The corridor was dark. Selene moved fast, barefoot against the cold stone, her heart thundering in her chest. She didn’t know how they’d gotten so close, how he had.

But the moment she turned the corner, he was there, and he slammed her back against the wall.

Her gasp was muffled by a rough hand clamping over her mouth. The other braced beside her head as his body caged hers completely. Heat rolled off him like a furnace. His scent hit her nose, faintly familiar. Like burnt cedar, cold steel, and storm.

He leaned in, his voice a ragged whisper by her ear.

“You’re Selene... my Selene.”

Her blood ran cold. Her heart rebelled against her chest, trying to escape.

“I’m not,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “You’re mistaken.”

His fingers traced the curve of her jaw like he was trying to memorize it. “It’s you. I’d know your soul even if the world burned it from your bones.”

“You’re mad,” she spat.

But he suddenly dipped his mouth to kiss her hard, to confirm that it was really her.

***

Selene was the daughter of the cruel Alpha who ruled Moonveil through fear. Years ago, he wiped out an entire pack just to rise to power. But he made one mistake...he left behind four orphaned boys.

Those boys returned as Alphas. They are stronger, colder and out for revenge.

They took everything...his land, his title, and finally... his life. Selene was only seventeen at the time. She had no idea what her father had done. But that didn’t matter. To them, she was guilty by blood.

They didn’t kill her. No. They did something worse.
They marked her as a slave.

In their world, even omegas had rights. Slaves had none. She became nothing more than property.

But Selene still had hope. On her eighteenth birthday, like every werewolf, she expected her wolf to awaken. It was supposed to be the start of her new life.

Instead, it turned into a nightmare.

Her wolf never came. Her body remained cold and silent. And then… the bond appeared. She was mated to all four of them.

The very Alphas who hated her.
The ones who owned her.

But the truth is Selene was never a wolf to begin with.

As her body withers under the weight of the bond, a darker truth surfaces. She is not just a slave… she is the last living witch, born of the very bloodline werewolves have hunted for generations.

Now, her enemies wear the mark of her mates...
And the witch they thought they broke may be the one who burns them all.

More giggles followed from the table behind me.


I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, stood up slowly, and carried my tray toward the washing counter.


"Aw, come on," the other one cooed, following behind. "Don't be so cold. We just wanted to know how it felt—being dragged like that in front of everyone. Or is the new slave mark too sore to talk about?"


I paused. My hand tightened around the tray, the metal groaning faintly under my grip. I turned with a calm gaze.


"You should go back to your table," I said softly, my voice was low and steady.


She blinked, clearly not expecting a response.


"I don't bite unless you try to rip my skin first," I said quietly. "But if you do... I won't stop at a warning."


"Don't—don't think you're special just because Alpha Luca didn't punish you," she said with a sneer.


Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: The Door She Didn’t Want to Open