1
Thousand years ago
Pestilence watched as his brothers ran as their wolves. He had been expecting it and he came to terms with being punished when Death drew blood first. The cold annoyed gaze of the Goddess landed on him as if his brothers meant nothing to her anymore. She truly was beyond pissed because she never looked at them this way before. This made him feel even more uncomfortable, he hated disappointing her.
"Payne." She called, her voice cold as ice. "Your acceptance of this massacre makes you no better than the others, it makes you even worse in my eyes. You are by far, the smartest in the group and yet you let them get out of hands. Your apathy is a disease that you will need to know how to cure. For that, I rename you Pestilence as you will only bring diseases to everyone near you. Go, I do not wish to gaze upon you anymore."
The Lycan felt, like his brothers before him, his body change for the one of his sandy wolf. He felt his access to his human body being completely lost and that scared him to the core. So that was what triggered his brothers, now he understood, this was the scariest thing he ever experienced.
He started running South without even a glance for his brother. What was going to happen to him now? He did not know yet what this curse would entail, rather he was scared to think about it. Bringing diseases? What did that mean? Was it literal? Was he now some kind of virus? If that was the case, he needed to get as far away from anyone as he could. Diseases were a way to mass murder that he knew full well, he was trained in History and medicine.
He ran until he reached South America, the tropical forest would help keep most things away from him. He was breathing hard, he had to run for so long to avoid any living creature to reach this forlorn place. This was best for everyone and that way, he would be able to do what he always wanted: stay alone and study. Of course, this was going to be hard in this form but he did not really have a choice.
He moved through the jungle, the first thing to do in a new environment was to establish a territory. Most of the wild animals would stay away from instinct but there were also people living in this jungle. Humans were known to want to be on top of the food chain, they would learn that they could never win against Pestilence even if they knew medicine and all the plants growing in the region.
Ten years after the curse and after wiping out an entire village again, Sirius came to see him. The Lycan King as the werewolves called him barely recognised his friend, his cornflower blue eyes were wide when he recognised Pestilence.
"Don't come closer to him." He told the werewolves with him. "I'll handle it. Follow me... Pestilence, I can help you if you let me."
He looked at his friend and shook his head.
They have to stay away from me or they'll start having all the diseases in the world, Sirius. You too.
"I won't be affected." Sirius countered. "It doesn't work on Lycans."
Could Pestilence really believe this? He was out of options and maybe Sirius could truly help. He nodded to his friend and followed him out of the jungle. Where was he going to take him? He didn't care, all that mattered was, he wasn't alone anymore. For how long? He didn't want to think about it yet.
Present days
I woke up with a sigh and took a look at the white ceiling above me. The university gave me a room since I wasn't going to stay long. Good too, I didn't want to stay here. If it wasn't for my curiosity, I wouldn't even have come.
The Goddess was clear when she appeared to lift my curse, she said that I needed to be here to meet my fated mate. I didn't want to involve a human in our affairs, what else could my mate be if I had to meet her on a human campus? I just needed for her to reject me so we could both move on.
I stood up from my queen size bed and walked to the small en suite bathroom. I missed my apartment at the pack house and I missed my friends. I loved being alone but I was used to the others by now and it felt odd without them.
I put on a shirt and tucked the hem inside my jeans. I looked at my reflexion in the mirror and deemed myself ready for this first day. Many students seemed interested in learning about Ancient Greece, it made me smile. If only they knew that everything was true.
I took my leather briefcase and walked out into the hallway. This building was for the professors so I greeted my colleagues as I walked by. They all looked way older than me but I was definitely the oldest in the whole building. I was even older than the building itself. That was funny in a way.
I walked out of the building with a smile on my face to reach a cart selling coffees in the garden by the main building. The place was divided into several buildings looking all exactly the same, only the main building was made of old stones and the rest looked a bit more modern surrounded by parks and the forest. The coffee would help me start the day in a good mood, I pulled out a book while I waited in line and started reading.
"Electra... Nice choice." A female voice said in front of me.
I looked up to see a young girl, I estimated between 20 and 21, with long curly auburn hair, two big dark blue eyes, full lips that were smiling, small and curvy. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew who she was but she didn't seem to notice.
She's human. My wolf said in my mind.
We expected that.
"Yes, it's one of my favorites." I answered.
A faint blush appeared on her face as her smile widened.
"Your major is litterature?" She asked.
"History." I countered.
"Same!" She chuckled. "I haven't seen you around before, are you new?"
"Yes, I'm here for the semester." I explained.
"Nice! I can show you around if you want, I've been here for like ages. I'm Hella." She introduced herself, holding her hand out to me.
Ironic. I chuckled.
"One of the names of the Norse Goddess of Hell." I said, shaking her hand. "I'm Payne."
She jolted and I almost sighed as our hands touched. There was no doubt that she was who I was looking for, Lady Selene truly had a twisted sense of humor. The tingles felt too good and I almost allowed myself to think that I could be with her but there was no way a human could survive in my world. Even if my pack was peaceful lately, humans weren't allowed there.
"Oh, you're good." She laughed. "Yes, my parents have a certain sense of humor I guess. Nice to meet you, Payne."
"Yo, babe."
We both whipped our heads to see the new comer. It was a boy her age, with short brown hair, light hazel eyes. He was wearing a sportsjacket and his backpack over one shoulder. He came between us to pull Hella in his arms and kiss her in a possessive gesture. That made my power rise, I didn't like people to defy me so blatantly.
They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me with fear in their eyes. They couldn't identify the power but their reptilian brains were capable of recognising a predator when they saw one. I canned the power and forced my wolf to stop growling in my head. I didn't need them to run for the hills, screaming.
"I'll leave you two." I told Hella. "I don't want to be late on my first day."
"Sure." She nodded. "Uhm... This is Tobias, my boyfriend. Tobias, this is Payne, he's a new student in my major."
"Nice to meet you, man." Tobias greeted me, holding his hand out to me.
"Likewise." I said, shaking his hand. "I'll see you around, Hella."
"Sure, you're going to the class on Ancient Greece? I'll join you shortly, hold me a seat." She said.
"All right." I nodded.
I took my coffee and left for the amphitheater where I would hold my class. Well, that was one more reason for me to not take her as a mate. She was fine in this life, she didn't need me at all. Just thinking about it was painful but I would get over it. I always did.
