Marked by the Cursed CEO Alpha-Chapter 41: Helpless

[The Executive Floor]

Elder Varyn did not waste time.

Rogan had barely taken two steps onto the executive floor when the old wolf stepped into his path.

He was taller than Rogan had expected, spine straight despite his age, silver hair tied back neatly.

His presence wasn’t loud but it was still intimidating.

"Rogan Hale," Varyn said, voice calm. "You carry yourself like a man who has lived among packs far older than the one you claim."

Rogan stopped.

He turned slowly, meeting Varyn’s gaze without deference, without hostility.

"I lived long enough," Rogan replied.

Varyn’s eyes sharpened.

"Which pack?" he asked.

Rogan didn’t hesitate. "A small one, no territory worth mentioning."

"That is not what I asked," Varyn said evenly.

Rogan’s jaw tightened, just a fraction. "It’s the only answer you are getting."

Silence stretched between them.

Varyn studied him the way scholars studied ancient texts, patient, thorough, already sensing the gaps.

"And Lyra," Varyn continued. "She carries no pack scent, no claiming marks yet she walks like someone raised among wolves."

"She is my niece," Rogan said. "I raised her."

"She is your maternal niece," Varyn corrected quietly.

Rogan’s eyes flickered just for a second but Varyn noticed.

"Her mother," Varyn pressed. "Where was she born?"

Rogan exhaled slowly. "She is dead."

"That wasn’t my question."

Rogan’s gaze hardened. "I won’t speak of her."

Varyn nodded once, as if he had expected that answer.

"And yet," he said, voice low, "her daughter walked into Blackthorn territory and did something no one has done in over a century."

Rogan stiffened.

Varyn stepped closer, not threatening but deliberate.

"She calmed the curse."

Rogan didn’t respond but his silence screamed.

Varyn’s expression shifted then, not with triumph or satisfaction but concern.

"You hide her heritage too well," Varyn said quietly. "Too well for coincidence."

Rogan met his gaze fully now. "She deserves a life that isn’t shaped by ancient grudges and bloodline curses."

"So did every mate who died before her," Varyn replied gently. "And yet history found them anyway."

Rogan’s hands curled at his sides.

"What are you implying?" he asked.

Varyn held his stare. "That secrets do not protect children, they just delay consequences."

Rogan took a step back, putting space between them. "Lyra is not your concern."

"She is," Varyn said softly, "the moment she stepped into Kaelen Blackthorn’s life."

The words landed heavy.

Rogan’s voice was quiet but firm. "I won’t hand her over to fate."

Varyn inclined his head slightly. "Then you should stop pretending fate hasn’t already noticed her."

They stood there for a long moment, two men guarding the same girl from different wars.

Finally, Varyn stepped aside.

"For now," he said. "Your answers will suffice."

Rogan didn’t thank him.

As he moved past, Varyn spoke again, almost to himself. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"But know this, Rogan Hale, when the past begins asking questions, it rarely accepts silence as an answer."

Rogan didn’t turn back but his shoulders were rigid as stone.

Varyn then led Rogan down the quiet corridor without another word.

They stopped before a partially open door.

Inside, the lights were dimmed to a warm glow and the room was silent except for the slow, even rhythm of breathing.

Rogan’s chest tightened the moment he saw her.

Lyra lay curled on the couch, her body relaxed in a way Rogan had never seen after nights like this. Her face was peaceful, lashes resting against her cheeks, color slowly returning to her skin.

And Kaelen—

Kaelen Blackthorn sat behind her, one arm wrapped securely around her waist, his chin resting lightly against the crown of her head. His other hand was still tangled in her fingers, as if even sleep hadn’t convinced him to let go.

They were close and intimate.

For a split second, Rogan forgot where he was. Then instinct slammed back into him and he stepped forward sharply.

"I am taking her," Rogan said under his breath.

Varyn’s hand closed around his forearm, firm, unyielding.

"No," Varyn said quietly.

Rogan turned on him, eyes blazing. "You don’t get to decide that."

Varyn didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t need to.

"Look at them," he said.

Rogan hesitated despite himself.

Varyn continued, calm and measured. "After a surge like that, the body empties itself. Strength, magic, instinct, everything drains. What’s left is hollowness."

His gaze flicked back to Kaelen and Lyra. "If you separate them now, you won’t be saving her. You will be breaking what little stability they’ve found."

Rogan’s jaw clenched.

"She doesn’t belong here," he said.

"No," Varyn agreed. "But neither does the curse she just silenced."

Rogan’s breath came shallow. "You think I wanted this? I have spent my life making sure she never had to touch this world."

"And yet," Varyn said softly, "it found her anyway."

Silence stretched between them.

Then Varyn exhaled, long and slow, tired in a way only centuries could carve.

"I have watched Blackthorn Alphas rise and fall," he said quietly. "Strong men, ruthless men but good men."

Rogan looked at him sharply.

"One by one," Varyn continued, his voice steady but heavy, "the curse destroyed them. Some lost their mates, some lost themselves and some burned entire packs to ash before the end."

His eyes never left Kaelen.

"And every time," he said, "all I could do was prepare the next Alpha. Train him, teach him restraint, teach him how to cage a monster that was never meant to be tamed."

Rogan swallowed.

"This is the first time," Varyn said softly, "that I have seen the curse stop."

Rogan’s breath caught.

"For the first time in over a century," Varyn went on, "there is hope, real hope."

He turned to Rogan then, eyes sharp but pleading.

"A chance that the curse can be broken. That the Blackthorn bloodline can finally know peace and the land itself might heal."

His voice lowered. "That the cycle can end."

Then Varyn turned to Rogan fully, his expression no longer probing but grave.

"I don’t expect you to tell us everything," he said. "Secrets have weight. I know that better than most."

Rogan didn’t respond.

"But you must understand this," Varyn continued. "What happened tonight is not something that can be hidden forever. You can keep running, keep suppressing her powers and keep lying to her."

He paused, letting the words settle.

"Or you can decide whether the girl you love deserves a future shaped by fear or by truth."

Rogan’s gaze drifted back to Lyra.

She shifted slightly in her sleep, instinctively pressing closer to Kaelen and something in Rogan’s chest twisted painfully.

"She is all I have," Rogan said hoarsely.

Varyn nodded. "Then choose what kind of life you want for her."

He stepped back, giving Rogan space.

"One spent hiding from what she is," Varyn said, "or one spent becoming it."

Rogan said nothing but he didn’t move to take her.

And for now, that was answer enough.

....