WITCHE'S BEAST *(needs editing )

Chapter 13

Evelina

The beast wanted blood. It needed to kill. I felt its anger and hunger tearing through Aaron, and he was losing control. His strength was growing, and with it, the fear of his people. That was never what he wanted. He didn’t want to kill his brother, and guilt weighed heavily on him. Now he stood judged by those he had sworn to protect.

They thought I had done something to him. Of course they did. Witches were always the easy blame, and I had lived my whole life under that shadow — fatherless, powerless, judged. But I didn’t care what they thought of me. What I cared about was Aaron. He was born a leader, and now his people saw only a monster.

Leading through fear was dangerous. Fear didn’t unite; it destroyed. Fear was an enemy people would rather kill than follow.

Lyra was Daniel’s mate, and though she hid her emotions from me, I could guess what she felt. Being bonded to a wolf meant danger — it was something I had learned to live with. But Lyra? Would she endure it, or had she even been given a choice?

“Evelina, are you okay?” The alpha and Luna’s voices cut into my thoughts.

I was supposed to help them interrogate the old oracle, to sense if she lied. But my mind was still clouded with the chaos of earlier events.

“Yes, Alpha.” I lied smoothly, trying to draw my thoughts away.

The Oracle entered, chains rattling as she was seated at the table. Her skin was pale, sickly, and her piercing blue eyes locked onto mine. Guilt twisted in my stomach. Why did she look like this? Had they harmed her?

No. She had done this to herself.

“Agatha, I’ll ask this once more. If you don’t answer, you’ll be punished.” The Alpha’s voice was hard. He knew her name, which meant they were close. She met his gaze with defiance, daring him to follow through.

There was history between them. I could feel it in the clash of emotions she tried — and failed — to hide.

“Agatha, you need to tell us what’s happening. Only then will you be free.” My voice urged her, but her cold stare cut through me like razors.

“Oh, poor child.” Her lips curled into something between pity and mockery. “My fate ends here. And it’s rich of you to think my words could save me.”

The fact that she spoke at all was a surprise. But her next words chilled me to the bone.

“You and I share the same fate — to die by the hand of a loved one.”

I shot up from my chair, heart racing. “What do you mean?”

Her eyes locked on the Alpha.

“Agatha, stop.” His warning was sharp, but suddenly I wondered if he was more afraid of what she might reveal than of her silence.

“You have my attention,” I said. “Tell me what you mean.”

Her smile was sharp and cruel, her gaze darting between me and the Alpha. Jealousy seeped into the room like poison, thick and suffocating, and I felt it flare from Larissa. She noticed the exchange, caught the truth in my expression — and stormed out.

Then, like a knife through my chest, another emotion radiated from Agatha. Love.

She had been the Alpha’s mistress.

The realization made bile rise in my throat.

“There are two sides to the prophecy,” she said. “The one you all know… and the bitter side I kept hidden. Both are coming true.”

I leaned in. “What side?”

Her smile widened. “I believe you’ve begun drawing witches’ power, Evelina.”

My breath caught. How could she know? Did this have to do with the prophecy?

“Yes,” I admitted, “but I can’t control it. I don’t know how to control anything.”

She laughed at me, and the sound crawled beneath my skin.

“You’re stealing power and feeding it to Aaron’s beast. You think you’re helpless, but you’re not. Too much power kills the soul. It leaves nothing but a monster. And the one you’re creating will kill you on your ceremony night, under the full moon.”

My stomach lurched. I thought I might vomit, but I forced it down.

“Lies! Aaron cares for—”

“I never said he doesn’t.” She cut me off, her voice sharp as glass. “But his beast is slipping. You are feeding it, strengthening it, and it will end with your death. That is the cost of black magic.”

My thoughts spun back to Eric. To Daniel. To the fight where Aaron nearly lost himself completely. Fear hollowed me out, leaving me weak and shaking.

“Not everything she says is true,” the Alpha tried to reassure me. “We can find a solution.”

But oracles never lied.

“This happened against my will,” I whispered. “There must be a way to reverse it. To undo the black magic.”

“Black magic cannot be undone,” Agatha said simply. Her voice was final, like a door slamming shut.

“Leave now,” she added. “Find your people. War is coming. You’ll need them. Better to stand with your own—”

The Alpha slammed her against the table before she could finish.

“Take her back.” His order echoed in the room.

I rose and walked out without a word. My steps were fast, almost frantic, and I collided with Aaron in the hall. His hands caught my waist, and the bond surged — electricity sparking between us. I tried to pull away, but he pressed me against the wall.

“Eve, what’s wrong?” His eyes searched mine.

Tears brimmed and spilled. My body shook, pale and trembling, and he saw it all. His confusion melted into guilt, into pain, and his grip loosened. He let me go.

I walked away. Pain stabbed my chest with every step. Tomorrow night, under the full moon, he would kill me.

I had grown so close to him. I cared for him deeply. And the look on his face had carved guilt into my very soul. Aaron’s beast had never harmed me. It had protected me. So why did I run?

Regret consumed me. I turned back to look for him, but he was already gone.

“Are you okay?” Sia’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I nodded. Another lie.

“Have you seen Aaron?”

She hesitated, then pointed toward the woods. “Yes. He went that way.”

I ran, heart pounding, chasing the pain I felt burning through our bond.

I would find a way to change this. I had to. Because there were always two sides to a prophecy.