<b>Chapter </b><b>37 </b>
<b>Nyssa </b><b>pov </b>
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The story behind the Lycan King’s curse I had heard it countless times<b>. </b>
<b>If </b><b>it </b><b>wasn’t </b>from my father recounting <b>it</b>, then it was from the gossip whispered by the maids around me<b>, </b>or the idle <b>chatter </b><b>of </b>thedies during their tea parties.
<b>No </b><b>matter </b>where <b>it </b>came from, it was a tale that had been passed down from generation to generation.
And like all legends, <b>over </b>time, the <b>details </b><b>had </b>be twisted. Events were exaggerated, <b>facts </b>blurred, and truth became something almost impossible to <b>grasp </b><b>especially </b>after the king closed off his pack away from outsiders. The only way we could <b>hear </b>about what truly happened was through the stories passed down by our <b>ancestors</b>.
But one thing remained certain about the tale behind the king’s curse<b>: </b>his mate- his queen had been killed. Some said it <b>was </b>the fault of the pack members<b>, </b>who believed she <b>was </b>unfit to be their queen because she was wolfless. They poisoned her, hoping the king, who had been bewitched by her beauty, would choose someone more suitable for the position.
Others<b>, </b>however, imed that the real mastermind was the king’s brother, who manipted those around him to <b>seize </b>the throne for himself.
Either way, the end result was the same: death swept through the pack. Darius had gone rogue and annihted half of his pack by himself, killing everyone who had been involved in his mate’s death, one way or another. But he didn’t stop there- he ughtered their families too.
Yet, even in his rogue state, with little to no control over his mind, he neverid a finger on the children.
<b>Yet </b>what he did was enough to anger the goddess herself, and before he knew it, her wrath descended upon him.
He was cursed to live forever, forced to watch everyone around him wither and die, one after another.
Cursed to carry the memory of his dead mate for eternity.
No matter how he tried to end his life- no matter who tried to kill him, death would nevere.
The only thing capable of ending his existence was the blood of a white wolf but white wolves hadn’t been seen in centuries<b>. </b>The chances of the king dying were next to none.
That was the story behind the great king cursed to live for eternity- the same king who now stood before me, currently sniffing my scent.
Kill me.
“What am I doing? I’m checking if you’re truly my mate. If the goddess <b>is </b>cruel enough to make you my mate,” he whispered, his voice low and cutting, sending shivers down my spine and making my body instinctively tense.
<b>What </b>was going on? Why <b>was </b>he acting like this? It was obvious we were mates even now, I could feel the bond between us, pulling me toward him like a spell.
<b>I </b>shut my eyes <b>as </b>the tip of Darius’s nose brushed the curve of my neck, trailing slowly upward. A gasp escaped me when his hand slid to the back of my neck, guiding me closer to him. My hands clenched into fists, and all I could hear was the loud pounding of my heart.
Oh Goddess, it <b>was </b>the mate bond. That had to be the reason my body was reacting like this<b>, </b>why heat pooled between my <b>legs </b><b>at </b>his touch<b>, </b>why I had this unbearable urge to hold him <b>close</b>.
<b>1/2 </b>
<b>to </b><b>stop</b>. I had to <b>stop </b><b>this</b><b>. </b>
But then I froze.
His lips brushed against my <b>neck</b>.
My breath hitched, my <b>face </b>turning a <b>deep </b>crimson<b>. </b><b>I </b><b>stared </b>ahead, lips parted in shock, my mind struggling toprehend what <b>was </b>happening.
And then, my heart plummeted.
Because the next thing I felt <b>was </b>the faintest sting, his fangs grazing my skin. Darius had opened his mouth
Was he about to mark me?!
My first instinct <b>was </b>to push him <b>away </b>and run but this <b>was </b>the Lycan King we <b>were </b>talking about. <b>I </b>raised my hand and pressed it against his chest, trying to shove him <b>back</b>, but he didn’t budge an inch.
Panic surged through me <b>as </b>I felt the sharp sting of his fangs grazing my skin. A hiss escaped my lips from the pain, but just before they could fully sink in, the words leaving my lips before <b>I </b>could stop them.
“Please stop” I gasped out.
Darius stopped. His fangs retreated, and I inhaled a shaky breath, my chest rising and falling in disbelief.
I watched as he slowly pulled away from my neck, stopping just inches from my face. The moment our eyes met, I swallowed hard, my body trembling instinctively under his intense gaze.
Darius’s face remained expressionless, his lips pulled into a subtle frown but it was the look in his eyes that stole the breath from my lungs. Was it lust? Anger? Or <i>a </i>twisted mix of both? I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that he looked ready to sink his fangs into my neck and mark me.
“You really are my mate,” he murmured. The word mate didn’t sound like a curse this time- no, it wasced with quiet indifference, his cold gaze locked on mine. “That is really a shame.”
I stared at him, stunned, confusion clouding my thoughts. What the hell was happening? Why did he seem so… different?
I parted my lips to speak, to ask what was going on, but Darius calmly walked up to the couch and took a seat, his gaze fixed intently on me.
He held up two fingers.
“I’m giving you two choices,” he said, his voice smooth and unwavering. “Both will lead to the same oue, your death but you get to choose how it happens. What do you say?”
<b>AD </b>
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