MARKED BY THE HUNTER

14: BE WITCH 3

What is he asking? Does he think that I like him? Doesn't he notice that I'm afraid of him?

His voice didn’t sound like it used to. It dragged, like something was pulling it from somewhere deep and rotten.

The air around me turned cold, unnaturally cold... like something unseen had slipped into the room and swallowed the warmth whole.

I lay still on the sofa, my body limp, unresponsive… as if I were nothing more than a sleeping doll. But I wasn’t asleep. I could hear everything. Feel everything.

And I knew he was there. Max.

The sound of his footsteps was slow and careful, but each one felt heavy, pressing into me like a warning. My pulse spiked, wild and uneven.

Don’t come closer. I screamed it in my mind, over and over again.

Please… don’t touch me. I feel sorry for myself even though I'm the only one who can hear it. I can't move no matter how I tried to release my power. This place is like a curse, the reason that I can't even get a little bit of strength.

He stopped near me. Now I could feel him standing over me, his presence crawling across my skin like shadows with fingers. Then I feel him sit down near where I am lying, raise his hand and touch my hair.

“You are so beautiful, Alexa…”

His voice slid into my ears.. too smooth, too close. There's a softness in his voice that feels like he's singing to me.

"Can you stay with me.. forever? You will be my queen in my palace." he said. But something changed, something else where, was speaking with him… through him. There is second voices that echoed around, but the words came out from him only.

Behind my closed eyelids, I could almost see it.. the darkness shifting at his back, stretching like it had a life of its own. But my vision is blurred. Shacks! Why can't I open my eyes? Have I been poisoned prematurely?

WEEK. HeeK. HEK.

Another sound again. A twisted, but broken and hallow laugh.

Right beside my ear. My heart slammed against my ribs, desperate to escape. I tried to move, just a finger, a breath, my feet.. anything.. but nothing.

Bryle, where are you? save me please.. I almost cried. Maybe he's in the middle of a deep sleep because of his drunkenness earlier. While I'm here in danger. I'm scared, Bryle, please wake up..

I was trapped in my sleep.

Physically, I felt Max's hand, he touch my face down to my lips, as if he wanted to kiss me. His power, is something invasive.

It wrapped around my mind like chains, pulling, whispering, trying to drag me under.

Listen to me… follow me… only me… His voice echoed inside my head now.

But then.. Something inside me stirred. I almost foregot my wolf, she's awake and alive. She growls not for me but for him. It's been a while since I've felt this way, but how can I make Max to stop what he wanted.

He lowered his head, his lips wanted to touch mine. His eyes said that I would follow his wishes, without fear and without apprehension, because his gaze seemed to beckon and promise something that would last forever.

But my wolf rose violently, furious, rejecting him.. rejecting everything about him. The darkness pressing on me cracked for just a second, enough for me to breathe.

No... The word wasn’t spoken.. but it was felt.

My wolf pushed back harder, claws tearing through whatever spell he was trying to weave.

Max faltered.

I felt it. For the first time, his control slipped.

“What..” his voice broke, confusion slipping through.

And then..The door burst open. A presence flooded the room.. strong, sharp, unmistakable.

Bryle. My mate.

His energy hit like a storm, fierce and protective, burning through the cold that Max had brought with him.

“Get away from her.” His voice wasn’t just angry. But it was lethal.

I couldn’t move.. but I could see them now, as if my mind forced my eyes open from the inside.

Max turned, his smile twisting into something darker. “You always ruin everything, cousin.”

Bryle didn’t hesitate.

He rushed forward with fierce determination. They crashed into each other hard, fighting with raw force.

The room now was filled with noise.. fists hitting, bodies slamming into furniture, something breaking. They shouted over each other, full of anger and threats. What used to be a family bond had turned into violence. Every hit showed the pain and betrayal they had been hiding for a long time.

Max Rain laughed again, but this time it wasn’t steady.

Bryle growled in a low but aggressive. My wolf answered him from within me. The connection. The bond. It pulsed through me, fighting to pull me back.

The next moment, like the world itself held its breath. I couldn’t hear them anymore. No footsteps. No voices. Nothing. Only the faint echo of my own heartbeat… slowly fading into the dark.

The next morning..

I woke to the strange sensation of my body gently swaying, as if the world beneath me refused to stay still. There was warmth too… it wrapped around me like something I couldn’t immediately understand.

For a moment, I stayed frozen. Then I felt it. An arm that is holding me with firm. Possessive, it's like holding me in a secured place, where I should be.

My breath caught as I slowly opened my eyes... and everything in me stilled. My head… was resting against Bryle’s chest. I could hear his heartbeat. Strong. Steady and too close to my heart.

I smiled.. of course I like this moment.



So that he wouldn't notice that I was awake, I pretended to panic. I pushed him and tried to get up suddenly like I was dreaming of horror!

But he didn’t move. Not even an inch. Instead, I lost my balance and fell straight to the floor.

“Ouch—!”

Embarrassment burned hotter than the pain as I looked up at him, irritation quickly replacing it.

“What are you doing?” I snapped, confused flutter in my heart.