The Alpha's Curse The Enemy Within

It was already twilight. Darkness had blinded everywhere and the sky had a full moon hanging on it. | was in the cave along with Nikolai and his entire coven of witches.

We had made preparations for the ritual already, and all that was left was the presence of the young female. Everyone was cautious and ready. Tonight's ritual was important. For Vladimir and the Dark Circle. It was important for me too, and deep down the comer walls of my heart, | hoped for my desired result.

jerked from my thoughts when the cries of the young female filtered into the cave and she was dragged in by the witches and dressed in black. | was told she goes by the name, Lily. She was forced into the creek filled with crystalline waters conjured by the power of the four phoenix stones. There was an enormous magic coursing through the place. It was dark and powerful, and precisely what was needed for tonight's ritual.

“She is all yours,” Nikolai turned to me.

I walked closer to the creek, pulling down the hood covering my brown hair. My gaze caught that of the female in the water and the witches took their positions around the water. It was time.

This wasn't my first time anchoring this ritual. | had anchored it several times after my arrival here in Oasis. And | was beginning to lose count of the number of times | had anchored it. But unfortunately, none of the rituals yielded the result Vladimir desired.

None at all. It was either the vessel was too weak or the magic wasn't strong enough to contain it.

We were about to perform a kind of ritual that was deemed impure and dark a thousand years ago. A resurgent ritual. A necessary ritual that would give Vladimir what he wanted and that was access to Shota's magic.

It was one of the darkest and most powerful magic that had existed

at the earliest dawn of magic itself. | had no idea it even existed. It was only a week after | arrived at this place that Vladimir brought me here and apprised me of everything. His plans and the future he envisions for our realm. It was so impeccable that | couldn't refuse to help.

“Let's begin,” | said, as | began to channel the magic of the four phoenix stones. They were ancient stones that held great magic and all four stones together were capable of performing great impossibility.

The witches began chanting, while Nikolai took a step backward. He wasn't part of tonight's ritual. I channeled enough magic and the magic from the stones surrounded the water. The pleas and screams from the young female were muffled by the witches’ chants as we began our work. She was struggling in the water in fear, her magic was fighting against the power of the stones, trying to break free.

The witches’ chants intensified and all of a sudden, she sprung out of

the water, but | used my magic and held her still in the air.

Jaskier, one of the coven witches brought the dagger to be used specifically for this ritual. | took it from him, moving closer to the young girl's body that was dangling above the water.

As 1 brought the blade to her neck, I heard her crying voice at the back of my mind. “Please, help me. Please, | don't want to die," Her eyes welled with tears as | pressed the sharpness of the dagger to her neck.

“Your death is the only way for you to live,” Without hesitating, I slit her throat, and her body fell back into the water, her blood mixing with the water.

I moved back to the runic symbols with the dagger smeared in her blood. | continued with the witches’ chants and her blood moved from the dagger, dropping on the runic symbol which glowed brightly, causing the water that has been mixed with the girl's blood

to boil rigorously.

We continued the spell, reaching its peak when every torch in the cave died instantly, leaving us in darkness. This had always happened during every one of our rituals. Once again, the ritual didn't work.

The torches lit back on, and Nikolai moved closer to me.

“What could have happened this time?" his dark eyes tuned on me.

*I don't know. Maybe we still haven't found the right vessel," | muttered, turning to Jaskier and a few witches. "Get rid of the body,” My eyes fell once more on the young female floating in the pool of her blood, before exiting the cave.

1 left the Dark cave, getting on my horse. It was still at the peak of midnight and the full moon was still up. I held on to the reins of the horse, feeling the usual pain from the scar etched on my palm. It was already a reminder of what needed to be done.

We headed towards the Fortress, passing through the village where the prisoners are held before they are taken for their training. Even so late at night, they were still training under the supervision of the Dark Circle army.

I kept on moving on my horse, taking the path to the square that led to the Fortress when I saw it. The arrow that was headed my way at great speed, aiming at me. | had a few seconds to move out of the way but for some reason, | didn't want to. | watched it as its pointed head pierced my shoulder.

I heard the deafening sounds of chaos breaking around. Sybil and Kali surrounded me while the warriors around lunged at the prisoners. But | remained frozen on my horse as | held the arrow | pulled out from my shoulder. It was covered with my blood, and the other end of the arrow had a small attachment to its side. It was a small crafted symbol of a place | never thought I'd see in a long while. | felt my cold hand tremble as | fought the urge to gaze into

the crowd of prisoners that were handled by the warriors.

My heartbeat began to drum in a different rhythm as | tried my hardest to repress my emotions that were about to resurface.

As Sybil and Kali rushed closer to my side, | used my magic and turned the arrow into dust, sticking the small object to my dress.

Before they could ask, | spoke. “I am fine. Let's keep moving." 1 kicked my horse in motion, moving at a fast speed until we reached the Fortress. | absconded my horse, and hurried to my chamber, shutting the door close.

1 pulled out the small crafted object, having the shape of a moon, a crescent moon. Just at the sight, | heard my heart drum harder in my ears and a presence deep within my soul began to rise to the surface and my eyes glowed a blinding shade of blue.

I shut my eyes. "No! Stay hidden,” | whispered more to myself, calming my emotions and locking them away. But it was harder to control the presence that wanted freedom. “Oh please, don't be foolish, stay putt” | warned, as usual, it was as stubborn as a mule.

1 was about to speak again when | felt the lurking presence of my mate. He was almost at the door; | pulled my eyes open and they were still having their blue glow. “Enough!” | yelled, getting full control of my body. The small crafted object vanished from my hand as my eyes returned to normal, and just then, the door pushed open and Vladimir stepped in.

His piercing golden eyes took me in as he hastened closer to where | was. He was beyond furious. | could feel his rage from the mate bond. His gaze fell on my shoulders covered with blood.

“I heard. Every one of those mutts will pay for that blood on your dress," He counted each word so calmly. And | need not ask what he meant by those words. | already had an idea.

My silence brought his gaze to mine and he bored down at me as if wanting to take a peek into my very soul. | breathed in deeply, placing my arms around him.

“Tonight's ritual didn't go as we would have hoped,” I sounded, and his gaze pulled from mine and his lips found my neck.

“I heard," | could note the disappointment in his voice. He pulled away a little and his eyes found mine. "Don’t worry too much about it, Nikolai has another way to go around it," His words caused a knot in my chest and | fought so hard to keep my emotions stable and transparent. His lips swallowed mine as he picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bed, kissing me.

I tried to get lost in the moment. But it was hard to. | didn't know which worried me more, the raging presence deep in my soul or the crafted object | had received which | could smell was a trap. It wouldn't be the first time. If | knew that already, then why do | feel so restless?