Chapter 46 BEFORE THE ALPHA RETURNS

Chapter 46 BEFORE THE ALPHA RETURNS
CHAPTER 46. BEFORE THE ALPHA RETURNS

IRIS'S POV

I lay completely frozen on the mattress, my back pressed so hard against the carved headboard that the wooden ridges dig painfully into my spine. My wide eyes are locked entirely on Ciara as she lowers her body onto the edge of the bed. The heavy fabric of her dark cloak settles over the sheets with a quiet rustle. Her vibrant violet irises are planted firmly on me, tracking my every micro-expression with an unyielding intensity that makes it clear she has absolutely no intention of letting me out of her sight. Yet, despite the suffocating pressure of her gaze, her demeanor has shifted. Her posture is soft, her gestures deliberate—she is trying her absolute best to be calm, to strip the harsh, razor-sharp edge from her tongue so she doesn't scare me away.

"I know it might be incredibly hard for you to believe a single word coming out of my mouth," Ciara begins, her voice dropping to a low, intimate murmur that fills the quiet space between us. "The pack house has undoubtedly portrayed me as some sort of malicious villain. It is the easiest narrative for them. All the dominant supernatural species in this realm are currently at war with the covens, and to the wolves, we witches are nothing more than deceitful, evil heretics. So, yeah. I am well aware that you have absolutely no reason to trust me right now. But I possess a truth of vital importance—a warning that you must listen to attentively. You need to heed my words before the window closes and it is entirely too late."

I don't know what hidden instinct is guiding my senses, but a profound, heavy intuition wraps around my chest, telling me that she isn't playing a game. She is dead serious. The frantic way her voice breaks, the subtle, uncontrollable tremble in her lower lip—it all points to a desperate urgency that leaves me breathless. She means every single syllable. I frown slightly, my tensed muscles locking as I observe the heavy lines of stress etched around her eyes.

"Do you remember the exact millisecond you stepped out of that cylindrical chamber?" she asks softly, her features perfectly still.

I swallow hard, the knot in my throat dry as ash. "Yeah," I reply, my voice nothing more than a fragile, trembling shiver.

"Do you remember exactly what you did to those elite bodyguards?" Ciara presses, leaning in just an inch closer. "The raw, kinetic wave of pressure that erupted from your skin and threw those massive beasts across the stone floor?"

I nod my head slowly, the vivid memory of the guards crashing against the pillars flashing behind my eyelids.

"Good. Hold onto that memory," the witch says, her jaw setting into a hard line. "Because that singular display of power was the biggest mistake you could have ever made. It was the catalyst that dragged you directly into the crosshairs of the high Elders."

I swallow hard a second time, a cold bead of sweat rolling down the back of my neck.

"I was standing right outside the door when Kaelen was discussing your fate with Elder Cyphros inside his private chamber," Ciara explains, her voice dropping to a harsh, razor-sharp whisper. "The old wolf possesses a deep, dangerous suspicion. He believes, down to his very marrow, that you are a witch."

The moment the declaration leaves her lips, my eyes go wide with pure panic. I grind my teeth together so hard a sharp ache shoots down my jawline. I am not stupid. Even with my limited knowledge of this dark paradise, I understand precisely what that accusation means. It means the minute the diagnosis is confirmed, I automatically become a sworn enemy of the state. It wasn't enough that my life was turned upside down by the discovery that I am otherworldly. What makes the nightmare ten times worse is the reality that I don't even get to belong to the safe, accepted side of the academy. I am being categorized into the villainous, hunted faction of the supernatural world.

What the hell is happening to my life?

I frown deeply, a wave of dizziness washing over my brain as she continues to study my face. "Do you truly comprehend the gravity of that, Iris?" she asks, her gaze burning into mine. "It means you are my sister. It means you are one of us, and there is absolutely no loophole to deny it. That brand of raw, elemental destruction—the ability to shatter a forcefield and manipulate pure kinetic energy with your bare palms—only a witch can execute such feats. So, yeah. There is a ninety-nine percent chance that you are definitely a witch." She lifts her slender hands in the air, palms out, a slow gesture meant to soothe the frantic rhythm of my breathing.

But it doesn't work. I am suddenly hyperventilating, the air turning to fire in my lungs as the sheets twist beneath my white-knuckled fingers.

"And their conversation didn't stop there," Ciara continues, her tone relentless as she chips away at my remaining defense. "The Elder was completely displeased by your manifestation, and he delivered a specific, lethal instruction to Kaelen. Now, I know this might be incredibly difficult for your heart to digest. Kaelen has shown you nothing but kindness since the moment you crossed the border; he has held your hand, protected you from the elders, and looked at you like he genuinely cares about your survival. But you have to understand the hard biology of a werewolf. Their duty, their honor, and their absolute loyalty lie strictly within the perimeter of their pack, and their pack alone. Nothing and no one can ever come between a wolf and his hierarchy."

She pauses, letting the weight of the betrayal settle over the bed. "It might look like he has feelings for you, Iris, but a future Alpha cannot betray his bloodline over a fleeting human fling or whatever temporary attachment he claims to possess. The Elder forced him to take an oath. Kaelen promised the Council that the second the ritual is over and the formal confirmation is made that you are a witch, you will not be permitted to exist within the campus grounds. They are going to throw you to the wolves—literally. They will chain you up, take you back to the covens as a political prisoner, or simply execute you right here because they believe you are a targeted spy sent to infiltrate their pack lines. You know exactly how dangerous these beasts can be when they are threatened."

I gulp down hard, a suffocating terror wrapping tightly around my throat. I clutch the heavy blankets against my chest, my heart beating so fast and so hard it feels like it’s going to physically burst through my ribs. I can’t believe all of this is happening to me. My brain is short-circuiting; I can’t even form a coherent thought or find a logical escape route. I am trembling from head to toe as I stare into her pale face.

"My only job here is to save you, because you are entirely too young to be slaughtered by their politics," Ciara continues, her voice suddenly shaking with a profound, raw emotion.

I look up and realize her violet eyes are glistening with a thin veil of unshed tears, reflecting the low light of the lanterns like polished glass. She looks genuinely heartbroken.

"You don't have a single clue how you managed to tear the veil and land in this hellscape," she murmurs, her hand reaching out toward the mattress. "You don't know the name of the family you belong to, or the lineage of the blood in your veins. You are completely new to this world, and before you can even catch your breath, these monsters are already painting a target on your back and labeling you a villain. It isn't fair, Iris. It isn't fair at all."

She leans in closer, her breath warm against my tensed face. "So please, you have to listen to me. I don't know what the chemical outcome of the ritual will be. The circle is already assembling outside the gate. They are going to perform the test, they are going to discover the magic in your soul, and then they are going to execute their law. But there is another option staring us in the face. We could leave right now. We could slip through the shadows of the hostel and run far away from this academy. With our latent abilities combined into a single, unified current, we will possess more than enough raw power to completely overtake the guards or any supernatural beast that attempts to block our path. That is the ultimate advantage of the witches, Iris. United, our coven magic is far more powerful than any feral animal that stands in our way. But alone? Alone, there is absolutely nothing we can do. We are utterly powerless against their numbers."

A sudden, sharp realization strikes my mind like a lightning bolt, illuminating the dark corners of her history. This is it. This is the exact reason why she has been trapped as a prized prisoner in this cavernous academy for so many years. She has had no coven to aid her, no sisters to anchor her magic, and no support to build a bridge back home. She might be an ancient, powerful witch, but she cannot overpower an entire campus of alphas and vampires with her singular, isolated current. She has been entirely alone.

"I believe, down to my soul, that you are a miracle sent here by the Goddess to free and redeem me from this prison," Ciara whispers, her voice cracking as a tear finally slips down her cheek. "I have been rotting in this place for so many years. I cannot bear the silent torment of these people for another day, and I have seen exactly what their anger looks like. They are inherently evil, Iris, and I cannot stomach the thought of them inflicting that same structural cruelty onto you—my own flesh and blood. My own sister. Trust me, the covens are the only ones capable of unlocking your true origin and helping you master the energy inside your soul. You have to come with me, and we have to run. Now."

She pauses, her eyes dropping to the space where Kaelen had been sitting just moments ago. "Now, I am well aware that you feel some sort of pull toward Kaelen. I don't know the exact history of what is happening between the two of you, but the second I entered this room, my senses could literally feel the thick, magnetic bond vibrating between your souls."

I frown deeply, a cold confusion cutting through my panic. What bond? What is she talking about?

"Nevertheless," Ciara states, her tone hardening into an absolute, unyielding command as she grips my wrist through the blankets. "You have to make a definitive decision right now, Iris. And it has to be the wise one. We need to leave before the Alpha returns."