The Alpha's Seeress

Chapter 11

Olivia Isla

I had prepared myself for this day. I knew this was my fate, but I couldn't help but wonder.

"Leonora failed once... and now she has failed again," the man in the silver vest said.

He wasn't the King—I was certain of that—but he held just as much power. His presence demanded attention, and the smugness in his eyes made it clear that he believed he had won, once again.

I stood frozen as his gaze swept over me, like I was merely a pawn in some twisted game I hadn't even known I was playing. So many questions from the past haunted me, questions with no answers. I used to push them aside, unconcerned, not curious. But now, nothing made sense. I felt it deep inside, like an itch I couldn’t scratch—a connection to this world that no one would explain.

Nanna Sienna had hidden something from me. I could sense it. The truth, perhaps. Because despite my confusion, I felt as if I belonged here, that this place and its mysteries were somehow tied to me.

"Your mother is a failure," he added, staring straight into my eyes.

My heart pounded. How did he know my mother? The thought only deepened my confusion. Nanna Sienna always told me my parents were far away, working in a foreign land. I never asked for more details because, in my mind, they might as well considered dead. No responsible parents would abandon their child and let someone else raise them. It was their job. They chose to have children, only to turn their backs on the responsibility. I didn't hate them, but the disappointment lingered like a wound that never fully healed.

And now, hearing this stranger talk about them as if he knew them—it unsettled me. He knew something, something Nanna had kept from me.

I swallowed hard, the words almost getting stuck in my throat. "Who is my mother?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "How do you know her?"

His smirk widened, as if he had been waiting for this moment. "Your mother... she once stood where you stand now. But unlike you, she failed to uncover the truth." His eyes gleamed with a cruel satisfaction. "She was weak, just like your father."

A surge of anger flared up inside me. I clenched my fists, trying to suppress it, but it was no use. "What truth?" I demanded. "What are you talking about? Tell me!"

I felt like an incomplete puzzle, with pieces scattered and missing. I had come with them, hoping to buy peace for Riley, for Starfall, and for Nanna Sienna, to ensure she could live longer, unbothered by this whirlwind of chaos. But now, I was trapped—physically and emotionally.

"I guess they didn’t tell you who you are, did they?" His voice dripped with mockery. "Sienna, that old woman, must have really protected you. How nice," he added with a sarcastic laugh.

I had always known Nanna Sienna was shielding me from something, but what? Why? The chain around my neck pressed against my skin, tightening as if it sensed my frustration. It made it nearly impossible to speak, to ask the questions I so desperately needed answers to.

I wanted to scream at him, to demand the truth, to wrestle him to the ground. But I couldn’t. The chains bound me like a prisoner, restricting every movement, every breath.

I gritted my teeth, my heart pounding with a mix of rage and helplessness. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take this. The man’s smirk grew as he circled me like a predator savoring his prey.

"You're just like her," he continued. "But you’ll fall faster. You’ll break, just like she did."

His words lit a fire inside me. My body ached under the weight of the chains, but I wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet.

"Tell me who I am," I managed to choke out. "Tell me what you know."

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "All in good time, Olivia Isla. But first, you have to be a good girl."

We reached a place that loomed like a castle, but there was nothing majestic about it. The air felt thick and cold, the stone walls dark and crumbling. Everything about this place screamed danger. The eerie ambiance clung to me, sending chills down my spine.

The man yanked me forward by the chain, forcing me to walk despite the pain. My feet stumbled on the uneven ground, and the sound of distant shouts filled the air. It took me a moment to realize they weren’t cries of anguish—they were cheers. Celebration.

"Finally, we found the one!" a woman's voice pierced through the noise.

I glanced up, my eyes landing on her. Her hair was a tangled mass of grey, and her eyes—those piercing red eyes—bore down on me like she could see straight through my soul. She looked every bit like the old witches from the stories Nanna Sienna used to warn me about. But there was something about her, something ancient and powerful, that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I tried to steady my breathing, but the weight of the chains and the intensity of their stares made it difficult. The crowd around us began to close in, their faces twisted with excitement, their eyes wide with anticipation. It was as if they had been waiting for this moment, for me.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Why am I here?"

The woman’s smile stretched wide, revealing crooked, yellowed teeth. "You’ll know soon enough, child. The prophecy is finally coming to life. And you are at the heart of it."

Prophecy? I couldn’t understand what she was talking about, but before I could ask more, she snapped her fingers. The chains around me tightened, pulling me toward her.

"We’ve waited long enough," she said, her voice filled with a wicked glee. "It's time to reveal your true nature."

What did she mean by "true nature"? Am I not being true to myself? I thought I knew who I was—or did I really?

Everything was spinning. It felt like I had been ripped out of my reality and dropped into some strange, twisted world with secrets I couldn’t begin to understand. I tried to focus, to foresee what was coming next, but it was as if an impenetrable wall blocked my vision, keeping the future from me. I couldn’t see a thing, not even a hint of what lay ahead.

Where was I, really? I knew this place belonged to the Walkers, but who were they? What were they? My head throbbed with questions I couldn’t answer.

"This is where you belong," the woman’s voice interrupted my thoughts. "To serve the King, as the prophecy foretold."

They kept mentioning the prophecy, but what prophecy were they talking about? And how was I connected to it?

Before I could ask any more questions, the man shoved me into a room with such force that I fell hard onto my knees. The door slammed shut behind me, and the sound of metal clicking echoed in the silence—a sign that he had locked me in.

The room itself was surprisingly decent, especially for a prisoner. There was a small bed, a dimly lit lantern hanging from the ceiling, and a table in the corner. But none of that mattered. I wasn’t concerned with my surroundings—I needed answers.

My mind raced as I struggled to stand, my knees bruised and my heart pounding. Prophecy. The word rang in my ears. Whatever it was, it seemed to be the key to everything. Why had they taken me? What did it have to do with my past, my parents, and why had Nanna Sienna kept all this from me?

I walked slowly to the narrow window at the far end of the room, peering through the bars into the courtyard below. I could see figures moving in the shadows, whispering amongst themselves. The air outside felt thick with tension, as if something was about to happen.

I turned away from the window, sinking onto the bed, my mind swimming with unanswered questions.

What prophecy could involve me—someone who had lived their entire life in the quiet care of Nanna Sienna? And why was my "true nature" so important to them?

As I sat there, trying to piece it all together, a strange feeling began to rise inside me. A deep, unsettling pull, like something inside was waking up—something I hadn’t known was there.

What if… what if I wasn’t who I thought I was?