Chapter 179 CONTROLLED

Chapter 179 CONTROLLED
CONTROLLED

MARCELLA'S POV
“We just need to perform another ritual to make everything work perfectly,” the witch said, her voice calm but edged with tension. I groaned loudly, the sound almost involuntary.
“Another ritual?” I snapped, impatience and fury lacing every word. “How long is it going to take? I don’t have time for this. Every second wasted is a risk. Hayden might discover what’s happening at any moment, and I cannot allow him or anyone else to interfere. I need this done. Now. Do you understand? I don’t have time to explain or wait while you dawdle on some incantation!”
The witch’s eyes flicked toward me, assessing. “She’s—”
I cut her off with a sharp gesture. “She’s resisting. I know that already. But I don’t care! Hasten it. Make it work faster!”
She said nothing else. I tried to carry Mildred myself, lifting her surprisingly heavy body with a surge of stolen power. Her limbs were limp at first, but her aura still throbbed faintly with defiance. I laid her carefully on the same stone where the twins had been placed earlier. Their little bodies had been drained, fragile as porcelain, yet still alive, still clinging to consciousness despite everything I had done. The twins were on separate stones, their positions deliberately arranged so that I could absorb the remaining fragments of their power without interference.
“Please…” I muttered, my gaze fixed on the witch as she began the incantation.
The ritual required absolute concentration. Every word, every gesture, every pulse of magic had to be precise. But Mildred… Mildred’s strength made even the simplest spell falter. She whimpered, struggled, opened her eyes wide, and screamed—louder than I anticipated. The sound rattled me, reverberating in the stone chamber, shaking my resolve. Even with all the power I had stolen from the twins, I felt a sliver of fear. Mildred was formidable, more than I had ever imagined. Her fight against me earlier had been violent, sharp, and cunning. I had underestimated her.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, stepping closer to the witch.
Her hands shook as she continued chanting. “I… I don’t know. I can’t complete the incantation. Every time I try, she resists. She’s fighting. This wolf… her power is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. She knows something is being done to her. If I push again too fast, she could regain full consciousness. And if that happens… everything fails.”
I slammed my fist into the stone floor, frustration coursing through me. “Don’t you get it? I have no time! Hayden will soon be searching for her. I cannot risk anyone interfering. I need her subdued—now! Use everything at your disposal. You’ve already absorbed some of the twins’ power; you are stronger than before. I don’t care how much it costs you. Just make her submit!”
The witch shivered but nodded, raising her hands again. She stepped closer to the stone where Mildred lay, energy swirling violently around her, sparks of white and violet weaving into the air. Mildred’s eyes snapped open, and a scream tore from her throat, so loud that I instinctively flinched. But I forced myself to remain still, clutching the stolen power thrumming in my veins.
Her scream was deafening, a clear challenge, a refusal to bend. And yet, the ritual persisted. The witch chanted, her voice rising and falling, forming a rhythm that twisted around Mildred’s will, seeking to bind it. But Mildred was unrelenting. She fought every strand, every pulse of magic, her aura flaring like a wildfire, bright and consuming.
I watched, anger rising. How dare she resist? How dare she defy me? I could feel the tension in the air, the energy thrumming in response to her defiance. Every time the witch tried to push further, Mildred rebuffed her, clawing against the invisible chains, her strength shocking in its intensity.
“Do it! Do it! Use all your strength!” I yelled, voice breaking through the chamber like a whip.
The witch’s body trembled under the strain. Sweat rolled down her face, and her chanting became ragged, punctuated with gasps. She pushed onward, determined, unwilling to fail. Mildred’s limbs jerked violently, but slowly, imperceptibly at first, she began to weaken. The resistance faltered as the ritual’s magic pressed against her mind. Her eyes, once bright and defiant, began to dim, though her spirit flared stubbornly beneath the surface.
Minutes stretched like hours. My hands shook with anticipation, my pulse racing with exhilaration and fear. The witch’s energy was being drained as she forced the ritual to its limits. I could see her body beginning to falter, her strength waning. She was close to collapse—but so was Mildred.
Then, at last, a wave of calm swept over the chamber. The white light that surged from the witch’s hands engulfed Mildred, and for the first time, her body stilled completely. The witch collapsed to her knees, gasping for air, every ounce of her magic spent. I looked at her, momentarily disoriented. Was it truly done? Had we succeeded, or had the exhaustion caused everything to fail?
Mildred stirred slowly. Her eyes opened, and she sat up with precise, almost mechanical movements.
“Stand up,” I commanded, my voice sharp and unyielding.
She obeyed immediately, rising to her feet. Her gaze was fixed on me, unblinking, unyielding—but vacant. There was no defiance, no flare of spirit, no spark of rebellion. The wolf I knew—the woman I feared—was gone, replaced by a puppet of my will.
“What is your name?” I demanded, testing the control.
“Name… My name? I… don’t know,” she said, her voice flat, devoid of emotion. That single admission confirmed it. The ritual had worked. Full control. Her mind and body, bound entirely to me.
Her pale skin, once vibrant and alive, now carried a dullness, a uniform pallor. Her eyes, though still human in shape, glimmered with a faint artificial brightness. Every movement was precise, calculated, entirely mine to command. I allowed myself a smile. Everything was going according to plan.
The witch, now fully recovered from her collapse, rose slowly, a smile curling on her lips. “It was successful,” she said, voice weary but proud. “You have complete control over her thoughts, her body. Anything you desire, she will obey.”
I turned toward her, satisfaction tempered by urgency. “Good. Now, go back to the park. You know where it is, yes?”
She nodded.
“I want you to perform something very delicate. Go there and prevent the war between Afakael’s pack and ours from escalating. Claim that you couldn’t find the twins, and make it clear that I am not responsible. Convince them of that, and do it convincingly. Understand?”
“Yes,” she said, eyes flicking briefly to the twins, still lying drained and fragile.
I looked back at Mildred. Her gaze lingered on the twins as well, but it was vacant—without the warmth, concern, or rage she would have shown. It was proof. The control was absolute.
“Go now,” I said sharply. She stepped forward, her movements perfectly obedient, her steps precise. I followed mentally as she descended the mountain path, ensuring she went straight. Once she disappeared from view, I turned back to the witch.
“What’s next?” I asked, anticipation and hunger for power clear in my voice.
“Now we need to drain the remaining powers from the twins,” she said, voice hesitant.
I laughed, a low, dangerous sound that filled the chamber. “Do it. I don’t care if they live or die. Their energy is mine now. All of it. What don’t you understand? I want every last bit of it. After all, they and Mildred tried to defy me. Let them pay the price. I want them to remember that challenging me is fatal. Take it all. Kill them if necessary.”
The witch shivered but began the process. I knelt beside the twins, feeling the raw, potent energy thrumming faintly under my fingertips. Even in their weakened state, the magnitude of their power was staggering. They had always been extraordinary—more than anyone had imagined—but now it was mine.
I watched as the witch’s magic drained them, their aura dimming, their small forms trembling under the weight of my ambition. Their breaths were shallow; their bodies fragile, barely clinging to life. And yet, even in this state, I felt the latent energy within them, the potential for greatness. It was intoxicating.
The thought of Mildred, completely under my control, fueled my satisfaction. Soon, she would act according to my orders, manipulating events from the inside, ensuring that nothing stood in my way. Hayden, the park, the territory—they would all be mine to dominate.
“Now that I have complete control over Mildred,” I whispered to myself, a triumphant smirk spreading across my face, “I can manipulate everything from within. Nobody can interfere. Nobody can stop me. And soon… everything, everyone, will bend to my will.”
The twins’ power surged faintly one last time before fading, leaving me awash in energy and certainty. This was absolute dominance. Complete control. The beginning of an era where I would be unstoppable, untouchable, unrivaled.
I stood, chest rising with the stolen power, my aura flaring, my mind racing with possibilities. Everything was coming together. Everything was finally, perfectly under my command.
And yet, deep down, a tiny spark of caution whispered—a whisper I ignored completely.
Because power is
absolute… was intoxicating, and dangerous.