The Alpha Who Cursed His Mate novel Chapter 1

"Come on, Magnus, please play hide and seek with me," Nina begs me with her large, brown, doe-like eyes.

I walk towards her with abrupt haste. She steps back until she feels the bluestone wall against her back. I tower over her with ease. My mother, Astrid, the Luna of Shadow Crest, always reminds me that when I was born, I was double the size of a regular wolf baby and almost a foot taller and much broader than any other ten-year-old. She says I may even become the mightiest Alpha of all one day.

Glaring down into Nina's eyes, I huff, "I'm still mad at you for tricking me into putting salt on my cereal this morning instead of sugar,"

Nina's face lights up with a smile. 'The look on your face when you ate it, though, was so worth it," she giggles.

"Why do you always enjoy making me the laughingstock of the family? Do you hate me that much?"

"It's not like that, Magnus. You're my best friend, always and forever. We are just having fun,"

"Fun! You're not the one who gets into trouble for your little pranks and silly games. No one will take me seriously when I become the Alpha,"

"Of course, everyone will take you seriously, Magnus. You're overthinking it. Look, I'm sorry about this morning. Please play hide and seek with me?" She says, batting her eyelids at me.

I'm struggling to say no and instead sigh, "Fine,"

"Yay!" She grabs my hand and pulls me along towards the large walled dam. 'Now, last time was boring though, so this time I brought this." Nina removes a blindfold from her pocket and waves it like a flag in front of my face.

"A blindfold?"

"Yes, I'll blindfold you, and you count to a hundred because I know you have been peeking, and that's how you find me so easily."

She isn't lying. I never fully close my eyes to see which direction she goes. Because she is so tiny and petite compared to me, I kneel so she can tie the blindfold around my eyes.

Holding my hand, she guides me to a nearby area. 'Okay, you can start counting now," she lets out a mischievous giggle.

"Nina, this better not be another prank," I yell out as she runs away, but she doesn't reply. Sighing, I start to count. As soon as I reach twenty, I feel a stronger vibration with each second. Following my gut instincts, I remove the blindfold to see I'm standing in the empty creek that leads water from the dam down to the river. I'm roughly fifty meters from the dam's gate. Warriors open the gate to release water from the dam when it's close to overflowing, which is right now. Water rushes down the creek, washing me away in the rapids. Nina runs alongside the stream giggling as I'm flung around in the water.

"Nina!" I yell and spit water out that has entered my mouth.

"Enjoying your bath?" She yells.

"No buts Magnus, now!" Astrid points to the staircase, and I glare at Nina. She is trying to contain a laugh behind her hand.

Storming upstairs, I run a bath and struggle to remove the clothes clinging to my body and slip over. I lay there staring out the window at the overcast grey sky.

"Damn you, Nina, I wish if the Moon Goddess herself would curse you and not give you your wolf on your eighteenth birthday and remove your mate bond until the day I fall in love," I say out loud.

A flash of lightning suddenly hits the roof of the packhouse, and thunder roars in the sky. I stand up in surprise at the timing of the thunder and lightning, wondering if it was a sign from the Moon Goddess. Nah.

I sit in the bath of bubbles and think of all the times I played with Nina. Chasing her across a field, she quickly leaps as I fall into a deep hole. Nina had, of course, led me to fall into the hole. I think about last year when it was my tenth birthday, and she pushed my face into my cake as I went to blow out the candles. Everyone, especially her, thought it was hilarious. Me, not so much.

Just like the time she put the itchy powder in my clothes. I spent half the day scratching myself silly and tearing my clothes throughout the day in agony. The entire pack laughed. I always felt humiliated, as if I was the family's joke. How am I supposed to be the future Alpha when no one takes me seriously because of Nina?

Maybe if I completely ignore her and keep my distance, my family won't see me as a joke anymore? I need my family to know I will take my role seriously as Alpha, and the only way to do that is without Nina in my life.

Content with my plan, I dry, dress, and join the packhouse downstairs for dinner. First, my Dad Alpha Ryker sits at the head of the table, and then it's my Mother next to him, but I have never seen her sit in her chair. Instead, she sits on my Dad's lap, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Next to my Mother's vacant seat is my brother Flint, then my sister Josie, the youngest. Being the next Alpha in line, I sit next to dad on the other side of the table. Then we have my Dad's beta, Seth with his wife Mia and their son Zak. Lastly, at the other end is Leon, who is in charge of the pack warriors and his wife Amelia with their two daughters, May and Nina.