Page 79 of Her Destined Alpha (Alpha #3)

“Yeah, freedom of fucking speech or some shit like that, I can do what the fuck I want. Oh wait… freedom of speech or not, I’d still do whatever shit I want,” he said, with an arrogant shrug. I rolled my eyes. Seriously, this man…

“Well, your royal highness, don’t butt in. We need her help. We do not need to anger her,” I muttered.

“She’s right, Uncle, please,” Raihana added.

“Listen to the women, unless the Lycan King wishes me to leave?” Janaina said coldly.

”No, we will stay out of it. We need your help,” Rayhan said firmly, giving his uncle a look.

“What do you want in return?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“I need you to get me an audience with the Coven first, with the guarantee of full protection,” she said.

My eyes flew open, my heart thudding. That was not what I was expecting... going back there…

“Done,” Rayhan said confidently. Everyone’s heads snapped towards him.

He crossed his arms, looking at her. “I have unfinished business there anyway, and there are certain truths I want to bring forward in front of that Council. This just works even better. But don’t you think helping us with these two first gives us a better chance of facing them and asking for a Council meeting? ” Rayhan challenged.

He had a point…

“True…” Janaina frowned.

“You have our word that we will get you that meeting. Can I ask exactly why you want it?” Rayhan asked firmly. She seemed to hesitate before she spoke.

“I am tired of running for something I have never done. Evading the Coven is hard. The moment I know they are on to me, I’m fleeing once again. I’ve grown tired of it all. I just want to rest…” she said. Her eyes looked distant, and I nodded, glancing up at Rayhan.

“Fine. We will get you that meeting. Will you help us?”

“Very well, I will. But it will take time. Learning magic takes years, and if we are to even make a dent in all I can teach you, then we must hurry. The witches’ uprising is growing closer.”

“Uprising?” I asked sharply, my stomach twisting in fear. She looked up as we all exchanged looks, Raihana’s heart beating in fear.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know… the Coven plans to eliminate all werewolves in existence.”

“And how the fuck are they planning on doing that?” the King retorted coldly.

“By using every witch in their power. They have spells strong enough to render us lone witches puppets in their schemes if they so wished. That is why they are hunting us out. I was once meant to be one of the high witches… but I was framed and forced to run or die.”

I felt chilled. Was that why they had tried to pretend to be nice to me, the reason they were searching for me? To use me? I felt sick at the thought. They really were just manipulative…

“Then it’s time we knocked those fuckers on their sorry asses and showed them that the werewolf race is here to stay. If anyone’s fucking dying, it’s them,” the King growled.

“Or we weed out the snakes and expose them. Not all the Council is bad, right?” Rayhan asked, looking at me.

“It depends. Not all are… but the influence matters a lot,” I explained, and Janaina nodded.

“Then we rip the cotton wool from their eyes and make them see,” Rayhan replied coldly, frowning deeply. “And those who are hell-bent on attacking us, or have abused my mate, will fucking die.” For once, the same murderous aura was rolling off of both him and his uncle.

“Very well then. Our training begins now,” Janaina said, looking at the alphas. “You should leave. We will be here for a while.”

“I’m staying. You should head back,” Rayhan said firmly, glancing at his uncle. It was clear it was not up for any discussion. The King nodded. Looking at Janaina, he narrowed his eyes.

“Make sure you hold your fucking side of the promise. You know we always do our part,” he said coldly.

“I know. If it were not for that deal back then, I wouldn’t be risking something like this,” she shot back.

“You need us just as much as we need you,” I said confidently.

“Of course…” she replied, gritting her teeth. “Now, let’s not waste time. I know the perfect place to practice magic. I hope you are all ready for a little walk.”

“Ready as we will ever be,” I said as Raihana groaned.

My stomach fluttered with nerves. This is it, the start of some guidance … And I hoped we could cut the link that Endora had with Raihana…

Rayhan

She had led us to an underground cavern. The water from the sea nearby would enter the cave at times. If she hadn’t used her powers, we wouldn’t have even gotten in there. The path was made up of a rough, steep cliff edge. We definitely wouldn’t be discovered down there.

Uncle had dropped us off, checking the area out before heading back.

She had made the girls do a few simple things whilst I observed, clearly being told to stay out of her way.

Delsanra had told her about Raihana’s link to Endora, and Raihana had told her about her dreams and the spells.

Delsanra had just asked her if she knew why Raihana couldn’t shift properly, and even my curiosity was piqued at this.

“It’s simple. She is neither in touch with her wolf nor her given name,” Janaina said.

“Given name?” Raihana asked.

“Yes. Witches don’t choose names, we have given names. At birth, a spell is performed to contact our goddess, and she gives her daughters a name unique to them. Once you have your given name, I do believe it will help towards your shifting,” she explained curtly. Delsanra frowned.

“But Raihana said she felt immense pain when shifting. How does finding a name of her witch side have anything to do with her wolf?” she asked.

“She can’t shift without pain because she is lost without her given name. When she is complete by being blessed with her given name, then, in turn, I’m sure she will be one with her wolf side too,” Janaina said coldly, “Pay attention to what I am asking of you.”

“Yes,” Delsanra replied, focusing on whatever she was doing.

“So, the first thing we need to do is find my given name?” Raihana asked, from where she sat gingerly, her jacket laid out beneath her legs so as not to get dirty. She had been very unhappy about being out here in a grimy cave, but she wasn’t really in the position to act like a diva.

“Yes, once we cast the initiation spell and we are given your name, it should strengthen you, and then we can destroy the link between you and Endora.”

We all looked up at her sharply, and I saw the shift in Delsanra. Once again, emotions seemed to contribute to it. Janaina looked at her sharply.

“So… they actually succeeded…” she murmured more to herself than to us. I could hear her beating heart as she stared at Delsanra. I stood up, walking over to Delsanra, my protective instincts consuming me.

“What do you mean, succeeded?” I asked sharply.

She looked conflicted and intrigued at the same time as she stared at Delsanra, who stood up. I pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head as I stared at Janaina.

“You don’t even know what she is, and you’re embracing her?” she asked as if I was stupid.

“I have a pretty good idea, and it doesn’t really fucking matter,” I growled. My rage flared up.

“What am I?” Delsanra asked. She looked up at me sharply, our eyes meeting. The unspoken question was clear in her eyes: Why hadn’t I told her?

My gaze dipped down, and I shook my head. Fuck, she was distracting me with her deep red lips and those sensual looks… She looked away, and I knew she was upset with me.

“Born from darkness… do you really think you were called that for no reason? Do you even know why you are so strong? If you were a common witch, you would be dead by now, considering how much you went through.” Delsanra’s heart was thudding.

“I’m sure you will tell me…” she said quietly, staring at the elder woman.

“Well, back when I was at the Coven, certain members wanted to breed something so taboo that no one would dare talk about it. They had caught an interesting creature-”

“Stop it,” I cut in sharply.

“Why?” Delsanra said, pulling out of my arms. The way her words had started made my stomach twist; this wasn’t going to be a pleasant story. Couldn’t she break it to her gently?

“You don’t need to be so fucking harsh,” I said coldly.

“I don’t sugar-coat anything, nor is she a child to hide the bitter truth from. How about we ask her if she wants to know the full story or not?” she hissed.

“The full story. I can handle anything,” Delsanra said coldly, her chest heaving. Could she? She didn’t even look at me as Janaina gave me an icy stare.

“They had caught a creature they had been after for years. One they had put spells in place to summon and lure. Once it was in their hold, they held it captive.”

“What creature?” Raihana whispered.

“A demon.” I closed my eyes as the girls gasped. I looked at Delsanra, who had paled.

“Continue,” she said quietly. I reached for her, but she turned away. I didn’t miss the way she was trembling, her hands balled into fists. I didn’t like this... I stared at her, but she refused to even look my way. Her blazing eyes were trained on the older witch.