The Villain Alpha's Cursed Mate

Esme hastened to catch up with the king as he strolled down the wide hallway, her footsteps echoing off the walls. Lennox’s stride faltered as he turned around to face her, his eyes narrowing slightly at her sudden appearance. Her eyes were wide with anxiety as she blurted out her question.

"Are you really planning to execute Finnian?" Lennox’s gaze swept through the corridor, taking in the nearby guards stationed at their post. Without responding, he grasped Esme’s wrist and led her into the throne room, seeking the privacy they needed to discuss the sensitive matter.

Once they were alone in the throne room, Lennox released Esme’s wrist and took her tense shoulder, his eyes filled with regret as he stared into her blue ones. "I know this is difficult to accept, but my hands are bound by the rules I made," he explained, his voice laced with apology. "Finnian’s actions had already proven him a threat, and the curse he carries poses a grave risk to not just us, but our people. If he were to spread it, the consequences would be catastrophic."

Lennox released her shoulder and turned away from her view, and he ran his fingers through his golden curls before continuing, "As the king of Illyria, it is my responsibility to ensure the protection of my people, You, as my future wife, and soon-to-be queen of Illyria, should try and understand my reasons for taking this step. If Finnian’s transformation is a harbinger of chaos, then I have no choice but to take drastic measures. I wish there was another way, but I see no alternative."

Esme shook her head when it dawned on her that he had made his final decision on the matter. She faced the king again, and she held one of his hands in her trembling grasp, her eyes pleading. "There has to be something that can be done to help him. I know you have rules to follow but you also have the power to bend it at your will, even for a while, please. Finnian, he’s all I have left in this world, and he doesn’t deserve to die; he deserves a chance to live so I beg of you! Spare him from this mistake and I’ll willingly take the consequences. I’ll take his place if that’s what it takes." she brought her hands together in front of her, desperately pleading for him to reconsider.

Lennox’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief, and he frowned. "What are you saying, Esmeray? You can’t just offer to take his place. That’s not how justice works here." He sighed, his voice laced with undeniable regret. "There is only one solution, but it will be difficult. Unless you can find a way to prove that Finnian isn’t a threat to not just me but the entire council during the meeting tomorrow, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. I’m really sorry."

He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead before turning to exit the throne room, his retreating footsteps echoing in the silence. Esme only grasped his absence when she heard the doors close shut behind her, and her world slowly crumbled into pieces in a gesture of pure mockery.

Esme’s trembling knees gave way, and she slumped to the cold floor. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape, and she shook her head, refusing to cry out. Her body trembled, and no longer did she care about maintaining a facade of composure. novelbuddy.cσ๓

Was everything really falling apart because of her?

It wasn’t long before Esme checked on Finnian again, and he was awake. He sat rigid on his bed, his eyes vacant, his food untouched. Although his chained hands could easily reach his meal if he wanted, he just sat there, lost in thought. He didn’t even flinch when Esme entered his room, oblivious to her presence.

"Finnian," Esme whispered his name softly, and he slowly turned his face towards her direction as she sat beside him on the bed. But to her quick surprise, he instinctively recoiled, shifting away and creating a distance between them. His blue eyes darted away, as if fearful of what he might see in hers.

"Don’t come close," he rasped, his voice dry and cracked. "I’m not a monster, I don’t want to hurt anyone," he uttered, his eyes still haunted by terror. He constantly made himself repeat the phrase like a desperate plea, shaking his head slowly as if trying to convince himself. Esme’s heart ached at the sight of him, broken and afraid.

"I’m going to die, aren’t I?" His voice was laced with resignation as he asked. What stunned Esme was the fact that he wasn’t startled by his own words, as if he already knew that would be his fate.

She shook her head, and she inched closer to him. "No, you’re not going to die, I’ll make sure of it."

A single tear rolled down Finnian’s cheek as he whispered, "I tried to kill a royal guard, and I nearly killed you too. I lost control of my own body and I couldn’t stop myself." He sniffed, blinking his tears back. "If I hadn’t hesitated, you’d be dead. Don’t deny it, everyone is afraid of me. I saw it in their eyes. They’ll abandon me and kill me, just like—"

Esme grabbed Finnian’s face, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Stop saying things like that. Everyone is just overwhelmed, they don’t hate you at all! Didn’t I make a promise to always be here for you?"

Finnian’s face twisted in anguish as he looked away, "It told me you’d leave me! It said you’d hate me just like everyone else! It said many horrible things to me! I tried to stop it but I couldn’t! The next thing I know, I’m holding a pair of scissors. I’d stabbed someone without realizing. I didn’t do it at all!"

"It told you, what do you mean it told you?" Esme’s brows furrowed in concern, "who are you talking about, who’s been telling you all these things?"

"I don’t know," Finnian’s eyes welled up with tears as he hugged his legs. "It’s just a voice in my head, constantly whispering things to me. Even right now, I can hear it. It’s like I’m trapped somewhere, in a dark environment, a place where the voice can reach me, and it’s telling me to ignore you. I can’t make it stop." His voice trembled as he whispered, "I can hear my wolf as well, it sounds frightened. I’m scared, sister."

Esme didn’t know what to say to what he just told her. She’s never seen him this afraid before, and she couldn’t understand what he meant when he said he was isolated in a dark place. In the end, he ate only a little after her persuasion, and she stayed by his side till he fell asleep. Later that night, Esme slipped out of the room, returning to the tower with the blood samples she had taken from Finnian while he was asleep.

She ran the tests on Finnian’s blood sample, using the same method as before. This time, the cells were slowly merging with his blood, gradually spreading, unlike the previous instance where they had separated. It looked as though they were trying to form a nonconsensual bond, and that alone wasn’t a good sign, judging from Finnian’s current state.

She wondered if the demon deliberately clawed her brother with the intention of turning him into one of their kind, while also making sure he didn’t kill him. Was it possible that the toxin could either kill them, or turn them into demon shifters? If those guardian’s hadn’t died from the toxin, they would have become demon shifters.

Esme wanted to write it down on a piece of paper, but a strange wind suddenly blew from her opened window, ruffling the sheets and blowing it off the table, including several other papers where she jotted down her theory. She felt her fears morph into frustration, and she cursed the stupid wind. She rose from her chair, her movements mechanical as she moved to close the window, then she went ahead to gather the scattered papers from the floor.

She felt overwhelmed, out of ideas, and out of time. Tears streamed down her face as she paused, her sorrows evident as she cursed her own helplessness. Her tears dripped from her chin to the floor, and she continued to gather the papers.

Suddenly, a new presence filled the tower, making her heart skip a beat. A gentle hand wiped away her tears, and she froze, her eyes locking onto the unexpected visitor.

"I heard from a little bird that you needed help?" Donovan said, his voice low and soothing. The moonlight streaming through the glass window cast a faint glow on the two of them, as if fate had brought them together in this moment.