CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: TRAPPED... OR TRAPPING?

Selene’s eyes swept the room once more, her chest tightening. There were eight Alphas... and five Alpha heirs inside.

She knew her combat skills were strong, stronger than most wolves could ever dream of, but she was not foolish enough to think she could take them all head-on. Not like this. Not when every one of them carried the strength of a pack behind their blood.

Her nails dug into her palm as she took a step back into the shadows. No Alpha would win here. Only her true strength could.

The power of her blood.

Slowly, she let the energy stir within her, a current that burned cold and hot all at once, rising from the very core of her heart.

The air thickened as the spell whispered across her lips. It was a spell even powerful people will succumb to. They will lose control of their body and will and fall into deep sleep.

One by one, the Alphas’ voices faltered. Their laughter starts dying. Eyes rolled back, limbs heavy, bodies slumped into their chairs like puppets with cut strings. Even the heirs, so young yet filled with pride, collapsed in silence, their goblets falling with a dull clang to the polished floor.

The room fell quiet.

Selene exhaled slowly, her body trembling from the strain of the spell, but her resolve did not waver. She stepped inside at last, her gaze fixed not on the Alphas but on the line of witches that were still chained like cattle. Their weak breaths and trembling bodies drove her forward. She reached for the nearest girl, fingers brushing against the cold iron binding her wrists...

And then she froze.

There was a sudden move behind her.

The hairs on her neck rose a second before it happened.

A laughter rang behind her, followed by the scrape of a chair against the floor. Selene’s head snapped up.

One of the Alpha was actually awake.

His eyes burned like coals as he rose to his feet, his lips curling into a twisted smile. "A witch dares..." His voice was rough, cruel, and filled with malice. "Did you think it would be so easy?"

Selene’s stomach clenched. She stumbled back, instincts screaming. Something was wrong with him...no, not only him there was something wrong with all of them. He was resisting her spell. How?

She knew something had terribly gone bad; she needed to get out of here, but just as she decided to jump out from the window. He lunged at her with full force.

She could feel the dominating aura of Alpha radiating from him as his angry gaze was fixed on her. Selene’s power burst from her hand in a blinding arc, knocking him back into the table, but before she could breathe, the others began to stir. Her spell, strong as it was, was unraveling. One by one, the Alphas growled at her in warning.

Now Selene realized what was wrong in the room; they have all come prepared.

Her blood ran cold.

They came at her all at once, their combined strength filling the chamber with a suffocating weight. Selene fought with them with all her might.

But there were too many.

They swarmed from every side; now it was all a battle of strength, but even with her power, she couldn’t defeat all of them, who were giving their all just to defeat her.

The chained witches whimpered in fear, and Selene’s heart thundered as the circle around her tightened. She refused to fall, but even her pure-blooded strength was bleeding thin.

And then it happened. Cold metal snapped around her wrist.

Her eyes widened, breath seizing as a violent chill tore through her veins. Her magic faltered, slipping away from her like sand through her fingers. She looked down...

An enchanted cuff.

Her chest went hollow with dread.

Not just any cuff. A witch’s enchantment cuff, etched with runes that burned against her skin. It was made to block a witch’s power, and the irony is that the thing was also designed by a witch.

"No..." The word broke from her lips, like she couldn’t believe it was real.

She tried to pull away, but another Alpha seized her other arm, snapping the second cuff into place.

The runes flared. Her vision blurred. Her knees almost buckled as the dread filled her.

Selene’s heart froze as the truth crashed down on her.

This wasn’t an ordinary trap. This cuff... It could only be crafted by a witch of higher power than hers. And she—she was a pure-blood, her magic at its very peak.

So how?

Her breath came shallow, panic clawing at the edges of her mind as the Alphas’ laughter returned, taunting her at every point.

Her power was sealed. And for the first time in a years Selene felt fear claw at her chest like a living thing.

The Alphas stood around her, circling like predators, their eyes gleaming with triumph. Their laughter echoed through the chamber, cruel and mocking, cutting deeper than any blade.

"Well, well," one of them drawled, his voice dripping with scorn. "The great pure-blood witch brought to her knees. So much arrogance in one little body. Did you really think you could walk in here and defeat us all?"

Another sneered, stepping closer. "Your power is impressive, I’ll give you that. But power means nothing when you let pride blind you. You thought you were untouchable, didn’t you? Just one little spell, and the mighty Alphas would fall at your feet?"

Selene’s jaw tightened, her chest heaving as rage and humiliation warred inside her. She spat out the words, "How? How did you resist it? My spell should have made you unconscious. None of you should be standing."

She hadn’t expected an answer. Not from these beasts who treated lives like dirt. But she had to know. She had to understand what she had missed.

And then, to her disgust, it was not even an Alpha who moved but one of the heirs. Barely more than a boy, still submerged in his arrogance, yet bold enough to kneel in front of her. He leaned close with an ugly wide smirk.

"You want to know?" he whispered, and with a flick of his hand, he tugged something from around his neck.

A pendant made of dark stone, carved with runes that glowed faintly.

He dangled it before her face like a trophy.

"Here it is, witch. This is why your spell failed. This little charm saved us, you arrogant bitch."