Chapter 64: Chapter 64
Ora’s POV
I had never thought that it was possible for a witch to expend too much of her power. I found that out under the worst possible circumstances. Teleporting seven children and an adult at the same time took a toll on me; draining me of every bit of energy that was left in my body.
My plan had been to teleport Sandy and children quickly and return to the Halterland but when I tried to teleport back, I found it impossible to amass enough of energy.
I could feel the scrutinizing hateful glares of the Alphas on me. If I stayed longer, it would only complicate things. So, I tried again. My head had become fuzzy. I don’t know what I did wrong; maybe it was the spell or something else; I ended up injuring myself internally.
A sharp wave of agony formed in my abdomen before radiating all over. Blood spluttered out of my mouth; my ears started ringing. Through the blinding haze, I sensed Sandy’s presence. He was probab ly holding me as he argued about something. I have no memory of anything that happened afterwards.
About a week later, I woke up to find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. There was nobody in my room. So, I gathered myself and sauntered down the staircase. Through a half opened door, I saw Sandy engaged in a heated argument with someone.
“What is that witch still doing in my house, Sandy?” Kevin snapped in an agitated voice as he approached Sandy with brisk steps.
“She has still not regained her consciousness. What else am I supposed to do?”
My heart warmed up seeing that Sandy was defending me. I felt cared for, protected. The only one who made me feel that way in the past was Zaviana, my sister. Now that she was gone…
I shook of those thoughts and turned my attention to the argument.
“Why don’t you understand, Sandy? Alpha Montel sent me an ultimatum today. If we don’t hand her over to the Lycan king ourselves; he will tell the Lycan King about it and we all will be charged with treason.” There was a tinge of helplessness in his voice, “Is this what you want? To destroy us all? Kiara, me, our son Nivaan?”
I staggered hearing those words. If I stayed here, I would be putting Sandy and his entire family in danger. I didn’t want that. He was the only one left in this entire world whom I cared about.
I opened up my palm and assessed my condition. After resting for a week, I had recovered almost fully. Drawing upon the wisps of magic, I teleported to the Mystical Woods.
The green foliage, soft breeze and the fragrance of mosit pine calmed my frayed nerves. I knew I should return to the Halterland as soon as possible but I couldn’t resist the temptation to take a walk along the weather beaten path.
The forest in Halterland holds a lot of dark energy making it ominous and oppressive. Walking through the jungle there fills one with negativity and gloom. However, this forest; it was unlike the one in Halterland; it was open, bright, bubbling with life. It filled me with energy; rejuvenating me, healing me. The soft rays of the sun seeped through my bones warming up my shatterd soul and spirit.
I kept walking at a slow, carefree steps for quite a long time until I came upon a magical barrier. My steps faltered and my eyebrows furrowed. Who could have set up a magical barrier in the middle of the woods; that too in Mystical Pack’s territory. Weren’t witches forbidden from stepping out of the Halterland?
Out of sheer curiosity, I held out my hand analysing the structure and purpose of the barrier. What surprised me the most was that it was made using an ancient spell, the kind that only Valence practiced. I must have unknowingly merged my energy field with the barrier for I was suddenly slammed with several voices; supposedly engaged in some hushed conversation.
“Are you sure this plan will work?”
“Of course it will. I have already tried this on as many as twenty wolves. They will soon lure the others to this forest. So, when the war breaks out these stupid wolves will be tearing each other apart rather than fighting with us.”
“We will barely face any resistance. This time we will crush those dogs so badly that they would never dare to raise their heads again.”
“Shh!! I think someone is here,” the moment I heard those words, I teleported reflexively. I had been thinking about warning Sandy and ended up emerging in an unfamiliar large hall. At least, I didn’t end up in the middle of the people like last time. I was standing behind a pillar and Sandy’s side profile was visible across the room. His head was bowed and he was talking to someone.
“Sandy, I never thought I would see you again. What brings you here? Did you click more pictures of the Halterland?”
My fingers clenched and my eyes narrowed. This must be the person who had attacked the halterland. I stepped out of my hiding place and I was about to hit him with a seven posion spell when Sandy started talking, “My King, I am here with a request.”
So, he was the Lycan King. My gaze darted to the black ring on his finger. It was a good thing that didn’t attack him. If I had, it would trigger the safety mechanism of the Palace and Sandy would have been implicated too.
“What kind of request?”
“I… Ummm… I want you to give sanctuary to the person I love.”
“Sanctuary? What kind of a crime has she committed that you had to come to the Lycan King for help?”
“She hasn’t committed any crime. In fact, she saved the lives of seven children….” He paused for a moment before saying in a hesitant voice, “The thing is… umm… She is a witch.”
The Lycan King snorted and burst into a peal of mocking laughter, “Do you think I am crazy? Why would I grant sanctuary to a witch when the sole objective of my life is slaughtering them?”
“Ora, the witch I am talking about just killed ‘The Grand Magus. All the witches are after and she has no where to go.” Sandy’s voice dropped lower as he continued, “Moreover, I have her wrapped around my little finger. She thinks I love her but come on; you know it more than I do.” He snorted and shook his head, “Can a werewolf fall in love with a wolf?”
“How do I know that you are not lying?” He raised his eyebrows, “What if you really love that girl and you are just trying to fool me into getting what you want?”
His expression turned ghastly and hatred spewed out through his words, “That witch, Ora…. She kept me trapped in a cold cave for days; depriving me of food, water and most importantly my freedom.” He ran his fingers through his hair and shifted from one foot to another, “You have no idea how helpless I felt, trapped in that dingy cold cave…. If I hadn’t pretended to be in love with her; she would have never helped me escape.”
My heart shattered to a million pieces hearing this. At first, I had thought that Sandy was pretending for my sake. But after hearing his words dripping in hatred, I realized that my wishful thinking had blinded me. There was no way Sandy still had feelings after what I did.
Sandy went down on his knees; tears of humiliation stinging his eyes, “I am begging you, My King. Please agree to give her sanctuary. That way, we will be able to use her just the way she did. Then, once all this is over, I will dump her in the worst way possible; make her suffer hundred times over.”
I clenched the fabric of my trousers to keep myself from screaming out loud. Every word he spoke was slicing through me like sharp knives; sending waves of unbearable agony. Did those kissess, hugs mean nothing at all?