Alpha Knight’s Cursed Mate

NIRVANA

“Wait. Are you my great-great-grandfather? My mom’s great-grandfather. Whoa. That’s cool. How old are you exactly?”

“I’m Ambrose, little one.”

My gaze landed on my dead ex-boyfriend. “Is that?”

Warlock Ambrose, or my great-great-grandfather, just waved his hand, and my ex, that son of a bitch, just vanished.

“Where did he go?”

“It’s not important right now, Nirvana. How are you feeling?” asked Knight.

I sat on the bed and held his hand. “Why are you looking at me like I just died and brought back to life, and now you look at me as if I vanish if you blink?”

“That’s exactly how I feel. I can’t lose you again, Nirvana. Can you be a little serious right now?”

“I’m so sorry.” I breathed deeply because what I was about to say might shock them or piss them off. “I’m feeling okay like before. I died, did I?” I looked at their reactions, and they just stared at me like I was some kind of magical creature.

“Medically, yes, but magically, you did not die. Your breathing and your heartbeat stopped, but it was done by poison with black magic. Your body won’t rot, but you can’t go through the bridge.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I turned to Shadow. “So it’s worse than death?”

“Yes. Your soul is eternally trapped in the purgatory until someone as powerful as Ambrose can undo it.”

“So he can undo- Oh, my God.” I touched the back of my neck. “Is the curse broken?”

Knight and I shared a weird look.

“Is it?” he asked Ambrose.

It was still weird when I thought he was dead a long time ago, and now he was standing next to me and just saved my life. And I was beyond grateful that I got to meet him.

“Do you have tea around here?” he asked in his deep British accent.

Shadow, Kailin, and I laughed.

“My apology, sir,” Knight said as he got up from bed.

“Master Warlock, High Warlock, Lord, but you can call me great-great-grandpa, Knight Orion, or just grandpa. And I get that everyone was still shocked.”

“Let’s have some tea. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“You just did, and it’s good enough.”

We ended up in the spacious family room. I still find it hard to believe Ambrose was alive, and he was sitting on the sofa with his cane on his side.

“So what does your cane do? Does it turn into a venomous snake?”

The twins, West and North, Maddox and Zander, hid their laughs.

“It does many things, my dear,” he said as he sipped his tea. “Why are you suddenly so silent, Zarah?”

“Who are you up against? Is it Cyrius?”

“That is not your problem anymore, young witch. As long as I’m alive or walking this earth, I won’t let him come to this young lady.”

Shadow smiled. “When I was just learning to practice my gift, we called Aira a baby witch. Now Ambrose just called her young witch.”

“How old do you think he is?”

“Why are you both whispering?” asked Zarah, partly amused, partly angry.

“I’m sure you all heard it.”

“So, where have you been all this time?”

“Somewhere far, Case. I’m glad you’re still alive. Ophelia left you too soon.”

“What are the repercussions of what you did to Nirvana?”

“I just broke the magic with magic. No soul is needed. I know what Cyrius did to Nirvana, and I knew my bloodline did not die with Sophie. I just wished Nirvana’s mark stayed hidden, but I got the message that it was activated.”

“How did you know about it?” I asked because I had a feeling that there was more to it than he was telling us.

“He was the one who marked you,” Zarah answered. “Am I right, master warlock?”

“Yes. The curse Cyrius did a good thing for Nirvana and every female born in our bloodlines. Our world is so dark for a good-hearted young woman to be a part of it, but there’s no going back now. It’s too late for her to live a human life. So, are you ready for that?”

“I may not be born ready, and I just found out last week, but I think I can do that.”

“Very well. You, young man.” He looked at Knight sitting across him. “I may not be a part of her life growing up, but she is my blood. I don’t want something like that to happen again that can put her in danger. If you love this young woman and are willing to give your life to save her, do me a favor. Don’t let her out of your sight again. The next time it happens, I will not be there to save her.”

When Ambrose turned to me, I froze for a moment. “What?”

“Your grandfather raised you well, but he’s too lenient. What do these kids say nowadays? Don’t be a pain in his arse.”

I grinned like crazy.

“So, what now, if I may ask?” Kailin said.

“You all will face a lot of challenges, but use your brain and your heart instead of the animal inside you. You may have to make impossible choices, placing everyone else over yourself. That’s how you win the war. And it’s coming sooner than I expected.”

“You’re scaring me. What are we up against?”

“I won’t tell you that. You figure out yourself, and you will do good things than you can ever imagine if you only follow the right path.” His words gave me goosebumps. Whatever it was, it made me nervous.

“So your gift, you can also see the future like my mother?”

“No. You won’t get that either.”

“What? So, will I stay like this, a human, for the rest of my life? Because I’m cool with that. It’s hard to shift naked, you know.”

Knight chuckled. “I’m cool if you are, Nirvana.”

“You’ll find out soon. Zarah?”

“Yes?” Zarah looked at Ambrose.

“I’ll leave them to you. Look after Nirvana and guide her like you did to this Lycan.”

“I will do my best. I’d be honored.”

“Wait. You sound like you’re leaving,” Grandpa said in worry.

“I don’t stay long in one place. And I still have to find Cyrius.”

“So I won’t be seeing you again?”

“I’m sorry, little one, but it’s how I live long.”

“You have some kind of enemies?” Kailin asked.

“Cyrius is one of many. I locked him up, but he got away when the mark was activated. It weakened the spell, and that’s how he found her.”

“What exactly happened, Nirvana?” I wished no one had to ask me that, but Knight deserved to know. They needed to know.

“When I left the house angry, I went out to walk. Something that took me far. A butterfly. It looked like glowing. It was beautiful. Too late for me to realize it was a trick to lure me. I ended up near that tree.”

“That’s where I found you,” Zander said.

“Thank you.” I was grateful for him that he found me quickly. “Then the butterfly was gone, and I was standing with a tall, dark man with the darkest eyes like a deep abyss. I don’t know how to describe it. That moment, I knew he was not human.” I breathed deeply, and I felt Shadow’s hand on my arm.

“He gave you no choice.” I felt McKaye’s gratitude and sorrow.

“My ex appeared.”

“That son of a bitch, I should have killed him when I first saw him.”

“Calm down, young werewolf.”

“My apology, Ambrose.”

“He was with him. That asshole. Sorry. He literally sold his soul for a brief happiness. Then the black man showed me how our lives, your life, everyone if I wouldn’t make a deal with him. I felt everyone’s pain, sorrows, and losses. It was hard to bear. I fell on my knees, crying. If it was a trick, I still, and there was no way I could endure that kind of pain. Knight died with a hole in his chest. And I didn’t have the strength to do it. Kailin-” I swallowed hard.

“You don’t have to tell us. I think you have endured enough that lasts a lifetime.”

I looked at Knight, and I didn’t realize how much he meant to me until I was in that moment.

“He made me choose between my loved ones ended in that horrible way, or I would choose to go with him. He gave me six hours. Suppose great-great-grandpa did not come to save me. I died, and he would take my body unless I were cremated.”

“He will undo his magic. You are bound to him through eternity.”

I looked at Ambrose. “Yes.”

“So, about the deal?” Knight asked. He may have gotten the impression that I was lying.

“I chose to die than be his eternal puppet.”