Chapter 5 Whispers in the blood

Mira didn't sleep.

She sat on the edge of her bed long after Kade vanished into the night like a ghost, her heart pounding so loud it echoed in her ears.

She could still feel his hand on her cheek - rough, calloused, warm in a way that seared her skin like fire. And his scent... gods, his scent clung to her lungs like a drug.

"I don't want this," he'd said.

Liar.

She saw it in his eyes. The war raging inside him. The need to possess her - and the fear of what that meant.

A cursed mate.

Unacceptable.

She pulled her knees to her chest and whispered, "You're not safe for him either."

⸻

The next morning, Mira avoided the training halls and instead took a detour into the school's ancient library - the one built before the first Alpha War. No students ever came here. Not unless they were desperate.

She was.

The librarian, an old witch with yellowed eyes and silver rings stacked on every finger, narrowed her gaze at Mira as she entered.

"Cursed blood doesn't belong here."

"I'm not here to cause trouble," Mira said. "I just want to understand... what I am."

The witch stared at her long and hard. Then, to Mira's shock, she stood and hobbled to the back wall. She tapped three ancient stones. A secret shelf opened with a soft hiss.

She handed Mira a leather-bound book. Dust flaked off it like ash.

"Start here. Page 13. You'll know when to stop."

⸻

Mira flipped through the pages until she found the number thirteen. A passage was circled in crimson ink:

"The Cursed Ones are not born of evil. They are born of prophecy. Carriers of the Forgotten Flame - a power that destroys and heals, loves and burns."

"They will be born to one who dies willingly, and they will be hated by their kin. Their power cannot be controlled... until the bond is formed."

Mira's fingers trembled.

Her mother had died the day she was born.

Her father had hated her ever since.

And now... the bond.

Alpha Kade.

Her mate.

⸻

Kade couldn't concentrate.

Lucien's voice droned on in the background as he paced the Alpha's war room.

"...the council is already asking why you haven't claimed a mate. Your pack elders want bloodlines secured-"

"I'm not claiming anyone," Kade snapped.

"But she's yours."

"She's dangerous."

"So are you."

Kade turned sharply. "She's cursed. You know what that means."

Lucien looked at him, calm but fierce. "I also know your heart started beating faster the moment she touched you. You haven't reacted to anyone like that. Ever."

Kade growled, but Lucien didn't flinch.

"Whether you like it or not, she's your fated mate. And if you don't claim her soon... someone else might."

⸻

Mira wandered the lower gardens at sunset, the cursed book tucked beneath her arm.

She felt strange. Like something inside her was waking up. Her vision shimmered at times, her fingertips tingled, and her wolf - usually silent and dormant - began to stir in her dreams.

Suddenly, a presence emerged from the trees.

Liana.

Flanked by two muscular male students from her father's pack.

"Well, well," Liana sneered. "Reading again, freak? Maybe books will teach you how not to be a disappointment."

Mira turned, calm.

"I'm not in the mood today, Liana."

Liana stepped forward, eyes narrowing.

"You think being strong makes you special? Everyone saw what you did to Ashfang. But that doesn't make you worthy. It just makes you more of a monster."

One of the boys shoved Mira hard. She stumbled, dropping the book.

"I don't want to hurt you," Mira warned.

Liana laughed. "You couldn't if you tried-"

A crack of thunder cut her off.

Then a growl.

Low. Dangerous. Savage.

They all turned.

Kade stood at the top of the stairs, his body glowing with power, eyes blazing silver.

"No one touches what's mine."