Cursed Alpha, Chosen Love

The small town nestled at the edge of the forest was quiet, save for the occasional hum of a passing car or the distant chatter of townsfolk. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and damp earth. Kaelan stood at the edge of the main street, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his worn leather jacket. His body still felt foreign, as if it didn’t belong to him anymore. The absence of his wolf was a constant ache, a hollow void that gnawed at him. He clenched his jaw, trying to push the thought away.He had spent the last few days wandering aimlessly, trying to adjust to this new reality. Human. The word tasted bitter on his tongue. He hated it. Hated the weakness, the vulnerability. But he had no choice. The wolf was gone, and with it, the life he once knew.His stomach growled, pulling him out of his thoughts. He glanced around, his sharp eyes landing on a small café tucked between a bookstore and a flower shop. The sign above the door read Rhea’s Haven. The name wa

The soft hum of chatter and clinking cups filled the cozy space of Rhea’s café. The smell of freshly brewed coffee mingled with the faint sweetness of pastries, creating a sense of comfort that Rhea desperately clung to. It was her haven, her safe space. But today, the air felt heavier, charged with something she couldn’t quite place.Rhea stood behind the counter, wiping down the espresso machine, her mind distracted. Kaelan’s cold departure last night lingered in her thoughts. There was something in his eyes—a mix of pain and fear—that unsettled her. She hated how much she cared, how deeply her thoughts revolved around him. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to keep her walls high, her emotions guarded. But Kaelan… he was breaking through, and that terrified her.The bell above the door jingled, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up, expecting another regular customer, but her heart dropped. Standing there, dressed sharply in a tailored black coat, was Zane.

The night air was heavy with tension, the silence between Kaelan and Rhea stretching as they stood in the aftermath of Zane’s threat. The shattered window let the cold seep in, but neither of them moved to fix it. Kaelan’s fists were still clenched, his knuckles white, while Rhea watched him cautiously, her heart pounding in her chest.“What did he mean, Kaelan?” Rhea’s voice was steady, but there was a tremor beneath it that betrayed her unease. “What did Zane mean when he said you couldn’t protect me?”Kaelan turned his head sharply, his eyes locking onto hers. The intensity in his gaze made her chest tighten. “It doesn’t matter,” he said firmly, his tone brooking no argument. “I told you, I’m going to end this.”Rhea crossed her arms, refusing to back down. “You keep saying that, but you haven’t told me how. Or why I should even trust you to protect me, Kaelan.” Her voice softened, but there was still an edge to it. “You can’t keep shutting me out.”Kaelan’s jaw worked, his frustra

The forest was alive with sound—the crunch of leaves underfoot, the call of distant birds, the soft rustle of the wind through the trees. But Rhea barely noticed any of it. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she weaved between the towering pines, her hands trembling at her sides. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each one cutting deeper than the last.Could Zane be telling the truth? Could Kaelan have lied to her, used her? She shook her head, trying to banish the doubt, but it clung to her like a second skin. The mark on her neck still burned faintly, a cruel reminder of everything she’d just learned. She pressed her fingers against it, as if she could erase it somehow, but the sensation only made her feel more helpless.“I can’t trust him,” she whispered to herself, the words barely audible over the sound of her boots crunching against the dirt path. “I can’t trust anyone.”The thought sent a chill through her. She had always been alone—before Kaelan, before this whole mess. A

Kaelan’s breath came out in steady puffs of fog as he moved through the forest, his boots crunching against the frosted ground. The cold didn’t bother him—it never had—but tonight, it felt sharper, biting through his skin as if it could sense his desperation. His senses were dulled, not as sharp as they used to be without his wolf’s power, but he pushed forward anyway. He didn’t care that he was weaker now. He didn’t care that Zane had every advantage.Rhea was out there, and she needed him.The thought of her—alone, afraid, in Zane’s grasp—sent fire through his veins, driving him forward. His hands curled into fists at his sides as he replayed the last words Zane had spat at him."You can’t even protect the one person you care about."Kaelan growled under his breath, his jaw tightening. He wouldn’t let Zane win. Not this time.Rhea’s eyes flickered open to darkness. Her head throbbed, and her wrists ached from the rough rope binding her hands together. She shifted slightly, her muscl