Alpha of her Heart

CHAPTER 8

SERIS WAS STILL ASLEEP under the warm sheet and soft mattress when a dream came without warning. Her breath was steady, but then her head started pacing back and forth on the pillow.

She saw herself—no, a younger version of her that she couldn’t remember. Her body was small. She became a child again. Her bare feet on scorched earth.

Seris tried to touch the kid, but her hand didn’t touch the younger version of her. She looked at her hand and realized that she was just a soul.

“What was happening?” she asked as she looked around.

The world around her was a blur of smoke and screaming.

The forest was burning.

Dark silhouettes moved through the trees, their robes whispering, and their hands glowing with the color of blood-magic.

“Witches…” Seris whispered. A fear ran in her heart as she remembered the Poison Witch and how she tortured her in the dungeon and at the cold metal table.

The witches’ faces were shadowed, but their voices rang sharply in her ear.

“Take the child before her blood awakens!”

“The prophecy must be severed before it is rooted!”

Seris turned—no, not Seris… the little girl she once was, and there they were.

“Mom,” the younger Seris whispered.

Seris looked in the direction where the young Seris was looking.

A man and a woman.

“Mommy! Daddy!” the child Seris screamed.

Seris stiffened as he looked at the couple in front. “They are my parents?” she asked, as she couldn’t remember them.

The woman’s face—Seris' mother— was streaked with tears, and her voice fierce even through the fear.

“Run! Seris, run!”

The man—Seris’s father—was standing protectively before his wife and child while blood dripped from his side.

But the kid version of Seris didn’t move, as if her legs wouldn’t listen. Her tiny hands clutched the moonvine necklace around her neck.

Suddenly, magic flared around her. Screams followed, and she saw it all. Her mother’s body collapsed, her mouth still moving in a word Seris couldn’t hear, and her father shifting, lunging, then falling under the crushing force of spellfire.

Then Seris saw it. A red-robed witch reached for the young Seris. “You were never meant to live, but I can make you live.”

While Seris was dreaming, Cassian entered the room. He stilled when she saw his mate—her veins beneath her skin glowed gold, like it was flowing like water.

Cassian immediately called for Elana to check his mate.

Seris lay asleep once more. Her breath was slow and steady.

Cassian stood at the edge of the room with his arms crossed. His ash-gray eyes locked on Elena as she gently withdrew her glowing hands from Seris’s wrist, the magic fading into her palm.

Silence fell into the room—until Elena finally spoke. “The poison in her veins was fading, Alpha. I can feel the power of healing with her. She could heal herself. It’s just that the Poison Witch did something to Seris, so her healing power won’t work. But after meeting you, Seris’ healing power was unlocked.”

Cassian sighed in relief. It was good that his mate was recovering. That’s what he wanted to hear.

“As I told you, Alpha, she’s a hybrid.”

“What do you mean?” Cassian asked as his jaw tensed.

Elena met the Alpha’s gaze without flinching. “The blood in her veins was a forbidden union. She was born of both a werewolf and a witch. It’s rare and dangerous. The prophecy also spoke almost thirty years ago. And the Council of werewolves and witches has outlawed such bloodlines for generations.”

Cassian fisted. “What?”

Elena stood. “Alpha, if the Werewolf Council finds out or the Witch Council, they won’t hesitate. They’ll see her as a threat. They’ll come for her.”

The Rogue Alpha didn’t blink. “Then let them try,” he said as his voice was as cold as steel. “I’ll protect my mate.”

Elena sighed as she glanced at the sleeping Luna.

Cassian looked at the Witch. “Can you seal it?”

Elena blinked. “Alpha?”

Cassian stepped forward. His gaze was sharp with intent. “I want her to live a normal life, Elena. I don’t want those who want her dead to track her by her scent, spell, or blood. Seal her powers. At least the witch part.”

“Are you sure, Alpha?” Elena asked as her brows furrowed.

“Yes.”

Elena looked down at Seri’s sleeping face, peaceful for now, but unaware of the power running wild in her veins. “I can only seal her witch power, Alpha. I can’t suppress her wolf. That part of her won’t stay hidden.”

Cassian’s lips curled—not into a smile but something fiercer. “That’s a good thing. Thank you, Elena.”

Elena bowed her head, accepting the Alpha’s order. “I’ll do it tonight, Alpha,” she said as she turned and left without another word, leaving the Alpha standing alone in the room.

Cassian walked to Seris’s bedside, knelt beside her. His hand brushed her hair away from her cheek, but she didn’t stir. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this. You don’t know what is coming,” he murmured. "But you won’t face it alone. I’m here, and I’ll be here with you.”

And as the moonlight spilled across her face, Cassian made a silent vow. No one will take her from me.

AS THE CLOCK STRUCK at midnight, the guest chamber had been cleared. The curtains were drawn, and the walls were painted with shadows and runes made of ash and salt. The air smelled like lavender.

Seris was still unconscious and unaware of the decisions made in her name.

As Elena started the ritual of sealing the witch power within Seris, Cassian stood at the doorway, silently watching.

“Alpha, even if I seal it, but if she was stimulated, her witch power would resurface, and by then, everyone will know who she was. But sealing her witch power will save her this time.”

Cassian nodded. “Do it.”

Elena turned to the girl on the bed. She brushed her fingers over Seris’s brow. “Forgive me, little one. This isn’t to hide what you are, but it’s kept you alive long enough to choose for yourself.”

She touched Seris’ chest—just above her heart. Light bloomed beneath her palm. Her other hand appeared with a small blade and gently cut against Seris’s palm, drawing a single drop of blood.

The wind that wasn’t wind circled them, and the air pulsed like a heartbeat.

Then Elena began to chant, “Seal the power within you, let it sleep until time and choice rise from the deep.”

Seris’s body arched once, then stilled. Her heart glowed, then it was gone.

The room went silent and still, as if there had been no wind earlier.

Elena exhaled and wiped the sweat on her brow. “It’s done, Alpha.”

Cassian was already at Seris’s side. He pressed his hand on her cheek. He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he can be at ease that no one will know that Seris was a hybrid.

“She’ll wake up soon and feel lighter. Emptier maybe, but safe.”

Cassian nodded slowly. He fished out the moonvine pendant from his pocket and put it on Seris. The necklace glowed as if it were recognizing its master, and then went still.

Suddenly, Seris moved and caught Cassian’s hand, brushing her cheek.

Cassian stopped and thought Seris was about to wake up, but she was just holding his hand.

A faint smile appeared on Cassian’s lips, and he took Seris’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Rest well, little one. And wake up without any worry,” he whispered as he placed her hand.

Cassian stood and walked towards the window. He drew the curtains to the side of the window frame. And the moonlight spilled across the room.

The Rogue Alpha stayed with his mate until the morning came.