8

I sat up as Alaricas started to wake up, he furrowed his eyebrows before opening his eyes. He hissed in pain before blinking a few times, it took him a few seconds to face me.

"M-morning." He whispered.

I smiled, "Morning."

We sat in an awkward silence for a bit, the air was thick with tension as we melted into our thoughts. Alaricas finally released a shaky breath and looked at me.

"Ask me anything." He said.

I bit my lip, "What was the curse?"

He sighed, "A long time ago, my great great great grandfather made a promise to a witch. Her name is Celine, she's the daughter of Lilith."

"Who's Lilith?" I asked.

"The Moon Goddess' younger sister."

"Oh."

"He promised to mate with her and make her Luna if he didn't find his mate within three months. Three months later they were preparing for the ceremony when he walked into his mate. Celine was angry when she heard of their encounter. She went to him, telling him that the three months had already passed. He refused to reject his mate though. Because of this, she put a curse on my family."

"Every other male on his side will be born with this curse, starting with him. The curse was that once we meet our mate it awakens the demon inside of us. It's like a wraith, but it's called a shadow wolf. It possesses our wolf and causes us to become feral throughout the day. But at night we have enough control to show our mates how much we love them." He explained.

I frowned, "That's why you were different at night."

He nodded, "It also blocked the mate-bond, but I didn't need the bond to make me fall in love with you. I wasn't strong enough though...I-I could have controlled it if I was stronger."

"No, you couldn't have. There's many curses like this. They're very strong, only the witch who casted it can break it." I replied.

"I know." He sighed. "It took me three months to find her, but I found her. She had ended up falling in love with a vampire and had triplets with him. Crazy little things." He chuckled.

"Anyway, she apologized for causing so much devastation to my family. She was a teen at the time and very immature. She lifted the curse and helped me return to the pack. But once I found out you permanently moved to America...I...I locked myself in my room."

I watched as he looked at his hands, he then looked back at me. His eyes were shining with guilt, silent tears rolled down his face.

"I'm so sorry." He said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"I loved you, I've always loved you and still do. I know what I did was wrong, even though I was cursed. It was my fault you got hurt and rejected me. I tried telling you so many times, but that thing would stop me. He threatened to kill you and I...I couldn't let him. When he almost killed you I...I lost it." He murmured.

"I didn't know how to tell you when I finally got the chance."

I frowned at him, more tears ran down his cheeks and fell onto his hands. I gently cupped his face and made him look at me.

"It's going to take me some time to get over the abuse. That fear is buried deep within me. I've actually been doing good so far, besides the nightmares. But I'm willing to give you a chance. To show me that you're no longer cursed and truly care about me." I smiled.

He nodded, with a smile he leaned in and kissed me on the forehead.

"Thank you."

I ended up laying beside him in the bed, though I panicked a few times. Having these nightmares was taking away my energy, all I wanted to do was sleep. But I also wanted to comfort my mate, make sure he's relaxed, make sure he knows he's safe. The need to be close to him had wrapped around me until I was pressed against his body.

He would wake up for an hour or so before falling asleep again. Sometimes, he would have nightmares of Jefferson torturing him.

"No!" He suddenly screamed.

I jumped up, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. I looked down at Alaricas to see him twitching a little. Even with his eyes closed he looked panicked.

"Don't! Please, not her!"

I frowned at the tears running down his face now and the way his voice cracked. I quickly wrapped my arms around him and stroked his cheek.

"It's okay, Alaricas. You're okay." I whispered.

He shook his head, his hands gripped the sheets tightly. I ran my hand through my hair, I'm going to have to wake him this time it seems. I gently shook him, but he still wouldn't open his eyes.

"Alaricas, wake up." I said louder, shaking him harder.

After a few more tries he finally snapped his eyes opened and sat up. I went to stop him from doing just that, but he still seemed somewhat out of it. He started searching the bed.

"Jo...where...Jolene!"

My heart fell at how panicked he looked, more tears started to run down his face. I gently cupped his cheek, causing him to stiffen.

"I'm right here." I said softly.

He slowly looked at me, he collapsed and hugged me. To say I was confused would be an understatement. I was completely puzzled, bewildered. He was crying into my shirt and holding me tightly.

"I thought he killed you. I-I thought I lost you a-again." He said as he started to calm down.

I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek as he looked at me. "It's okay, I'm right here. I'm alive."

He smiled a little, he then frowned. Even through the limited light I could tell he was blushing.

"S-sorry...I-I didn't hurt you? Right?" He rambled.

I chuckled, "No, you didn't hurt me. But you scared me with your screaming. Are you okay?"

"Well, mentally for now I am but physically...I don't want to move."

I could hear the pain in his voice, I sighed and gently grabbed him.

"Lay down, it's going to hurt, but once you're relaxed you'll feel better." I instructed.

He nodded before slowly laying down, he cried out in pain and whimpered. When he was finally laying against the pillows again, he stopped.

"Thank you." He breathed.

I grinned, "You're welcome. Now, get some sleep."

"Jefferson is dead...right?"

"Yeah, he's dead. You're safe now."