Chapter 10 The cursed mark

Mira woke with sweat slicking her skin and a scream trapped in her throat.

She wasn't in her bed.

She was standing in the center of the academy's ancient underground chamber - stone walls etched with forgotten runes, the air thick with sulfur and power. Her feet were bare. Her body still tingled from the bond with Kade, but now something new buzzed in her blood.

Her left forearm burned.

She looked down.

A mark was branded into her skin - glowing, blackened lines swirling like fire caught in ink. It wasn't just a tattoo. It moved. It pulsed with magic. It hummed.

And deep inside, she heard... whispers.

She has awakened.

The cursed mate breathes again.

The prophecy is fulfilled...

"No," she whispered, backing away from the stone altar behind her.

But the whispers followed.

One shall die to save them all.

⸻

Above ground, Kade tore through the hallways, barely dressed, his eyes wild. He could feel her power vanishing into the depths of the school.

Lucien caught his arm. "What the hell is going on?"

"She's not in her room."

Lucien paled. "The chamber... Oh f*ck."

"What chamber?"

"The one sealed since the Blood War. Only a cursed wolf could enter."

Kade didn't wait. He shifted mid-stride, leaping into the dark staircase that led into the forbidden levels.

⸻

Mira was on her knees when Kade found her.

He froze at the entrance. The air was heavy. Charged. His wolf howled in pain - not from fear, but reverence.

She was glowing.

Her hair floated like it was underwater, her eyes pitch-black, her fingers etched with the same cursed mark.

He stepped closer. "Mira?"

Her head snapped up. "Don't."

He ignored the warning. "What's happening?"

"I'm not just cursed," she choked out. "I'm chosen. By something ancient. Something violent."

He dropped to his knees beside her and took her face in his hands. "Then we'll face it together."

But the moment their skin touched, a blast of energy surged through the room, throwing them apart. Mira slammed into the wall with a grunt. Kade skidded backward, snarling as his claws dug into the stone to keep him from flying off balance.

A voice thundered inside both their minds.

The bond has awakened the flame. Death will follow. The Alpha must bleed. The mate must burn.

⸻

Later, in Varya's study, the headmistress poured herself a glass of dark wine and stared at the report in front of her.

"So it's true," she whispered. "The mark has chosen her."

Lucien nodded, tense. "And worse - Kade's power is now linked to hers. If she breaks, so does he."

Varya downed the wine in one gulp.

"Then we either find a way to control her... or kill her before the next full moon."

⸻

Mira sat on the floor of her room, hugging her knees. Kade leaned against the wall beside her, his body humming with tension.

"You're not alone," he said, voice low.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You already do," he smirked. "Every time you walk into a room."

She rolled her eyes, but the ghost of a smile touched her lips.

He moved closer, took her hand, and traced the mark on her forearm with his thumb. "Whatever this is, we'll survive it. You and me."

"But the prophecy-"

"Can go f*ck itself."

He pulled her into his lap and kissed her like it was the last time.

Mira didn't resist.

Because deep down... she knew it might be.