Chapter 4 Coven Whispers

I wasn't feeling sleepy. I lay in the massive bed, staring at the ceiling above me while moonlight spilled through the tall windows. The adjoining door to Arthur’s room remained cracked open, just enough for me to hear the low rumble of his breathing, steady and deep. I hated we were just a wall apart. Every inhale pulled at that invisible thread in my chest, making my skin feel too uncomfortable. 

This is ridiculous, I thought, rolling onto my side and punching the pillow. He’s a werewolf, and I'm the prey. That's a means to an end. I just need this one ritual to walk away with power, status, and answers about my family. I have to stop thinking like the prey here and stop letting his scent mess with my head too. 

But the scent lingered, making my magic hum restlessly beneath my skin. The almost-kiss from earlier replayed in my mind: the heat of his body so close, the way his golden eyes had dropped to my lips like he was craving me. If the coven’s whisper hadn’t interrupted…

A colder presence brushed my mind, sharper this time.

Charlotte.

Lucy’s voice came through my thoughts like smoke through cracks. I wonder why she hasn't summoned me fully yet, but just enough to make me listen to her.  

I sat up abruptly, heart slamming against my ribs. Shadows in the corner of the room thickened, turning into faint, ghostly shapes. I saw my sisters, watching from the astral plane. Ultimo’s presence hovered strongest, a silent observer with eyes that missed nothing.

You played a dangerous game tonight, Lucy continued, her tone now like silky venom. A werewolf alpha? Of all the sacrificial lambs in the human world, you choose one whose blood resists our rituals. The pack will smell the witch on you soon enough. Fail us, daughter, and we won’t just come for you. We’ll burn that pretty castle to the ground with everyone inside. Including your new soon to be “husband.”

A phantom pain lanced through my temple, a reminder of the blood price. I pressed my palms to my eyes, breathing through the rising nausea. The coven didn’t offer second chances. They raised us as weapons, and discarded any one that dulled.

Six months, I answered silently, forcing steel into my thoughts. I’ll deliver the sacrifice. Just give me time to secure the alliance and learn about the Wilberforces.

Laughter echoed in my skull, cold and mocking. Time is a luxury you’re bleeding out with your excuses. The others are progressing. Don’t make me send them to… motivate you. Ultimo’s shadow flickered closer, almost solid. Remember your training, Charlotte. Know that love is weakness. Trust is a knife at your throat.

The presence withdrew as suddenly as it had come, leaving the room colder and the moon brighter. I exhaled shakily, sweat cooling on my skin.

They know or at least suspected. One slip, one moment where I let Arthur’s touch linger too long and the coven would descend like a storm of knives and spells. I couldn’t afford softness whenever I am with him here. 

A soft knock sounded on the adjoining door before it pushed open wider. Arthur stood there in low slung dark pants and nothing else, moonlight forming shadows across the hard planes of his chest and shoulders. Scars marked his torso, claw marks, bullet wounds that had healed but left their stories behind. He looked every inch to be the Alpha: powerful, dangerous, and far too tempting.

“Couldn’t sleep?” His voice was low, rough with concern. Those eyes looked straight at me, missing nothing. “I heard you moving around. And… you looked like you were in pain a moment ago.”

Damn wolf senses. I pulled the sheet higher, suddenly aware of how thin my nightgown was. “Bad dreams. Nothing new.”

He didn’t buy it. Instead, he crossed the room in two strides and sat on the edge of my bed, close enough that his warmth bled into the space between us. The pull surged stronger in the quiet night and then my magic started reaching toward his wolf like opposite poles of a magnet.

“Charlotte.” He said my name like a caress and a command all at once. “You don’t have to carry everything alone. Whatever you’re running from… I can protect you. I saw it in your eyes when you left the hospital with me in a hurry and I see that same look now.”

Protect me? The bitter laugh stayed trapped in my throat. If you knew what I am, what I’m here to do, you’d rip my throat out yourself.

But the sincerity in his gaze cracked something inside me. No one had ever offered protection without demanding payment. Starting with the coven down to my dead ex. Just this alpha who should have been my target.

“I don’t need protection,” I whispered, but my voice lacked conviction. My eyes traced the line of his jaw, the way his muscles shifted as he leaned closer. “And you shouldn’t offer it so freely. You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.” His hand rose slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I didn’t, his fingers brushed my cheek, fondly and gentlely. Heat bloomed under his touch. “I feel that pull too like the moon knows something we don’t. You’re not just any human, Charlotte Wilberforce. And I’m not letting you face whatever haunts you alone.”

My breath hitched. The almost-kiss from earlier returned with vengeance. His scent enveloped me, wild and intoxicating. I could lean in. Taste him. Let the tension snap and see where it led. My mind troubled me. 

Instead, I caught his wrist, holding it firm. “Careful, Alpha. Some things bite back.”

His eyes darkened, pupils dilating with unmistakable hunger. A low growl rumbled in his chest as if possessive. “I’m counting on it, little witch.”

The title sent a thrill through me despite the danger. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to the space between our lips. His free hand settled on my hip, thumb stroking slow circles through the thin fabric. My magic flared in response, as if warm and eager, whispering promises of power and pleasure intertwined.

Then a distant howl from pack guards on duty raising the alarm shattered the moment. 

Arthur tensed instantly, head snapping toward the window. “Syndicate scouts. Closer than they should be.”

He stood in one fluid motion, the tender alpha replaced by the warrior king. “Stay here. Lock the door.”

“Like hell,” I muttered, already swinging my legs out of bed. This is my chance to prove value without revealing too much.

Arthur shot me a look that was half warning, half admiration. “Stubborn woman.”

“You have no idea.”

As we moved toward the door together, his large frame brushing mine with every step, the coven’s warning echoed in my mind like a death bell ringing slowly. 

You have six months left to make one sacrifice.

But with Arthur’s heat still lingering on my skin and the pull singing in my blood, I wondered for the first time if I was the one being hunted and whether I wanted to escape.