Chapter 8: I’m A Witch?

Samiya’s POV

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but my gaze remained trained ahead. I could feel Scarlet running mad in my head, but I ignored her and took a step forward.

Noticing that Alpha Zain’s gaze on me hadn’t lost its intensity for even a split second, I continued to walk forward until I was right in front of him before dipping into a curtsy. “Good morning, Alpha.”

“Follow me,” he ordered before taking a slight pause. “Guards, Meidran. Don’t bother coming with us. I need to speak to redhead alone.”

I heard a few “Yes Alpha”’s and footsteps before I dared to look up again and straighten my back. Not paying attention to any of the Alpha’s guards who still looked at me suspiciously, I followed the Alpha out of the room and into a random hallway.

We had been walking for a few minutes when the man came to a halt, causing me to stop as well. Slowly, he turned. The brown hair on his head was swept back and each chestnut strand he left to fall forward seemed perfectly placed as though he had staff whose primary assignment was to ensure every lock stayed in its perfect position.

Then there were his midnight blue eyes that seemed to bore into my very soul and question just everything there was to me. I had a compelling urge to turn away and focus on something else, but I simply couldn't. The ego in me could never take it. My eyes then fell on the cupid bow of his lips. Each plea, word of praise, and soft moan of pleasure he whispered into my ears last night drove back into the forefront of my mind like a hurricane and I took in a deep breath.

“Whatever you say from now on can either lead to your demise or your favor. Tread carefully.”

Before I had a chance to even respond, the man grabbed me by the wrist, opened a nearby door, and shoved me inside the room.

With lightning speed, he closed the door again and locked it. “Who are you?” he started, resting his back on the wall beside the door he had just shut.

I cleared my throat. “Samiya. Samiya Cordova… an omega.”

He scoffed. “For an omega, you seem to have a lot of sass in you. What the fuck were you doing in my room last night? Why were you playing a fucking flute blindfolded and why on earth did I see you with the other contestants this morning? Are you some sort of spy… a witch?”

“I told you that this wasn’t a good idea,” I heard Scarlet in a shaky voice. Sometimes the she-wolf would make me want to bang my head a million times on any wall that seemed hard enough.

“Shut up and trust me like you said you would!” I yelled back and after a few murmurs, she went silent.

I cleared my throat. “I am not a witch. I can shift for you right now if you want, and I was in your room last night because I wanted you… and from the looks of it, you want me to. As for the song and blindfold, I felt it would leave a good impression, did it not?”

Alpha Zain remained silent. On another occasion, I would have questioned if the man had heard anything I said, but with the way the expression on his face gradually changed from annoyed to curious, I could tell that he had what I said and was most likely pondering on it.

He straightened his back and walked away from the wall. Without a word, he walked past me and my eyes followed him all through his movements. It was only then that I dared to look around the room that I had been shoved into.

I should have noticed it sooner, but I was too occupied with reading Alpha Zain’s mood and trying to calm Scarlet down to realize it. Alpha Zain might just have taken me into one of the prettiest places in his castle yet. Somehow, we stumbled into a greenhouse with rows of different sizes and colors of flowers adorning both the grounds and the walls.

Then the smell came. A deep earthy scent mixed with a crisp fresh tang of damp soil and the aroma of leaves touched by dew as well as blooming flowers hit my nostrils.

Walking forward, my eyes adjusted to the soft, filtered lights that peeked through the glass panes. This place was perfect. I wanted to marvel at the scenery forever, but when I heard Alpha Zain’s voice again, I was harshly shoved back into reality.

“Shift!” It was one simple order that left the hairs on my neck standing.

Reaching for the hands of my dress, I began to pull it down, as I maintained eye contact with Alpha Zain. For a few moments, it seemed as though we were frozen in time until I pulled my dress to the point where my naked breasts were now exposed.

Alpha Zain pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked away. “I said, shift. Not strip.”

“If I shift with my clothes on then I’ll have no clothes to wear when I need to shift back. So, in this case, I believe that shifting would be the same as stripping, Alpha… or does my nudity affect you that much?” I arched an eyebrow, watching closely for the Alpha’s next reaction.

He turned back to face me, his hands falling to his hands and a small crease forming in his eyebrows. “Do whatever the fuck you want, but if you don’t shift in the next minute, then you will have to find out just how I treat spies and witches that manage to wander into my land.” His tone was sharp, yet I could sense the vulnerability beneath his words and I couldn’t blame him, especially after what happened with his fated mate.

In a slightly more hurried manner than I had used before, I took off my dress, placed it on the ground a few feet away from me, and did just as he had commanded.

At first, I began to feel my canines peek through before I completely surrendered all control to Scarlet. It was funny how a few years the thought of shifting terrified me because of the intense pain I would go through, but now, at the age of twenty-three, it felt like second nature and came so naturally.

“Try not to make us look stupid,” I mindlinked Scarlet when I noticed that she was in full control. The bitch didn’t even bother to offer me a response.

I could feel Alpha Zain’s eyes on us. It almost felt like he was looking at Scarlet in the same way he had looked at me last night. I was well aware of how rare my wolf was. Unlike most other wolves, she had cherry red with a mixture of brown fur and almond eyes.

She was smaller than most other wolves and slightly weaker, but she had a certain charm that made her appear like a fox at times. My only wish was that she would act like one sometimes too.

Apparently, I would have to wish harder because I felt her trudge forward to where Alpha Zain stood and nuzzle herself against his leg.

“Goddess, what did I ever do to have to deal with a wolf as needy as mine.”

Scarlet must have heard me because after that she whimpered as if it was her sole intention to spite me even more. Shockingly, I sensed a warm hand run through Scarlet’s fur before withdrawing. Alpha Zain took a step and cleared his throat. “Shift back.”

“Time’s up buddy. Come on now,” I teased.

“Shut up! I can tell that he likes me a lot more than you,” she retorted.

“Yet he wants me back. How comical.”

I could hear her mutter a few curses which only made me laugh. No matter how much I teased Scarlet, I knew that she could never get angry, and soon she released control, letting me transform into my human form again.

Seeing the situation I was in now, I could see why Scarlet so easily let me take control again without much of a fight.

I was sitting next to Alpha Zain.

Naked.

I felt like killing the crazy she-wolf.

“You’re Samiya Cordova. The Wench of Etrana. An omega,” Alpha Zain said, as though he was reciting the words from a book. It felt even worse hearing him speak in the position I was, so I quickly scurried up to my feet.

With the way he spoke, it was obvious he had mindlinked someone to get the information. My guess was on Meidran. What I was curious to know was if he knew the part about Meidran and I being childhood best friends before he betrayed me or the fact that I was his rejected mate. Hopefully, the idiot had enough sense to leave out such disgusting details.

“So you finally believe me now.”

“Yes, and now you have two options. Step down from the contest and become one of my concubines. If you do a good job, I might even make you my favorite and no one will ever refer to you as the wench of Etrana ever again. You’d be set for life. Or you could stay in the contest knowing fully well that I will be doing everything in my power to make you lose. Pick wisely.”