THE ALPHA KING’S SON SCREAMED AT EVERY TOUCH—UNTIL A POOR OMEGA MAID FOUND A SILVER NEEDLE HIDDEN IN HIS FUR, REVEALING THE HORRIFYING TRUTH BEHIND HIS “CURSE”
Chapter 1
For four years, the people of Thorn Ridge had believed Prince Ash was broken.
Some called him cursed.
Others whispered that the Moon Goddess had turned her back on him.
The more cruel among them simply called him feral.
The five-year-old heir screamed whenever anyone touched him. He snapped at servants, attacked healers, refused nearly every meal, and sometimes remained in his wolf form for weeks.
No one could understand why.
And no one dared ask too many questions.
His father, Alpha King Theron Blackthorne, had responded by sealing the entire West Wing of the castle.
His son would remain hidden.
The kingdom would never see the weakness of its future ruler.
Then Meera arrived.
She was an Omega with worn shoes, two faded dresses, and barely enough money to eat.
She had not come to Thorn Ridge because she dreamed of palaces.
She had come because she needed employment.
That was all.
Mrs. Graves, the head housekeeper, inspected her from head to toe.
“You are replacing the previous maid.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then listen carefully.”
Meera nodded.
“The prince bites.”
“I understand.”
“He screams.”
“All right.”
“He attacks anyone who tries to restrain him.”
Meera remained quiet.
Mrs. Graves’s expression hardened.
“And you are not to become sentimental. Do not touch him unless absolutely necessary.”
“Understood.”
“One more thing.”
Mrs. Graves lowered her voice.
“Lady Isolda requires absolute silence in the West Wing.”
Meera knew the name.
Everyone did.
Lady Isolda was beautiful, wealthy, powerful—and expected to become the next Luna of Thorn Ridge.
She had been chosen to replace Theron’s first mate after her death.
Meera simply nodded.
Mrs. Graves unlocked the nursery door.
The smell reached Meera before the room came into view.
Rotten food.
Sweat.
Infection.
Fear.
She stared.
“This is the prince’s room?”
Mrs. Graves frowned.
“You have a problem with it?”
“No.”
But Meera did.
The room looked nothing like a royal nursery.
The curtains were permanently drawn.
Torn blankets covered the floor.
Untouched food sat on silver trays.
And in the far corner was a tiny gray wolf.
Prince Ash.
He was five years old, yet he looked much younger.
His ribs were visible beneath his tangled fur.
His hind legs shook whenever he moved.
His eyes were dull with exhaustion.
The instant Meera stepped inside, he growled.
Not the warning growl of an aggressive animal.
A frightened one.
A creature that had learned every approaching hand meant pain.
Mrs. Graves set down a tray.
“Clean the room. Leave his food. Don’t provoke him.”
Then she walked out.
The lock clicked.
Meera looked at the little wolf.
“Well…”
Ash stared back.
“This is not what I expected.”
He growled again.
Meera sighed.
“Fair enough.”
For nearly an hour, she worked without approaching him.
She scrubbed the floor.
Changed the blankets.
Removed the spoiled food.
Opened one curtain so sunlight could enter.
Ash watched every movement.
Eventually, he tried to stand.
His shoulder brushed against the wall.
A terrible scream tore from his throat.
Meera froze.
Her heart clenched.
That sound was wrong.
A small bump should not have caused that much agony.
She lowered herself onto the floor.
“Hey.”
Ash bared his teeth.
“I won’t come closer.”
His ears remained pinned back.
“I know you’re scared.”
The growling weakened.
Meera placed a bowl of warm broth several feet away.
“You don’t have to trust me.”
She pushed it forward.
“You just have to eat.”
Ash didn’t move.
Meera leaned against the opposite wall.
“I’ll wait.”
Ten minutes passed.
Then fifteen.
At last, the little wolf crawled toward the bowl.
He ate.
Meera deliberately looked away.
She understood dignity.
By sunset, something had changed.
Ash still wouldn’t let her touch him.
But he no longer immediately fled whenever she came near.
Meera prepared a warm cloth.
“I’m going to clean your face.”
The pup watched her carefully.
“If you bite me…”
She smiled.
“I’ll probably complain about it.”
His ears twitched.
Slowly, Meera brought the cloth to his cheek.
Ash stiffened.
He waited for pain.
None came.
She wiped his muzzle.
Then his ears.
Then the fur along his neck.
Her fingers moved toward the space between his shoulders.
Ash screamed.
His body twisted violently.
His jaws closed around her wrist.
Pain shot through Meera’s arm.
Blood appeared almost instantly.
But she didn’t strike him.
She didn’t pull away.
“Easy.”
Ash released her and scrambled backward.
Meera stared at the spot beneath his tangled fur.
Something was wrong.
She could feel heat beneath the skin.
The fur was badly matted.
“I’m sorry.”
She reached toward him again.
Ash growled.
“I know.”
Meera carefully parted the fur.
Her stomach turned.
The skin at the base of his neck was swollen and infected.
A tiny black point protruded from the flesh.
Yellowish fluid surrounded it.
Meera leaned closer.
It wasn’t a thorn.
It wasn’t an insect.
It was metal.
“What in the world…?”
She retrieved tweezers from the medical tray.
The moment Ash saw them, his entire body began trembling.
“Stay with me.”
She held him gently.
Then gripped the black point.
“I’m going to remove it.”
She pulled.
Ash howled.
The object moved.
An inch.
Then another.
Then another.
Meera’s face went pale.
Finally, the object came free.
She dropped it onto the metal tray.
It was nearly four inches long.
A thin silver needle.
Darkened with age.
Coated in something sticky and bitter.
Meera recognized the smell immediately.
Wolfsbane.
Her blood ran cold.
Someone had deliberately driven a silver needle coated in wolfsbane deep into the spine of a five-year-old wolf pup.
This wasn’t a curse.
This wasn’t a weakness.
This was poisoning.
Meera stared at Ash.
“You were never cursed.”
The little wolf looked at her.
“You were being hurt.”
The nursery doors suddenly flew open.
Meera spun around.
Lady Isolda stood in the doorway.
Her platinum hair was perfectly arranged.
Her ice-blue eyes immediately fell on Meera’s bloodied wrist.
Behind her stood Alpha King Theron Blackthorne.
Meera had heard countless descriptions of him.
None had prepared her.
He was enormous.
Dark-haired.
Broad-shouldered.
His golden eyes seemed to burn with restrained fury.
“What happened?”
Before Meera could speak, Isolda cried out.
“Theron!”
She pointed at Meera.
“Look what she did to Ash!”
Meera stepped in front of the pup.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“My King, please listen.”
Theron’s aura crashed over her.
Her knees nearly gave way.
“Move away from my son.”
“Please.”
Meera pointed toward the tray.
“Someone poisoned him.”
Theron stopped.
“What?”
“There was a silver needle inside his neck. It was coated with wolfsbane.”
Isolda’s expression changed.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Then she rushed forward.
“Oh, poor Ash…”
Her sleeve struck the tray.
The metal clattered.
The needle rolled across the floor and disappeared beneath the wardrobe.
Meera’s heart dropped.
“Search under there!”
Isolda turned toward her.
“You’re insane.”
“It was there!”
Theron’s expression darkened.
“Search.”
A guard dropped to his knees.
He reached beneath the wardrobe.
Nothing.
Another searched.
Still nothing.
Meera stared in disbelief.
She had watched it roll underneath.
How could it simply disappear?
Isolda turned toward Theron with tears gathering in her eyes.
“She attacked the prince and now she’s inventing stories to protect herself.”
Meera’s blood ran cold.
“No. That’s not true.”
Dr. Lorn was summoned.
He examined Ash carefully.
“There is a puncture wound.”
Theron’s head snapped toward him.
“A puncture?”
“Yes.”
“So something entered his body?”
“A narrow object, most likely.”
Meera breathed again.
“Exactly.”
But Isolda spoke before she could continue.
“She brought the needle herself.”
Meera stared at her.
Isolda looked directly into Theron’s eyes.
“Think about it. Ash has been suffering for years. If a silver needle had been lodged inside him, surely the healers would have found it.”
Theron looked toward Dr. Lorn.
“Did they?”
The doctor went pale.
“No, My King.”
“Not once?”
“No.”
The lie was perfect.
The evidence was gone.
The old medical records supposedly showed nothing.
And Meera was the only person who had been alone with Ash.
Theron’s gaze fell upon the blood on her wrist.
Then moved to the wound on his son’s neck.
“Take her.”
Two guards seized Meera.
“No!”
She struggled.
“Please! Check the old examinations! Check everything!”
Theron turned away.
“If the physician confirms that you poisoned my son…”
His voice became cold.
“You will be executed at dawn.”
Meera’s heart broke.
“But he’s getting better!”
Theron stopped.
Ash had lifted his head.
For the first time in years, the prince’s eyes were clearer.
The trembling had lessened.
The agony in his expression was fading.
Theron stared at his son.
Then Isolda gently touched his arm.
“He’s exhausted.”
“Let the doctor care for him.”
Meera was dragged from the room.
“Look at him!”
Her voice echoed through the corridor.
“Your son is getting better!”
The nursery door slammed shut.
Hours later, Meera sat alone inside a cold stone cell.
She had saved the prince.
And now she was waiting to be executed for it.
Still, she didn’t regret what she had done.
Ash was alive.
That was enough.
Then footsteps approached.
Meera expected a guard.
Instead, she heard a familiar woman’s voice.
Lady Isolda.
“Doctor.”
Meera immediately pressed herself against the bars.
Dr. Lorn answered quietly.
“I did what you asked.”
Meera stopped breathing.
“You lied about the previous examinations?”
“Yes.”
“And the original records?”
“They are in my office.”
“Destroy them before morning.”
The doctor hesitated.
“My Lady, if the King discovers—”
“He won’t.”
Isolda’s voice became colder.
“And if he does, you will be the one accused of poisoning the prince.”
Silence.
Then the footsteps began moving away.
Meera gripped the bars.
The old medical records still existed.
The original examinations.
The proof that the needle had been inside Ash long before she entered the castle.
There was still a chance.
Then Isolda’s voice drifted back through the corridor.
“One more thing.”
Meera froze.
“Once that maid is executed…”
A pause.
“I’ll put another needle into Ash.”
Meera’s blood turned to ice.
“And this time…”
Isolda whispered,
“I’ll drive it deep enough to kill him.”