Ares.
I walked away from Alora who was sleeping deeply on my bed. Her red sprayed around her in bright red waves. It complimented her pale skin, her small frame.
My face softened when a smile came upon her lips. Her face was calm even while she slept, she had an effect on me.
It scared me.
Everything about Alora scared me, because it brought out a part of me that I didn't know existed.
I hated change.
I hated things I didn't understand.
Because it left me vulnerable.
Tearing my gaze away from Alora, I walked to my desk at the end of the room, touching the mahogany furniture.
It was going to be hard to sleep with the power of the room tearing me apart from the inside, my wolf wanted to be let out, but I didn't have the energy to reign in the beast until the full moon where I could even have a little freedom to shift.
I ran my hand through my hair just as a sharp pain stung my back making me lose my balance. It was definitely not from my torso, the gunshot wound.
I knew what that pain was, and I prepared for it to increase, intensify, tearing me apart from my inside. My mind, my thoughts.
The pain brought weakness, emotions that I had buried a long time ago.
It came again, this time I let out a groan as I staggered feeling the mark at my back burn like someone was smearing my skin with a hot iron.
My forehead became sweaty as I clenched the desk harder, forcing the scream down my throat as I glanced briefly at Alora who still sound asleep.
I couldn't wake her.
Another sharp pain stung my back and this time I fell to the floor, landing on my face as I felt my temple tear and blood trickled past my forehead. Headache pounded my head but that was the least of my worries as an image flashed across my face.
"No." I growled, placing my hand on the floor to heave myself up when my back burned painfully. I bit down my lips to prevent me from screaming in pain.
I closed my eyes, pressing it hard against my eyelids as if to forget about the pain that was burning at my back.
It was the mark. The full moon was fast approaching and I hadn't even gotten to the peak of it yet.
I reached for my shirt with shaky hands, tearing it off as if to let off the pain but it only got worse and I growled softly, clenching my fist as I tried to get up only to fall back on my face at the pain.
It was like a thousand pins piercing through my back or even a hot iron placed at my back and I felt tears prickle at my eyes.
Nothing screamed pathetic like a crying Alpha and I resigned it back in as I tried to get back up.
I couldn't.
Fuck! I was so fucking weak!
I slammed my fist to the floor as the pain tore through me, just at the same time I found myself falling.
Falling.
Into a dark pit of loud screams.
And the next time I opened my eyes I was in that familiar courtroom.
The Tower of Saldar was the abode of the elders and I knew why I was here. I stood at the center of the courtroom, the elders gathered around me in their white garment that covered their bodies, reaching the floor.
Hundreds of judgemental eyes stared into me boring painful holes as they glared hatefully. They were silent but I could hear their voices in my head yelling at me, abusing me and calling me names.
But the voice stopped as the Chief elder spoke. His commanding voice filled the room, leaving a cold shiver running down my spine from fear.
Ezra's father was a force to be reckoned with. He was tall and despite being old. I knew the power he held. He had long grey hair and bright golden eyes that spoke of the power he held. He wore a similar white robe but with golden embroideries around the edges. On his head was the crown that spoke of his royalty, a wolf carrying a moon at its center. And in his hand was a staff with a bright ball making it appear like the shining moon.
The Chief Elder sat as his subordinates followed after him. His golden eyes found me, and I could see a soft glow in them. It was like he could see me, his intense stares made all the back of my hair stand.
"We have gathered here for the punishment of the second son of the Delgado Family. The Royal lineage of The Blood Moon Pack." He started to say as the crowd snickered.
I ignored them, fixing my eyes on the man who was going to punish me for reasons I knew.
Despite being fourteen years old, I knew the elders wouldn't give me a fair punishment. They were cruel, mean and heartless to anyone who broke the rules just like my mother had said.
So I didn't expect anything less from them.
"But before we get started, let me introduce you to the child before us." He said, pointing at me and looking at the crowd for a second before he turned to me.
"This boy right here, is the bastard son of Giovanni Delgado. His name is Ares Delgado." The elder said, his golden eyes burning into me.
"Giovanni, the Alpha of The Blood Moon Pack was seduced my a human-"
"Liar! My mother was--" I started to shout when a pain tore through my torso as I coughed up blood and fell to the floor. My vision tilted as I screamed in pain.
"Silence, boy." The Chief Elder said, making my shiver in fear as I looked up at him. Tears pricked at my eyes but I glared at him despite being scared of him.
"He had been seduced and had an affair with her, a mere human with no name. Who was barely worth more than a dollar. She seduced the Alpha and got pregnant because she knew he was a man of wealth. But unfortunately, it was the full moon and she had seen him transform into a wolf. She got scared and ran away while carrying his seed." The Chief Elder narrated as the crowd listened silently.
My torso screamed in pain but I tried not to let it show I glared at him, coughing and wiping the blood past my lips.
"It wasn't until a few years later did the Alpha find out he had a son by that time Ares' mother had run away, leaving her son to fend for himself in the woods. Stealing from people and barely surviving. The Alpha had been kind and took him into the pack afterall, Ares had been born with the power of the moon. He was a wolf and with the blood of an alpha."
"Giovanni took you in, despite having a family of his own. His wife Serene and his son Zeus. They accepted you and treated you like a son. And what did you do?" The Chief Elder asked me but I knew it was a rhetorical question, a trap to make me talk back so he could cause me pain.
"He killed them!" He yelled angrily, slamming his fist on the table as he drew to his feet. An aura of power filled the room as I heard loud gasps from behind me.
"This bastard son of a human killed the Alpha, the Luna and their heir. The next in line to the throne, his older brother, Zeus. In cold blood. Slaughtered them in the middle of the night. He was found drenched in their blood, and a smile on his lips." The elder said and everyone gasped.
They covered their mouth with their hands as they eyed me, I turned to them. Some had fear written on their faces, some glared at me with hatred while some only shook their head out of pity for the punishment I was going to get and for the death of the royal family.
But I said nothing, leaning back as I rested on the back of my leg, kneeling as I coughed again, blood dribbling down my lips as I turned back to the elder who glared at me.
I smiled up at him.
"You're nothing but a monster. You are evil, an abomination to the wolves, to the moon goddess and it's any wonder why she hasn't taken your life yet. I would have, but you're the last blood, the last lineage and seed of Giovanni Delgado, the Alpha. I cannot kill you yet." He said, walking off his seat as his subordinates stood behind him.
He walked past the chairs, and down the stairs slowly, each step leaving my heart thumping loudly in my chest. There was a deadly aura in the room as the temperature dropped, leaving me cold as I shivered both from fear and from the cold.
"But I can punish you. An eternal damnation that might even lead up to your own seeds. You must pay for the crimes you have committed, Ares Delgado."
"I would curse you. A curse that would be perfect for you, leaving its mark at your back. And every full moon, you shall be in pain that you would pray for death but you shall not find it. All the scars that I would hide would be revealed. Just as the birth of the full moon shall your curse awaken. Ares Delgado." He proclaimed as he raised his staff towards me, the wolf and moon at his crown glowed in response to the ball on the staff.
"No! No!" I started to yell and rise to my feet just as some other elders held me down.
"No!" I yelled, opening my eyes to the darkness of my room save for the small light from the room.
Sweat clouded my forehead as I gasped loudly, my chest tightened as I couldn't breathe. There wasn't enough ear reaching my lungs as pain tore my back.
This time, I screamed, and very loudly as my eyes filled with tears and I clenched it to prevent them from falling.
The pain didn't stop and I yelled again, my knees pressed hard to the floor as I forced myself to stand up but I couldn't as another scream escaped my lips. It all came rushing into me at once and I could see the soft red glow of the curse mark reflecting against the walls of my room.
It hurt.
Everything hurts.
It was so unbearable and I feared that I could pass out any moment.
I screamed again, feeling the glow brighten in the room. And when I felt the writings at my back move, I growled, my eyes turned into a deep shade of red.
I could feel my monster clawing at my heart, fighting to be let out. But I couldn't. I couldn't reign it in if it came out now. So I fought it back.
The writings moved again and I gasped, screaming in pain and I fell forward, my vision tilted and blurred around me.
I was going to pass out again.
But as I welcomed the hard cold floor, I fell against a soft frame.
It was so soft, my head rested against it as small arms wrapped around my head, pulling the rest of my body against it that I feared the person was going to fall from how heavy I was resting against them.
Silent cries filled my ears but I didn't know if it was from me or the person as I could hardly realize what was going on around me anymore.
My vision darkened around me, blurring that I couldn't understand what was happening. I tried to keep my eyes open.
But I grew tired, the soft frame held me close, their arms around my head, pressing me closer to them and I couldn't hold back my eyelids anymore.
I let them shut close with only one last glimpse of red hair before I fell back into the dark out of painful screams.
*Visit my Instagram for the picture and physical representation for Ares curse mark at chimdi_jane_samuel. I put a lot of designs that I explain here for better understanding.