The Villain Alpha's Cursed Mate
Chapter 83: The Key To Ending All Of This

Chapter 83: The Key To Ending All Of This

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Lennox stormed back into the palace alongside Dahmer, fury radiating from him in waves. His fists clenched as he resisted the urge to punch something, anything, and his frustration was palpable in the air.

Everything had been going according to plan – Donovan was precisely where he needed him. Yet, somehow, he had slipped through his grasps once more.

The moment itself was still a blur to Lennox. One second, he had control; the next, his entire body had seized, immobilized as if he had been turned into stone. He stood there, helpless, feeling like a living statue. And then, a presence appeared – an unfamiliar energy that made his skin crawl. He couldn’t place who or what it was that intervened, but the spell that was put on him lingered long enough for his guards to find him. His guards had moved swiftly, forming a protective barrier around him to ensure no other demon shifter could take advantage of his vulnerable state.

A mage was summoned to free both him and Dahmer from whatever sinister magic ensnared them in place, but even with all his powers, the mage failed to break the spell.

Unfortunately, Lennox was forced to endure the night frozen in place, his every muscle screaming in agony until the first light of dawn finally released him from the curse’s grip. He shifted back to his human form almost immediately, and his entire body throbbed with pain, joints stiff and aching, a stark reminder of the humiliating trap that held him down.

Emily stood in the throne room with him, her lips pressed together in silence. The tension in the throne room was palpable, and from the hard lines on Lennox’s face, it was pretty obvious that he had failed to capture Donovan again. Knowing just how volatile his temper could be when he’s like this, she wisely chose to withhold her own questions, unwilling to provoke his own inevitable anger.

Moments later, the heavy doors creaked open, and a man with long, silver-gray hair and a braided beard entered. His robes marked him unmistakably as a mage, the same sorcerer Lennox’s guard had called to break whatever enchantment bound their king.

The mage inclined his head respectfully, "Your Majesty?"

But Lennox cut through the formalities, his voice sharp and impatient as he inquired. "Have you discovered what kept me frozen in the middle of the woods?" His golden eyes then narrowed at the mage. "There was someone else present — someone who interfered with both me and Dahmer, am I correct?"

The mage inclined his head again, thoughtfully this time, his expression graver than usual. "Indeed, Your Majesty. The reason I was unable to break through the spell was because it wasn’t a spell, but a curse. It appears one of the demons who attacked you employed what is known as the cursed speech. It’s a deadly form of magic that compels any living being to follow the commands of its user, binding them to their will the moment it is spoken."

He shook his head and continued. "You were fortunate, Your Majesty, that the user refrained from commanding you to do something even more severe."

"Cursed speech?" Lennox was evidently taken aback, as he’s never heard of such abilities before. But, his suspicion was confirmed. He truly sensed another presence, and someone interfered to save Donovan. "This is proving to be far too futile, and I hate delaying a problem. Our only affordable option now is to locate their stronghold and eliminate them once and for all. The last time, you put Donovan into a deep slumber. You claimed it was a one-time solution, despite its effectiveness. Why is that?"

The mage hesitated on his explanation, his gaze thoughtful, and he eventually replied. "There are three reasons, Your Majesty. The first is his untamed power, which has grown quite exponentially. Even while in slumber, it’s very possible that his abilities developed unconsciously."

After a brief pause, he continued. "Now that he’s awake again, his powers are too immense for the sleep spell to restrain him again. Attempting to subdue him with another enchantment could trigger a violent backlash. The second reason concerns his mental state. Forcing him back into a state of sleep could shatter his mind completely, driving him into madness. And a mad demon shifter, deadly and unpredictable, would pose a far greater threat than the one who remains awake and controlled. There’s also the possibility that the prior experiments performed on him might resurface, unleashing chaos none of us could contain."

Lennox’s expression grew heavy as he listened to the old man speak. "What’s the third reason?"

"Other forces," the mage said gravely. "Placing him back into eternal slumbers could disrupt forces we don’t understand, forces linked to his existence. We don’t know what he encountered during those fifteen years in deep sleep, or what else was lurking there with him. We cannot risk provoking the unknown."

After hearing all the three reasons tied to why the spell could not be reused, Lennox’s face tightened into a deep frown. "So, you’re telling me that there’s no way to end that man?" His voice was thick with irritation. "How do we stop the curse then? It’s contagious, and Finnian’s a living proof of that."

"To stop the spread," the mage remained calm as he explained the situation to Lennox. "You must kill the original source – the true bearer of the curse, the one who started it all. But before you can do that, you need to push Donovan into fully embracing his curse. This may require deception or manipulation to force him to cross the line. Once he’s truly overtaken, only then can you kill the true bearer. If you succeed, every living being affected by the curse will perish along with them."

The mage then chose to add, his voice carrying a tone of finality. "This is where the daughter of the late Alpha Damon comes in. Everyone knows the Montague bloodline is unique, and their packs are gifted with a warrior’s strength far in comparison to others. She is the key to ending all of this, she will finish what her father couldn’t. Without her, you won’t be able to defeat the true bearer, let alone get close to him. Only she possesses the power to destroy the curse’s source."

"Esme?" Lennox’s eyes widened, and Emily’s scoff drew both his and the mage’s attention to her direction.

Her lips curled into a disdainful scowl as she snapped. "That’s plain ridiculous, and you shouldn’t feed such false information Mage sir. Esme isn’t gifted with anything – she doesn’t even have a wolf to call her own. You can’t expect me to believe that someone as pathetic as her, who can’t even hurt a fly, can stand against someone so powerful? If all our lives depend on her, then we’re doomed."

The mage’s chuckle was soft, almost amused by her strong skepticism. He then shook his head, unconvinced by her plain argument. "You misunderstand," he said thoughtfully. "What you don’t know about exceptionally kind, gentle, and loving people is that their other side is equally as intense. Don’t mistake their rationality for weakness. And who knows, perhaps the beast within her is merely waiting to be awakened. That’s why I always say this, don’t be so sure of a future you can’t see."

His eyes met Emily’s, and her clear annoyance did not go unnoticed. With that, the mage lowered his head in a bow and turned to leave, exiting the throne room.

Lennox reflected on his conversation with the mage, the weight of it pressing heavily on his mind. He had suspected that was the case, because after Esme’s father succeeded in his attempt to kill Alpha Zephyr, they thought all demon shifters had perished with him, as he was the one everyone believed to have started it all. Then there was Donovan... What if the shifters hadn’t truly vanished because Donovan was alive?

His thoughts drifted to fifteen years ago, before Donovan was put to sleep. There was a certain time when the councils were extremely desperate for answers, they had to tear Donovan apart in a gruesome attempt to find the source of the curse within him.

Lennox could still hear the haunting, agonizing cries, screams that belonged to Donovan. But then, in the middle of it all, his screams stopped, and his questioning silence was followed by laughter, a strange laughter that even scared Lennox when he witnessed the gruesome scene.

Who in their right mind laughs when being dissected alive, their organs exposed to prying eyes? It was at that moment that Lennox came to the realization that Donovan had never been normal, even as a child.

Something far darker resided in him from the very beginning.

He remembered it all, the sinister look the death-defying bastard had given him, a gaze so dark and unnerving it felt as though he were staring straight into his soul, despite the fact that he couldn’t see.

"Lennox," Emily’s voice pulled Lennox from the haunting memories of the past. "What are we going to do? How do we find the true bearer of the curse?"

Lennox’s eyebrows furrowed deeply, and he turned to Emily. "How exactly did the late Alpha Damon die again? I’m going to need the details of everything that happened during the last massacre."

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