MARKED BY THE HUNTER

13: BE WITCH 2

"Perfect. Your personal aide is smart.”

Max Rain’s voice carried a hint of amusement, but unmistakably mocking. The corner of his lips lifted, as if he was holding back a laugh meant only for himself.

My chest tightened.

So he knew? Or at least… he suspected.

He breaks his eye contact with me, and casually lifts his glass. Bryle followed, his movements synchronized, as if this silent exchange between them had already been agreed upon long before I even stepped into this house.

Clink.

The sound of their glasses meeting echoed louder in my head than it should have. And just like that, everything fell into place.

This wasn’t normal to me. The silver coin hidden in my palm. The way the food changed before my eyes.

Max’s piercing questions, and Bryle’s quiet signals.

They weren’t random.

I slowly lowered my gaze, pretending to focus on the table, but my mind was racing.

Max Rain is testing me. But why? Did he already know what I am? Or was he trying to confirm it?

My fingers tightened slightly around the coin, grounding myself. Did he discover something from me?

A place where things weren’t what they seemed… where even something as simple as a slice of cake could rot into something unrecognizable in a blink.

Now I realized, this place is where... Witches lived.

A chill ran down my spine. I stayed and ate with this witch people?

And the most unsettling part wasn’t Max’s smile… or the illusion in front of me. It was the realization that Bryle had brought me here. Knowing all of it. Knowing exactly what I would be walking into.

After dinner;

I lay down on the bed without a word, my body stiff, my chest tight. All I had eaten tonight were a few pieces of fruit... nothing heavy, nothing that should have sat like a stone in my stomach.

And yet, I felt full.. uncomfortably full. As if something rotten had lodged itself inside me.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the cake—spoiled, decayed, and left forgotten. Just like trust.

The door creaked open. Bryle walked in as if nothing had happened, his presence calm, almost careless.

“Where were you?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended, but sharp enough to cut.

“Things just got heated while Max and I were drinking,” he replied evenly. No hesitation. No guilt. He set his blade down beside the bed, the metal making a soft, final sound as it touched the surface.

That sound alone made something twist inside me.

“Don’t sleep next to me. Sleep outside,” I said, turning away from him. The irritation burned in my heart.. not just at him, but at myself. For believing him. For wanting to believe him.

“You’re my personal aide. If anyone needs to sleep outside, it should be you,” he said, already pulling off his shirt like my words meant nothing.

That stung more than I expected.

“You lied to me. That’s your punishment,” I shot back, gripping the edge of the bed.

There was a pause. Then his voice came, lower and tighter. "When did you learn to punish someone like me?”

There it was, that tone. Heavy. Commanding. The kind that used to make me fall silent.

But not tonight.

I stood up, my movement was quick, almost reckless. I grabbed a pillow and a blanket, not trusting myself to look at him any longer. If I did, I might falter. I might forgive too easily.

And I hated that.

Without another word, I walked out of the room.

Then I slammed the door behind me... hard enough to echo, hard enough to shake something loose inside my heart.

I sat on the sofa first, thinking about what is wrong with me? why I felt this way.

I'm so jealous.

Later, exhaustion finally caught up with me.

I glanced around, my vision slightly blurred, and for a moment I thought I saw thin trails of smoke curling through the air, as if something unseen was trying to drive away the misfortune that clung too close to me. Or maybe it was just my mind, too tired to tell what was real anymore.

I lay down on the sofa, clutching the blanket tightly against my chest like it was the only thing keeping me grounded. My body felt unbearably heavy, as if something was pressing me down, urging me to stop, to rest, to give in.

Sleep pulled me.

But right in the middle of my sleep.. something felt wrong.

A strange smell crept into my senses...faint at first, then stronger. Rotten. Like something dead.

I wanted to open my eyes. I tried to move. But my entire body can't, as if it had turned to ice. Frozen. Unresponsive. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t even lift a finger.

Then I heard it.

“Tweeeek… tweek…”

A sound that didn’t make sense... half-sob, half-laughter. A woman’s voice, twisted into something unnatural. It echoed around me, like too close, but I couldn't see.

Panic surged inside my heart.

I tried to breathe deeply, hoping to calm myself. And to think that it was just a dream… it has to be…

But then.. a sudden gust of wind swept over me, cold and sharp, as in it passed right through where I lay.

And that wind... I knew it.

The scent carried with it was painfully familiar. My mind latched onto it instantly, and with it, I can visualize his face.

Max Rain.

Then his lips slowly curled. Not into the smile I remembered… not the easy, familiar one. There was something wrong with it, something evil.

I started to panic, clawing its way up my throat. I tried to scream, to move, to do anything... but my body refused to obey. I was trapped inside myself.

Max's eyes were not right either. There was no light in them. No warmth. Just something hollow and hungry.

“Did you miss me?” he whispered.