Page 25 of Her Destined Alpha (Alpha #3)

Rayhan

W e had gotten home, showered, and were sitting with fresh mugs of coffee made by my kitten and some store-bought brownies that were lying around.

The spell had shaken her. I had seen the fear and despair in her eyes and the way that flicker of hope had faded from them. We were sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace, our mugs in hand. The smell was welcoming, mixed with hers that I had become so used to…

“So, you really want to know?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ve been clear enough,” I said, tilting my head as I looked at her.

The black top she wore was clingy, and I was trying my best not to focus on the fact she was not wearing a bra, the fabric clinging to her boobs. Paired with leggings, the full black outfit made her look even smaller than usual.

She nodded and took a deep breath.

“I was an illegitimate child born of an affair or something. I have never known my birth mother. She left me on my father’s doorstep when I was a baby.

All I know is that from the start, I was called the daughter of darkness.

Maybe my mother was a dark witch, I don’t know, but I disgusted everyone.

My own so-called family treated me poorly.

I can’t really blame my stepmother; knowing her husband had had an affair, I was that horrible reminder.

“The Coven sealed most of my powers, considering me a danger… One of the high witches of the Coven in Salem made sure I learned to read and write. She was probably one of the rare ones who treated me well, but when we moved to England, there was no one to watch how my family treated me. They stopped my studies and pushed me into cooking and cleaning. My elder half-sister and stepbrother made it a daily pastime to bully me…”

I listened to her speak about her past in an emotionless voice, as if she was immune to these memories. Her gaze was fixed on her mug as she took a deep, shuddering breath and continued.

“When I was thirteen, I was sold to a warden.” A warden is a male born of a witch mother.

So, her family sold her? “He was trying to revive his dead wife. Being a dark witch, necromancy is a strong point, but if you aren’t trained, things can go terribly wrong.

I practised many dark spells, he even brought sacrifices to use…

after all, every life cost another…” The pain and guilt in her eyes made my heart clench.

She had been a child forced to commit crimes against her own will. Yet they called her darkness.

“I ended up killing him and reviving some sort of monster. I don’t know if it had any essence of his wife left…

but… I’d had to kill it too. I escaped from there, and it was shortly after that when Endora found me.

” From one abuser to the next. She had been through way too much shit.

It was time she actually got to live her life…

“You’ve been through a lot,” I said quietly.

“Well, after hearing what else I have to say, I’m sure any sympathy you feel for me will be gone,” she said with a more sardonic smile.

“Try me,” I challenged, taking a sip of my coffee. She had magic in her hands, no pun intended. The coffee tasted so damn good.

“You know how you keep saying that if it weren’t for my help, Endora would have done much worse?”

“Hmm.” I nodded

“Well, I’m the one who gave Endora the power she had.

I contacted the witches of the past. She wanted access to some dark magic, magic that I now know how to use.

She would force me until I reached my limits, I wasn’t allowed to stop until I had retrieved the answers she sought.

See this hair? I was born with brown hair.

She started pulling on my life force for some of the spells, and this is the result.

Her greed for dark magic and power drove her humanity from her… ” She shivered and took a deep breath.

“Sadly, apart from what I was taught as a child, everything else I’ve been taught was dark magic.

I guess I really am the daughter of darkness…

and now it seems the Coven wants me. Probably to punish me, to get the spells from me or to use me.

God knows.” Her voice was pained, despite how much she tried to hide it.

Her face held bitterness. Her mug rested on her knee as she drew shapes distractedly in the rug fur with her other hand.

“She tortured you and forced you to perform those spells for her. I don’t see how you can even be blamed for that.

Let alone hold that against yourself,” I said, reaching over.

I ran my fingers through her damp white hair.

“You should never have gone through any of that. I promise you, from now on, you’re not alone.

You don’t need to accept me as your mate, but as a friend, I am not letting anything happen to you.

We will get through this one way or another. ”

Our eyes met, and I saw the storm of emotions in hers. My hand was still threaded in her hair until she reached up and slowly moved it away.

“I don’t want to give you false hopes,” she whispered, looking down.

I knew what she meant; the chance that she’d never be able to accept me.

I didn’t believe that, though. She may not have realised it, but she was already letting me in.

She didn’t get repulsed at my touch. She was opening up to me.

I didn’t care how long it would take, I’d wait. Even if it was so goddamn hard.

“You don’t need to worry about me.” I winked at her, running my fingers through her hair. “I’d like to think we’re friends at least, and friends help each other.”

“I have nothing to repay you with, and a witch-”

“Always repays her debt. Well, this isn’t a favour. I’m just a friend standing by your side. And if you really want to repay me, you can keep making me these amazing coffees.” I raised my mug before downing it in one go.

Our eyes met, and she gave me a faint smile, but even that one small gesture was enough to make my heart race. It lit up her face, and she looked breath-taking. I reached over, pulling her closer by the back of her head, and kissed her forehead softly.

“Things will get better. I promise. We will figure something out.”

I swear... it will. No one is going to continue to hurt my Luna and get away with it.

The following day , I was waiting outside Delsanra’s room. We were meant to be getting to work. That morning I had stopped at the shops to get myself a red button-down for tonight, and I had picked out a dress for her… but she seemed to be taking forever.

“I don’t think this fits,” her voice called out. I raised my eyebrow. Impossible…

“Let me see,” I said.

“No-”

Yup, I just opened the door and stepped inside only to stop dead in my tracks.

If she had looked gorgeous before… I didn’t know what to call her right then.

She looked stunning. She had applied a little of the makeup I had bought for her; I could see the touch of shimmer on her lids with the mascara and eyeliner, thanks to Rose for helping me out with what to get.

She had her hair up in her usual bun, and the dress looked just perfect, as if it was made for her.

It had a boat neckline and long fitted sleeves, was fitted to her waist, emphasising her perky round breasts and tiny waist, then flared out.

The top layer of the skirt was slightly shorter than the underneath net layer.

She wore the black tights I had gotten for her and black heels.

She stood with her toes turned in, tugging at the skirt of her dress, looking completely unsure.

“It looks a bit…”

“Too fucking sexy…” I murmured. I swallowed hard, trying not to stare at her body.

Our eyes met, our hearts were racing in sync, and it took all my willpower not to pull her close and kiss her. I looked away, trying to distract myself from the lust-filled thoughts that were threatening to consume me, and spotted the open make-up on the bed.

“One more thing, and then you’re done.”

“I have never worn something like this.” I glanced at her. It wasn’t overly fancy, yet I could see why she would say that. She had spent her life with barely anything. She stroked the fabric of the sleeve. “This must have been expensive?” she asked suddenly.

“Not at all,” I said, grabbing the liquid lipstick.

“Umm, I didn’t use that because it seems messy…” she said, stepping back.

“No, my sister wears it all the time. It dries up once it’s on the lips. Even if we made out, it wouldn’t budge,” I replied with a smirk.

Her cheeks flushed as I opened the tube. I hope watching Raihana countless times taught me something… Yes, I was an alpha who was about to put red lipstick on my mate. I smiled slightly as she looked at it nervously.

“I… let me try…”

“You lost that chance, Kitten. Now, don’t move,” I ordered, taking hold of her chin.

I swear Raihana puts something else on first… a pencil or something? No idea. Anyway, let’s do this.

It was way harder than it looked. I had no idea how Raihana did this in a moving car... it was a talent in itself. But the best part was the closeness, I got to admire the shape of her lips… her cupid’s bow… how soft her lips were…

After a few painstaking minutes, I had to admit I did an impressive job, having outlined her lips perfectly with the lip colour before filling them all in.

Her heart was racing, and only then did I realise how close we were standing. My hand still held her chin and I slowly looked into her eyes, my stomach twisting as I tried to control my emotions. I swallowed hard when I saw her gaze flicker to my lips before she looked away.

“Now you look like a sexy little doll,” I whispered. Her heart hammered as she looked into my eyes. “As I said, the most beautiful woman I have ever set eyes on.” One whom I want to kiss the very breath out of.

She raised an eyebrow as she tugged free, her cheeks tinted with a hue of pink. She turned and looked in the mirror.

“I… thank you…” she said hesitantly. I gave her a warm smile.

“Now, if you’re done, shall we get to work? I can’t even use the car, we’ll need to hurry.” She nodded, grabbing her jacket.

“Let’s go. Coleen hates anyone being late.”

“Got it.”

I sure was going to enjoy watching her tonight…