Book 1 - The Lycan's Curse

Second chances

Alastair felt a sudden, sharp, unbearable pain pierce through him, and he collapsed to the ground, sending everyone into a panic.

"Giuseppe, step back!" Aliyah yelled, her voice slicing through the chaos. Giuseppe instinctively kept his distance from her, sensing the urgency in her tone. Aliyah's eyes widened in horror. "Brenth killed himself, he drank gasoline infused with wolfsbane!"

"Alastair!" Blaze exclaimed as he lifted Alastair's unconscious body. Alastair stirred slightly, regaining a fragile sense of consciousness, but he felt weak and dizzy, barely awake and unresponsive.

"The pull is still stronger because Brenth hasn’t accepted the rejection yet," Rio muttered, his brow furrowed with concern.

"You need to heal Brenth!" Kai commanded urgently. Rio nodded, rushing to Brenth's house  as fast as the lightning. He bit his finger, few drops of blood fall into Brenth's mouth. In an instant, Brenth jolted back to consciousness.

"Why?".his voice barely a whisper.

"Stupid imprint pull. Just accept his rejection already," Rio demanded, frustration etched on his face. Brenth shook his head defiantly.

"I’ll make him suffer too," he retorted, a twisted smile creeping onto his lips.

"Just accept his rejection already!" Rio urged once more. Brenth stood up, looking at him with a blank stare. Rio grasped Brenth's arms, shaking him gently. "You have a choice, you still have a chance to console yourself. You can live and change your fate," Rio said nonchalantly, though his eyes betrayed his seriousness.

Tears welled up in Brenth's eyes. "I can’t; I’ll suffer for the rest of my life," he lamented. "I’ve done horrible things; I can’t live with this guilt and conscience."

"It’s not your fault, you’ve been used and abused!" Rio insisted. Brenth let out a heavy sigh.

"I want to kill this monster inside me!" he yelled, anguish coloring his words as he turned away.

"You are not a monster, Brenth, they are just making you believe that you are one!" Rio yelled. Brenth paused, turning to face Rio.

"How do I ever forgive myself?!" he cried out, the desperation in his voice echoing through the air.

"Just do it," Rio urged. Brenth screamed as a dark aura emanated from his body—the very darkness that had stolen his identity, transforming him into a monstrous creature. The aura consumed him, but then, like tiny glowing particles, the dark energy evaporated. Brenth could hardly believe it as a smile broke across his face for the first time in his life. He glanced down at his hands. Rio smiled, too. Suddenly, Brenth shifted into a sleek black wolf. Rio watched in delight as Brenth bounded around on all fours, wagging his tail and leaping with happiness. He had finally been freed from the Lycan curse. In a flash, he shifted back to his human form.

"How the hell did that happen?!" Brenth exclaimed, disbelief etched on his features as he realized he could no longer feel the dark energy.

"I don’t know either,"

"Thank you." In that moment, Brenth felt a happiness he had never experienced before, he felt free. Rio nodded.

Rio made his way back to the manor, where Alastair had already regained full consciousness.

"Hey, I brought you a present," Rio announced as Alastair’s gaze landed on the man accompanying him. After a brief exchange, Rio quickly disappeared, leaving just the two of them in the dimly lit living room. They stood silently, staring at each other for almost ten minutes, unable to find the words to break the tension. Brenth cautiously approached Alastair, who took a step back, caught off guard. Brenth raised his hands and opened his palms.  Alastair hesitated, feeling unsure of what to do next. He had never felt this profound tranquility so close to Brenth, a blissful sensation that enveloped him. Without thinking, Alastair raised his own palms. Brenth pressed his hands against Alastair’s, and suddenly, an aura surrounded them, a shimmering connection-a mixture of their auras that bound them together. Alastair felt an overwhelming attraction, a magnetic pull that Brenth mirrored. Alastair gently brushed his fingers against Brenth’s hand, and as the aura faded, so too did the burdens they had carried inside.