Updated Mar 10, 2026 • ~8 min read
Three days until the full moon.
The atmosphere in the manor changes.
Sera notices it immediately.
The servants—already nervous—become downright terrified.
The two kitchen maids whisper in corners. Stop talking when Sera approaches.
Marcus moves through the manor with military precision. Checking locks. Securing windows. Preparing.
For what’s coming.
Sera tries to act normal.
Takes her meals in her room. Reads in the library. Writes letters to Edmund and Beatrice that she can’t bring herself to send.
Dear Edmund, I’m married to a man cursed to transform into a beast during full moons. He killed his sister. I’m probably next. Hope school is going well.
She tears it up.
Tries again.
Dear Beatrice, The manor is lovely. Lord Corvus is kind. I’m very happy.
All lies.
She tears that up too.
On the second day before the full moon, Sera overhears the kitchen maids talking.
She’s passing by the servants’ quarters when their voices drift through an open door.
“It’s getting worse,” one says. “Did you see the scratches on the tower door? Deeper than last month.”
“He barely controls it anymore. One of these months, the locks won’t hold.”
“We should leave. Like the others did.”
“And go where? Lord Corvus pays well. We need the money.”
“Money doesn’t matter if we’re dead.”
A pause.
“Do you think Lady Corvus knows? About the beast?”
“Must do. She’s been reading that journal. Lilith’s journal.”
“Poor thing. She has no idea what she’s gotten into.”
“She won’t last. They never do.”
Sera’s hands clench.
They never do?
How many brides have there been?
Before she can hear more, Marcus appears behind her.
“My lady. You shouldn’t be here.”
Sera turns. “How many, Marcus? How many women has Damien married?”
Marcus’s expression hardens. “Only two, my lady. Lilith. And you.”
“The maids said ‘they never do.’ Implying multiple.”
“The maids gossip. Don’t listen to kitchen rumors.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Marcus sighs. Looks older suddenly.
“After Lilith left, Lord Corvus was alone for three years. Suffering every full moon. Hating himself more each time. He didn’t want to marry again. Didn’t want to risk someone else. But the curse… the curse demands it. Married or suffer nightly transformations.”
“So he chose me because I wouldn’t care. Wouldn’t try to break it.”
“He chose you because he thought you’d be safe. A business arrangement. No emotions. No hope. Just… coexistence.”
“But?”
“But he’s already talking to you more than he ever talked to Lilith in the first month. Already letting his guard down. And that worries me.”
“Why?”
“Because hope is dangerous for someone like Lord Corvus. Every time he hopes, the curse punishes him harder. The transformations get worse. More violent.”
Sera’s stomach drops. “You’re saying that if he cares about me, the curse will—”
“Will make him more dangerous. Yes. Isolde designed it that way. To ensure he’d never find love. Never be happy. Any affection makes the beast stronger.”
“That’s evil.”
“That’s Isolde.” Marcus’s voice is bitter. “She’s the devil in human form. And she’s still out there somewhere. Probably watching. Enjoying his suffering.”
Sera thinks about the witch who cursed Damien.
A woman scorned turned into a monster of vengeance.
“Has anyone tried to find her? Confront her?”
“Lord Corvus tried. Years ago. Tracked her to three different countries. Every time he got close, she vanished. She’s using magic to stay hidden. And even if he found her…” Marcus shakes his head. “She’s too powerful. He’d die trying to fight her.”
“So there’s no way to break the curse except true love?”
“True love or Isolde’s death. Neither seems likely.”
Sera looks toward the east wing.
Where Damien is probably locked away, suffering already.
“What happens if the curse is never broken?” she asks quietly.
Marcus is silent for a long moment.
“Eventually, the beast takes over permanently. The man disappears. Lord Corvus becomes a monster full-time. And at that point…” He doesn’t finish.
“At that point you’ll have to kill him.”
“It’s what he wants. Better than living as a beast.”
Sera’s chest tightens.
Damien has been living with a death sentence for ten years.
Knowing that eventually, he’ll lose himself completely.
No wonder he’s given up.
That afternoon, Sera encounters Clara.
One of the kitchen maids. The younger one.
She’s crying in the hallway.
“Are you alright?” Sera asks.
Clara jumps. “My lady! I’m sorry, I—”
“You don’t have to apologize for crying. What’s wrong?”
Clara wipes her eyes. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s clearly something.”
The girl hesitates.
Then: “I’m scared. For tomorrow night. For Lord Corvus. For all of us.”
“Has he ever hurt the servants? During transformations?”
“Not since Miss Catherine. But he came close last month. Broke through the tower door. Marcus barely got it locked again before—” She stops herself.
“Before what?”
“Before the beast found me. I was in the kitchen. Heard the roaring. Hid in the pantry. The beast tore through the manor for hours. Destroying furniture. Clawing at walls. Looking for… I don’t know. Prey, maybe.”
Clara’s hands shake.
“When morning came, Lord Corvus was human again. Found the damage. Found me hiding. He…” She swallows. “He cried. Actually cried. Apologized. Begged me to leave. Said he couldn’t guarantee my safety anymore.”
“But you stayed.”
“Where else would I go? I’m an orphan. No family. No prospects. Lord Corvus pays well. And during the day, he’s kind. Gentle. More human than most humans I’ve known.”
Clara looks at Sera with red-rimmed eyes.
“Please be careful tomorrow night, my lady. Stay in your room. Lock the door. Don’t investigate any sounds. No matter what you hear.”
“I will. Thank you, Clara.”
The girl nods and hurries away.
Leaving Sera more terrified than before.
That evening, Damien leaves a note under her door.
She finds it when she returns from dinner.
Sera,
Tomorrow is the full moon. I’ll lock myself in the tower at sunset. You must stay in the west wing. Lock your door. Don’t come out no matter what you hear.
I can’t promise the locks will hold. I can’t promise I won’t break free. If I do, hide. Don’t try to reason with me. Don’t try to help. The beast won’t recognize you. Won’t care that you’re my wife.
I’m trusting you to stay safe. Please don’t make me regret bringing you here.
—D
Sera reads it three times.
Then writes a response:
Damien,
I’ll stay in my room. I promise. But after tomorrow, we talk. Really talk. No more hiding. You promised.
Stay safe.
—S
She slides it under the door connecting west and east wings.
Waits.
An hour later, she hears footsteps.
The paper being picked up.
Then silence.
No response.
But she knows he read it.
Knows he’s thinking about her.
Just like she’s thinking about him.
That night, Sera can’t sleep.
She lies in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow is the full moon.
Tomorrow, Damien transforms into a beast.
Tomorrow, everything could go wrong.
She thinks about Lilith’s journal.
About how Lilith tried to break the curse during a transformation.
How she almost died.
How she ran.
Sera won’t run.
She promised herself that.
But she’s terrified.
Of the beast. Of the curse. Of loving someone she barely knows who might kill her by accident.
Around midnight, she hears footsteps in the hallway.
Soft. Deliberate.
She gets out of bed. Opens her door carefully.
Damien stands in the corridor.
Still wearing the mask.
But he looks exhausted. Haunted.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he says. “Thought I’d walk. Clear my head.”
“Same.”
They stand in awkward silence.
Then Sera speaks.
“Are you afraid? Of tomorrow?”
“Terrified.”
The honesty surprises her.
“Of what?”
“Of hurting you. Of losing control. Of waking up and finding out I’ve killed the one person who’s been kind to me in years.”
Sera steps closer.
“I’ll be safe. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that. I can’t even promise that.”
“Then what do you want me to say?”
Damien looks at her.
Really looks.
“Say you’ll leave if tomorrow goes wrong. Say you’ll run like Lilith did. Save yourself instead of trying to save me.”
“I won’t.”
“Sera—”
“I won’t run, Damien. I’m not Lilith. And you’re not going to scare me away.”
“You should be scared.”
“I am. But I’m also stubborn. And I don’t abandon people.”
Damien’s jaw clenches.
“Why? We barely know each other. This is a contract. You owe me nothing.”
“Maybe I don’t do it for you. Maybe I do it for me. Maybe I’m tired of running from difficult things. Tired of being told what to do. Tired of living a life that doesn’t matter.”
“So you risk your life for what? To prove a point?”
“To prove I can choose. For once in my life, I get to choose.”
They stand close now.
So close Sera can hear his breathing.
See the way his hands shake.
“You’re choosing wrong,” he whispers.
“Then let me choose wrong.”
Damien reaches out.
Almost touches her face.
Then pulls back.
“Go to bed, Sera. Tomorrow is going to be hell.”
“For both of us.”
“Yes.”
He turns to leave.
“Damien?”
He pauses.
“I’ll be here after. Waiting to talk. Don’t disappear on me.”
A long silence.
Then: “I’ll try.”
He walks back to the east wing.
And Sera returns to her room.
Heart pounding.
Tomorrow is the full moon.
Tomorrow, she’ll see what Damien really is.
And hope they both survive to see morning.
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