Chapter 5 The Choice

• The Elder sighed and settled into a chair just beside Zara. “The curse that plagues the Lycan King was never his alone to bear. It was passed through your bloodline, Zara. Your ancestor betrayed the first Lycan King, dooming every ruler that came after him.”
• Zara’s pulse pounded. “And now I have to fix it?"
• The Elder nodded gravely. “To break the curse, either you or King Draven has to die."
• Zara’s throat tightened. “Is there no other way?”
• The Elder hesitated, then shook her head.
• A lump formed in Zara’s throat as she looked back at Draven's still form.
• He had spent his life fighting against this darkness. He had refused to mark her, hoping to spare her from the fate tied to his.
• But she was the only one who could save him.
• Her life for his.
• A future for her pack.
• A future for him.
• Zara closed her eyes. She had already been rejected six times. Maybe this had been her fate all along.
• She reached for the dagger at her belt, her hands steady.
• Then Kael’s grip tightened around hers.
• Her eyes snapped open as he whispered her name.
• And for the first time, Zara saw fear in the eyes of the Lycan King.
• He knew.
• And he didn’t want her to do it. "please Zara. At least not yet. I haven't gotten the chance to even know you yet, and you're going to leave." He said weakly.
• Zara's eyes fell on the point where their fingers intertwined.
• "I know you might not know this..." His voice broke through her thoughts, "...but you're the first ever mate in my life. There has been no woman before you, and I am definitely sure that I do not want any woman after."
• Zara's breath hitched in her throat at his words. How she had never known that alpha Draven had not been with any mate before her.
• "Your majesty. Please let her get on with this; time is already running out." The elder spoke up, slightly irritated that Zara had not stabbed herself yet.
• "Let the man air out his thoughts." The healer beckoned, and Alpha Draven went on when the whole place fell silent again.
• "I've never experienced genuine love before, and the moment I saw you, I knew things would be different. I was just about to mark you when I was reminded of the curse by my wolf."
• "It would have been very easy for me to take your life if I had accepted you or just rejected you outrightly—but I wanted to give our mating bond a chance!" Alpha Draven revealed.
• What was the feeling that was swelling inside Zara? Never had mere words had the potency to conjure up such powerful emotions in her, and it made her heart sink into her stomach.
• She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated when the words were not forthcoming.
• "Your majesty, I beg of you. Let us get on with this. Allow her to do what she must so we can free ourselves from this curse that has held our pack in bondage for decades." The elder spat out in spite.
• "Can we not find a way around this, please? Enough lives have been murdered just to get rid of the curse—but not this one life. I cannot let this one life be taken away from me when I haven't even fully grasped it yet." Draven pleaded and tightened his grip on her.
• "This 'life' is quite different, your majesty. She is the one to leverage our pack, so let her carry on now that she has agreed to do it." The elder replied.
• "Do you want to do this, Zara?" Alpha Draven, while his eyes bore deep into her soul.
• Zara's wolf stirred, her eyes falling onto the dagger. There was no conviction in her heart that she wanted to back away from this. Even her wolf did not attempt to dispute.
• "I—really don't know." Her voice was raspy. Her life has been a roller coaster of events, and her latest discovery that she was born just to face so many rejections and then die made her heart ache.
• "Then let me be the one to die instead..."
• "Your majesty!!!" The elder exclaimed in disbelief.
• "...hand over the dagger to me, Zara." He continued, ignoring the threatening gaze she shot at Zara if she were to release the dagger to him.
• "I cannot let you do this, Your majesty. I can't let you die just to get rid of a 'curse'. You barely even know me." Zara protested.
• "That's more reason why I want to be the one to do this. You don't deserve to die for me, Zara, and I need you to understand."
• "Your majesty, please, I cannot let the Lycan King die in my place. What is going to happen then if you die? What is going to be the fate of your pack?" Zara asked with a trembling voice.
• "You'll be the one to rule in my place when I'm gone." He replied almost instantly.
• "That is an abomination, and you know it, your majesty. To have a cursed wolf rule over us." The elder spat into the ground with distaste.
• "You forget that we are cursed too, and once I die, we all will be cleansed." Draven informed her and loosened his hold on Zara as his body grew weaker—Zara could sense the rapid deterioration of his Body and knew something had to be done.
• She couldn't let the King die, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to die either—the mere thought of it scared her greatly.
• "Hand the dagger over to me, Zara; I will not let you do this. You do not deserve to die this way." Alpha Draven let out.
• "And neither do you!" Zara said for the first time, clutching the dagger tightly to her chest.