The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

So here is a little recap of Prince Harold's life: If anyone was looking for a person that was cold, brutal, and without an iota of conscience in the moon kingdom and beyond, they would have to pick him.

When he was a little boy, he would watch gory scenes of people dying with a smile on his face, as if it was amusing to him. There were rumors that his late mother was an enslaved person who had been captured during a fight with another pack, and that his mother was an Omega. The king had taken a liking to her, and he, an alpha, was the product of it, much to the chagrin of the queen.

There was also the rumor that he killed his half-brother, the queen's first son, and that the moon goddess had cursed him because of his bad temper. He could not marry a lady of his kind, and he was cursed to shift form every night, unlike the others who shifted mostly when there was a full moon.

Some of the rumors said that even the king was scared of him. Everyone feared him. They had every reason to. And so, as soon as they caught sight of a head full of white hair, they took every other route they could find to escape from him. No one wanted to be anywhere near him for fear that they might make a mistake that would cost their life.

No one knew the source of the rumors or how they spread across the kingdom, but they were careful to talk about them. The citizens of the moon kingdom were even scared to whisper it amongst themselves lest they get caught, but other kingdoms didn't know the severity of the gossip, which was why they could talk about the ones they had heard of, and that was the only reason Alicia got to know about him being a cursed prince before their marriage.

Even if he had wanted to disregard the curse and marry someone of his kind, he couldn't do so thanks to the rumors of the curse spreading around that any female werewolf that married him was cursed to die.

Some would have disregarded it as a mere rumor had they not known for a fact that he left the palace every day before midnight. Not because he wanted to, but because it was something he had to do if he didn't want to shift within the palace and wake everyone with his cries. He always suffered excruciating pain when shifting every night, which was different from other werewolves. Hence, no female werewolf wanted a husband who wouldn't spend the night in bed with them or cost them their lives.

Of course, Beth didn't mind this, but she was the queen's person and couldn't possibly let them know this unless she wanted to get on the queen's bad side.

So it was because he could not marry one of his kind that he was made to marry a human. He knew that giving him a human bride was the queen's idea since marrying a human would automatically make people against him taking the throne. However, he doubted that anyone would want him on the throne when they all feared him this way. He did not care about the throne either. Still, the Queen was being careful, and she wanted to have someone on the throne that she could control since Harold was the reason her son, who would have become king, died.

Now, back to the present, he has got a bride. First of all, he had been deceived into marrying a princess in exile. But not only did she turn out not to be a princess, but she was also entirely someone else from centuries ahead of them. And she was very strange.

That didn't even annoy him because he could handle that. But what he couldn't handle was her saying that she was worried about him because he was like a 'brother' to her. And not just any brother, but a 'younger brother she never had'. A YOUNGER one, not even an older one. What sort of nonsense was that? What about him made her think that he was her brother?

The most annoying thing was the fact that he could not take his anger out on her. Not only because she would probably find a way to kill him first, but because he just couldn't even imagine hurting her. Was this what it meant when one had a wife?

Not taking note of the unpleasant look on his face, she continued.

"Look here, Harold!" She pointed at him and waved to both sides drunkenly, finding it difficult to keep her eyes on him.

"I'm no longer your Lord? I'm back to being Harold?" He asked with a scoff as he watched her.

"HAROLD! Listen!" She called out, and Harold sighed. What did he get himself into?

"I'm listening," he said and waited for her to go on.

"I came up with a new escape plan." She said and began to giggle. "You won't believe how smart I am." She giggled some more.

Harold, who was still upset, leaned forward in his seat as he watched her closely. From the moment she walked into the garden, acting all polite and well-mannered, he had guessed that she had come up with another plan. And now he was curious to know what it was.

It was a good thing that she was the type to pour out everything on her mind when she was drunk. Perhaps he should be giving her this drink whenever he wanted to know what she was thinking, he mused.

"Also I..." She belched loudly and continued, "I think the heavens are helping me. I heard that there are rumors about Paulina and Williams," she said, and Harold raised a brow.

She had heard about that already? What did the rumors have to do with her new escape plan? Or was she going to ask the King to banish her and her maid because of the rumors? He wouldn't put anything past her, he reasoned without interrupting her.

"If Williams and Paulina both like each other, and then he chooses to make her his wife, I would rest assured that she is in safe hands, and then I will peacefully escape from here when you are not looking." She said with a proud smile at the plan.

"When I am not looking?" He asked, amused.

"Of course!" She said passionately.

If she thought that he was stupid enough to take his eyes away from her for a second when he already knew her plan, then she was not as smart as he had thought she was.

"I am... I... will make Hellion... like me. While... I make you believe I don't want to run away again," she began to laugh like a maniac, and Harold shook his head. Just what did this drink do to humans to make them spill out everything in their heads?

"Then, when we go into town, this time, I will personally make sure you drink that water this time. And as soon as you fall asleep," she stood up and began to run around him, "I am going to run away with Hellion!" She began to cackle loudly. Seeing how she was laughing as if her plan made sense, he forgot that he was mad at her and let out a burst of amused laughter before he quickly comported himself.

Before he knew it, she stopped behind him and hugged his neck, then leaned closer to his shoulder while laughing excitedly.

Harold stiffened for a moment, and he glanced at the guards who were guarding the garden and then quickly looked away. He tried to shrug her off him, but she stubbornly held on to his neck firmly.

"I like your smell," she whispered, and to his dismay, his heart skipped a beat. He had never been in such a position with anyone before. Why did this woman keep stirring his emotions? One moment she was annoying him to death, and the next she was saying things like this.

After some time, Harold cleared his throat, "So... That is your escape plan?" He asked when he felt her relax her head in the crook of his neck and sigh contentedly.

"Yes. I am smart, you know right? Only a pretty head like me could have come up with such a genius plan, right?" She asked Harold, who ignored her, but she kept pressing him to answer.

Resigned, he nodded. "That's a nice plan."

He could not see her face because he sat stiffly while looking ahead, but he could tell that she was smiling happily.

"Now be good and return to your seat. You need to eat." He tried to shake her off again, but he felt her shake her head before saying,

"I kinda like your hair. It looks soft. Can I braid it for you?" She asked as she dug her fingers into his hair without warning.

"ALICIA!" Harold exclaimed without thinking.