When Marriage Turns To Purgatory 43

Posted by admin, ? Views, Released on January 25, 2025

43 Iris/Cassian

Iris‘ POV.

I returned to the room, my heart light but heavy all at once. I would not be by Cassian’s side when his curse was finally broken. I would not be his Luna for long. We probably would never go to the gardens anymore. That joy, that serenity would be for his true wife and Luna. Not for a werewolf

like me.

I sat on the bed and tried to forget. But those little times, those insubstantial memories kept replaying in my mind. The little soft looks he would give me, his little smiles of reassurance when I was scared, the way he always knew the right words to put me at ease.

It would all end one day. It was a contract marriage after all. It had always been meant to be temporary. I had to tame my wild heart and face what was truly important. My father’s fears for the Ashfall Pack, I had to remember. Yet, each time I try to strategize, I am attacked by memories.

At least I had some new victories since Cassian had discovered what had been happening during my lessons with Zahila. He has saved me, punished Zahila and reconciled me and lone. I had to remain positive but assertive.

I got myself refreshed and laid down to sleep. But sleeping with Cassian by my side had become a custom for me. I turned and turned in bed because no matter how much I tried, I could not fall asleep. At least not without Cassian.

Suddenly, a wave of panic washed over me.

‘Mate,‘ something growled. I got up abruptly, clutching my chest. What had that been? I looked around and even got up to check the windows, only to find that I was alone. Then what had spoken? The voice seemed to have revibrated deep in my bones. As though it was speaking from within me. ‘Mate,‘ I heard it again, and suddenly my heart crashed against my ribs. It was coming from within me. I held my breath, waiting… It could not have been. I told myself. My wolf? After all this time, it was making its presence known. But as I waited again, I heard nothing. But panic still gripped me like something horrible was about to happen.

Then I heard a groan. A man’s groan. But it did just sound normal as the man continued to groan, it became more and more animalistic. The sounds turned from a human’s groan to a growl, then back again. As though humans were fighting for control.

I knew deep in my bones that the man was none other than Cassian. I heard a slash of a wipe and I got on my feet and went out the door to find

him.

Cassian’s POV.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

Each time the whip landed, I felt Vorax growl in pain. He receded within me, yet he attempted to claw back to the surface, trying to rip out of my skin. I looked in the mirror, my eyes glowing red–Vorax’s eyes. I had to subdue him. I had to tame the beast that he was.

‘Let me out!‘ he growled, fur growing from my skin.

I whipped myself again, and once more he retreated. The touch of rot was just one part of the Alpha’s curse. There was more. There was always more. I had to keep him at bay as my body screamed in agony. Despite how long I had been doing this, the agony remained. From the outside, it was the whip; from the inside, it was Vorax’s torment. I felt it as much as I felt the wounds from the whip. Because we were one, and as I inflicted pain to tame him, he, in turn, inflicted his own torment on me.

I continued whipping myself in rapid succession. Each time, his growl reverberated in my mind. This had to continue until he was subdued.

“Is this what you want?” I growled back at him through gritted teeth, the whip landing on my back with a sickening crack, blood gushing from the wound. I could feel it dripping.” Is this your idea of freedom?”

Vorax’s response was a defiant roar, his presence pushing against my control. I couldn’t let him win. Not now. Not ever. Not again.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

My vision blurred with the pain, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. The beast within me thrashed and howled, fighting against the restraints of my will. Each lash was a torment in its purest form. The room echoed with the sound of my self–inflicted punishment, lacing with Vorax’s furious roars.

Then, through the haze of pain and fury, I heard a sound that made me pause. A faint, desperate voice calling my name.

“Cassian!”

I blinked, trying to place the voice through my haze.

There was banging at the door. Someone was slamming their fist against the door.

“Cassian!” She begged. “What is happening? Please, open up!” The note of panic in her voice made even Vorax freeze. He recognized the voice, as did

Iris.

At that moment of distraction, Vorax surged forward, almost breaking free. I whipped myself again, harder this time, forcing him back. But her voice had done something. He wanted to escape now more than ever. He wanted his mate. He wanted her. He craved her, but not like I did. If I let him out, he would destroy her. If Vorax took control, there would be no thought, just the utterly animalistic instinct to destroy anything in his path and Iris would be no different in his feral eyes.

What had she done? What was she doing? She must have heard the sounds. Vorax’s growls were frighteningly animalistic enough to drive even Lycans away. Yet, here my wife was, an ordinary werewolf, coming despite the horrific things that she must have heard.

Setting

21:03

43 Iris/Cassian

But, she could never see me. I would not allow her to see me as I was now. I could not let her see me as more than a monster than I already was. If she saw me now, she would not truly understand the entity that she was tied to.

“Go!” I bellowed, my voice a mixture of my own and Vorax’s guttural growl. I couldn’t let her in, couldn’t let her see this. The darkness within me was something she should never witness.

“Cassian, please!” she cried, the desperation in her voice tearing at my resolve. “Open up,”

Her words were so sincere, so filled with concern, sliced through my torment as efficiently as a new blade. Vorax snarled, fighting harder, feeding off my distraction. My body convulsed as he surged forward, and I whipped myself again, trying to regain control.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

The door rattled as she continued to pound on it. “Cassian, who is hurting you?”

She actually believed that I was human enough to be vulnerable to another person’s attacks. Her presence was a double–edged sword. It gave me strength, a reason to fight harder, but it also weakened my defenses, made me vulnerable to Vorax’s relentless assault.

“Leave!” I roared, the command tinged with both fury and pleading. “Leave now!” I almost begged her.

But she didn’t. She stayed her voice steady and unwavering. “Open this door, Cassian!” Her tone had changed from pleading to a harder cadence. A

command.

Iris‘ POV.

Guards held me back as everybody came out of their quarters.

“What do you think you are doing disturbing everyone’s slumber?” Cassian’s mother demanded.

Could she not hear what I was hearing now? “Cassian is in trouble. We have to save him. They won’t open the door.” I said in a panic.

They only replied with silence. They all looked at me like I was crazy. The guards looked terrified, while Zahila and Cassian’s mother regarded me with a strange appearance. Only Ione looked as distraught as I was. But even she was oddly quiet.

Cassian’s mother and Zahila exchanged more strange looks before Cassian’s mother moved closer to me.

“Who do you think is capable of hurting the Alpha?” She asked me. “Of hurting the man that kills all that he touches?” She asked me.

I could only look at her, aghast. Her voice was so level, so calm while I was cringing each time the whip landed. I was devoid of answers, I could not even think properly.

“Let me tell you,” she said plainly. “He can only hurt himself.”

My breath fractured. I had to be hearing things, it could not be possible. He was not inflicting the agony that I was hearing on himself. “You are lying,” I gasped with all conviction.

He simply looked at me like I was some fool. “You are a fool,” She simply said. Then she turned to the guards who were still holding me. “Take her to her room,” she ordered. “And lock her there till the morning.”

They began to carry out her order, taking me by force, but I struggled against their hold to no avail. The whip kept landing, the growls growing

louder and more intense.

“Let me go!” I flailed. “Let me go.” I hit one guard on the nose and his hold slackened. I tried to use that opening, but again I was pulled back. “Let her go!” Ione stepped in. “She is the Luna.” The other woman turned their glares in her direction.

The guards suddenly let me go. I proceeded towards the door again.

“Are you insane?” Zahila yelled. “You dare disobey the mother of the Alpha?

“But I am his wife!” I screamed. “I am the Luna and I command to open this door!”

Her eyes widened at my words but scoffed at me, but she didn’t stop me. Perhaps she wanted me to see for myself.

“Let’s go, Zahila, it looks like our new Luna has a death wish.” With that she left. This woman was his mother, the one who birthed him. I could not wrap my head around her horrible, downright dismissive attitude. Perhaps she thought I’d run away in terror once I saw what was happening inside. But I didn’t care. I had to get to him. I had to see him.

Ione looked at me,

, her eyes conveying a message that I could not fully read.

“You heard the Luna,” She told the guards. “Open the door,”

And, indeed, the door was opened. Cassian stood in the middle of the room, his back to me, his body covered in blood. The whip in his hand was stained red, and deep gashes marred his skin. His muscles were taut, trembling with the effort. In his hand was a whip. It was true. But something else made me pause and clasp my hand on my mouth.

His body. The black veins that outlined his hands and arms had spread like a plague. Like a disease. They now mapped his entire body.

“Cassian,” I called.

He froze before he slowly turned to me. The eyes that looked at me were not Cassian’s dark eyes. They were his wolf’s red ones.

Cassian’s POV.

I froze, before slowly, I turned to face her, every movement, agony. The whip slipped from my fingers, clattering to the floor. I had let her see me

Setting

21.03

43 Iris/Cassian

like this, broken and monstrous.

Her eyes widened at the sight of me, but she didn’t flinch.

“Iris, leave, I rasped, my voice raw from the effort of restraining Vorax. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I expected to run from my appearance but even my voice did nothing to sway her. She didn’t move. Instead, I began approaching me.

“I’m not leaving,” she said firmly. “Not until I understand what’s happening to you.” Was she blind? Was she not petrified? Why had she not run?

She was close now, close enough that I could feel her warmth, her concern washing over me like a balm. I shut my eyes, trying to muster the strength to push her away, to protect her from Vorax. From me.

“Iris, please,” I begged, my voice breaking. “You don’t understand. I can’t control him.”

“Your wolf?” she asked.

I nodded. “Leave.”

Yet, this foolish, beautiful woman only walked closer to me. Walked closer to death.

“I said, leave!” I roared at her to deter her.

“I’m your wife!” She screamed back at me instead. “Your Luna! And I am not leaving!”

Her words shattered something inside me. Vorax roared within me. But she was there despite the fear she would have been feeling.

Instead, she stepped closer, her hand reaching out to touch my arm.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, her fingers tracing the black veins that marred my skin. “I am here.”

Her touch was gentle, soothing, such a stark contrast to the pain I inflicted on myself. For a moment, Vorax’s growls quieted, the beast within me retreating into the darkness of my consciousness.

“Iris,” I murmured, my voice hoarse. “You need to leave. It’s not safe.”

But she shook her head, her eyes blazing. “I’m not leaving you, Cassian.”

Before I could utter another word, I felt again. I reached for the whip, but I was not fast enough and Vorax surged forward, seizing control. My body convulsed, and I felt my consciousness slipping away.