Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 277: The Stormhold Bowl

Inside Lance’s office, Kael and Zen sat in silence as Lance continued to stare at the woman in the office. The Great Witch. She wanted to meet Emira and know her whereabouts. Of course they were not going to tell her, so the three of them could only sit quietly and let her keep rambling on warnings about how dangerous Emira was since she was a dark witch. That they needed to stop her before she helped the dark lord.

So, while she continued to explain earnestly, not one of them was listening.

Their entire thoughts were focused on Emira. They had already been informed that she had entered the Ruins. Neither of them liked that knowledge. Not even a little. Both Kael and Zen had barely managed to stand inside the Ruins themselves for a few minutes. Emira had been inside for almost an entire day.

Their wolves paced endlessly, restless and agitated, urging them to go to her. To do something. Sitting here, waiting, felt wrong. It went against every instinct they had.

Suddenly they heard the voice of the guard through the link, "There is a strange golden light coming from the Ruins. And the sky above it has darkened."

All three of them stiffened at once. They knew it instinctively.

Something huge was about to happen. What they did not expect was for it to reach them so suddenly from so far away.

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the study.

Lance, Kael and Zen turned just in time to see the ceremonial bowl on the shelf shatter, its pieces crashing to the floor. For a moment, no one spoke. They simply stared at the broken fragments in silence.

Lance’s expression darkened for a moment, unsure what to make of it. The bowl had been passed down through generations of Stormhold Alphas. It was used to determine who was worthy of joining the pack. The last time had been for Emira.

Lance narrowed his eyes. How was the bowl related to Emira? Because he was sure there was some relation. After all, he had not forgotten when Emira had added her blood to the bowl. Or the way the bowl had seemed almost eager and hungry for her blood.

While the three of them were still trying to understand the circumstances that could have caused the bowl to shatter, the great witch screamed loudly and knelt down on the floor, "No!!!!!"

Just then the door to the study was pushed open and the Grand Witch walked inside. She stopped at the sight of the shattered bowl and her hands clenched. The woman kneeling on the ground, looked up then and whispered brokenly," Mistress. What will happen now? The dark master... the dark master has returned..."

The grand witch’s eyes hardened. She really dared.

She whipped around and glared at the three men who were even now standing there unconcerned. "What kind of fools are you! I warned you repeatedly to keep an eye on her. To be careful that she was of the dark witch blood. But you still covered up for her! And now! Look what she has done! She has freed the Dark Lord!"

Kael, Zen, and Lance stared at her in stunned silence. For a brief moment, none of them spoke. Freed.

The Dark Lord. The man called Aron?

Zen was the first to react to the Grand witch’s claim. "That’s not possible," he said sharply. "You’re assuming-"

"I am not assuming anything!" the Grand Witch snapped, cutting him off. Her voice rose, sharp and furious. "I can feel it. The binding is gone. The seal has been broken."

Lance finally moved. "You are saying she freed him," he said evenly. "On purpose."

The Grand Witch laughed. "Of course she freed him! Didn’t you listen to anything that I said last night? She will choose the Dark lord every time! Why did you not tell me that she had gone to the Ruins? Why did you not try to stop her?"

The Grand Witch laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Now. You better be prepared for it! Destruction. Chaos. Death. That is all that follows him."

She turned in a slow circle, glaring at all three of them. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The Dark Lord is not someone who can be controlled. Not by witches and not by wolves."

"I told you she carried dark witch blood. I told you she was dangerous. And what did you do?"

Her gaze burned into them. "You protected her. And now," she continued coldly, "everyone will pay for your foolishness. Packs will fall. Lands will burn. Innocents will suffer. All because you chose sentiment over sense."

Zen shook his head slowly. "You’re exaggerating."

The Grand Witch’s eyes flashed. "I am remembering."

Just then, Councilman Aldren entered the room and hurried to the Grand Witch. "Ma’am! I will kill Emira. I am willing to use my blood bond to her to bind her and capture the dark lord again."

"You will do no such thing. I will kill you before you can harm...." Kael growled at that.

But before he could say more, a cold smile appeared over her face and she removed her hand slowly from her sleeve.

The air in the room shifted.

Kael felt it first. A sharp pressure behind his eyes. Before he could react, the Grand Witch lifted her hand and whispered a single word under her breath. Magic slammed into them.

Kael’s vision blurred. The room tilted. His thoughts scattered as if someone had reached inside his mind and cut the strings holding them together. He tried to move, but his body refused to respond.

Zen sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes glazing over as the same force struck him. His wolf snarled inside his head, then went unnaturally still.

Lance stiffened. His jaw clenched as he fought it, but the magic was old and stronger.

All three of them stood frozen in place. The Grand Witch exhaled calmly, lowering her hand as if she had done nothing more than end an argument.

She then turned to Aldren. "Go," she said coldly. "Use the bond. Capture Emira. Bring her to me."

Aldren hesitated only for a second before bowing deeply. "As you command, Mistress."

He turned and rushed out of the study without another word. The Grand Witch walked slowly toward the frozen men and studied their blank faces with quiet satisfaction.

"You stood by her. You shielded her last time. And because of that, everything went wrong. What makes you think I will let you interfere again this time? Even though you did your best, you failed to protect her last time. This time, you will help me with what I want."