The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter
Chapter 224: The Curse

Chapter 224: The Curse

Natalie~

Panic isn’t really my thing anymore—not since Jasmine showed up and reminded me who the hell I am. But the second Griffin hit the ground, limp and drenched in blood like a felled tree, my heart punched against my ribs, and panic shoved its way through the front door without knocking.

"Fox!" I yelled, dropping beside him so fast my knees burned. Griffin’s blood soaked straight through my jeans, warm and terrifying. My hands trembled, glowing with that soft, signature shimmer... but the magic? It wouldn’t flow. My thoughts were a wreck, and the power needed clarity, not chaos.

"Towels—water—anything—just move!"

"I got it," Fox called back, his voice tight—but weirdly calm. Too calm.

Then with a single snap of his fingers—

Poof. The blood vanished.

No sparks. No dramatic pulse of energy. Just... nothing. Like the mess had never existed.

Griffin’s skin, his shredded shirt, the pool beneath him—gone. Spotless. But he was still out cold, draped in Zane’s arms like a doll someone had dropped too hard.

I blinked. "Okay—how did I forget we can do that?"

Fox crouched next to me, his golden eyes fixed on Griffin’s face. "Yeah," he said dryly. "Why waste time panicking when we’ve literally got magic?"

"Oh for the love of the moon," Jasmine grumbled inside me. "Mara, you’re a celestial being. Can you stop forgetting every time you freak out? Heal him. Now!"

"I—" My cheeks lit up with embarrassment.

I kept forgetting. Like that time with the guards—dead as dust—and I forgot I could literally reverse death. Sometimes I slipped back into mortal habits. Scrappy. Frazzled. Powerless. As if I was still the girl without a wolf, without divinity, just winging it through life.

But I wasn’t.

"Right," I breathed, and raised a hand over Griffin’s face.

Golden-blue light pulsed from my palm, warm and alive, like a second heartbeat. Not just mine. Jasmine’s too. Our power, intertwined and awake.

Then Griffin jerked upright like he’d taken a full hit of lightning to the chest.

I gasped and flung myself backward, nearly knocking Fox over.

Griffin sat there, blinking, chest heaving like he’d just surfaced from deep underwater. His eyes glazed, lips parted, face slack with confusion.

And then—he started crying.

Just straight-up crying.

"What the—" Fox blinked, wide-eyed.

I froze, staring at Griffin like the ground had just shifted under us. I didn’t know what I expected—but it sure wasn’t that.

Tears streamed down his face. Not just silent tears—but messy, full-body sobs. His shoulders shook violently, his breathing hitched like he was choking on his grief.

"Griffin?" I whispered.

Was I hallucinating?

Alpha’s didn’t cry. Not like this. Not with this kind of... soul-deep wreckage.

The moment Alex saw Griffin crying, he broke. Big, silent tears slid down his cheeks, and a quiet, choked sob escaped him.

Zane shot to his feet instantly from where he’d been holding Griffin, all trace of hesitation gone. Whatever shock had frozen him a moment ago melted away as he crossed the room in long, urgent strides—straight to Alex.

Without a word, he swept our son—yes, our son—into his arms. Alex clung to him, small hands fisting into Zane’s shirt like he was afraid to let go, his tiny frame shaking.

Zane held him close, fierce and protective, even as his eyes flicked back to Griffin—still crumpled and crying on the floor, a sight none of us knew how to process.

"Daddy, why is Griffin crying like that?" Alex asked, his voice no louder than a whisper, soaked in fear.

Zane pulled him in tighter, kissed the top of his head. "He’s just... really sad right now, little warrior. But we’re here. You’re safe. Everything’s going to be okay."

Was it?

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe we had a handle on things, that magic and love and sheer stubborn will would be enough.

But standing there, watching Griffin cry like the world had shattered—and seeing the fear reflected in Alex’s eyes—I wasn’t so sure anymore.

I reached for Griffin, cautiously. "Hey. What’s going on? Why are you crying? Why were you coughing up blood, Griffin? Talk to me."

He didn’t answer.

He shifted.

From where he sat, Griffin suddenly slid to his knees—in front of me.

My heart sank.

"Griffin... what are you doing?" I whispered.

His head bowed, tears still falling.

"I’m sorry," he choked out. "I’m so sorry."

"What?"

He looked up, eyes red and wet. "Natalie... Cole... please forgive me."

Zane stepped forward slowly, Alex still in his arms, protective and wary. "Forgive you for what?"

Griffin’s lip trembled. "For what I did. For dragging you both into this. I made a mistake... and now I’m paying for it."

My whole body went rigid. "What mistake, Griffin?"

His lips parted, shaky. "I was given a—"

And then it happened.

Blood burst from his mouth—again.

But this time, it was worse.

Way worse.

A thick wave of dark crimson spilled out, splashing onto the spotless marble like spilled ink on a blank page.

He doubled over, gagging—no, heaving—as more blood poured out in violent surges. It was everywhere. His hands shook. His breath hitched. The sound of it—raw, wet, unbearable.

"No. No, no, no!" I dropped to the floor, heart pounding as I pressed my glowing palm to his lips, his chest, his stomach—anywhere I could reach, anywhere that might help.

The blood disappeared beneath my touch.

His body stilled.

But not peacefully.

He was still crying.

Still slipping away.

And I was losing him, second by second.

"I can fix you," I said, gripping his shoulders. "Just—just give me a sec."

"No..." he whispered. "Don’t waste it. Don’t waste your gift on me. Please, Natalie... just take me home. To my family. I need to see them. I need to... I can’t seem to contact them through the mind link. I don’t want to die before—"

He gagged again.

My heart shattered.

Zane’s face was a stone mask. Cold. Focused. But I could see the cracks in his eyes.

"Take you home?" he asked tightly. "What’s going on, Griffin? What the hell is this?"

"If I go alone..." Griffin groaned, pressing a hand to his side, "Shadow... might..."

His body convulsed.

Blood again.

A scream caught in my throat.

Fox was suddenly next to us, his fiery presence oddly calm and grounded.

"It’s a curse," he said softly.

I jerked my head toward him. "What?"

"This isn’t poison. It’s not a wound. It’s a curse," Fox said. "Shadow’s curse."

Zane’s head snapped toward him. "How do you know?"

"Because I’ve seen this type of curse before," Fox said, crouching beside Griffin. "The blood. The choking. The failure to speak. There’s something he’s trying to tell us—but the moment he tries to speak it, the curse attacks. It won’t let him speak the truth."

I felt my breath catch. "So... if he keeps trying...?"

"It’ll kill him." Fox looked up at me. "And it looks like Griffin knows it."

I shook my head slowly. "No... no, that can’t be. You told me, Fox—you and Jacob both told me Shadow couldn’t get to Griffin. Not while he’s around me. Because of my aura—because of my powers. He’s safe with me!"

Fox’s face darkened, his golden eyes troubled. "I know. That’s why this is worse than we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t know how Shadow’s getting through your aura, Nat. I should feel it. But I don’t. It’s like he’s hiding in plain sight... or someone else is channeling him."

I felt a cold chill sweep through me. Jasmine snarled inside my head.

"This is wrong. Shadow is tampering with us. With Griffin. Mara, we might lose him if—"

"Don’t say it," I whispered out loud.

Griffin tried again. He gripped my wrist like it was a lifeline.

"This is... this is happening because of the—"

His body convulsed.

Blood poured from his lips, his nose, even his ears this time.

I screamed.

"Griffin!"

Fox grabbed him before he could fall again, fire flickering at his fingertips.

"He can’t say it," Fox murmured. "He literally can’t. The curse binds his voice. It’s meant to kill him before he talks."

Zane’s jaw clenched. "He needs to be moved. Now. We’re taking him home."

I nodded, wiping my face with a shaking hand. "I’ll teleport him."

Griffin clung to my wrist again, his voice barely a rasp.

"Please... please forgive me..."

And then his head fell against my shoulder, limp but still breathing.

For now.

And inside me, Jasmine whispered:

"We’re being hunted."

And I believed her.

Because Shadow was no longer coming.

Shadow was already here.

But where exactly?

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