Root Of My Curse

Chapter 1 - Hunted

JESENIA

PALACE OF VERSAILLES – FRANCE

This could be the end of our existence, the end of it all. Everything is moving in slow motion. The blissful aura that once surrounded us is gone, shattered. The smiles on our faces faltered, replaced with horror. A cool breeze runs through my body, replaying his words in my head. I can't move. "They found us." That's what he said. I heard those words almost half a century ago when they took him. Those words were enough for my entire being to stop. I'm enraged, I'm terrified and most of all I'm murderous. The only thing I can think about is kill. Kill. Blood. Death. All I see is red.

Screams fill the halls. Chaos. Furious growls erupt from somewhere. I'm frozen, shaking with fury. The voices of my packmates a blur. No one dares touch me. They watch me with caution, filled with anger. Anger towards them. The hunters. Black eyes are staring at me, waiting for me to make a move. But, I don't. I stand completely still, waiting. I can't run, but I can't stay. These are the children of the people who killed him.

The halls are now quiet, serene. Almost peaceful, if it wasn't infiltrated with them. "We have to go Nia" he says gripping my arm urgently. My head snaps towards him, looking into his furious, black eyes. "They killed him Ric" I growl viciously. Ric nods at me and pulls me towards the others. "I know, but we can't stay" he says a growl evident, placing me in the middle of our circle. I snarl trying to break out. "Lycan et abierunt!" they all shout forcefully, their voices laced with power. Almost immediately, I stop growling.

They all look at me, without black eyes anymore, instead they're replaced with bloodred ones. "Now let's go, love" Lou says, taking my hand gently. I nod, and we all start running silently through the beautiful halls of Versailles. The place that had been our home for decades, we would have to leave. We have no choice.

Though we could easily kill them, they hold something that renders us incapable of doing so. They could kill us in seconds given the chance. We may be the strongest beings on this earth, but what they possess could be the end of us all. The claws of our elders, the one thing that can destroy us.

Alouette is still holding my hand as we run behind Lucine and Alarico, with Grim beside us. This is my family and my life. I can hear shouting behind us as we fly like shadows through the halls of the palace. We reach the underground tunnel that we found to decades ago, only a handful of people know about it. Carefully we slip in, the tunnel is narrow and dark, but our lycan sight makes it easier to see. The heat radiating of my friends is the only thing I see as I switch to lycan sight. Faint outlines of the walls wither away as I focus ahead. Alarico and Lucine are in front of me whilst Grim and Alouette are behind me. "Hvor i helvete dro de?" the voice makes me stiffen up, stopping abruptly.

I feel Lou squeeze my hand, urging me to keep moving. Everyone eyes the entrance with anger. The temptation becomes too much, and I try to break my way through Grim and Lou, but they won't let me. Even though the air is thick with rage and fury, and all I want to do is rip their heads off, I clench my jaw and keep moving. "When I catch that bastard, I'm going to make him my þræll" I mutter as we venture further into the passageway. From behind I could hear Grim chuckling at my remark whilst the others kept moving, hiding the tug on their lips. I don't take it lightly, but he deserves to suffer like I suffered.

When we make it to the end of the tunnel, it opens to a small, round room made of cobblestone. The pair in front of me turns to face the three of us. "Alright, the SUV's are outside. We leave separately, me and Luci will go together. When we are sure to have lost them, we meet at the jet" Alarico instructs, looking slightly anxious, but quickly masks it with an unreadable expression. I see Luci grab his hand in comfort, her face is easily readable. She's scared, just like the rest of us. Though stronger together, we can't leave as a pack. The hunters will only track us down, just like today and just like the last time. We had been careless, and that will not happen again, not while I'm in charge.