The Alpha's Seeress

Chapter 16

Olivia Isla

I could feel my insides burning, as if I were being consumed by fire. The rush in my veins and the cracking of my bones felt like a torture beyond anything I had ever experienced in my life. Each breath I took was agony, and the pain was so intense I wondered if I would survive it.

When I woke up this morning and was fetched by those men, I had expected punishment for what I did to Myrtle last night. But this—this was something far worse.

I am in the middle of these witches, their faces emotionless, their eyes focused entirely on me. They are circling me, holding hands, chanting in a language I don’t understand. Candles surround me, their flickering flames casting eerie shadows on the stone walls.

The leader, a woman with silver hair and piercing violet eyes, steps forward. She begins the chant, her voice rising and falling like a melody of despair.

"Ignis invocare, potentiam revelare,

Dormientem in tenebris nunc excitare.

Per dolorem et flammam, verum monstratur,

Sanguis et os revelabunt quid natura occultavit."

The flames of the candles rise higher, as if answering her call. I scream as the fire within me blazes hotter, consuming every fiber of my being. My vision blurs, and all I can feel is the unrelenting pain. My body feels like it’s being torn apart from the inside, my bones cracking and reforming.

I try to speak, to beg for mercy, but no words come out. The witches continue their chant, their voices growing louder, the power of their words like daggers stabbing into my very soul

The leader frowned. She began the chant again, louder this time, more forceful, as though willing something deep inside me to respond.

"Ignis invocare, potentiam revelare,

Dormientem in tenebris nunc excitare."

I screamed, the sound of it almost inhuman. The pain was unbearable, like being burned alive from the inside out. I collapsed to the ground, shaking, tears streaming down my face, and I could feel my consciousness slipping.

The leader’s eyes flashed with frustration as she exchanged a glance with the others. One of the witches muttered under her breath, “It should be working… Why isn't it working?”

The leader stepped forward, circling me like a predator eyeing its prey. “Something’s wrong,” she said. “She should have awakened by now.”

One of the younger witches, a girl barely older than me, whispered in a trembling voice, “Could the prophecy be false?”

“Impossible,” the leader snapped. “The prophecy is never wrong. There is something blocking her power.”

The others looked at me, eyes narrowed in suspicion, as though I were purposely resisting them. But I wasn’t. I wanted the pain to stop.

The leader knelt beside me, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into her violet eyes. “What are you hiding, Olivia? Why won’t your power awaken?”

“I don’t know!” I gasped. My body was trembling uncontrollably, drenched in sweat.

Her grip tightened. “We’re running out of time. If you don’t awaken, you will die here.”

The witches began whispering among themselves, their voices filled with uncertainty. I could hear them speculating about why the chant wasn’t working, why I hadn’t yet awakened.

“Perhaps she’s too weak,” one of them said.

“No,” the leader snapped, standing up. “There’s something else at play here. Something we’ve missed.”

I could feel the cold floor beneath me, grounding me just enough to stay conscious. Every part of me was screaming, but no power was rising. Nothing was awakening. Just the torment.

I clutched at my chest, trying to understand why this was happening. Why won't it work? It was as though a barrier was keeping my power locked away, out of reach. I have felt it the moment I stepped in this place. Could it be?

"Again," the leader ordered.

They resumed the chant, louder, fiercer than before.

"Dormientem in tenebris nunc excitare,

Per dolorem et flammam, verum monstratur—"

The pain returned tenfold, but again, nothing.

The witches were growing restless, their confusion palpable. The leader stared down at me with fury in her eyes, as if I were purposely defying her. But I wasn’t. I was trying—trying to survive. Trying to let go of whatever was keeping this power hidden.

And then, through the haze of pain, a thought flickered in my mind—something I hadn’t considered before. What if I wasn’t the one blocking my power? What if it was something—or someone—else?

The witches tried the chant for the tenth time, their voices now frantic and desperate, but nothing changed. The pain still ripped through me, but no power emerged. Instead, I began to feel something else—something stronger than before. It wasn’t the witches’ magic coursing through me, it was something... protective. A force wrapping itself around me, shielding me from their spell.

It was like a thread, weaving itself through every part of me. White, pure, and impenetrable. I could sense it holding me in place, like a boundary keeping the witches from reaching what they sought. But the question burned in my mind—did they know it was there? Could they feel it too?

The chanting stopped abruptly. I heard one of the witches speak, “Could it be that she is bound by Leonora’s protection?”

Leonora? My mother. The woman I barely knew but had heard so many conflicting things about. Could it really be her magic protecting me?

The leader glared at me with fury, her violet eyes burning with anger. I could see it in her expression—the frustration. She was furious, not just at me but at the situation. It was as though killing me outright would be a more satisfying solution than trying again to awaken what was inside of me.

“I couldn’t think of any other reason aside from that,” one of the witches muttered. “It must be her mother’s doing.”

The leader’s lips curled into a snarl. “Of course. That b***h was always meddling in things she had no business with.” She stepped closer. “Leonora might have protected you, but her magic is fading. It’s only a matter of time before it breaks.”

I could feel my heart racing, my pulse pounding in my ears. My mother.

The leader leaned down, her face inches from mine, and whispered, “If we can’t awaken you by force, Olivia, we’ll have to find another way to break that bond. And when we do... there will be no mercy.”

Her words sent chills down my spine, but underneath the fear, there was a flicker of hope. My mother’s magic was still there, fighting for me. And as long as it held, they couldn’t take my power—or my life.

But how long could it last?

The witches began muttering among themselves, their frustration clear. I stayed still, my body trembling from the pain and the fear, but I clung to that thread of protection. I didn’t know how, but I had to find a way to break free, to figure out why my mother had bound me in the first place.

“We’ll regroup,” she said to the others. “But mark my words, Olivia. You’re not leaving this place until we’ve awaken you."

As they filed out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the dull ache that still lingered in my body, I realized something important: I wasn’t powerless. There was something inside me—something my mother had hidden from them. I just had to figure out what it was before they did.