Chapter 20: The First Curse (Ariana’s POV)
One night, I dreamed of my great- grandmother. I know how she looks
because I’ve seen her old photo. But it was different. I look like her in my dream and they call me Shaina.
I was sitting by the ancient oak in the center of the Redwood territory, my fingers tracing the patterns of the talisman hanging around my neck.
I have no control over my body, or in this case Shaina’s body. It was like seeing her past through her eyes.
The air was thick with the scent of moss
and the distant howl of wolves, sounds that once brought me peace but now served as a reminder of what I’d lost.
“Shaina,” Marcus, her brother, had said with worry. “Are you sure about this
alliance? Travis has ambition in his blood.
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You can see it in his eyes.”
But Shaina hadn‘ t listened. Love makes
fools of us all.
Travis was Shaina’s mate, a bond blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. He was strong, charismatic, and carried an air of authority that drew wolves to him like moths to a
flame. When Redwood pack and Shadowstone packs forged an uneasy truce, Shaina and Travis thrown together often, negotiating terms and ensuring peace.
They were young and hopeful, imagining a future where their love could bridge the
chasm between our families. Shaina
believed in him, trusted him, and gave him
her heart.
But trust is a fragile thing. One day everything changed.
Marcus had been preparing to take his place as the Alpha of the Redwood pack. He was strong and fair, the kind of leader who inspired loyalty in his wolves. But
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Travis saw him as a threat.
“Shaina, you need to understand,” Travis had told me one night under the stars, his voice smooth but distant. “Your
brother’s vision for Redwood threatens the balance of power. If he continues down this path, our packs will be at war.”
Shaina scoffed at him, brushing off his concerns. “Marcus isn‘ t looking for power. He just wants to ensure our pack‘ s survival.”
Travis had nodded, but there was a glint in his eyes that couldn’t quite place. She should have seen it then, the way he was calculating his next move. But her love for
him had blinded her.
The betrayal came swiftly. It was an ambush orchestrated by Travis and his allies. Marcus was lured into a supposed
Das
negotiation, only to be attacked and killed by rogues.
When Shaina heard the news, she fell to
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her knees, the weight of grief and rage threatening to crush her.
I felt the same things when Scott severed our bond.
“How could you?” she screamed at Travis when she confronted him. “You swore loyalty to me, to my family!”
His face was a mask of regret, but his words were cold. “It had to be done. Shaina. For the future of my pack. For us.”
“For us?” I spat, my voice trembling with fury. “You think betraying my family ensures our future?”
He reached for me, but I pulled away. “Shaina, you don‘ t understand the pressures of leadership. Sometimes sacrifices must be made.”
“Sacrifices?” I whispered, my voice.
breaking. “You sacrificed my brother. You sacrificed me!”
“Enough Shaina. You’ll understand me one
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day.”
That was the last I’v heard from him before he left; leaving Shaina with a broken heart.
That night, Shaina casted a curse to Travis.
Under the blood moon, she gathered the relics of their bond–a strand of his hair, a drop of his blood, and the ashes of the truce document that their packs had signed.
She stood in the sacred grove, and chanted the incantation.
“By the betrayal of love, let his bloodline. bear the weight of his sins. For every generation, the firstborn alpha shall fall, their death a reminder of his treachery.”
As she spoke the final words, I felt the magic ripple through the air, binding itself to Travis‘ s lineage.
But curses are never simple because Shaina didn’t break her mate bond with Travis.
And when the curse came upon him, it also
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reflected on her. As a consequence of her manipulating the nature for casting a
curse.
For years, I watched as the curse claimed its victims. Each generation of Shadowstone‘ s alphas lost their firstborn to rogue attacks, just as Shaina had lost Marcus.
And each death tore at Shaina, a reminder of the love that had turned to hate, of the trust that had been shattered.
Now, decades later, the curse was coming for Scott.
I’ve seen what Shaina seen and felt what she had felt. I understand why she had to cast a curse and at the same time suffer for loving Travis.
I woke up feeling exhausted for having a long dream that felt like eternity. The pain and the confusion from Shaina was still in me after opening my eyes. But I’m different from her.
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Chapter 20: The First Curse (Ariana’s POV)
“Thank you, Moon Goddess for showing met the past,” I whispered before walking to where Scott is.
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