Centuries ago, the world of supernaturals knew no peace. Betrayals, deaths, riots, and more, plagued their existence. Humans had discovered their presence and labeled themselves as hunters. These hunters formed groups, traveling in troops to eliminate shifters from various packs, hybrids of the woods, and witches from different covens. Only a fortunate few survived to recount their tales. The humans branded them as "wrong," "abominations," and other derogatory names. Yet, the supernaturals merely sought to lead peaceful lives, much like ordinary people.
But, as the saying goes, everything has a breaking point. After decades of silent suffering, the patience of the supernaturals wore thin, eventually vanishing altogether. They retaliated, ruthlessly killing humans. Despite the humans wielding special weapons, nothing could match the speed of a vampire, the strength of lycans and werewolves, or the indomitable force of the united supernaturals.
They emerged victorious, gaining their freedom.
However, the scars of battle remained etched upon their souls.
Many supernaturals lost their loved ones or mates during the war, particularly the submissive ones who were always forced to hide. Post-war, it became evident that sixty-five percent of supernaturals had lost their mates. The broken survivors struggled to cope—some took their own lives, others withdrew, a few vanished forever, and some roamed untamed.
The "government body of supernaturals" noticed a troubling trend: some individuals attacked others- the submissives who had lost their mates during the initial war grew corrupted and hence became violent, rogue. In response, they devised a remedy. Those who lost their mates in the war were assigned consorts—companions who would forge physical, emotional, or sexual bonds with them. These consorts served as coping mechanisms, and the "pets" who are the submissives were paired with "masters" who are the consorts. But this coping mechanism didn't work for everyone; twenty percent were incurable. They grew wild to the extent that they started attacking their consorts, and the rate of death from this increased tremendously.
The government had no other option but to seek the help of mages and high ranked supernaturals. The higher-ranked mages came up with an absolute cure: a spell called 'The Invincible Zodiac Curse.' According to this curse, if the prey didn't change, they would turn to dust after specified days—quickly and painlessly. Unfortunately, none of the subjects survived.
Only the mages and higher-ups who took part in the spell creation knew about this. Monica happened to be one of those higher-ups, and she made River aware of the sad event that happened centuries ago.
But...
One of the mages has breached the oath they made.
On the day the spell was completed, the mages took an oath not to tell the secret to anyone who wasn't family. They also vowed not to use the curse, no matter what.
This was one of the signs—it was prophesied. A war is coming, a waging war. Betrayal was one of the signs. A big clash was about to happen, and it was not going to be pretty.
-
"Mate," Damien muttered. He was the first to snap out of his reverie.
"Huh?" River dumbly said, wide-eyed and gaping.
Damien chuckled at River's facial expression as he outstretched his hand to caress River's face, making River unknowingly lean into his touch.
"Your ruby eyes are beautiful," River blurted out. He swiftly covered his mouth when he realized what he just said. "I didn't mean it like that. Of course, your eyes are beautiful, and you have very beautiful eyes. Your eyes match my name. Forget I said that. Hope I didn't sound too perverted," River rambled, which made Damien smirk.
"My eyes is usually dark, it changed when my demon sensed it's mate." Damien says with a smirk, "You are so beautiful," Damien said, still astonished by his mate's beauty.
"You don't just go around saying that to people," River replied, his face turning a beautiful shade of pink.
"I don't go around saying that to people, Ruby," Damien said with a straight face, unaware of the effect his words had on River's heart.
"You say my name so beautifully," River blurted out. When he realized what he had just said, he wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
"Just kill me already," River whined, covering his beet-red face with his hands. Damien couldn't help but smile at his mate's adorable behavior.
"We wouldn't want you dead... yet," Damien replied, mischievously smirking at his putty mate. River peeked between his fingers and saw Damien's expression, which made him blush even deeper.
"You can't do that!" River exclaimed.
"Do what? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?" Damien asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Yes! You're making my heart beat abnormally! Now I want to see more of your smile, and I want to hear you say my name all the time. I just want you to embrace me right now! And that's not fair!" River explained, exasperated.
"Calm down, mate," Damien tried to soothe him, suppressing his laughter so as not to upset River further.
"I'm sorry!" River sobbed.
"Woah, take it easy. I'm not upset with you. Please don't cry," Damien said, effortlessly lifting River from the ground and gently placing his mate's head on his chest. River instinctively wrapped his arms around Damien, who happily embraced him.
In that moment, all they could feel was contentment and pure bliss.