I stood in Alpha James’s study. The weight of ten years pressed against my chest as I prepared to say goodbye. “Tara,” Alpha James said, his brow furrowed with concern. “I know this has been unfair to you. Can you give Dean one last chance?” His voice carried the weariness of a father who knew his son had strayed too far. The anger flickered in his eyes as he added, “When that bastard comes back, I’ll break his legs myself.” I opened my mouth to decline when the door burst open. Dean stormed in, his tall frame filling the doorway. His handsome face twisted with irritation. “Tara, are you that desperate to get married? Can’t you even wait three years?” His voice dripped with contempt. “I promised Megan I’d stay with her for three years. Do you really want to turn me into a man who breaks his word?” The anger in his tone made me study him carefully. I searched for traces of the kind boy I’d met a decade ago, but that boy was gone. The man before me was a stranger. Ten years ago, Alpha James had saved my entire family from a pack of vicious Rogues. In gratitude, my grandfather arranged a marriage between me and the Alpha’s son. My rare witch bloodline could heal Dean’s crippled legs, though the magic would cost me ten years of my life. Back then, Dean was just a shy, disabled teenager. At our first meeting, he’d offered me a piece of candy with trembling hands. Something warm had stirred in my chest. Every year after that, he sent me gifts on holidays. Living deep in the mountain forests, I knew little of the outside world. Each present he chose filled me with joy and curiosity. But now everything had changed. Seeing my silence, Dean’s voice softened slightly. “Tara, we’re still young. Three years is nothing. Go see the world or whatever you want—just stay out of my way. But if you keep causing trouble, I won’t marry someone who can’t control her jealousy.” Alpha James’s face flushed with rage. He moved toward his son, fist raised. I stepped between them, my hand gentle on the Alpha’s arm. Then I turned to Dean. “I won’t force you,” I said simply. As a rare witch, I had no shortage of suitors. Dean thought his status as the Alpha heir and his wealth gave him power over me. He was wrong. Ever since he found Megan, his supposed fated mate, he’d wasted no time making her his Beta. He paraded her through parties and important pack gatherings without shame. I’d asked to dissolve our engagement multiple times, but Alpha James kept begging me to give Dean another chance. Now, after Dean had publicly humiliated me, I was finally ready to let go. Relief crossed Dean’s face as he nodded. He clapped my shoulder with false warmth. “That’s the spirit, Tara. Don’t worry. In three years, I’ll give you the grandest wedding this city has ever seen. I’ll make sure you have all the respect you deserve.” He left with Megan on his arm, looking pleased with himself. I pulled out my phone and scrolled to a contact I hadn’t used in years. My fingers moved across the screen with steady purpose. “The wedding with Dean is cancelled. Do you remember our agreement? Get ready to marry me.” The response came instantly. My phone buzzed with an incoming call. “Are you serious?” The voice on the other end was breathless, almost frantic. “You really don’t like that cripple anymore? You’re willing to marry me? You’re not just using me as a substitute, are you?” A soft laugh escaped my lips. “I swear on my witch’s honor. Is that enough?” Sharp, urgent breathing filled the line. “I’m coming to get you right now.”
I turned to pack my things, trying to push away the hollow feeling in my chest. My eyes fell on two tickets lying on the desk. Hawaii. The tickets Dean had finally agreed to after months of my pleading. It was supposed to be our honeymoon trip. A chance to start fresh. The door slammed open behind me. Dean stormed in and snatched the tickets from my hands. He tore them into pieces with sharp, violent movements. The scraps fluttered down onto my face like bitter snow. “Tara, I knew you hadn’t given up.” His voice was harsh with accusation. “Still fantasizing about dragging me on a honeymoon trip around the world?” Before I could respond, his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. His fingers dug into my skin as he pulled me close. “Tell me. What did you do to Megan?” My throat burned. I coughed, struggling to breathe. “Dean, you took her and left the wedding. I haven’t seen her since. What could I possibly have done?” His grip tightened. “You said you wouldn’t force me to marry you. Right after that, Megan collapsed with terrible stomach pain. She’s unconscious now. The pack doctors have run every test they can think of. Nothing. You’re a witch, Tara. You must have cursed her with some kind of dark magic.” I clawed at his hand, gasping for air. My words came out broken and desperate. “Dean, my magic can only heal people. It requires my own blood. My own life force. Do you really think I’m insane enough to waste my life hurting Megan?” Something flickered in his eyes. Disgust. He looked at me like I was something rotten. “You gave up ten years of your life to heal me. That was all about greed, wasn’t it? You wanted my status. My wealth. What wouldn’t someone like you do for power?” I stared at him, shock freezing me in place. This was how he saw my sacrifice. This was what my healing meant to him. Dean took my silence as confirmation. His face twisted with righteous anger. He dragged me toward the door, his fingers still bruising my arm. “You’re going to heal Megan right now. If you don’t, I’ll make you regret it.” He shoved me into his car. The drive to the hospital was a blur of speed and silence. The hospital room was crowded when we arrived. Megan lay on the bed, her face pale and twisted with pain. She clutched her stomach, soft moans escaping her lips. Doctors and nurses clustered around her, their voices low and worried. Dean kicked me forward. I fell to my knees in front of Megan’s bed. A knife clattered onto the floor beside me. “Use your blood to save her. Now. Or you’re not leaving this hospital alive.” I looked up at him. “Dean, I’m telling you. This wasn’t my magic. I can’t heal what I didn’t cause.” Every eye in the room turned toward me. This was Dean’s family hospital. No one would speak up for a witch. No one would defend me against the Alpha’s son. Before I could think of what to do next, Dean grabbed my arm. He picked up the blade. The metal bit deep into my skin, a long cut that made blood pour out in a hot rush. “If you won’t confess, I don’t mind draining you dry.” His voice was cold. Clinical. “Let’s see if your magic still works without any blood left in your body.” Pain shot up my arm. I forced the words out through gritted teeth. “Dean. I’m telling you one more time. I cannot save her.” A bitter laugh escaped me. Anger burned through the pain. “But here’s something to think about. If I die, how long do you think you’ll last?” His pupils contracted. His chest heaved with fury. Then his hand was around my throat again, squeezing. “So it was you.” His voice shook. “I need to teach you a lesson. Otherwise you’ll never leave Megan alone.” He waved his hand. Several werewolf warriors entered the room. Dean’s orders were simple. “Teach this witch what happens when she hurts innocent people.” The warriors closed in. Fists and boots connected with my body. Someone produced an iron rod studded with small spikes. The first strike across my back made me cry out. “Dean, I’ll report you to the police!” My voice came out raw. Desperate. “I’ll have all of you thrown in prison!” He laughed. It was a cold, empty sound. “The police won’t believe a witch. Everyone here will testify that you tried to murder Megan first. I’m only protecting my mate.” He took the spiked rod from one of the warriors. He raised it high. The rod came down across my back with brutal force. Agony exploded through my body. My vision went white.
I barely had time to catch my breath when Megan began moaning again from her hospital bed. Dean’s fury doubled. The spiked rod came down across my back again. “Are you going to save Megan or not?” Another strike. The pain was blinding. I collapsed completely, my body giving out. I forced the words through my teeth. “You’re a bastard, Dean.” Then something impossible happened. Megan sat up in bed. She climbed down, perfectly steady on her feet. She walked over to where I lay crumpled on the floor and placed her foot on my hand. Then she pressed down, grinding her heel into my fingers. “Tara,” she said sweetly. “So it really was you. The moment you started suffering, my pain disappeared completely.” She twisted her foot, crushing my fingers beneath it. There was no trace of weakness in her movements. No sign of the agony she’d displayed moments before. The medical staff gasped. “It must be true,” one doctor whispered. “The witch cursed Miss Megan. How else could she recover so suddenly?” “Exactly,” another agreed. “Dozens of us examined her. We found nothing. But the moment this witch got hurt, Miss Megan was cured.” Their words fed Dean’s rage. He struck me again and again with the rod. “Tell me what spell you put on Megan.” I managed a bitter smile. “I’ll tell you when you’re dead, Dean.” The truth was obvious. Megan had faked everything. The illness, the pain, all of it. She’d orchestrated this entire scene to force Dean’s hand against me. To make him choose her completely. To destroy any chance of reconciliation between us. She would only stop if Dean was dead. But Dean was blind to it. Love had made him stupid. My refusal to confess only made him angrier. “Tara, let’s see what’s harder. Your stubborn mouth or my iron rod.” He tossed the weapon to one of the werewolf warriors. “Lock her in the basement. Fifty strikes every day. No food or water.” The warriors moved immediately. They stuffed cloth in my mouth to silence me and dragged me toward the door. The warriors threw me into the basement and exchanged meaningful glances before leaving. I lay there, confused by their hesitation. Why hadn’t they started the beatings immediately? Then the door burst open again. Several rogues descended the stairs, their laughter echoing off the concrete walls. The look in their eyes made my blood run cold. I tried to scream, but one of them lunged forward and clamped his hand over my mouth. “Hurry up, boys.” “Make it quick. We’ve got money waiting.” Grimy hands pawed at my chest. A stinking mouth pressed against my face. Someone ripped my pants with a sharp tearing sound. Cold air hit my exposed skin. Shame and fury burned through me. I opened my mouth and bit down hard on the rogue’s face. His scream pierced the air. The others froze, then started slapping me viciously, trying to pry my jaw open. “Bitch! Let go!” I held on with everything I had. The injured rogue’s voice rose to a roar. “Beat her! Knock her out so she can’t fight back!” The rogues hesitated for only a second. Then fists and boots rained down on me from all directions. One grabbed my hair and swung a club. It connected with my skull twice with sickening thuds. Blood poured down my forehead. My vision blurred and darkened at the edges. A shocked voice cut through the chaos. “Stop! What are you doing?” Through the haze, I made out two figures approaching. Dean and Megan. I tried to speak, to tell Dean these rogues had tried to rape me. But my mouth wouldn’t form the words. The lead rogue’s eyes darted around quickly. Then he dropped to his knees in front of Dean. “We came to rescue the witch, Alpha. She contacted us with her magic. Promised to sleep with us if we freed her.” Dean’s expression turned thunderous. His eyes went cold and hard. The old rogue’s voice took on a whining quality. “She’s the one who told us where to find this basement. We came like she asked, but then she changed her mind. Said we were too dirty to touch her. That’s when the fight started.” Dean’s gaze swept over the scene. Then landed on me, clothes torn, lying broken on the floor. “Get out,” he snarled. “All of you. Now.” The rogues scrambled up the stairs and disappeared. Dean stared down at me with contempt and fury. “Tara, you brought this on yourself. Using your witch powers so carelessly. One day your magic will be the death of you.” He turned and left, Megan on his arm. But Megan came back. She crouched beside me, her face close to mine. “Did you enjoy the rogues I sent you, Tara?” I managed a cold laugh despite the pain. Stared at her with all the hatred I could muster. Her acting had been pathetic from start to finish. But Dean was too blinded by love to see it. Megan grabbed a fistful of my hair and spat in my face. “Can’t you see it yet? Dean loves me now. If you had any sense, you’d agree to break off the engagement yourself. Save yourself some suffering.” She stood and looked down at me with satisfaction. “What good is being a witch? You’re still lying here like a dying dog.” I wanted to tell her the truth. That if the engagement ended, Dean would die too. But darkness swallowed me before I could speak.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next day. Werewolf warriors dragged me into the great hall. My body still ached from yesterday’s beating. What I saw made my blood run cold. Dean had brought in a male wizard. The man stood in the center of the hall, performing some kind of twisted ritual. His movements were all wrong. Dark candles flickered around him in a strange pattern. Dean spotted me. Satisfaction flickered across his face. “Tara, did you really think your little witch tricks could threaten me?” His voice carried through the hall. “This is the master wizard I hired. You’ll pray with him now. Help him drive the demon out of Megan. Then I’ll believe you didn’t curse her.” I studied the wizard’s movements more carefully. The hand gestures. The positioning of the candles. The words he muttered under his breath. Horror crashed through me. This wasn’t an exorcism. This was a prayer to Satan himself. The warriors hauled me toward the male wizard. Their grip was iron on my arms. I gathered every scrap of strength left in my broken body. Then I shoved them away with everything I had. I lunged at Dean. My palm connected with his face in a sharp crack that echoed through the hall. “Dean, you can cancel our engagement if you want. But you cannot force me to pray to Satan!” “Dean!” Megan’s shriek cut through the stunned silence. She rushed forward, tears already streaming down her face. Her hands fluttered over his reddening cheek. Then she whirled on me. Her palm struck my face hard enough to snap my head to the side. “Tara, if you don’t want to bless me, just say so. Why did you hit Dean?” Her voice shook with false hurt. “You’re just guilty. Afraid everyone will find out you cursed me.” She collapsed against Dean’s chest, sobbing dramatically. The male wizard stopped his ritual. His eyes narrowed to slits as he studied me. Something cold and ancient lurked in that gaze. “Your heart is not sincere,” he said, his voice like oil sliding over stone. “The blessing would be useless. It might even make Miss Megan’s condition worse.” Silence fell over the hall. Then the wizard’s lips curved into a smile that made my skin crawl. “I have a medicine,” he told Dean. “One pill, and the person who takes it can only speak truth. Perhaps Miss Tara should swallow my medicine.” The wizard produced a pill from his robes. It was black as tar, and something about it made the air around it shimmer darkly. Dean stared at the pill. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Hesitation. Maybe even concern. “This medicine won’t threaten her life, will it?” “Not at all,” the wizard assured him smoothly. “As long as she hasn’t lied, it won’t harm her life in the slightest.” Dean’s gaze moved between the pill and the wizard. His brow furrowed. Megan chose that moment to speak up. “Dean, I’m so scared Tara wants to hurt me.” Her voice broke on a sob. “Even though I’m carrying your child, I don’t know if I’ll survive long enough to give birth.” She buried her face in Dean’s chest. Her shoulders shook with exaggerated crying. Dean’s expression hardened. The concern vanished from his eyes, replaced by cold determination. My heart clenched with sudden fear. “Dean, they’re lying to you—” Before I could finish, Dean moved. His hand shot out and grabbed me. His fingers clamped around my jaw, forcing my mouth open. He shoved the black pill down my throat. “Tara, don’t worry. I have the best medical experts here. I won’t let you come to any real harm.” The pill hit my tongue. A wave of rancid sweetness flooded my mouth, so foul I gagged. The pill slid down my throat before I could spit it out. Pain exploded in my chest. I doubled over, coughing violently. Blood sprayed from my lips, spattering the marble floor. The hall began to spin. My vision blurred at the edges. Darkness crept in from all sides. Then I heard it. A voice cutting through the fog in my mind. “Tara!” I managed to lift my head. A familiar face swam into view through my failing vision. “Travis!” My legs gave out. I fell forward into strong arms that caught me easily. “Tara,” Travis’s voice rumbled through his chest. “I’m sorry I’m late. I’m sorry you had to suffer.” The darkness pulled me under.
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