The Cursed Alpha

Ariadne

The pain ripped me apart, or that's the way it felt. Every bone in my body broke and reformed into the shape the wolf demanded. I gripped the tree I was holding onto with every last ounce of strength I had so I would not fall to the dirt beneath me.

Strong arms wrapped around my body, tugging me backward and onto the ground. "If you had woken me when you felt it, you would not be in this much pain right now."

Kain tore my shirt from my body and pulled off the jeans I tossed on before leaving the motel. He started running his hands over my bare skin, causing some of the pain to diminish. His touch soothed the aching in my bones until I was able to breathe without crying. I closed my eyes and dropped my head forward to the ground. His hands ran up and down my back, massaging my tired body.

"How long until this is over?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

He was silent for a moment as if considering if he should tell me or not but eventually, he caved. "I can help with the pain, but it slows the process. If you want it over quickly, you will have to tolerate it."

"Well, isn't that lovely." The question was rhetorical, but he answered with a humorless laugh. "Is it this bad for everyone?"

"No." His answer was immediate, as if he didn't even have to think about it.

"Why is it so hard for me then?"

He inhaled deeply and pulled away from me entirely. "Because you're mated to an alpha, your body needs to adjust to my power so other Weres know who you are."

"Fucking great." Pain tore through my body in his absence and it made me hate him a little.

It went on for what felt like hours but was probably only another thirty minutes and the last part of my body to break was my spine; it was also the most painful as it reformed. I dropped my tired body onto the ground and rested my now elongated snout on my front paws.

I spotted Kain sitting about five feet away from me, elbows propped on his knees, one hand covering his mouth as he looked at me. His eyes glistened and if I had to think of one word to describe his expression, it would be shocked; but I could not imagine why he would be. He knew what to expect more than I did.

He took a deep breath and cursed as he threw his head back to look at the sky. Raising to his feet, he looked down at me and told me to shift back. I growled at him lowly, there was no way I was enduring that pain again right away. My exhausted body would not be able to handle it.

"Don't give me that shit, Ariadne. Shifting only hurts the first time around. It will be easier this time."

But it wasn't any easier. The pain was just as bad, and I was miserable as I allowed him to put his shirt over my head and feed my arms through the sleeves. I donned my dirt covered jeans and followed him to his truck that he had apparently driven here in.

Once inside the truck, Kain grabbed another shirt for himself from the back then rounded the cab to help me inside and buckle my seatbelt.

"I can manage little things, Kain."

"I didn't say you couldn't." he stayed there, standing next to the passenger side door, looking up at me, seemingly searching for something on my face. "You can't let anyone see your wolf; not even that hothead that claimed you."

"Watch it, Alpha. He's one of my kind too," I looked down to him and met his gaze to show him how serious I was, "And I marked him too. Treat him with respect."

His jaw clenched and I could practically hear his teeth grinding against each other. "Respect is earned, not given freely." He was quiet, lost in thought, as one of his hands reached up to hold mine. His thumb rubbed circles on my palm and calmed my erratic mind. "We need to get you trained. You can't go around wielding that power without knowing how to control it."

"Wielding power? I have no new power; I don't feel any different."

"You do have power, mine. And you just used it on me with your command about respecting that dick suc- your other mate." The last three words were ground out through clenched teeth, and he closed his eyes as if it physically pained him to even think of it.

"Huh." I watched him for a minute, considering the weight of the power he shared with me. "His name is Dynniran."

"I don't care what his name is. He should dare try to take what is mine."

"I am not yours. I am my own person."

"You are mine as much as I am yours."

"Why can't I show anyone my wolf, Alpha?" My tone was challenging, accusing. I wanted him to tell me what was happening to me. I knew he had more answers than he was letting on about and I would not rest until he told me everything.

"Because you can't!"

"Why not?"

"The last time I checked wolves don't have horns or fucking wings! You do. And as soon as you shift in front of someone, they will know what you are, and they will kill you."

"Kill me? Why would they kill me? What am I?"

"Can we talk about this later? I promise I will tell you everything, but I want to get you back to the packhouse to rest."

I thought over it and silently agreed, but not before rounding back to my original argument about Din. "You may refer to him by his name, Alpha. Unless you'd rather just call him my 'other mate'."

"I'd rather not call him at all. And stop calling me Alpha. I am not Alpha to you." The pleading in his eyes was brief before he shut them and spun away from me, closing the door behind him, and rounding to the driver's side of the truck.

Horns? Wings? Surely, he must be hallucinating. I don't have horns or wings. Do I?