Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 299: The Golden Goddess

The moment their eyes met Emira’s everything came rushing back. What had happened when they had tried to defend Emira. What the Grand Witch had done...

All three men stood up and stepped away at the same time... Emira was their true mate. How could they have fallen under a spell and pushed her away into the arms of the Dark lord? How had they fallen into this trap even while staying alert all this time?

Ignoring Ramona’s soft look, the three men moved towards the edge of the podium, ready to step down. But the moment their boots brushed against the blue ring encircling the podium, the air cracked and an invisible force slammed into them and hurled them backward.

Zen stumbled two steps before catching himself. Kael hit the ground on one knee, stone scraping his palm. Lance barely moved, but the recoil rippled through his body, his jaw tightening as he steadied himself.

Zen was the first to turn. His burning gaze cut straight to Aron, "What is the meaning of this?"

Kael rose to his feet beside him narrowed his eyes even as his wolf snarled beneath his skin. "You trapped us," he said flatly. "Why?"

Lance did not speak at first. He studied the barrier, then Aron, then the crowd beyond the podium. When he finally looked back at Aron, his voice was cold. "Explain."

Aron did not look surprised. If anything, there was a faint curve to his lips, as though this was exactly how things were meant to unfold.

"Of course," he said calmly. "It is to prevent you from leaving your mate."

Shiqi’s breath caught sharply.

Aron lifted a hand slightly, gesturing toward the golden moon above them. "Come on," he continued smoothly. "Go ahead with the mating. Do not let the moon dull. The auspicious time will pass if you hesitate."

The words echoed across the courtyard. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Kael turned his head.

His gaze found Emira instantly.

She stood just beyond the barrier, frozen, her hands clenched at her sides. The golden and blue lights reflected in her eyes, making the tears there impossible to miss.

"That is what we are going to do..." Zen muttered quietly.

"Emira," Kael said quietly, his voice rougher than before. He took a step toward her before remembering the barrier and stopping short. "Come here."

Zen’s chest tightened as he looked at her. Lance’s eyes darkened, something fierce and protective stirring there.

The Grand Witch frowned. "What are you doing? No. She is not your mate. This is a trick of the Dark master. Princes. Please look carefully. The woman behind you is your mate."

But try as she might, none of them turned back. Not even when she tried to use compulsion on them... They continued to stand there, waiting for Emira...

Dam* it. She could not let that happen. If they chose the correct mate, Aron would be the one to benefit from it. He would take the power from Mira and become the ruler.. No... she could not let that happen....

She whipped around to look at the girl and said softly, "Mira.. Don’t go to them. They had their chance and failed to take it. And now, they have already ascended the podium. If you go now, things will become a mess. You must not let things affect you. Tell them to mate with the mate that they have chosen."

Before she could say more, Zen’s voice echoed, "Emira, we were under the influence of magic. You know that..."

Finally, as if waking up from a dream, Emira shook her head. "No."

Tears slipped from her eyes now even as she made no move to wipe them away. She lifted her chin instead, forcing herself to meet their eyes.

"No. I don’t care," she cut in, the words spilling out at last. "I don’t care if you were under the influence of magic. I don’t care if you didn’t know what you were doing. I stood there. And you protected everything I wanted to destroy. I would not forgive you. Go and mate with your precious Ramona. If you’d never had a doubt about me, then she would not have beenable to use it... So it is you who is at fault.

Zen took a step closer to the barrier, pain flashing openly across his face. "We didn’t understand," he said hoarsely. "Something was wrong. We—"

"Wrong or not," Emira said, shaking her head again, "the damage is done. If I come up there, I will only ever mate with the Dark Lord."

Aron watched the exchange with interest, his eyes gleaming. Shiqi stood rigid beside him, fury and fear twisting together in her chest as control continued to slip through her fingers.

No! That was the plan. That is why Aron was not pulling any tricks. As long as he was on that podium along with Emira, even if the three lords chose the wrong mate, they would not be punished. The Goddess would bless them. Because it would mean both had chosen differently from what she had blessed. It would be chalked to human foolishness.

And then, she would lose her chance to gain power. No! She could not allow that...

Her hands clenched. Enough. She was done with this. Now, this was her last chance she would have to step in herself!

Before anyone could react, her hand sliced through the air. White light burst forth like a blade, wrapped around Emira’s wrist and yanked her forward violently. Emira gasped as her feet left the ground, her body dragged several steps closer to the podium, the force bruising and merciless.

"Emira!" Zen roared.

Kael lunged instinctively, but the blue barrier flared again, throwing him back with a violent surge. Lance’s control cracked for the first time as power rolled off him in waves, the ground beneath his feet splintering faintly as he fought the instinct to tear the entire place apart.

But Shiqi did not stop. The white light curled around Emira’s body like chains, binding both the women together.