The Villain Alpha's Cursed Mate

In the Land of the Damned...

Althea was hot on Kangee’s tail, brandishing a plastic broom. "Get back here you stupid bird! I’ll report you to your master! How dare you defile my dress with your filthy droppings? Apologize for your actions this instant before I turn you into a roasted snack!"

Kangee cawed mockingly, leading Althea on a wild chase up and down the stairs in the shadowspire. Revana, who was getting pissed listening to Althea’s neverending ranting finally intervened. She strode over, snatching the broom from Althea’s grasp in a way that caught her off guard.

With a deft leap, Revana jumped onto the railing and used Kangee’s momentary shock to land a perfect hit with the broom. The raven let out a startled squawk as it hit the wall, finally coming to rest on the floor with stars swirling in circles around its head.

Althea’s eyes sparkled with delight, her face lighting up with gratitude towards her sister for aiding her get back at Kangee.

"My sister is sooooo cool!"

Revana nonchalantly shoved the plastic broom to Althea, cautioning her with a raised eyebrow. "Keep the unnecessary excitement down, or you might just find yourself at the receiving end of Kangee’s treatment." She shook her head and resumed her seat at the table. "I swear when the Alpha’s away, you all turn into a bunch of rambunctious kids."

Acheron, preoccupied with admiring his reflection in the mirror, carefully styled his green hair in place. Once satisfied with his appearance, he sauntered over to Althea, holding out a stunning lavender dress.

"Here, I... got this for you," he said, surprising her with the gift.

"Archer? You mean it?!" Althea’s brown eyes turned a shade lighter as she accepted his gift. Acheron’s restless heart skipped a beat when she flashed him a radiant smile.

"It’s beautiful! But what’s the special occasion?"

"Nothing... well I just... I heard about Kangee ruining your last outfit, so I got you a replacement," Acheron explained, his cheek flushing slightly as he rubbed his neck, darting his gaze away. "Do you really like it?"

Althea nodded vigorously, to his relief. "So does this mean you’ll start talking to me again?"

Revana snorted from where she sat. "Her dress got ruined ten minutes ago, but you already had a dress waiting. Who knew you had that level of diligence in you, Archer."

Acheron shot Revana a withering glare. Of course he hadn’t simply had the dress just lying around; he had commissioned a seamstress to create it specifically for his Althea, intending to gift it to her for the Lunar event tonight. It was meant to be a thoughtful surprise, but Althea had already acquired a dress on her own. He couldn’t give it to her afterwards, until Kangee’s mischief provided an unexpected opportunity.

His gaze softened when Althea exclaimed, "I’ll go try it on!" Already aware of Althea’s free hugs, he eagerly stretched out his arms, expecting one, but Althea turned her back on him and headed up the stairs instead, leaving his arms hanging. Acheron almost cried.

"I still consider this unfair, how come she hugs everyone except me?" He lamented, feeling empty.

Revana rolled her eyes from where she sat, wishing she were with Lothar or Neville instead. As the assistant beta, she handled training while Lothar dealt with all the paperwork. Neville was one of the healers, and Acheron was the gamma. Althea was just a skilled warrior, hence, she’s stuck with these two and an annoying raven she’d love to get rid of.

Lothar eventually walked in through the main door, and his gaze swept across the sudden stillness of the room. He made his way to Revana, who was seated at the lounge, absorbed in her book.

"Hey, where’s everyone?"

Revana flipped to the next page, her tone deadpan. "Hopefully, somewhere far away from me." If Lothar didn’t know her better, he’d think she was serious. " Next time, I don’t care where the hell it is you go but try to take me along. I’d rather be bored with you than lose my senses to those two, and that pesky little raven as well."

Lothar chuckled softly and shook his head, helpless. Just then, Althea rushed down the stairs, eager to show off her new outfit. She twirled around, looking radiant in the lavender gown, and the two couldn’t help but dart a glance at her.

"Isn’t it lovely?" She asked, "I’m so excited for tonight that I cried. Kangee nearly made me miss it, but Archer surprised me a moment ago with this. You two are coming as well to the Lunar event, right? We should all go together now that the Alpha is around! It will be just like the old times!" Althea’s infectious enthusiasm brought a gentle smile to Lothar’s face, but the unaffected one was her sister, Revana.

"I can’t make it. I’ll be too busy researching the curse and avoiding all things that walk, talk, speak and stare." She flipped to the next page, her gaze never leaving the book.

"Oh! I forgot about your sole hatred for humanity! But you don’t hate me, right?"

"Is that an option?" Revana replied dryly.

Althea playfully wrapped her sister in a tight hug, ignoring Revana’s discomfort. "I know you can never hate me, so you’ll come with me to the Lunar event and spend quality time with me."

"For the love of everything bad," Revana exasperated, but she didn’t push her sister away. When Althea pulled back, she looked around.

"Where did Archer go? I want him to see how great I look in the dress he got me!" Althea said before hurrying off.

Revana muttered, "you can as well resuscitate him if he faints from excess excitement." She was all too aware of Acheron’s infatuation with her sister. His feelings for Althea were as clear as day, but only Althea remained oblivious to it.

Lothar sat down beside Althea, unfazed by her sarcasm, and he asked, "Is the Alpha back yet?"

"I doubt it," came Revana’s response. "He’s been gone for days, still venturing past the border to the other side of Illyria. I’ll never understand why he risks going there when we have a safe haven here in the damned. After all he’s been through, I just can’t fathom his thought process."

"Well..." Lothar inclined in his seat, a thoughtful look on his face. "The Alpha has been preoccupied, especially since those cursed shifters started surfacing after his return. He’s planning on eliminating them all, but I’ve hit a dead end trying to track their hideout, unfortunately. It’s as if they disappear into thin air. Even Kangee failed to track them."

Revana stood up, her expression sour. "This conversation’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I need some yogurt." She closed her book and rose from the couch. As she walked away, she added. "Honestly, I couldn’t care less if those cursed shifters wipe out humanity. They brought it upon themselves by trying to eradicate us, and if you think about it, the people of Illyria are the reason behind why they gave in to the curse. The rest of us were just lucky to be apart from it. I still won’t be able to forget how it happened. Waking up, only to see the majority of the curse marks on our skin had disappeared."

Lothar nodded slowly before saying, "I want to get to the bottom of what really transpired in the Palace fifteen to sixteen years ago, when Donovan left and never returned. He’s been tight-lipped about the matter. He says everything we’ve heard is the truth and ends it at that. I hate to think he doesn’t trust us enough to share the truth, but I’m pretty sure something far worse than we think happened. Else, why is he so secretive about it?"

Revana shrugged, "We can try asking him again when he returns," she suggested, but then Kangee squawked in their direction.

"Don’t bother, morons!" it cawed, and Revana shot the bird a venomous glance.

"I will bury you in quicksand if you open your dirty beak to say a word about our discussion to the Alpha." She threatened the raven, and Kangee panicked before spreading its wings and taking off.

"How do we get the Alpha to attend the Lunar event though?" Lothar pondered. "His presence there is important."