Taken by the Alpha: Return of the Witch

We ran as far from the castle grounds as we could in the dead of night. My heart pounded inside my chest, sending many shockwaves through my rattling bones.

My actions had barely felt like my own when I had snuck into the castle’s jail cells, stolen the keys, and broken a prisoner out.

I had deceived Lazarus, promising that the King had told me to relieve the poor man of his duties for the day!

Not only that, but I had gone against the King’s orders, too.

He forbade me from returning to the castle after learning of my interactions with Clarice, and yet I felt compelled, too.

In fact, creeping through the castle, I felt none of the emotions stir inside me towards Clarice that had once been ever so abundant in my heart.

All I wanted was to follow the voice that I heard whenever I closed my eyes and tried to leave the castle, as per the King’s orders.

I tripped into the mud, landing on my knees and elbows in a big, wet splash. It was raining, and I checked over my shoulder at the giant castle.

Through the windows, I could see the flickering flames of the candlelit ballroom, along with the silhouettes of bodies dancing back and forth.

Icy rain pattered on my head, drooping my hair over my eyes.

“Rettacus, darling, please get up!”

It was the same voice that had compelled me to enter the castle’s prison. The same voice that had taken control of my mind.

I glanced up to see the most dangerous prisoner that had ever existed.

“You heard me, didn’t you, dear Rettacus?”

Indeed, at the sound of her voice, all worry inside my heart vanished. A wave of calm swept over me, and I found not even the cold rain to be bothersome.

Clio smiled at me, and I merely shook my head, confused as to what was happening.

“Yes,” I finally answered, breaking away from my eye contact with Clio, “I have heard you, though I do not understand why your words charm me so.”

Clio smiled ear to ear, and seeing her do so made my heart beat faster and numb my worries.

For whatever reason, looking at her smile changed me.

She was extremely beautiful, far more beautiful than any woman that I’d ever seen. Her dark skin shined as the rain pattered against it, and her thick black hair was kept in a short bob.

She wore tight leather pants and a large white hooded shawl that exposed her midriff.

From just the way that she stood on that cliff side, her back straight and chest out, it made sense to me she was the sister to the King.

Clio approached me and extended her hand outwards.

“It is okay, Rettacus,” she said, her eyes shifting from a deep cerulean to the colors of soft and summery ocean waves.

The closer she got to me, the brighter her eyes became.

Such a transformation in her stunning eyes could only mean one thing, and I was not ready to accept that it was the case.

Still, Clio’s voice was sultry and sweet, and even mesmerizing.

“You know who I am already, darling,” Clio said with a large grin.

Each word made my heart flutter, and my hand gravitated toward hers without my control.

“Are you putting me under some sort of spell?” I asked, my throat growing dry.

For a moment, the only sound between the two of us was the crashing of the downpour. In the distance, the faint echoes of those celebrating in the castle could be heard.

Clio only smiled at me.

“Tell me!” I cried out, pounding my fist into the mud. “Is this a spell that you have put me under? Is that why I think you might be my…”

Clio shook her head. “Take my hand, and all shall be revealed.”

Years I had waited for that moment.

To be face to face with the one that I had spent my life looking for, yearning for, and being denied.

All because my brother wanted me to suffer.

Yet, here was what I had dedicated my life to find.

A man with such a muscular build and dark hair. He was soft-spoken, and his attitude seemed to be of a man who could do no wrong.

His eyes, which were typically dark, grew lighter and brighter as I approached.

Our fingertips were only an inch away from one another. Even then, I could feel the sparks, the sharp bolts of electricity shooting up past my wrist and all the way up my arm.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

“I don’t know why,” Rettacus said, “but I want to trust you.”

I grinned brightly. “You know why, my darling.”

Rettacus reached his shaky hand over to mine and took hold of it.

My head flew back with ecstasy, and my knees grew weak.

“Can it really be,” Rettacus said softly, a smile now growing on his face, “that you are my mate?”

I yanked Rettacus up to his feet and he took hold of me in his powerful arms.

“Don’t allow my words to convince you,” I said, pressing a finger over his heart, “allow instead for your heart to make that judgment.”

Rettacus set a hand over my cheek, inspecting me as if I might not be real. My heart rate thundered, and I wanted to pull him ever closer to me.

I wanted every part of him at that moment.

But we were still too close to the castle.

“Yes,” Rettacus said confidently, his bright eyes a marvel to gaze inside, “you are my mate. I can tell. I can tell because I’ve never felt this way before, and our glowing eyes cannot lie.”

Rettacus gripped both of my hands in his.

“I am so glad that you have found me,” he confessed, setting his chin over my head and hugging me.

I was melting at his touch, but I also felt invigorated.

I could finally defeat my dreaded brother and take over that castle once and for all.

“Fate brought us together,” I told Rettacus, “for I could sense that you were departing from the castle. A fondness in my heart grew weaker, so I used my magic to call out to you.”

Rettacus brought my chin up with his hand.

“I am so grateful that you did so,” he said, his eyes watering. “I had begun to think that you were not real and that I had no mate.”

“I am real, and right here!” I exclaimed, burying my head into his muscular chest.

Suddenly, Rettacus’s eyes went wide. “The King will kill us both if he finds us! We must run. I have only just been graced with your presence. I will not lose that now.”

I squeezed his hand and ran along with him.

“Then let us make haste, darling! We need to create a plan so that we may attack that castle.”

Rettacus paused and arched his brow. “Attack?”

I smiled deeply. “Oh yes. We will only be safe once Cerberus is destroyed.”