[Centuries ago…]

The witch's fingers trembled as she reached out to hold her lover's face, who lay on the ground of the forest, unmoving.

"Cassius?" She whispered although she knew that she wouldn't get a reply, ever.

Her bloodied fingers caressed his pale, ice cold face. The sky was darkening above them, the temperature dipping further, but she did not care. She needed to make sure he was safe.

Safe? Cassius was probably in a safer place now, away from all harm.

She gasped when his face was marred with the blood on her fingers. She stumbled back, disturbing the silence around the forest. Somewhere a clump of snow fell on the the forest floor, adding more white to the already snow-covered ground.

The witch stared at her lover, the blood that stained the white snow, and then at her side, expecting them to have anything but the weapon that had fallen sideways when she had moved.

But there it was, the jeweled dagger that could kill anyone. The dark splotches on the polished blade stirred something inside the witch. A laughter bubbled out of her lips until her shoulders were shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Her sobs echoed through the forest, resonating with the rumbling of the thunderclouds.

She leaned forward and kissed the dead lips of her lover, her handsome Cassius, who had been nothing but sweet to her, who had shown her that love was beautiful, but he was also scared of her.

"I will avenge your death, darling. I will make sure to torture the person who separated us like this. Wait for me on the other side?" She murmured and gently stroked his head, her touch soft and loving. Her heart was numb, too numb to feel anything. She wasn't swayed by the state of Cassius, the steady stream of blood oozing out of the gaping wound on his chest and staining his green tunic. She was strong, she had to be or she would go insane.

She probably would be, soon.

She dragged his corpse through the forest, not turning to the blood trail that Cassius' body left nor did she focus on the way the body was getting stiffer. She managed to take him to her small hut nestled in the heart of the forest. She also managed to get him on the bed, uncaring of the red splotches, unbothered by how Cassius' head lolled to one side. She crouched beside the bed and touched his icy forehead. The lips were slowly turning colorless, but the witch refused to be fazed by the look.

"I will return soon, darling," the witch said gently before standing up. Anger and resentment burned in her heart as she stepped out of the hut and closed the door behind her.

~~~~~~

The lycan king was at court when the witch stormed inside because no guard dared to stop her. She looked like a wounded lioness, and probably she was. The ministers gasped at her state of appearance — a blood-stained gown, blood-stained fingers, and eyes burning with rage.

"Leave us," she commanded.

Her fame and her aura were enough for anyone to obey her. The king remained silent so that was enough for everyone to file out.

The king did not seem intimidated at all.

"Why are you creating all trouble?" He asked, unfazed. His blue eyes not show any emotion.

The witch glided down the throne room until she was standing at the foot of the steps that led to the king's Dias.

"Don't you know why?" The witch asked, trying to keep her calm. Her hands clenched into fists, unbothered by the way her nails dug into the meat of her palms.

The king did not sit straight or look as if he remembered anything.

"If you are angry about Cassius, then I don't have anything to say to you."

He leaned back further and closed his eyes. "He was wrong anyway and you know I don't tolerate anyone who doesn't listen to me."

The words stoked the fire of fury within the witch. She trembled with the intensity of anger that threatened to explode.

"You knew he wasn't the one doing it. Whatever he was doing was for me. Then why couldn't you confront me? Why did you have to kill him?" She hated how her voice quivered. She could not show her weakness in front of this brute.

"I did not kill him." The king leaned forward, his lips tipping up.

"It was you."

The witch reeled back as if the words had struck her physically.

"And who caused it?" She cried out.

The king chuckled, without an iota of remorse.

"I did?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. He looked amused even.

Instead of answering this time, the witch chanted a spell in her mind, the one that she used rarely. But she couldn't restrain herself anymore.

The king fell off his throne and onto the dais, clutching his heart. The formidable man glowered at the witch as she stood looking at him coldly.

"If you think that I won't do anything to the mighty lycan king then you are wrong. You have ruined my world, and you will pay for that." Her words echoed inside the empty throne room.

The king managed to stand up and stumbled forward. He had never felt such an acute pain in his chest. It was as if someone was stabbing him with a knife.

He roared, the sound reverberating inside the room, making the walls vibrate. He tried to reach out to her even though his vision had started turning blurry, but before he could she had moved away.

He fell forward and the witch laughed.

"Are you feeling the searing pain lancing through your heart and spreading across your body? Is it alighting your nerve with sharp tingles and more pain?" She asked as if she couldn't see how he was writhing on the floor. Her voice lacked sympathy. Instead, there was a slight tinge of insanity and sadistic happiness in her tone.

The man wanted her to leave, or better he wanted to leave, but when he tried to move, the minimal movements made him growl in pain.

"Uh, uh, you cannot get rid of me so easily. Now that we have decided to be enemies, I will not let you shirk me off so soon, darling," she said in a lilting tone, her voice as sweet as honey but her words as sharp as a knife.

The king could only grit his teeth and listen.

"I will make sure that the 'gift' you have received from me is enjoyed by you for a long, long time." Her voice turned icy with each word she uttered.

"I will not let you forget what you did to me, darling. My presence will always remind you of what your life will be like from now on. Be prepared," she said with a smile that made the wolf's heart beat faster with fear. The lycan king tried to keep his eyes open and on her, but his vision was darkening.

"You will suffer just like have today. You creatures have soulmates, don't you? Well, I curse you that you will never find one, and even if you choose a mate, and start loving her, this curse will be the end of her. It will ruin your mate and ruin you."

Even though the king wanted to protest and argue, he couldn't. His tongue felt too heavy, and his mind too muddled. Soon, his world had gone dark...