Bride of the Cursed Alpha (Auren and Lucien)

Tamara POV

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My father joined Matt and Bradley to tackle Sclothis. A fierce baule ensued. Even though he had become weak, Selothis was not easy to handle. He had centuries of experience to fight, and so he cleverly maneuvered three warriors. But it was easy to see that he was losing his power fast. I wanted to join my father, Matt and Brad to finish the dark god, but mom stopped me by holding my hand.

"If he bathes with even one drop of your or my blood, he will gain power" she pointed out. "So stay put."

I gritted my teeth and stopped myself. However, Teddy joined them. I could see Selothis glancing at me, trying to make his way toward me to injure me, use my blood like a starved, hungry entity, but the men handled him well. They had formed a circle around him, punching and tossing him from side to side. Seth and other warriors also joined soon. And in a little over twenty minutes, Sclothis was lying on the ground, covered in blood, Suddenly, his skin started wrinkling fast. It was like he was... shrinking. Like every last drop of magic in him had drained out with his blood. He turned his head to look at me. "Tamara..." he said in a strained voice. "Help... give me.... blood..."

The Shaman shouted, "Move away from him!"

The four men stepped back and the Shaman came nearer. But he also ensured not to go very near him. The Shaman from the Everflame pack also joined him. They recited incantations in unison, Runes formed in the air. They surrounded Sclothis. He let out a plea of mercy. "Don't..." he whispered. "Free me... I will reward you..."

But the Shamans continued to chant ancient incantations, When I had arrived at my pack, the Shamans had told us that they were researching the ancient runes. It wasn't an easy task, and I was unsure how they were going to take care of Selothis. After all, he was a dark god. But little did I know that the Shamans had done a lot of research and Selothis's magic was weak.

Soon the runes started to swim over Sclothis's skin, touching him and floating away. Pin-pricks occurred where they contacted his skin, making him squirm in pain.

"Leave me..." he whispered. "I want to go back..."

I knew how dangerous Sclothis was. He had killed innocent werewolves over centuries only to bathe in their blood. Had Bradley not rescued Summer, he would have continued to kill them. The police had found a whole graveyard around the cult building. Every cult member was caught and sentenced to life imprisonment or was standing trial.

I wondered what happened to Sheena. The girl who tried to be my best friend only to take me to the cult to sacrifice me. Matt had discovered her truth as well. He had followed her to her apartment and because of his superior hearing, he could easily hear what they said to each other. He heard their plan a day before we had left.

"Ahhh!" Sclothis's body arched as the Shamans sent a fresh wave of runes to him. They slammed into his skin, and burst into tiny explosions. Goddess, it was a gruesome sight. It wasn't easy to kill a dark god. Even in his current state, he was holding onto life. As soon as all the runes burst around him, his body caught fire. And just like that, Selothis's entire body was burning. We all stepped back, watching the demise of the dark god who was a murderer, and justified his killings. Not only that, he encouraged and brain washed other innocent people to catch and kill for him.

In no time, his body was reduced to ashes. The embers that were sent flying in the air carried the smell of burnt flesh and magic.

I didn't know when the sky was covered by heavy clouds, but a loud, deafening thunder clapped above, sending me almost jumping. Light crackled and before I knew it, thick raindrops pelted the ruins. Matt rushed to me, lifted me in his arms and ran for cover. I glanced over his shoulder only to see that the ash was being drained inside the altar.

And so came the end of the dark god, who wanted to challenge Cressida, and regain his dark kingdom. It was my blood that would have bloomed the ancient power in him. It all sounded surreal, but I knew that I had to hide my powers from the world. If I didn't, another Selothis would stand up one day.

We returned to our pack, victorious. But the victory was heavy on our hearts. That night as Matt curled behind me and kept

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me close to himself, I could sense his emotions. He had tightened his grip on me like I was his most precious treasure, like I would disappear. That night, he would shudder in his dreams and only when I would whisper reassurances that I am here with him, he would calm down.

Next morning after breakfast, there was still quietness in the air. No one was speaking much. There was so much to think about.

Bradley was broody, his sullen demeanor reeking in the air. Matt was beside me all the time, and seeing Brad so disturbed, he would cling all the more. As for mom and dad, they were just thankful that I was alive, that fate gave me the best mate on this earth.

Our parents were sitting in the main room while Brad was somewhere in the forest, having given way to his wolf to run. We all knew that he wanted to find Summer, but he wasn't going to go anywhere, especially not after last night's incident.

"We should get our children married," said Teddy. "It is high time."

Oscar and Hans came bursting into the room, and both sat on dad's lap. My father lovingly gathered them on both his thighs and pressed kisses to their cheeks. Mom chuckled, watching them with love in her eyes.

"You're right," mom said. "There's no need to go back to college now."noveldrama

I pursed my lips. "But I want to finish college mom!" I looked at Matt for approval.

He nodded. "I'll do whatever she likes," he replied with a smile, squeezing my hand.

"No need!" Father snapped. "We are still not sure if all the cult members are caught by the police."

"That's right,” Teddy replied and Shehla agreed with him.

"We shouldn't risk your safety, Tammy," she said in the same way when she used

to scold me in her way. She was never harsh with me. "If it's okay with you, love, marry Matt. Else my son is going to be as grumpy and impossible as he was. I'm afraid I can't handle him now!"

Mom and Teddy burst out laughing as Daddy chuckled, shaking his head, muttering, "Mates..."

A blush crept on my cheeks and I glanced at Matt. He was looking at

me with interest and so much affection that it filled my chest with warmth. He picked my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. Then suddenly, he got up and kneeled in front of me. I gasped as Hooked at him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?" I rasped, blushing deeply.

The room went absolutely quiet.

Matt took out a blue velvet box from his pants and opened it. A gasp left me as I saw the four-carat diamond staring at me, sparkling, “Matt..?"

"Tamara, I've never stopped thinking about you once in my life. You were on my mind every waking hour and when I was sleeping, I dreamt of you. I tried to keep myself away from you because of my own issues. But now, it's impossible. Please marry me and relieve me of my pain. Will you marry me?"

Both our moms were clutching their hearts and going "awww" in unison, like it was the sweetest thing they had seen.

And me-tears welled in my eyes. This was the first ever love confession from Matt, which showed his raw feelings for me. It felt like he was aching in his heart. After yesterday, he wanted to make me his.

When I hesitated a little, his heart ached more. "Tammy, you can attend college-"

"Yes!" I replied. "Yes"

13:15 Sun, 25 May M

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Matt's breath todged in his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed. He plucked the ring out of the box, and slid it in my ring finger. He took a deep breath in, stared at the ring for a moment, and then cupped my cheeks, pulling me close to kiss me. When our lips met. I curled my arms around his shoulders and opened up for him. He kissed me fervently, urgently.

"Ewww!" Oscar and Hans protested. "Stop kissing my sister!" Oscar wanted to jump out of my father's lap and come to us, but father picked them both up and exited the room, chuckling. My mom and all others left the room as well. Finally, when Matt pulled away, he rested his forehead on mine. "Thank you, Tammy," he said in a raspy voice. "I would've gone mad today if you had denied me."