The Villain Alpha's Cursed Mate

"Demon wolf?!" Esme’s voice quivered as she recoiled slowly, her brows beaded with sweat. The orange glow of a nearby flame illuminated her side profile, accentuating her face that looked paralyzed with shock.

The monstrous wolf crept forward, its fiery eyes blazing with hunger for blood as it stalked towards her small figure, its nose flaring up. A menacing growl escaped its mouth, and its breath smelled of anything rotten, causing nausea to rise from the pit of Esme’s stomach.

She barely had time to react when four more demon wolves emerged from the rubble of disaster. Three of the demon wolves swiftly shifted to their human form, their presence accompanied by a laughter that sent chills down Esme’s spine.

They stalked towards her with an unhurried, deliberate stride, their very presence making her skin shudder with dread. They soon stopped in their tracks, the remaining two demon wolves staying behind them. It felt as though the wolves weren’t going to attack her as long as those three hadn’t given their command.

A green-haired demon shifter, with equally piercing green eyes and a pair of twisted horns that protruded from his forehead like a dark crown, sneered as he took in her frozen state. "Well, well, well. Would you look at that? Looks like we’ve found ourselves a prize," he drawled, his eyes raking over her like a cold scalpel.

"The timing couldn’t be more perfect. We were just about to leave, but it seems your moon goddess has smiled upon us demon shifters tonight. Wouldn’t you agree?" He then extended his hand, his palm facing upward as he beckoned Esme to her doom.

"Come with us, daughter of the Montague family, and we’ll gladly spare whatever lives remain in your pack. Refuse, and... well, let’s just say the night will get a lot bloodier." His smirk widened, revealing sharp fangs that looked sharp enough to pierce through one’s bone. It made a feeling of inevitable dread settle at the pit of Esme’s stomach.

Her gaze shifted to the other demon, who was also a man. He had eyes that shone like icy blue pools, and a sharply chiseled jawline. His skin seemed to undulate like a living, breathing entity, and Esme had never seen anything like it.

The third demon was a raven-haired woman, whose eyes blazed with an inner inferno. Her skin was pale as alabaster, and her full lips curled into a sadistic smile, revealing teeth as sharp as razor.

They were undoubtedly demons, but what struck Esme was their physical disparity from the one she’d encountered in the fortress. Did demon shifters come in a diverse array of forms?

Esme’s fear petrified her, and the demon’s offer made her heart sink. They wanted her to come with them? But what for? The destruction they’d wrought in her pack was unamendable, and the horror of watching Luna Percy’s brutal demise still replayed in her head. Hate surged, burning away her fears. Her fist clenched, and tears of rage prickled in her eyes as she glared at the demons, expressing her fierce, unyielding loathing for them.

"I’d rather perish with my pack than go anywhere with monsters like you!" Esme’s voice erupted in a fiery mix of rage and tears. "What have you done with the others? Tell me!!" She demanded, her voice cracking with desperation as she stood her ground.

The green-eyed demon shifter smirked, retracting his outstretched hand. It was the female down who answered her question, her voice dripping with malice as she purred, "Now, why don’t we show you what we’ve done." she snapped her fingers.

The black wolf, sensing Esme’s paralyzing fear, immediately sprang into action, its jaw agape, ready to rip her apart. Esme’s eyes grew wide with horror as she gazed upon the wolf’s bloodstained teeth, tainted with the innocent lives it had ravaged. Just as all hope seems lost, a swift motion whisked past her ear.

Leonardo suddenly appeared, leaping into the air with incredible agility. With a swift stroke, he unsheathed his silver blade and struck the wolf at the base of its neck, slicing it off and ending its life in an instant. He landed smoothly on the ground, the beast wolf crashing behind him, and Esme stared at Leonardo in stunned gratitude.

The three demon shifters lost their smiles upon seeing one of their kind dead, in just a matter of seconds. They couldn’t recall the last time they lost a member, and they glared at Leonardo who handled his blade with mastery, grasping it by the hilt. What shocked them most was that he knew their weak point.

"No wonder I’m repulsed," Leonardo tilted his head slightly, his voice dripping with the same detachment. "You lots are like wet socks on a cold rainy day. I despise the cold." He then assumed a stance. The demons morphed into their beastly wolf forms, and Leonardo’s dull gaze swept over them.

"Not only are there four of you, making this match professionally unfair, but you’ve also shifted to deal with a single opponent. Are you threatened by a non-shifter? I’m quite flattered." A small smile played on his lips, further enraging the four wolves. They let out a vicious snarl as they all lunged at once.

Esme and Leonardo swiftly dodged the ambush at the same time. Esme looked behind her to see the wolves were more fixated on Leonardo, as they followed him away from the ruins. It gave Esme more time to search, and she had to do so as soon as possible before they returned.

She pushed aside the heavy debris and found Vivienne, trapped underneath. The glow in Esme’s eyes vanished as she saw Vivienne’s frail form mercilessly pinned down by multiple debris. She immediately tried to free Vivienne, using whatever strength she could muster to lift the debris.

"Vivienne!"

Vivienne, half-conscious and fatally wounded, opened her eyes. Her visions were foggy, but the minute it cleared, her teary brown eyes widened at the sight of Esme. A look of relief washed over her face when she saw Esme struggling to lift the debris off her body, and she closed her eyes again, happy to see that her lady was alive.

"Milady?"

"I’ll get you out of these things, okay? I’m here now, everything will be fine," Esme reassured her, her voice trembling with emotion. Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to lift the extremely heavy debris, desperate to save her maid, but it didn’t matter how much effort she put into it, the debris wouldn’t budge.

"Somebody help me!" Esme cried out, feeling her strength drain with each strain of her muscles. She couldn’t lift them on her own, she needed assistance, but no one seemed to be nearby.

"Milady!" Vivienne’s tears finally flowed free, and she grasped Esme’s wrist with her bloody hands. She shook her head, as if telling Esme it was no use. "You need to get out of here while you still can. Don’t endanger yourself for someone like me. Even if you manage to get the piles off, my legs are crushed from the weight, and I can’t heal fast enough to run! So save yourself and get out of this place."

"No!" Esme cried, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to get the debris off. Her fingers bled from her neverending effort, but she refused to abandon her friend. "I’m not leaving. If you can’t run, I’ll carry you but you must make it out alive, I don’t care how but I’m not leaving you to die here!"

"Milady!" Vivienne’s voice was filled with frustration and desperation. "They’ve got Finnian!" She uttered, and Esme froze. "I can’t escape this, but you have to find him first! It’s either Finnian or me, Milady, and I say find Finnian! If you want to save either of us, it won’t be possible. You have to pick one or lose both! Go to him!" she pleaded, new hot tears brimming in her eyes. "Just for tonight, I need you to listen to me, not as your maid, but as your friend. If either you or Finnian dies here, my sacrifice will mean nothing! I don’t want to die for nothing so please go!"

She pushed Esme away with all her strength.

"Go now! What are you waiting for? This is not the time to be weak! Do it!"

"I promise I’ll come back!" Esme backed away. Her heart felt heavier than the debris itself. "I’ll gather some warriors and come back! I need you to hold on!" She assured Vivienne before picking up a hard, slender metal from the ground. It would suffice as a good weapon. She glanced one more time at Vivienne’s proud eyes before sprinting off in the opposite direction.

Vivienne watched her go, and she covered her mouth with her palm, attempting to shut her sobs.

"Don’t... go." She whispered. She could already smell death looming around her, and her earlier bravado was gone. Her heartbeat was slowing down, and she had lost a lot of blood. As her life gradually ebbed away, memories of how she became a maid flooded her mind.

Her parents always considered her a weak she-wolf, a wolf with no claws, and they were right. They abandoned her, seeing her as nothing short of a mistake, a disgrace in their eyes, a puppy who would run and hide in the shadows. She was afraid of the smallest things, and they saw no use of her, so she was kicked out. She ran into her lady’s father by chance when she stumbled into their pack, and he invited her into his home, saying he needed a maid for his daughter.

That was how she met her lady. Her lady was kind and never once judged her for being timid and emotionally fragile. She never complained, neither did she maltreat her. It was at that point she started to grow really fond of her lady, never having to hide her fears in front of her.

They became more like sisters and friends, but after her lady’s father’s death, she had to watch as Esme relived the sufferness she once endured. From then on she swore to remain by her lady’s side no matter what.

She was no brave she-wolf, but if being brave was the only option left to save her lady and Finnian, the only ones who genuinely accepted her for she truly she was, then she was more than willing to lay down her life for the two of them, regardless of how scared she was.

She was glad that at least, even if it was the end for her, that she could be of some use to her lady. She had fulfilled her promise.

Just then, a menacing growl sounded behind her, followed by the heavy stomps of a wolf approaching. Vivienne closed her eyes and smiled peacefully, surrendering herself to death’s cold embrace with her final tears running down her cheek.