Chapter 41

Alpha Calle

I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the school clinic and saw Daphne lying motionless on a bed. Her clothes were torn and tinged with blood, and her face was pale as snow. She looked like she had been through hell herself. My heart ached at the sight of her; I felt so helpless, and there was nothing more that I could do for her at this moment other than simply be by her side.

"If only I had protected you better... " I crouched beside her, cradling her in my arms, as hot tears streamed down my cheeks onto hers—salty, stinging droplets of sadness that seemed to soak away into an eternity of blackness. My throat ached with the weight of all this sorrow, but still. I could not stop weeping for what I had done—or rather, for what she did because of us.

All around me were trying to console and comfort me, but I couldn't hear them over the howling of my wolf within. It felt like a part of myself had been ripped away; that nothing would ever be alright again without her by my side.

The guilt weighed heavy on me as tears streamed down my face unchecked. No amount of comforting words or gentle hugs could ease my pain right now.

"Daphne…" My hands were shivering as I cupped her face. I didn’t hesitate to drop my head and plant a gentle kiss on her cold, parted lips, hoping that my breath could give her another life. "My mate, my love. This was all my fault!!!"

"Alpha Calle." The pack doctor's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to him angrily. "You cannot blame yourself for what happened."

"Yes, I can," I said miserably, wiping away the tears that were falling down my cheeks. "If only… If only I had been there with her, she would still be alive. But I hadn't been there because I was too busy leading the pack. And now she’s gone forever!"

"There is nothing you could have done, Alpha," Miss Amelia insisted firmly. She just barged in, together with Kyla and Kurt whose eyes were swollen like their aunt’s. "It… it was her time to go. I got a vision of her death the moment you left the office."

I shook my head in disbelief; how could she say such a thing? "It didn't matter if it was her time or not. She shouldn't have died! Not like this!"

I waited for her to answer back, but tears inhibited her from speaking, so I turned to the doctor. "Tell me what the hell happened here!"

She gasped before responding. "It… it turns out Suzette's dark magic infiltrated our school in search of revenge for one reason or another. But… but due to Daphne's quick courage and strength, they have driven away." She took a step forward, reaching for Daphne’s lifeless hand. "The souls of the students’ had been restored because of our Luna."

I looked up at her and noticed that she was gazing at the exposed cobalt blue mark sitting on Daphne’s neck. When I looked around, everyone tore their gazes from us and instead glanced down.

They were now recognizing Daphne as my Luna.

Rage exploded from within me like an inferno begging to be released. Every fiber of my being burned with rage as I considered how much damage Suzette had already done to us!

With single-minded determination, I marched towards the door, setting off immediately towards finding Suzette…no matter where she may f*cking hide.

***

After a few tense moments outside the entrance of the forest, I turned to Beta Degen. "Find out where Suzette is hiding," I commanded gruffly.

Beta Degen nodded silently as he and his men set off into the darkness of the woods, eager to locate the witch quickly before she spread evil again.

My mind was already set on punishing Suzette like no one has been punished before. Maybe instead of killing her outright, it’s better to imprison and torture her first, not giving her food or water until she admits fault for filling my mate, or until death finally claims her body. Regardless, even though the witch was dead, my grudge against her would stay forever.

Amelia was behind me when suddenly, I heard her gasp. It was like she'd been struck by lightning! She looked up at me, wild-eyed. "I just saw something!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "Suzette is heading north toward a coven! We must hurry!"

Gritting my teeth, my eyes focused northward into the horizon as I immediately mind-linked my Beta. "Degen, she's heading to the north of the continent."

‘Copy, Alpha.’

"Wait," I said. "I don’t want to wait for my a*s here and wait to die. I’ll come with you."

‘But—’

I cut the line before Beta Degen could protest.

Before I headed to the woods, Amelia touched me on the shoulder. I frowned at her. "You are not stopping me, Amelia ."

"I’m not." She shook her head, her hand still on my shoulder. "I’m only giving you protection since you are about to face a dark witch. You need all the possible powers to assist you."

"What do you mean? You’ll go give me witch power?" I asked, intrigued.

"I cannot do that, Alpha. Witch powers can only be passed through hexes and complicated rituals. What I’m sharing with you is a talisman." She opened her hands, exposing a necklace made of roots and a pendant of a black pearl. "Trust me. It will block Suzette’s spell against you. Unfortunately, I can only provide for you, so the magic is concentrated and effective."

"That’s fine," I said with a half smile, and I put the necklace around my neck. At first, it felt just normal. Nothing special. But after a few seconds, I could feel my strength increasing.

"One more thing, Alpha," Amelia added before I went towards the woods. "If she becomes uncontrollable, find a mandrake plant."

I nodded, not bothering to ask what to do with that mandrake plant since I was seriously in a rush. I could figure it out later when I came to see it on the spot.

***

The night was dark, and I had been following Beta Degen for an hour now. Finally, I had reached his troupe, and Beta Degen immediately turned around when he saw me, an unforgiving look spreading across his face like wildfire.

"Alpha," he said sternly, "What are you doing here? It's too dangerous for someone not immune to these spells that lay above this place."

"I need to be here," I said sternly, refusing to back down so easily. "Nothing would stop me from serving justice to my mate and pack."

We traveled all night through the forest, stopping only briefly to rest. The further we got from our home territory, the more hostile the environment became. More than once, we were attacked by creatures that seemed straight out of a nightmare; but fortunately, Degen and I were both skilled fighters, and we made quick work of them.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity searching through old mansions and cursed forests, we arrived at the Silver Moon coven, where Suzette was hiding out. The men seemed terrified as they witnessed the strange creatures that lurked within its walls, but my body remained immune to their spells due to some form of magical protection granted by Amelia before setting off on this mission.

I gestured toward the old mansion looming ahead of us ."We have no time. The witch will take none gently if we don't reach her first!"

After shifting to our wolves, we charged forward with full force.

Beta Degen was side by side with me when I mind-linked him. "Go find a plant called mandrake. It will help us get to that witch."

He nodded and changed direction.

Soon after crossing onto the grounds' property line, I and my pack halted. A few minutes later, spells hit each of us differently than others. Some of them howled, while others went still right away.

"No, no, no!" For a few seconds, I felt useless. Agony ensnared me when I watched them transform back into unconscious humans. I had to do something to save them!

"What a sweet visit, darling…"

My fists clenched tightly as Suzette penetrated my thoughts. "Get out of my head, witch! Instead, surrender at once!"

"Oh, I thought you were here to win me back. Your little slut is dead, anyway."

"And it’s your fault!" I roared, charging forward to the mansion.

She was wearing a red coat when I found her standing at the bottom of the staircase. When she turned around, she had a hurt expression on her face, and when we came face to face, her eyes grew wider. I started to think of her as the devil after she killed my mate.

Dark slammed into her with full force. We both fell to the floor and struggled for a few moments before I pinned her down.

"What do you want?" she spat as she tried to get free from my grip.

"I want justice for my mate and pack." I growled, "You won't get away with this! Now tell me how to break the spell you placed on them."

She snickered and shook her head. "It is impossible," she laughed mockingly, "Your pack will be cursed forever unless you make a powerful sacrifice."

I bared my teeth in disgust. "Tell me! Or else this coven will be the home of your dead body! Do you still want further damage?"

Her shoulders stiffened. She seemed confused upon staring back at me. Maybe she was wondering why her dark magic wasn’t affecting me. No, I’m no longer under her stupid spells!

"But I was already damaged the moment you dumped me. So might as well we all die here!" she shrieked, holding her chest. Then she raised her head, and her eyes turned pitch black as she began chanting strange words. "I’m handing him to you. He’s the living sacrifice I’m giving to all of you."

"What the hell?" I gritted. The next thing I knew, an eerie mist filled the room, forming a human-shaped creature. It tried to smash in my direction, but I managed to sprint backward.

‘This is the same entity that attacked Daphne,’ Dark roared. ‘Suzette’s the one controlling it, so she’s the one that must be killed.’

With that, Dark surged toward Suzette. But the huge shadow blocked my way, and before I could avoid it, I was thrown to the wall. I might be immune to the spells, but not to the creatures around her.

"Finish him at once!" I heard Suzette order the shadow impatiently. "You can have his body and copy him exactly when you defeat him!"

"N-no way," I hissed, trying to stand. However, it seemed that I got a serious injury from the impact. I realized it when I shifted back to human. I was starting to bleed, soaking my body with warm liquid.

I wasn’t afraid to die. But I didn’t want to die while evil was still around. Somebody must help us.

Just before the shadow laid a hand on me, a disturbing shrieking sound brutally sliced through the air. I covered my ears and watched the area. That was the moment I noticed the shadow diffusing like a cloud of smoke until it eventually vanished. Suzette, on the other hand, fell to the ground unconscious. The ancient spell was broken almost immediately, and one by one, each of my pack members were restored to their wolf form.

A few seconds later, my bones started to heal. When I stood, Beta Degen mind-linked me.

"You should have told me the mandrake screams like hell," he chuckled.

I shook my head and exhaled, relieved that my beta was safe. "I didn’t know either."

When I noticed that Suzette was starting to stir, I grabbed her roughly and pulled her towards me; she struggled weakly against my grip, but she was no match for my strength. "For the last time, Suzette, I’m giving you the chance to yield to avoid more damage to this coven," I growled menacingly as I took a grip on her wrist and forced her to stand up, tugging her toward the entrance. She screamed hysterically and fought against me every step of the way, but there was nothing she could do to resist her fate.

I pulled Suzette away, and the others followed me, equally determined to end this problem once and for all.

***

We traveled for hours until we reached the catacombs, near our pack house. It was Amelia who welcomed me back. She gave me a quick hug, her eyes misty as she scanned Degen and my warriors.

"I'm so glad you are all safe."

"Thanks, Amelia. I patted her shoulder and tipped my chin in Suzette's direction, who was carried by Degen. "Now I want you to sedate her so she stays weak. We don't know if she has more magic to use against us."

Amelia nodded, waving her hand.

Then Degen placed her in the cell. No matter how gentle he was, Suzette still woke up.

"Where am I?" Suzette asked weakly, her eyes wild with fear as she took in her surroundings.

I scowled at her. "You're not going anywhere," I said gruffly. "It's time to face justice."

Amelia stepped forward, her expression serious. "You have caused untold suffering and destruction in your quest for revenge." She paused for a moment before continuing, her voice steady and strong. "You will face the consequences of your actions now."

Suzette started to tremble as tears streamed down her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she just hung her head in defeat.

"Amelia is right," I said firmly as I moved closer to Suzette. "No matter what kind of power you have or whatever spells you can cast, none of it matters anymore." I stared deeply into her eyes as I spoke, my voice firm but gentle at the same time, letting her know that this was not an empty threat either of us could take lightly.

Amelia's magic worked at making Suzette hallucinate for a while. Regardless, I wasn't used to seeing her behave like a broken and fragile child—nothing like the powerful sorceress who had threatened our lives only moments ago. But reality quickly brought me back to my senses; she had hurt countless people without a second thought, and there would be serious repercussions for it all.

Anyway, I hope she will no longer manipulate us all.