolves and walked around me, hissing and licking me, entering my mouth and nose. There was oppressive magic in the air. So dark and cold that it felt like it would split my head into two. This was what Auren must have felt.
“…you rejected the moon bond…” they hissed.
“…we want blood…”
“…kill him…”
“…Naqia…”
The thorns came alive. They crawled on my skin, and then all at once, all of them pricked my flesh. I screamed as pain shot through me. They wanted to punish me, hurt me.
“…feel the pain…”
“…feel Naqia’s pain…”
“…you are vile…”
“…cursed…”
My head was swirling with fragments of images I couldn’t understand. Excruciating pain shot through me. I couldn’t move a finger as the shadows swirled around me, drawing out my blood.
“Get him out!” Tarian shouted in fear. “He is in pain!”
The Shaman started chanting incantations. “I command you to leave!” he gritted.
The shadows lunged at him. “Go… we want blood…”
Scared, he scrambled back. “Alpha Lucien, only you can come out of this mess!” he shouted. “Focus!”
I didn’t know what to do. This was a big mistake. “Auren…” I muttered. I saw my blood pooling on the ground, my energy seeping.
The shadows wanted to kill me to wipe out my bloodline. No. I wouldn’t go. Not without a fight. I focused on all the happy memories. Of Auren. I didn’t know for how long I sat there, but when the shadows finally retreated, promising they would come again, I was lying in a pool of my blood.
I blinked open my eyes to see Tarian’s face hovering over me, stricken with fear. It was already a day. “What happened?” I asked, weakly.
And then I heard a faint tug through my bond. Like Auren was calling me. She needed me. She was in danger.
“Luciennn…”