The Alpha's Forbidden Witch

Chapter 7 – The Alpha's Obsession

SERENA

The sun was fully up by the time I reached a small frozen stream. I knelt down and broke the thin ice with a rock so I could drink.

The water was so cold it made my teeth hurt, but it helped clear my head. My knee still throbbed from the fall earlier, and my whole body felt heavy. I had been walking most of the night.

I sat on a log and pulled the pendant out again. The letter was still there, with that dragon seal at the bottom.

I could not stop thinking about it. Someone planned all of this before I was even born. It made me feel like a puppet in a big game I did not understand.

A sound in the trees made me freeze. I tucked the pendant away fast and stayed very still.

I hid behind the log and peeked out. Two men in traveling cloaks came down the path. They looked tired and dirty, like they had been walking for days too. One of them was talking in a low voice.

"...the execution grounds are still smoking. They say the witch grew dragon wings right before the fire took her. The whole pack dropped to their knees except the Alpha King."

My heart jumped. They were talking about me.

The other man laughed, but it sounded nervous.

"King Kael is losing his mind over it. I heard from a trader that he went back to the site himself this morning. Refused to let anyone clean it up until he looked at everything."

I held my breath and listened harder. They stopped near the stream to fill their water skins.

The first man continued. "They could not find her body. No bones, no ashes. Just a big hole in the ground from that explosion. Kael tore the place apart looking. He found a piece of her hair stuck on the stake and kept it. His Beta tried to talk sense into him."

"Talk sense?" the second man asked. "About what?"

"The Beta said hunting her might wake up some old prophecy. Something about a forbidden witch with dragon blood who could bring down kingdoms. Kael did not want to hear it. He swore he will drag her back and make her pay for his Luna, even if she has wings or whatever."

They both shook their heads and kept walking. Their voices faded down the path.

I stayed hidden until I could not hear them anymore. My hands were shaking. Kael went back to the execution site. He knew my body never burned. And he kept a lock of my hair? That thought made my stomach turn. What kind of man does that?

I stood up slowly. The snow was melting a little in the sun, turning the ground to slush. I started walking again, keeping to the trees so no one would spot me easily.

Every step took me farther from the werewolf lands, I hoped. But Kael’s face kept appearing in my mind. Those angry eyes. The way he shouted my name during the escape.

He was not going to let this go. The Beta was right to warn him. Something big was happening with me, and Kael hunting me would only make it worse. Part of me wanted to feel sorry for him. He lost his Luna and now this.

But then I remembered the fire. The ropes. The way he watched me burn without a single word of doubt. No!. I would not feel sorry for him.

My legs were tired, but I pushed on. The pendant bounced lightly against my chest as I walked. It felt like a reminder.

I had somewhere to go. Mooncrest Academy. Maybe there I could learn how to control whatever was inside me. Maybe I could even find proof that I did not kill anyone.

Hours later, I found an old abandoned hunter’s cabin. The door was half broken, but it had a roof and a fireplace. I went inside and used some dry wood to start a small fire. The warmth felt like heaven after all that snow.

As I sat by the fire drying my clothes, I thought about what the travelers said. Kael had my hair. He was investigating. The word stuck with me. Why keep my hair? Was it for a spell? Or something darker? The thought made me shiver even next to the fire.

I touched the pendant again. "What am I supposed to do?" I whispered. "Everyone wants a piece of me. Kael wants revenge. Assassins want me captured. And you... you were written before I was born."

The fire crackled. Outside, the wind picked up again. I knew I could not stay here long. I needed to reach the academy before Kael’s men caught my trail.

But deep down, I wondered if Kael’s obsession would bring him right to me. And what would happen when it did.