The Villain Alpha's Cursed Mate
Chapter 80: We Don’t Have To Be Strangers

Chapter 80: We Don’t Have To Be Strangers

Leonardo never halted in his frantic pace, despite pulling his brother far away from Lennox and Dahmer’s grasp, his heart pounding.

He had swiftly donned his hood before intervening, aware that discretion was key in this precarious situation. Despite knowing he should have kept his head down and walked away, Leonardo couldn’t bring himself to abandon his brother and watch him get taken away by those people, not this time.

His only hope was that they hadn’t caught a glimpse of his face.

As they neared the forest’s exit, Donovan suddenly wrenched his arm free from his brother’s grasp, and, in one swift motion, seized his instead, bringing their desperate escape to a sudden halt.

"Wait," Donovan cautioned. "Don’t go any further. I can sense royal guards ahead."

Leonardo’s gaze followed Donovan’s implicit direction, his eyes fixed intently on the gap behind the bushes. Though he didn’t detect any signs of royal guard, he trusted his brother’s instincts.

Regrettably, Leonardo was forced to reactivate his curse to assist Donovan, which meant that normal communication was no longer an option. He was forced to rely on the cryptic language they both knew, a precaution he couldn’t afford to neglect.

"You can speak properly, cursed speech has no effect on me," Donovan said, his tone measured. Leonardo was well aware that his cursed speech didn’t work on his brother, since his brother had the rarest ability to defy all curses.

Still, in this uncertain environment, they couldn’t be too careless.

"Vorn’ekk kel tel leth," Leonardo said quietly, his words carrying an urgent undertone. Donovan simply raised an eyebrow, his gaze narrowing.

"You’re saying we need to leave, aren’t you?" Donovan asked, a hint of uncertainty laced in his voice.

"Var," Leonardo confirmed, the single word meaning yes.

Donovan, however, was only starting to feel the delayed effects of Lennox’s strike. The serum, though absorbed just in time to prevent full paralysis, had drained much of his strength. And as if that weren’t enough, he had to regenerate an entire arm.

When Leonardo opened his mouth to speak again, Donovan cut him off. "You don’t need to say anything more," he muttered. "Your speech is limited, so save it. Don’t waste it on trivial conversations. Right now, we need to move, before those two break from your control."

It had been a long time since Donovan learned how to understand the safe curse language, since he knew someone who also had the same curse. The language was far from simple, laden with complexities and cryptic nuances. Once activated, the curse would remain in effect for thirty minutes, even after the user had deactivated it.

Leonardo couldn’t resist stealing a glance at his brother. As a child, Donovan was almost never seen without a blindfold, but now, with his usual coverings discarded, his uncovered eyes bore an uncanny resemblance to their fathers – a depth and shade unlike anything Leonardo has ever seen. Yet strangely, seemed more fitting on Donovan, as if the brooding darkness in those eyes belonged uniquely to him.

What made him take off his blindfold? Though he heard that his brother’s gaze held another significant power, one that was rarely talked about, he wondered if the sinful beauty of his eyes was one of the significance.

With a whistle, Donovan summoned Kangee, who eventually helped the two brothers to escape from the forest through an alternate path, avoiding any further danger. The curse marks, which had moments earlier curled around the edges of Leonardo’s mouth, had faded, leaving behind only the raw soreness in his throat, a reminder of the toll it had taken.

It was starting to drizzle, and Leonardo glanced at his older brother, who had pulled his hood over his head, shrouding his face in the shadow of his cloak.

"What brings someone like you into the forest, anyway?" Donovan’s voice cut through the rain, halting in his tracks. "Who are you?"

The silence that followed was broken only by the steady patter of rain, now soaking them both. Leonardo’s hand tightened into fist at his side before he turned to face Donovan.

"I’m Leonardo Ashford, son of Irwin Ashford," he said, introducing himself with a firm tone. "You punched me in the face once, back at the tower. Remember?"

The rain grew heavier, its sound filling the air. Lightning flashed in the sky, brightening the environment for only a second, but Leonardo couldn’t gauge his brother’s reaction, his expression hidden expertly beneath the hood.

After a moment, Leonardo spoke again. "The rain won’t be stopping anytime soon. You should come with me, we can stay at my father’s place till the rain passes."

"No," Donovan’s response was firm and immediate. The cold edge in his voice was unmistakable as he turned his back on Leonardo, distancing himself both physically and emotionally.

"You should return home. We’re even now since I helped you out of the woods. For that, I owe you nothing more. Your assistance no longer warrants my gratitude."

With that, Donovan walked away. He tried to use his teleportation to return, but even his powers were failing him at this moment.

As the distance between them stretched, Leonardo’s jaw tightened as he understood the real reason for Donovan’s departure. He had figured out who he really was, and he was running again, from him. He was doing his best to avoid the inevitable confrontation between them.

"So, is it that you can’t even bear to face me, or are you simply trying to avoid the man you handed me over to?" His words hit their mark, freezing Donovan in his tracks.

Leonardo then continued, his voice laced with frustration. "Forgive me, but I need to speak my mind. Before you continue to act like I’m invisible, I never asked you to save me, or make those sacrifices for me in the past. Not once. If I had known it would end like this, I never would have followed Irwin on that day. I was ready to stand and fight by your side to my last, and you know that. So stop acting as if I wasn’t and talk to me! I thought we were closer than that, at least we used to be. Look, I do appreciate all you’ve done for me to this point, I’m alive because of you, but we don’t have to be strangers. I know I don’t want to."

Donovan stood with his back to Leonardo, the oppressive silence lingering between them. Leonardo could accept that his brother might not want to speak, he could respect that boundary. But what grated on him, what he could no longer abide, was being treated as though he were invisible, as though he didn’t exist.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. At least he seemed to acknowledge strangers better than his own brother.

"Do you have nothing to say to me?" Leonardo’s voice cut through the stillness, but Donovan’s steps remained measured, his retreat unbroken.

"I told you to return to your family," he said, his voice sharp and unbearably distant. "I don’t know what you’re going on about, but you and I are very different. You have a family who loves you, and you can live normally. Stop seeking me out, and I mean it. I can’t promise I won’t do anything if you do this again."

The words fell heavy, chilling in their finality. "If I’d known it was you, I never would’ve let you interfere from the start."

Leonardo was stunned, unable to comprehend that these cruel words were coming from his brother during their first real encounter. The disbelief that had tightened his chest was quickly replaced with concern as Donovan’s body suddenly wavered, his legs buckling beneath him.

With a faint thud, he collapsed onto the rain-soaked ground.

"Donovan!" Leonardo shouted, panic flaring in his voice as he rushed to his brother’s side, momentarily forgetting the soreness of his throat. His fingers searched desperately for any signs of life. Donovan lay still, his skin blazing with unnatural heat that had Leonardo retreating his hand instinctively, afraid he would get burned from the intensity of the heat.

When Donovan eventually awoke, every muscle in his body screamed pain, as though he had been crushed between two unforgiving walls. A piercing ring in his ear made him grimace, his mind haunted by the echo of a voice.

’Are you prepared to strike the bargain ? The curse will tear you apart from within, and your demise is all but certain – a slow, and agonizing descent into ruin. You will become nothing but dust.’

As the agonizing ringing in his ears finally subsided, Donovan gasped for breath, blinking his eyes open.

Forcing himself upright, he felt the mattress give slightly beneath him, its weight pressing back as if to ground him in place. The soft patter of rain tapping against the window filled the room, while a comforting warmth enveloped him, signaling he was in someone’s home, safe – for now.

"Don’t push yourself too hard," Irwin’s gentle voice came from beside him, causing Donovan to tense briefly.

"You keep pushing your limits and ignoring the toll it takes. Your body’s endured more damage than it can handle. For a demon, and a shifter, fevers are rare, almost impossible. Is this... demon fever or another type of fever?" He asked, and Donovan’s expression dropped.

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