Updated Mar 10, 2026 • ~10 min read
Sera waits until Marcus leaves.
Then she makes a decision.
She’s going to explore this manor. Every room. Every corridor. Every locked door.
If everyone refuses to give her answers, she’ll find them herself.
She starts with the west wing.
Goes through every room methodically. Looking for anything that might explain what’s happening.
Most rooms are empty. Furniture covered in sheets. Windows shuttered.
But then she finds a room that’s different.
Smaller. Tucked away at the end of a corridor.
The door is slightly ajar.
Sera pushes it open.
Inside: a woman’s bedroom.
But not hers.
This room is lived-in. Or was, recently.
Dresses still hang in the wardrobe. Jewelry on the vanity. Books stacked on the nightstand.
Personal belongings.
Sera steps inside carefully.
Dust covers everything, but not heavily. This room was occupied within the last few years.
She goes to the vanity.
Picks up a hairbrush. Long dark hairs still caught in the bristles.
A journal sits beside it.
Leather-bound. No name on the cover.
Sera opens it.
The first page reads:
Property of Lilith Corvus
Sera’s heart skips.
Corvus.
This woman had Damien’s last name.
She was married to him?
But Damien said the marriage was in name only. That he didn’t do this sort of thing.
Sera flips through pages.
Entries dating back three years.
She finds one dated near the beginning:
I arrived at the manor today. It’s more frightening than I imagined. Lord Corvus—Damien—won’t even look at me. He wears that terrible mask and speaks like I’m a stranger. I suppose I am. We married for convenience, nothing more. But I can’t help feeling there’s something he’s not telling me. Something dark.
Sera’s breath catches.
This woman’s experience mirrors her own.
Another arranged marriage. Another bride brought to this cursed estate.
She keeps reading.
I heard the most horrible sounds last night. Like an animal in pain. When I asked Marcus about it, he told me not to worry. But how can I not worry when my husband screams like he’s being torn apart?
Sera’s hands shake.
Another entry, weeks later:
I’m starting to understand. The curse is real. I’ve seen enough to know. Damien transforms during the full moon. Becomes something monstrous. Something he can’t control. He locks himself in the tower to protect everyone. But I can hear him. God, I can hear him suffering.
Sera flips ahead frantically.
I think I’m falling for him. Not the monster. The man beneath. He’s kind when he lets his guard down. Reads to me in the library. Teaches me Latin. Talks about the life he had before the curse. Before Isolde destroyed everything. I want to help him. I want to break the curse. But I don’t know how.
More entries.
Months passing.
Lilith clearly in love with Damien.
Then:
He kissed me today. I know he shouldn’t have. I know it’s dangerous. But God, it felt right. Like we were meant for this. For each other.
Sera’s chest tightens.
He told me the full truth about the curse tonight. If I love him—truly love him—and he transforms anyway, it could kill me. Isolde designed it that way. To ensure he’d never find love. Never be happy. He begged me to leave. But I can’t. I won’t. I love him too much.
The entries become more desperate.
The full moon is tomorrow. Damien is locked in the tower. I can hear him changing. It sounds agonizing. I want to go to him. Marcus won’t let me. Says it’s too dangerous. But how can I just listen to him suffer?
Then, the final entry:
I can’t stay. I thought I was strong enough. Brave enough. But I’m not. Last night, during the transformation, Damien broke free. He nearly killed Marcus. Nearly killed me. I looked into his eyes and saw nothing human there. Just rage and hunger.
I love him. God, I love him so much. But love isn’t enough. The curse is too strong. And I’m too weak.
I’m leaving tomorrow. Before he wakes. Before I have to say goodbye. I can’t watch him suffer anymore. And I can’t die for a curse I can’t break.
I’m sorry, Damien. I’m so, so sorry.
The entry is dated three years ago.
No more entries after that.
Sera closes the journal.
Her hands are shaking.
Lilith was real. She lived here. Married Damien. Fell in love with him.
And fled because the curse was too much.
Because loving him almost killed her.
And now Sera is here.
Another bride.
Another woman brought to this cursed estate.
Is this a pattern?
Does Damien cycle through wives, hoping one will break the curse?
Or is Sera different?
She doesn’t know.
But she’s starting to understand why everyone is so afraid.
Sera takes the journal.
She shouldn’t, but she does.
She needs to read it more carefully. Understand what she’s dealing with.
She returns to her room.
Sits by the fire.
And reads every entry.
Lilith’s story unfolds in painful detail.
The isolation. The fear. The growing affection despite everything.
And the transformation.
Lilith describes it:
He’s massive in beast form. Seven feet tall, maybe more. Fur and claws and teeth. Eyes that glow in the dark. He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t recognize anyone. Just hunts. Destroys. Marcus says the curse makes him violent. Uncontrollable. A monster in every sense.
But during the day, he’s a man. A broken, guilty man who hates what he becomes. Who would rather die than hurt someone.
How do you love someone who’s two people? How do you reconcile the man you adore with the beast that would kill you without hesitation?
Sera doesn’t have an answer.
She keeps reading.
Lilith tried everything to break the curse.
Consulted with priests. Witches. Scholars.
Every source said the same thing:
True love can break it.
But the curse fights back. If the love isn’t strong enough, pure enough, the transformation kills the person trying to break it.
A test.
The ultimate test.
Love him enough and the curse breaks.
Don’t love him enough and you die.
Lilith wasn’t strong enough.
Or the curse was too powerful.
Either way, she fled.
And Damien was left alone again.
That evening, Sera hears footsteps outside her door.
She opens it.
Finds a dinner tray on the floor.
But no one in sight.
She picks it up. Brings it inside.
And finds a note beneath the plate.
Stay in your room tonight. The moon is nearly full. Don’t investigate any sounds you hear. Please. —D
D.
Damien.
He’s warning her.
Protecting her, in his way.
Sera looks at the note.
Then at Lilith’s journal on her desk.
She should stay in her room.
Follow the rules.
Let Damien suffer alone like he clearly wants.
But Sera has never been good at doing what she’s told.
Especially when someone’s in pain.
She waits until midnight.
Then slips out of her room.
The manor is dark. Silent.
She brings a candle. Moves carefully.
Heading toward the east wing.
The forbidden area.
She reaches the locked door separating east from west.
Tries the handle.
Still locked.
But this time, she notices something.
A gap at the bottom of the door. Wide enough to see under.
She kneels.
Looks through.
And sees light in the distance.
Coming from the tower, probably.
She can hear something too.
Breathing. Heavy. Labored.
Then a voice.
Damien’s voice.
“Sera, if you’re out there, go back to your room.”
She freezes.
How does he know?
“I can hear you breathing,” he continues. Voice strained. “I can hear everything right now. Enhanced senses. Part of the curse.”
Sera swallows. “Are you hurt?”
A bitter laugh. “You could say that.”
“Let me help—”
“You can’t help. No one can. Just go back to your room. Please.”
“Not until you talk to me. Really talk to me. Tell me the truth.”
Silence.
Then: “You read Lilith’s journal.”
It’s not a question.
“How do you know?”
“I can smell the leather. You have it with you.”
Enhanced senses indeed.
“I needed answers,” Sera says. “No one will tell me anything.”
“Because knowing makes it worse.”
“I don’t care. I deserve to know what I’m dealing with.”
More silence.
Then Damien speaks. Quietly. Painfully.
“I’m cursed. I transform into a beast during the full moon. I lose all humanity. All control. I’ve killed before. Animals, mostly. But once… once I nearly killed Marcus. And I almost killed Lilith.”
“Why did you marry me if it’s so dangerous?”
“Because the curse requires it. I must be married. It’s part of the conditions Isolde set. If I’m not married, the transformations happen every night. Not just during full moons.”
Sera’s stomach drops.
“So you marry women to reduce the curse?”
“I married Lilith because I was desperate. Lonely. I thought maybe she could break it. But she couldn’t. And I don’t blame her. It’s too much to ask.”
“And me? Why did you marry me?”
A pause.
“Because I need someone who will stay away. Who won’t try to break the curse. Who won’t risk her life for something impossible. You’re here for the contract. The money. Nothing more. That makes it safer. For both of us.”
Sera feels the sting of his words.
He married her specifically because he doesn’t expect her to care.
Because she’s mercenary enough to stay for the money and practical enough to keep her distance.
“What if I don’t want to stay away?” she asks quietly.
“Then you’ll end up like Lilith. Running. Or worse.” His voice drops. “The full moon is in five days, Sera. When it comes, I’ll lock myself in the tower. You’ll stay in the west wing. You’ll hear things. Terrible things. But you won’t investigate. You won’t try to help. You’ll stay safe.”
“And after?”
“After, we go back to our separate lives. You in the west. Me in the east. Strangers living in the same house.”
“That’s no way to live.”
“It’s the only way I can live without killing someone.”
Sera sits back.
Processing.
Damien is trying to protect her. By pushing her away. By keeping her at a distance.
Just like he tried with Lilith.
But Lilith fell for him anyway.
And look how that ended.
“I’ll stay in my room during the full moon,” Sera says finally. “But only if you promise me something.”
“What?”
“After it’s over, you talk to me. Really talk. No more hiding. No more locked doors. I’m your wife, Damien. I deserve to know the man I married.”
Silence.
Then: “Fine. After the full moon. We’ll talk.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Sera stands. “Then I’ll go back to my room. Goodnight, Damien.”
“Goodnight, Sera. And… thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not running. Yet.”
Sera smiles sadly.
“I’m harder to get rid of than you think.”
She walks back to her room.
And for the first time since arriving at this cursed manor, she feels like she’s made progress.
Damien talked to her. Really talked.
It’s a start.
Now she just has to survive the full moon.
And hope that Damien survives it too.
Reader Reactions