Freda Pov
"Luna Freda you look exhausted."
Cassie's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I'd been staring at the same page in the pack history records for the past hour without actually reading it.
"I didn't sleep well," I said. That was an understatement, i hadn't slept at all. Every time I closed my eyes I heard Beta Rex saying the curse is active.
"Wedding night nerves," Cassie said knowingly. She sat down beside me. "It'll get easier."
If only that was all it was.
"Cassie," I said carefully. "Have you ever heard anything about a curse in the Alpha bloodline."
Her expression changed immediately. The friendly warmth disappeared and something guarded took its place.
"Why are you asking about that," she said.
"So it is real," I said. My stomach dropped. "There really is a curse."
"I didn't say that," Cassie said quickly. "It's just old pack stories, nothing for you to worry about."
"Everyone keeps saying that," I said. Frustration made my voice sharp. "But if it's nothing then why does everyone get weird when I ask. Why was Beta Rex arguing with Alpha Urdon about it last night."
Cassie looked uncomfortable. "You should talk to Alpha Urdon about this, not me."
"I tried," I said. "He won't tell me anything. He says it's superstition."
"Then maybe you should trust him," Cassie said. But she wouldn't meet my eyes. "He's your mate now, your Alpha."
She left before I could ask anything else. I looked back down at the pack records spread out in front of me. I'd spent all morning searching through them for any mention of curses or bloodline problems. But most of the older records were written in the ancient language I couldn't read.
I needed help. Someone who knew the pack history and wouldn't just brush me off.
Elder Marta.
I found her tending the memorial stones on the eastern edge of pack lands. She looked up when I approached and something sad crossed her face.
"Luna Freda," she said. "I wondered when you'd come looking for answers."
"Will you tell me," I asked. "About the curse. What it is. Why everyone is afraid of it."
Marta was quiet for a long moment. Then she gestured for me to sit beside her.
"The curse began many generations ago," Marta said slowly. "Before our time, even my grandmother's time. Back when wolves still walked on all fours and the old laws ruled everything."
I sat down and listened carefully.
"A rogue wolf came to our pack lands," Marta continued. "She had no family or home. The pack took her in out of mercy, then one day she found her mate. Another wolf in the pack, they were happy together. But the very next day her mate was found dead."
My throat felt tight. "What happened to him."
"Nobody knows," Marta said. "His throat was torn out. The pack accused the rogue of killing him. They said she must have been dissatisfied with the moon's choice. That her rogue blood made her violent."
"Did she do it," I asked.
"She swore she didn't," Marta said. "The Beta at the time believed her. He tried to defend her but the Alpha refused to listen. He banished her as a rogue and warned her never to return."
"That's horrible," I said. "But what does that have to do with a curse."
"The rogue wolf's name was Yolande," Marta said quietly. "And before she disappeared into the wild she made a vow to the moon. She swore that every Alpha in the bloodline that condemned her would suffer the same loss she did. That they would know what it feels like to lose their mate."
My blood turned to ice.
"Every Alpha," I repeated. "You mean."
"Every Alpha in that bloodline has lost their mate," Marta said. Her voice was heavy with sorrow. "Alpha Urdon's father, his grandfather. His great grandfather, all the way back to Alpha Crane who banished Yolande. Some lost their mates to illness, but they all lost them."
"No," I whispered. "That can't be real. Urdon said it was just superstition."
"Alpha Urdon is in denial," Marta said gently. "He loves you, he doesn't want to believe that loving you could put you in danger but the curse is real Luna Freda. And it doesn't just affect the Alpha."
"What do you mean," I asked. But I already knew, deep down I already knew.
"The curse binds itself to the Luna," Marta said. "The moment you took your vows, the moment you accepted the bond. You became part of it."
I felt like I couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening, I'd just gotten married. I'd just found happiness and now someone was telling me I was cursed to die.
"How do I break it," I said desperately. "There has to be a way, some ritual or sacrifice or."
"If there is a way nobody has found it yet," Marta said. "Many have tried. All have failed."
"But I can't just accept this," I said. My voice broke. "I can't just wait around to die. There has to be something."
"Talk to your mate," Marta said. "Make him face the truth. Together maybe you can find an answer the others missed."
I stood up on shaking legs. "Thank you Elder Marta for telling me."
"I'm sorry child," she said. "I wish I had better news."
I walked back through pack lands in a daze. Everything looked different now, the wolves going about their daily business. The pups playing near the stream, all of it felt distant and unreal.
By the time I reached the Alpha den I'd made up my mind. Urdon needed to stop pretending this wasn't real. We needed to face it together.
He was inside reviewing patrol reports when I walked in.
"Freda," he said with a smile. "I was wondering where you went. Come tell me about your day."
"We need to talk," I said. My voice was steadier than I felt. "About the curse."
His smile faded. "Not this again."
"Elder Marta told me everything," I said. "About Yolanda, your father and grandfather. About every Alpha in your bloodline losing their mate."
"Marta had no right," Urdon said. Anger flashed across his face. "She's filling your head with ghost stories."
"Are they just stories," I demanded. "Did your father's mate die young. Did your grandfather's."
Urdon's jaw clenched. "That doesn't mean anything."
"It means everything," I said. "Urdon please. I'm your mate now, i deserve to know what I'm facing."
"You're facing nothing," Urdon said coldly. "Because there is no curse. My ancestors were unlucky, that's all."
"Unlucky for generations," I said. "In the exact same way. You really believe that's coincidence."
"I believe in what I can see and touch and prove," Urdon said. "Not in ancient vengeance from a rogue who died centuries ago."
"But what if you're wrong," I said. My voice rose. "What if the curse is real and ignoring it gets me killed."
"Nothing is going to happen to you," Urdon said firmly. "I won't allow it."
"You can't just will a curse away," I said.
"Watch me," Urdon said. His eyes were hard now and closed off. "This conversation is over Freda. I don't want to hear another word about curses or Yolande or any of it. We're going to live our lives and be happy and that's the end of it."
I stared at him at this wolf I'd married. This Alpha who I thought I knew.
He was scared. I could see it now. Underneath all the denial and anger he was terrified. Terrified of losing me the way his father lost his mate. The way every Alpha before him had lost theirs.
But being scared didn't make the curse go away. And pretending it wasn't real wouldn't keep me safe.
"Curses aren't real," he said coldly. And in that moment I realized the moon would prove him wrong.