The Cursed Wolf’s Love

Dorothy left for the market because she needed to sell the herbs, which she collected from the forest. Joshua also left with Dorothy since Adolphus asked him to. Now, in the house only Iris and Adolphus were present.

“The Crown Prince has to return for the palace soon. Everyone must be worried for His Grace,” Iris asserted while hanging the clothes on the bamboo bar, which she had washed previously.

“We will leave in the evening,” Adolphus opined and helped her hanging his shirt on the bar.

“I’ll do it. His Grace shouldn’t do such a work,” Iris humbly urged.

“It’s fine. I enjoy doing this with you,” Adolphus answered. “Are you ready to marry me?” he then asked.

Iris dropped her hands to her side and peered at him. “Your Grace, it’s going to be a long battle for us to make everyone agree. Of course, I want to marry the Crown Prince. However, before that I want to convince His Grace’s parents. The blessings of the elders are important,” she expressed her thoughts on the marriage.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Adolphus wore a gentle smile as her words reached his ears. “You needn’t persuade anyone to agree if they hold different views,” he articulated, taking a deliberate step closer to her. “All that truly matters is your love for me. I long for that affection,” he earnestly affirmed.

Iris nodded slightly, her thoughts still tinged with curiosity. “I can’t help but wonder what His Grace saw in me,” she murmured softly, retrieving a pair of trousers to hang on the rack.

“Everything,” Adolphus responded, his gaze unwavering. “You possessed the courage to meet my gaze, a rarity among others. You maintained your integrity and never resorted to using your physical allure to captivate me. I won’t deny the initial physical attraction, for you possess a beauty that could ensnare anyone’s attention. But as the days passed, I realized it was more than mere attraction; it evolved into something deeper,” he confessed, his words expressing profound affection.

Iris again turned to look at him. “I also found the man before me is whom I love when he protected me from every evil,” she stated. Her fingers curled and she closed the distance between them.

Holding Adolphus’s arms, she tiptoed and kissed his lips while closing her eyes. As she landed on her feet, her eyes locked with hers. “I always yearned for love. I never thought I would ever become someone’s special,” she admitted as her eyes turned misty.

“Oh, Dear,” Adolphus embraced her, his hand rested on the back of her head, “Your family was evil to treat you that way. You were always my special person and will always remain that person.”

Iris gently pulled away from him. “Thank you for those words, Your Grace,” she stated with a smile and finished hanging all the washed clothes.

They both went to the front yard of the house when Adolphus asked her if she still had work to do.

“No,” Iris replied.

“Then, let’s talk with each other. I would like to tell you about myself to you and I would like to know more about you,” Adolphus asserted and sat with her on the large bench placed in the front yard of the house.

“His Grace already knows a lot about me. I would like to know him,” Iris said.

Adolphus started with his childhood days and spoke his heart out with her. “You know as I grew up, I realized I wasn’t an ordinary person like the others. I had a bigger responsibility on my shoulders. I was the future alpha in everyone’s eyes and was also the Crown Prince. Unlike my cousins, I wasn’t suppose to roam around that freely.”

Iris inquisitive to know why he wasn’t free like the others. As the Crown Prince, he was free to do everything.

“Because I was the Crown Prince, I needed to be more disciplined. I needed to train harder and avoid the kid’s games. When I used to look at the kids of my age, having fun, I would be jealous,” Adolphus explained to her.

“Then, what did His Grace do to dissipate his anger?” Iris inquired.

“I did nothing. Instead, I turned colder and limited my interactions with the others. Everyone would talk sweetly before me because I was the Alpha, the Crown Prince to them. Joshua was an exception though,” Adolphus stated.

Iris hummed. “That must be a difficult phase for His Grace,” she concluded.

“It was. At the age of eleven, I transformed into a werewolf. However, when I turned sixteen, my true alpha form revealed,” Adolphus said with a smile.

“I wonder what His Grace’s look like when he turns into a werewolf,” Iris proclaimed. She had the wish to see his alpha werewolf form.

“I cannot transform into a werewolf anymore,” Adolphus confessed. This caused Iris to furrow her brows together.

“Is it because of the curse?” Iris queried.

“Hmm. But nobody knows this, except you and Joshua. They won’t see me as the Alpha if I told them. Nothing has changed in me, except I can’t get the scent of my mate and transform into a werewolf,” Adolphus elaborated to her.

“There must be a way to uplift this curse,” Iris opined. She had heard that a werewolf would love to transform on the full moon days and run freely with his pack for long distances. However, in Adolphus’s case that was not possible.

“I need to find the moon crystal. It’s buried at a place, where the witch and I fought,” Adolphus revealed to Iris.

“What kind of place, Your Grace? I remember His Grace told me that the witch put a curse on him when he tried taking the crystal,” Iris affirmed.

“It’s a place on an unfathomable hill to many. Katarina, the witch, wanted to become immortal with that moon crystal. She somehow retrieved it from an ancient werewolf clan whose last survivor lived on that hill. When I found out about that, I went there to take it, but a powerful spell was already cast on the crystal by the same clan’s member. With the touch, the crystal put a curse on me and then buried the crystal in the same land,” Adolphus briefly explained to her, his voice carrying regret.

Iris placed her hand above Adolphus’s hand and caressed it. “It must be difficult for His Grace to live with such a curse,” she muttered.

“Yes. But one thing I know even with this curse that you are my mate, Iris,” Adolphus stated with a warm smile on his lips.