Caren left with his pack fighters after refusing to choose another mate if it wouldn't be Aurora. King Cowell disagreed immediately stating Aurora and Sage are mated to each other. Caren complained that Sage hasn't marked Aurora and he wouldn't believe they are mates until Sage claimed her.
Sage got angry but cooled off when the King pleaded with him to stay calm, that no one was going to take Aurora from him. He left the hall furiously. How could Caren talk about mating with Aurora?
After they left, the King then told Aurora to call Sage back in because he had something he needed to deliver to his associates.
Aurora bowed to the King and went out to look for Sage. She mind-linked him to tell her where he was and answered back saying he was on the terrace of his house. As her legs could carry her, Aurora ran her way to his house. She needed to meet with him before informing him that the King needed his attention.
She wanted to thank him for not unleashing his temper on Caren which could finally wage the war they had been avoiding to break out.
On getting to his house, she jerked his gate open and ran her way to his room after greeting Zara who was happy to see her.
"Sage?" She called when she opened his door and walked in.
"Are you angry I didn't mark you?" He welcomed her with his question.
Aurora heaved a heavy sigh and went to him on the terrace. "At first I cried when you stung me but I didn't want you to stop. I was happy to see that someone was finally going to claim me. Yet, you stopped not telling me why you did. Of course, I'm angry that you wouldn't mark me," she divulged to him.
"You didn't tell me why you don't want your mate."
"Does it feel nice to you if I told you, I can't be claimed by my mate unless I'm ready to die," she revealed what Sage has been wanting to hear for the past few days.
"Why?" He inquired, striding to where she stood, caressing the flowers planted inside a bucket filled with sand.
There was silence for some seconds before she spoke up, "My grandma told me I will die the moment my mate claims me. She said my mother died the moment her mate claimed her."
Sage tugged on her jaws and lifted them to meet with his. He stared into her beautiful hazel eyes and he could see pain glowing inside of them. "Why would you die?"
"Mrs Sora said it's an epoch curse," she mumbled, trying not to maintain eye contact with him.
"Have you tried finding out why you have this epoch curse? Whereas I've never heard of this curse. If it has to be an epoch curse, then everyone in the pack would have heard about it."
"I've tried reading all the curse books. I researched everything I needed to know but I couldn't find anything related to it. And when I asked Mrs Sora what the reasons were, she said that her parents told her about it too but didn't give her a specific reason. Mrs Sora said she didn't believe it until it happened to my mother," Aurora explained while Sage paid rapt attention to her explanation.
"There must be a reason this has happened. Isn't there a family book or so about your era?" Sage inquired, thinking deeply.
Aurora removed his hand from her jaw and uttered, "I also did think about it. I went back to our old house searching for something like that but I couldn't. Everything seemed confusing to me too," she relayed and pulled Sage into a big hug.
"We need to know more about this curse."
"It's okay, we don't need to disturb ourselves since I don't think I need my mate anymore."
Sage hugged her tightly to him. If only she knew she was talking about him. But why? Why a curse on his mate? "Aurora?"
"Yes?"
"Your grandmother never told you who placed the curse on your generation."
Aurora jerked away from the hug, "Can we not talk about this? Less I forget, the King needs our attention at the hall. Geez, I almost forgot," she informed and pulled him by his hands. "The King must be waiting."
By the time they got to the pack building, King Cowell was already making his speech. "I'm getting old and I know the pack needs a new Alpha," the King uttered and groans came in from the elders. "I know all of you have been wanting me to mate with someone else after my Luna died but I'm sorry I couldn't do that. I'm sorry I wasn't able to birth an Alpha for the pack," The King apologized while everyone listened confusingly to his speech except Beta Craig who knew where the King was heading to. "So, I have made up my mind to step down from the throne_" Murmurs filled the air as everyone gave themselves weird looks. Their great King was planning to step down from his throne. "Silence!" The King commanded and the hall was quiet again. Alpha Cowell continued, "We'll hold the next King's coronation in the next full moon and my throne would be passed down to my Beta, Craig," The King disclosed and faced his Beta. Beta Craig looked all gloomy. Being the pack Alpha wasn't what was bothering him but losing his best friend was what was putting him in agony.
The hall was already cheering for their Beta and the King seized their enchantment. He turned to Rae and asked him to come forward. Rae did and the King announced that he would be their next Beta. Their merriment came out again even when everyone was so confused why the King had decided to step down.
Aurora looked up at Sage waiting for an answer and Sage gave her one, "I'm also surprised to hear this."
"Your father never told you about it?" She inquired
"I'm not sure the King requested permission from my father before giving him the throne," Sage told Aurora. "The King is ill," he added.
"He is?" Aurora asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Yes," he replied and used his hand to caress his forehead, "He's diagnosed with Alzheimer's."
Aurora felt her knees go numb when she heard Sage's words. She blinks her eyes at him to be sure he was standing right beside her when he revealed the King's illness to her. "Alzheimer's? The King is that sick?" She asked and turned to the throne where Alpha Cowell sat addressing the elders, "He… he," she paused and choked on her tears. Sage held her hands so she wouldn't burst into tears right in front of everyone seated. "He looks too healthy to be sick," she whispered.
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