Fated To The Cursed And Cruel Alpha

NOREEN'S POV

"Strip!"

Alpha Ryder Clarkson growled as his darkened gaze wandered my quivering frame.

I flinched at his tone and dared not to meet his blazing eyes.

"Pardon my Alpha!" I dropped to my knees and begged.

I had no idea Alpha Ryder was still in the shower when I got into his bathroom to clean up only to come face to face with a naked Alpha.

Ryder was the Alpha of our Pack the DarkenVille Pack and he was ruthless and brute at heart. I was an Omega who never had a chance to come here often. Living as an Omega of the Pack all my life made me feel vastly intimidated each time I came here to the alpha's wing of the mansion.

"I beg for your forgiveness!" I spluttered.

Ryder was now in a white bathrobe and his face white from the shower. He came closer to where I knelt in his room and lunged out a blow. He never missed his target.

I toppled over to the floor in a loud thud before I picked myself back up again to the kneeling position.

"I didn't see anything, my Alpha." I added just to ease the fury in his eyes. But he was beyond vexed.

"Now I desire to see yours," He stood over me, "Strip!" He reiterated.

His commanding Alpha tone compelled me to oblige. I started working on my zipper with shaking hands and the thumping desire to fulfill our Alpha's desire.

There was nothing but lust in his stares as his eyes roamed my body waiting for the frail fabric to be peeled off, waiting to have a nice view of my body.

"If you're beautiful in there I might reconsider rejecting you." He took in his lower lips with his teeth and lustfully waited.

I dared not disobey our Alpha's command so I worked feverishly at the stuck zipper, praying it came open before Alpha Ryder lost his patience. If he did, I'd get consumed by his rage.

He walked closer to me, I backed away from him but he kept coming at me and only when my back bumped into the wall did I stop my sick attempt of getting away.

His stoic frame stood an inch away from me, his eyes drilled into mine with perceptible lust in them, his hand found my face as his fingertips trailed my jaw.

"How about I make it easier for us?" He dawled in a manner that undid me.

I turned eighteen a few months ago only to realize Ryder, Alpha of our pack was my fated mate but he rejected me that instance making my life thereon a miserable and loathsome one. His pack members hummed in on his cruelty and treated me terribly.

He never wanted me but why now?

His hand dropped from my jaw only to grope my boob. A groan left his mouth as he squeezed it lightly.

I couldn't shake him off, he was after all my Alpha and mate. In my head I thought consummation would strengthen our bond and have him cancel the wedding of his girlfriend.

I wanted this. I wanted to feel my mate in the most intimate way possible. I had prayed all my life for this moment of bliss and here I was about to have this one blissful moment with my mate.

He pulled me into his torso, his hand found the zipper of my dress and he peeked off the fabric from my skin.

My heart thrashed wildly as the warm fabric dropped to my ankles, his large palms cupped my boobs again and his soft and warm lips trailed my jawline.

My ragged breathing seemed to turn him on the more because I could feel his lengthening member growing hard against me.

"If you please me right now, I could reconsider this shit." He whispered into my ears, his breath fanning my earlobes in the most sensuous way.

I wanted to please him. I didn't want my mate married off to the skinny blonde girl. I didn't want my mate to be taken away from me. This was my even chance to reclaim what was mine. And I was going to take it.

I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him way too close so our lips could meet as my splayed fingers wandered his broad back.

But the door went abruptly open and Heather, his fiancee barged in. The blonde girl stopped abruptly in her tracks the second she noticed us by the wall. Her face fell and so did the bouquet of red roses in her hand.

I snapped from Ryder with my heart doubling up in pace, this time from fear.

Ryder sneered and moved from me.

"Slut!" Heather spat with vengeful eyes directed my way.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to be shopping with the girls..." Ryder sounded calm and unfazed speaking to his fiancee.

"I can't believe you will cheat on me the morning of our wedding!" She yelled at him.

"Stop acting weird, the ugly runt tried to seduce me." He sounded clinical.

What?

I pulled my dress up and didn't bother to do the zipper, I became too scared to want to move, or do anything to bring Heather's attention my way.

"You can't do this to me!" She yelled at Ryder. "You can't embarrass me this way!"

"Babe, relax okay?" His eyes dropped on my brown ones, "Get your runt ass out my door!"

I obliged, keeping as farther from the fuming Heather as possible as I ran past her.

I left the room, closing the heavy door behind me, closing the horrible experience behind me, I started down the hall with tears in my eyes.

"What took you forever to get here?" Lady Jill, head of the omegas of the DarkenVille pack barked the instant I got into the kitchen.

"I was scheduled to clean the alpha's wing. I, I, I..." I stuttered, tugged an imaginary stray strand of my brown hair from my face, and remained silent.

"You useless good for nothing weakling always finding excuses!" She hissed, "If the bird isn't plucked in the next five minutes I'll have you flogged."

She stomped towards the sink to inspect what the other girls were working on.

No one ever loved me around here. I felt like the rejected one, a mistake in the pack. Moments like this made me realize what a terrible mistake the goddess had made matching me with Ryder.

Ryder was getting married, it didn't matter anymore.

Tears brimmed in my eyes as I worked on the turkey. My mind replayed what happened a few minutes ago and I just couldn't help the heat flooding my cheeks at how willing and eager I wanted to please Ryder.

It didn't matter now. They were getting married tonight. The High King, Alpha's of other packs in the Kingdom, nobles and rich merchants, business moguls of far and near packs were all invited and more than half of their invites were already in the pack.

I needed to have my head checked for thinking Ryder was going to call this wedding off because I chose to spread my legs for him.

Tears clouded my vision, I fought to keep the tears trapped in my brown eyes. I couldn't sob, not when I was on duty.

The kitchen door swung open and Emme, my only friend around here, came bustling in.

"Hide, they're coming!"

The urgency of her words, the fear in her beautiful eyes suggested this was going to be the end for me. They found me.

NOREEN'S POV

They caught me before I could run off or hide. They were not going to be merciful, not this time.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lady Jill came into the scene the second they were about bundling me up.

I was beyond scared. For the first time, I was happy to have Lady Jill intrude in my personal affairs.

"Nothing, it's fine." I let out a nervous laugh, regardless of how badly I wanted her to save me from these snarling men.

"You can't take her, she has work here to do!" Lady Jill wasn't about saving me but herself.

She needed the job to be done on time to save herself from the Alpha's wrath considering the wedding.

"Well then, pay us," the man with a scorpion tattoo on his neck glowered at her with his hand stretched out at Lady Jill.

"She got a loan from us and she can't pay it up. We'll take her or you pay us, now!" The burly one said, flex his muscles.

Lady Jill's confused expression left their faces to settle on mine.

"You got a loan?"

It was strange and unacceptable for an Omega to have a huge amount in their possession. It was unacceptable for Omegas to request for loans but I had broken the rules, I requested and received the loans two months ago in the quest for my freedom.

I had paid so they could put me on a ferry. I could have been freed, I could have been gone from this pack if things worked out the way we had envisaged. But it didn't. We were all scammed, there was no freedom anywhere. We paid only to get duped now these loan sharks were here for their money.

"Give me a little more time, I am going to pay, please." I begged.

"Could we have these talks another time? She has work to do." Lady Jill refuted.

"She's either coming or we will bring down this kitchen starting with that..." The scorpion tattoo man cocked his head towards the well cured salmon waiting to get into the oven.

The sound of the stilettos drifted our gazes to the kitchen door to see Heather and her assistant waltzed into the kitchen.

Was she not supposed to be relaxing for her wedding this evening? She was living the life the goddess had ordained for me. She was marrying my mate. She won, she could let the hate simmer now.

She waltzed into the kitchen, her eyes roved the bustling area before they landed on me and then to the loan sharks.

"Bring her." She commanded them as though they worked for her.

Or did they?

She turned right back out of the kitchen with her assistant in tow. I struggled to be freed as these hefty men bundled me up, taking me away from the kitchen. I fought to get my feet on the floor, at least gain control of myself but they were too strong.

The pain on my arm and thighs from how tight they grabbed me made it hard to struggle and it was until they got to the waiting car did they use silver chains to tie me up.

They tossed me in the trunk of the waiting Rover. I was unsure of where they were taking me but my hope and trust was on the goddess to keep me safe.

They didn't drive for as long as I had imagined they would when the car came to a halt. They yanked me out of the trunk, tossing me to the floor like I was a sack of potatoes.

"Bring the whore!" Heather commanded moving towards the only building before my eyes

It was an antiquated building rumored to be the temple of the goddess infested by the ancestral witches who turned the temple to their coven.

It was a curse to get inside the temple, at least, it was believed by everyone in the Pack so why was Heather bringing me here?

"I want to make sure you don't ruin my fairytale wedding tonight." She clamped my chin with her fingers in a manner that hurt so badly.

"I won't, I promise!" I managed to say when she released me.

"I don't trust that, a slut is capable of anything."

"I am never going to cause any trouble, please don't..."

"Shut up!" She struck me hard in the face. "Shut the fuck up! Ryder's mine and tonight's going to make that clear." She turned to the gruff loan sharks, "Keep her bound and after midnight, she's yours to do as pleased."

Heather snapped her fingers, her assistant came forward with her purse. She took out bundles of money stashed in her purse. The greed in their eyes as Heather shared the money to them sickened me.

"There'll be more after I get pronounced the Luna of the DarkenVille Pack tonight."

She turned and headed towards her car. I watched as she gave me one last smirk in the scorching morning sun before she got into the car.

As the car sped off, my fears kicked in. I was alone with these fiery looking men. There were three of them, I stood no chance against them.

"You're going to love it here with us baby!" The burly one ran lusty eyes on my exposed thighs, "Midnight is a long time to wait right?"

"Let's get her in first, then we can return to wait on that rock." The scorpion-tattoo man suggested with a sneer that sent shivers feathering down my spine.

His team mate obliged, lifting me like I weighed nothing inside the temple. They were not afraid of this curse, they found a spot by the altar where the scented candles burned brightly. The candles are rumored to never burn out.

They confirmed my shackles and were satisfied to know escape was not in the cards for me that night

"After midnight tonight darling, we're going to have a lotta fun."

I didn't know which one of them said it, all I could focus on was the pain my body was going through. I still had some hours to think of an escape plan.

But there was no way I was going to escape. Heather was going to be Luna anyway. First thing she was going to do was to command my death.

Now was the time to escape. If I could get my shackles off then escaping was certain.

I started abrading the shackles, if I was persistent then I could be free before midnight.

This was a chance from the goddess and I couldn't fail Her so I worked unrelentingly with the adrenaline rush coursing through me and the fear of how these vicious men would feast on my body brought a sheer sense of urgency through me. It was now or never.

ALPHA HAROLD'S POV

"What an honor to have you here!"

Ryder sounded nervous as he welcomed me into his territory. My Gamma and I were here to grace his wedding.

Ryder was exuding fear as he trembled before me. These weren't the qualities of a ruler, not before their adversaries.

But it was hard for Ryder to gain composure, not with the animalistic power emanating from me and my Gamma.

It affected the Commanders of DarkenVille a great deal for we possessed more evolved and higher wolves. I possessed a strong wolf and unmatchable Lycan humanoid abilities.

"The pleasure's all mine!" I shook hands briskly with him and I walked on the stretched out red carpet leading inside his mansion.

DarkenVille and my territory, the Blackburn Pack were like night and day, the difference was clear for all to see. There were no disputes between our territories; it was why I chose to honor his invitation.

"How long until the wedding ceremony?" I asked, fighting the urge to glance at my wristwatch.

"Two hours," he responded nervously.

"Congratulations!" My tone was detached and clinical.

They looked flattered to have me around but it wasn't why I was here.

I glanced over to see Norman, my Gamma staring right at me. We couldn't let them in on our true motive of coming here. We couldn't risk having words out.

I shook hands with a few more people and afterwards, I was led to a more private area of the mansion where I had my peace of mind and time to think.

"Did you memorize the map?" I asked Norman when we were left alone in the private wing of the mansion.

"It should be easy to locate." He nodded.

We were here for the old temple. The ancient witch coven. I needed to find this sacred amulet for a ritual to break this curse a witch placed on me a few years ago.

A soft knock on the door disrupted my thoughts, and an attendant in an immaculately tailored black suit came in with a tray of wine.

My gaze was on the tablet on the small coffee table which held the map. I tapped on the home screen icon when the attendant came closer to serve us the drink.

My mind was on the map and how to find my way around this pack to the old temple as the attendant poured us the wine.

"Rich!" I complimented the wine and a smile curled on the attendant's face, "What is your name?"

"Neil." His tone faltered as he answered bowing stiffly.

"I need you back here in exactly two hours." I informed him.

He nodded stiffly.

"It's not a perfect time for the celebration." Neil spoke quietly as though feeding me an information I failed to know, "It's a new moon tonight."

I peered at him to catch a glimpse of humor on his face but there was none. Neil stood ramrod straight before me with his eyes on the void above my shoulder.

The glint in his eyes suggested he was concerned enough to enlighten me on what tonight was.

"This is a joke!" Norman was on his feet. "Ryder has to be fucking kidding us!"

The annoyance on Norman's face had Neil shaken to his core with beads of perspiration trickling down his face.

I found the forecast on the iPad before me and it was there and then did we realize the earth actually was spherical.

"We run different time zones with this hell of a pack!" I muttered. How could we miss that?

I went over it in my head about the possibility of such a slip and found it. I was more concerned about getting here to the old temple than checking the forecast. I was cursed by a witch with Vilxir, I turned bloodthirsty on a new moon.

"So that means..." Norman started and went instantly silent.

"Ryder puts his wedding on fast-forward and gets it done in less than an hour or he pushes it back another time." My tone was inscrutable as I took another sip of my wine.

Like I cared about his wedding. My interest was in getting to the old temple to see what I could gather.

"I'll go inform Alpha Ryder." Neil gave a bow and bolted towards and out the door.

"If the Amulet of Dinv is in this temple, I must be there before the new moon in two hours." I had to get this amulet before the new moon.

"I need to speak with Ryder." Norman got to his feet.

"You will attend the wedding, and have the entire Pack members indoors before the new moon is out."

I got to my feet, this should be easy to find.

My best bet was on Ryder pushing back the wedding another day but I wasn't expecting him to risk the lives of his Pack members by choosing to get wedded in the span of an hour.

It was a risk but he had made a choice, he had risked the welfare of his pack members again, a proof that he was not a worthy ruler.

"I don't want my darling Heather to be heartbroken. She has looked forward to today for quite a long time now." Ryder chuckled briskly when he met me in the hallway.

"So be it. Make it quick." I responded and headed on to my major business.

I was cursed with Vilxir. The witch cursed me to grow bloodthirsty on a new moon. Every new moon, more than a handful of my pack members were slaughtered until we found a way of having them indoors during the new moon.

Staying motionless indoors on a new moon was the only way my bloodthirsty wolf couldn't detect these wolves.

The lives of these Pack members were at risk if I didn't get to this temple in exactly one hour to find this amulet that can subdue my wolf until we found a way to break this curse.

I returned to the private chamber, changed into a black hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, I found a face mask and with that I was ready to leave the mansion y detected.

When Ryder saw me leave his mansion he didn't make a sound, as long as his pack members weren't aware of this then I was good.

It was a few minutes drive from the mansion to the temple but I had driven for almost an hour without getting anywhere. It wasn't until I pulled over, confirmed my maps did I realize I had typed in the wrong location.

Cayed Hills was a different destination from Caeyed Hills. I had clicked on the wrong location and I had to get back on track. So much for a man who loathed mistakes.

Now the mistake was on me and I was lucky to be alone not to embarrass myself, so I turned the car around. I was running out of time.

I didn't drive any farther, I felt my wolf begin to push inside of me threatening to take control of my mind and body.

It wasn't safe to drive.

I got down from the car and plunged straight into the woods giving my wolf the chance to completely take over my body. The bloodthirsty beast dominated my being. I was now on all four, my blazing wolf smoldering the path as he went forth.

But something strange grazed my nostrils. The foul smell of dark magic. I looked up at the antiquated building before my eyes. The repulsive foul smell was coming right out of the old temple.

A witch.

I knew without a trace of doubt in my heart this witch was going to be my first victim tonight.