Chapter 2

Truth and Promises

I ran as fast as I could, not minding the branches that hit me. My heart pounded as I felt more Werewolves trailing me. I’m a powerless Witch. I don’t have powers to protect me. I only have my sixteen years of hard work skills to defend myself.

I took a leap and reached for a higher branch but as soon as my feet touched the branch, it made a cracking sound before the branch gave up.

Everything happened so fast that I didn’t even realize that I’m falling from a thirty-foot tree. I groaned in so much pain as I felt my back hit a branch. Then I fell to another branch and then another. I was hit multiple times. I thought I would be able to remain conscious but then I felt a hard hit on my head and everything went black. My body could feel the terrifying serene loneliness. But when I felt the darkness devour me, I saw a light.

It was so faint. Almost impossible to see even in this gloom. With my weak composure, I tried to run to that light, hoping to be saved. I was so close. I could touch the light until I saw him.

I saw the Alpha.

As if I didn’t want to see him, my eyes opened. I gasped for air immediately. I coughed a couple times that I even saw blood coming out of my mouth.

It took a while for me to calm down. I waited for my vision and hearing to clear. Everything just seemed so blurry and all I could hear are murmurs from different voices.

I swallowed hard when I realized I’m in a chair. My wrist and ankles were on chains. I blinked a couple times and slowly raised my head.

I felt so heavy and lightweight at the same time. But then I immediately regret even opening my eyes. I froze when my eyes met the coldest pair of eyes in front of me. He’s sitting on his throne, legs wide apart, looking down at me like I’m his slave.

And I’m bound to obey him. I couldn’t look at him for too long when I saw a pair of hands clanged onto his arms. Nails were long and sharp. The color of blood printed on it.

“She’s awake,” I heard a voice behind me.

That’s when I realized I’m in a court room. It was filled with Werewolves, surrounding me in their perspective seats. In front of me was the Alpha and the other officials in their community.

I’m in the middle, chained and in excruciating pain. I felt two Werewolves just beside me.

My head remaining lowered until I felt a familiar presence enter the room. My head rose and saw a middle-aged woman staring straight at me.

She’s a Witch, my mind thought. But what is she doing here?

“A Witch. I could smell her from the entrance. She could be a Warrior Witch. Might be a spy or assassin. Or worst, both.”

She slowly headed to a machine a meter away from me. I saw her took a small bottle from her purse and dropped a few solutions into the machine. I watched as the machine reacted to the liquid. It gave an electric blue glow and its wires immediately glowed with it. My heart hammered inside my chest as I realized that the wires glow was slowly heading to me. I looked at my chains and I think I was just slapped with reality.

I’m in an electric chair.

“I added a few drops of Esthene. People call it sometimes as a Blood of Witch because a few drops can kill a Witch like you.”

Now, I’m in grave danger. I immediately thought of a way to escape. I didn’t have time to listen to what they’re talking about.

“I said, state your name!”

I snapped back to reality. I swallowed hard as I remained still. I don’t have any intentions of speaking.

“I repeat. State your name.”

I didn’t say a word and the next thing I knew, I felt the small but hundreds of fires of electricity sipping through my veins like draining my blood.

Now, I understand why it’s called Blood of Witch. It dries out your blood until nothing is left.

“Again, I repeat. State your name.”

If I won’t speak, I’ll end up dead here.

“S-sette... Sette V-val... Sette Val.”

They must not know that I’m a Dival. If they’ll find out about my true identity then it would risk my sisters.

“Let me handle this. She’s a Witch. It will be hard for you to squeeze information from her. One way to let a Witch speak is through another Witch,” the middle-aged woman intervened.

She continued. “Sette Val, right? She’s a Warrior Witch. Born into lower class. You follow orders from higher ranks. Now tell me, who do you work for?”

I smirked at her. I saw the symbol on her neck. The symbol of a Warrior Witch.

“So, you’re a Warrior Witch too?”

“Answer my question.”

“I don’t work for anyone.”

I will not be spilling any tea.

“Impossible. Warrior Witches work for the Nobles and Elites. They do the dirty work for them. Were you ordered to kill the Alpha?”

My face had a blank expression as I looked at her.

“I don’t know.”

“You need to tell us the truth or else you’ll end up dying here.”

“I don’t care.”

I know they won’t kill me. If they do, it’ll be hard for them to investigate. They need me now.

“Cooperate and we will set you free, unharmed,” the Alpha in front of us spoke.

I glanced at him but then broke our eye contact. I shrugged my shoulders, not believing a word from him.

“Unharmed? Can you see my bruises? Or you’re just blind? I’m already bleeding around my body. Why not finish it? I mean--,”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence when I felt a strong slap on my face. The pain eventually spread like wildfire throughout my cheek. I felt blood dripping from my nose. Great.

“Who are you to answer to the Alpha like that?! You must know your place, Witch!” the woman beside him glared at me.

My lips curled to a smile.

“The Alpha’s words don’t align to my condition right now. And, oh, I just got slapped,” I stated the obvious.

“Open that filthy mouth of yours and you will—"

I cut her off. I felt blood boiling just seeing her arms wrapped around him.

“What?”

“Slap her!”

With that words of hers, I braced myself with the pain. Eventually, the other side of my cheek was slapped. It was hard that I thought my jaw was dislocated for a moment. My head than felt dizzy for a while.

“This is enough. I’ll interrogate her myself.”

That was the only thing I heard before I felt someone unchain me. My head was still spinning around from the slap.

I breathed heavily as I felt myself being dragged somewhere.

“What i-is happening?” I weakly asked.

The guards eventually slid me to one of the cold cells. They dropped me like trash and all I could feel right now are my dizzy head and the coldness of the cell.

There was a moment of silence before I finally lost consciousness. I slept deeply like I never slept for a thousand years. I only woke up when I caught the scent of medicine. My eyes crumpled as I opened it slowly. The room was still dark and cold.

But something felt different. My gaze moved to the side where I felt my arms wrapped with something. My eyes widened as I saw the man taking care of me.

“The questions were easy yet you couldn’t answer them. You wouldn’t have to suffer too much if you just told us the truth,” he spoke like he knew I was awake.

My lips moved to say something but then no words could escape my mouth. My lips pursed as he raised his gaze to me. I froze, locked into his pitch-black eyes.

“Just tell me the truth and I won’t hurt you. That’s a promise.”