Leila

DOMINICK'S POV~

When I pulled her back away from the car, Matteo and I shared a look. Matteo gave me a confused look, but I swallowed hard. Where the hell had I seen this familiar mark before? I had no idea why seeing it on her had weakened me.

"Leila! Leila!"

The sound of a little girl's voice reached my ears, and I stiffened. It was followed by the slamming of a car door and hurried footsteps.

"Get back here!" an angry voice called after the little girl had shouted.

I saw Leila stiffen before she began to thrash, wanting me to let go of her, and I didn't hesitate to release her. I was in a state of confusion because I had no fucking idea what I had done. I had just put myself in danger to save a girl, something I had never done for any woman. What was wrong with me?

"Oh my God, Elena!" Leila cried out, rushing to the girl who appeared to be her little sister.

"Have you been sentenced to death?" the girl, Elena, asked, examining Leila's body. I could see how Leila's eyes dimmed instantly.

I slowly strode toward the two sisters while the cops who had brought little Elena to this place kept casting wary glances in my direction.

"I heard Father is dead..." the little girl said, and Leila slowly nodded before breaking into sobs. "You killed him," Elena stated, taking a step away from Leila as though she were a monster, which made me frown.

That's true! I haven't even discovered the reason why Leila, who appeared so innocent, would attempt to kill her father or how she did it. Leila didn't even strike me as a witch, and somehow, I doubted if Matteo and his informants were entirely wrong. I had scented her—she was neither a wolf nor did she smell like the witches.

Leila's next words were swallowed when she saw me standing beside her. Her little sister looked at me.

"Time for us to go now, Leila."

"I'm not going anywhere without my sister," she turned to me, her eyes red with tears. I couldn't understand why she seemed so broken to me.

"I'm afraid that won't happen. You're coming with me, and this is my ID card," I said, showing her my ID. Meanwhile, Matteo had approached the two officers and was speaking with them.

Leila gulped before taking a step away from me. "I'm not going anywhere without Elena, please. I want my sister," she repeated, and I was starting to feel irritated at having to repeat myself.

Looking away from Leila and putting my ID back into my breast pocket, I addressed the officers, "Officers, you may take the little girl now. We're done speaking."

"No... No... No!" Leila shrieked and ran to Elena. "You... How cruel are you? We're now orphans, and I'm the only mother figure she has. I'm not leaving here without her. I don't even know who you are—I've only seen you like three times!" she spat in anger, and my lips curled slightly.

What a spitfire! Interesting, I hummed to myself and then took a step toward her like a predator. I could hear her heart skip a beat. Poor girl, she has no idea how long I've been stalking her and how long she would be playing Prey till she served her purposes.

"Whether you like it or not, Leila, you're now seen as a menace to society. Everyone will dread you and want to harm you once they find out you're a murderer. You know who will be after you—the councilors, of course. They'll want nothing more than to see you either dead or behind bars. So if you're smart enough, you'll come with me, where you'll be safe. You can harness your powers..." I paused when I saw her eyes widen in shock. "...and learn how to control them. You'll be able to take your sister home with you once you've graduated with good scores, been assessed with proper conduct, and I've confirmed all of this. You'll become a free bird." I assured her, noticing her swallow a lump in her throat.

"Can't my sister come along with me, where I can keep an eye on her? Where will you take her?" Her lips trembled as she asked.

I put a hand in my pocket and stared deep into her eyes, coldly stating, "Your sister will be adopted by a new family. Don't worry, we'll make sure she's well taken care of."

Leila's face instantly paled. She was about to scream "No" like she had been doing, but her little sister spoke up instead.

"Hmph," Elena harrumphed. "That's better. I don't want to be anywhere near her. I'd rather be adopted by a new family, so please speed up the adoption process." Elena stated, and Leila spun around to stare at her sister with a horrified expression.

"Elena..." Leila's voice broke, her voice almost a whisper. "Don't do this."

"Very well then, it is done," I said, looking at the approaching officers and then turning to Leila. "Let's go."

Leila completely ignored me, her body shaking. "Elena, you know how much I love you and how hard I've been trying to keep us safe. How could you leave me now?"

Expecting little Elena to break into sobs as well, I was surprised when she gave Leila a deadpan expression and said, "You should be happy I'm leaving you. Do you think I could still love you like my sister when I know you've been having sex with our father?!" She shouted, and for a moment, my ears rang.

My jaw clenched as one of the police officers exclaimed, "Oh my God! Eww."

Leila's shoulders trembled with sobs, and she couldn't find her voice.

I shouldn't have felt angry at this revelation, but oddly, I was. It was disgusting to me and I didn't want to hear more details. Taking heavy strides toward Leila, who was now on the ground and crying, I pulled her by her arms and began leading her away.

"Please... Let me talk to my sister..." she cried, but I wasn't listening anymore. I forcefully pulled her into the car and signaled the driver to move.

Her sobs continued to fill the car, and I didn't even bother to offer her a handkerchief or ask her to stop crying. It was none of my fucking business why she was sad. After all, I was a cold-hearted bastard who didn't care about anyone else's feelings.

I just needed to get one thing done: get her tested, make sure she was the white witch, as Matteo had reported, and then proceed with Plan B. I sighed in annoyance and irritation when she kept crying, then turned to rest my head on the window and shut my eyes.

>. >

"The councilors know she's gone now, and they've deployed several assassins after her," Matteo informed me, holding an iPad in his hands as he typed away. I puffed on the large cigarette in my hand, swirling in the swivel chair in my office.

I hummed, then turned to watch the large screen in my office, where a live video was playing. It showed Leila, who was fast asleep in the guest room she had been assigned to after two hours of driving her to one of my guest houses. Unbeknownst to her, I had installed a CCTV camera to closely monitor her.

"How the hell are these councilors so fast? Have they performed an autopsy on Leila's father?" I asked. Matteo slowly straightened.

"They've got stronger technologies, and I'm afraid you need to change your ID card again. We can't risk them finding your real identity," Matteo explained. I paused for a second before standing to retrieve a file from the shelf in my room.

The office was tightly shut and shrouded in darkness, save for a small lantern placed in the room. I enjoyed the darkness more than the light; it gave me solace that I could never have imagined. I hummed at Matteo's words, flipping through the pages of the file.

"I saw a scar on the girl's neck. Find out what it means—I don't care how you do it. Consult black witches, strange fairies, or whoever else you need to. The mark seemed unsettling," I said, and Matteo nodded.

"When do we leave the city, Alpha?" Matteo asked.

"Tonight. I want new disguises, Matteo. Have the cars changed. Inform Mariya that I'm bringing the girl," I said, and Matteo nodded again. "That's all for now. Make sure the girl is fed, and shut the door once you leave."

Once Matteo was out of the office, I threw the half smoked cigarette into the trash can and then turned back to the large screen displaying Leila…

Leila… how smooth and syrupy her name sounds on my tongue. I didn't know how relieved I felt on hearing another white witch was in existence after several centuries of extinction. I know several billions, sleepless nights I've had while searching for one and now I've found her. Finally, I would get my revenge and my peace.

My heart seemed to skip when I didn't see any Leila on the bed where she had been sleeping. I slowly stood in shock, my mouth agape when I realized she was gone.

Fuck! This brat!

A figure emerged right out of the bathroom, I expected her to be changed or something but she seemed to be holding something in her hand, her eyes darting around the room suspiciously.

My jaw hit the ground. Was she trying to escape again?

Fucking shit! My blood boiled. I picked my phone, ready to hit the dial pad for Matteo to check on up on her and stop her from whatever bullshit she was about to engage in.

But before I could sag against the desk to make the call, it was then I noticed something was terribly wrong. I zoomed in her expression only to see it turning pale, as though she had seen a ghost and next followed, a blood curdling scream that rang through the speakers of the screen as Leila stared at something right inside her room that I couldn't see.