Author's Note: This is just the beginning!
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'SPLASH! '
Alinta drew herself out of the icy water, uttered a drying spell, and collapsed exhaustedly on the ground. She bit her lower lips and covered her eyes with her right arm.
'One should never seriously doubt one's instinct!' she thought. She was absolutely right. It was not a good idea to save the lives of those ugly elders! Despite the fact that there was no longer a plague to solve, she was given yet another problem!
Alinta clenched her fist and raised her right arm. Her face darkened and her eyes became ferocious. She almost died!
Hah! The entire world is doomed!
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'Caw! Caw! Caw! '
Alinta raised her head. A swarm of crows surrounded them before spreading out and perching on the trees. Her eyes narrowed. She couldn't help but think those crows were looking at her as if they were communicating with her. She was not, however, Nieva. She lacked the ability to communicate with animals.
She then looked up at the sky. It was gloomy; dark clouds loomed above, with the threat of thunderstorms and lightning striking at any moment.
"I don't feel well," she said as she came to a halt.
Severino and the others stopped walking as well, casting curious glances over their shoulders at her. They were currently at the base of the mountain. Their carriages got stuck in a hole and fell into a cliff along the way, forcing them to walk to the summit.
"Did you get hurt?" Severino inquired. He returned to examine Alinta's body. When he didn't see any wound, he raised an eyebrow.
Alinta slapped Severino's hand away and glared. "Don't touch me," she harrumphed, "wounds are nothing to me. Do not belittle me over something ridiculous. Rather, I am beginning to suspect fate is trying to hinder us or whatever. We've had bad luck since we left the pack." She frowned, "I don't feel good about this."
"Well, thank you for pointing that out," Lila said, rolling her eyes.
Alinta giggled. "You're very welcome."
There was a brief moment of silence before Severino, frowning, said, "Let's get back to our tracks. Any minute now and we'll be reaching the summit." He then looked at Alinta and added, "You have nothing to worry about. You can rest assured that I will protect you as I promised."
The three then started walking, while Alinta's face turned ugly. Those made her sound vulnerable and in need of protection. She couldn't help but hate that man, whose name began with an 'S', even more! She snorted before following them unhurriedly.
True to Severino's words, they reached the summit after half an hour. They were about to enter the cave when a big brown wolf suddenly charged towards them. Alinta, who was at the end of the team, raised her hand; the branch of the nearby tree elongated and slapped the big wolf away.
The big wolf swiftly get back to his feet and growled angrily. His piercing gaze was fixed on Alinta.
Severino's aura immediately turned frightening. He was about to teach the wolf a lesson when Alinta blocked his way.
"It's been a while, Alpha Drake," said Alinta, grinning at him, "How about changing into your human form? I think we could communicate more if you did."
Alpha Drake let out an ear-piercing growl before turning back into a human. "Wicked witch!" he shouted. He was enraged and his nerves were frayed. "It is my utter regret to let you into my pack three years ago!"
"Watch it," Severino said coldly. "Think first who you are speaking to before shouting."
The earth suddenly trembled, and the air turned quite heavy. Alpha Drake sagged to the ground, blood oozing from his mouth. Regardless, he didn't want to back out, his eyes remained glaring at Alinta.
"You got one great hatred for me there," Alinta blinked. She couldn't help but notice that Alpha Drake seemed to hate her; at least, more than she deserved. Actually, she didn't deserve to be hated at all. After all, it was she who had been betrayed by their wretched pack. She should be the one hating them. Alinta was curious where was Alpha Drake drawing all the hate he was spurting towards her.
So, she went near him and squatted down. "Where is Luna Hyacinth?" she inquired, wondering about the 'soft' and 'kind' luna, who she thought was like her mother.
Somehow, that triggered Alpha Drake. "Do not blame Hyacinth! It was not her idea to kick you out of the pack! If you want to hate someone, hate only me!"
"Oh," remarked Cross, "What did you do to them, milady?"
"You cursed them?" said Lila accusingly. "A witch performing a curse is forbidden; as punishment, you will be eternally burned in the black fire, just so you know."
'Eternal fire as a form of punishment? Alinta pondered. She didn't see it as a punishment because she was a fire witch. Rather, she was curious as to how they would subject her to such a punishment. Where will they obtain the black eternal fire? How will they ensure her survival once the punishment begins? Wouldn't she die? So, how can that be considered 'burned eternally'? It's not like she would die once burned, but let's consider that question if she was just an ordinary witch.
"Implicate?" Alinta rubbed her chin. "To be honest, I haven't implicated anyone since my arrival here; otherwise, I would have already become the most powerful being in this land." She blinked. The thought was appealing, but the process was dreadful.
"You killed Lake—-"
"Severino and his gang did," Alinta clarified.
"—- And then you slaughtered Tyler and the rest of the pack!"
Alinta stiffened. "Is there no one left in your pack now?"
"You really killed them?" asked Cross and Lila, their eyes wide.
Alinta returned their gazes by rolling her eyes. She opened her mouth to retort, but the gate to the mountain's walls suddenly opened. All of them quickly looked behind them as Elder Kirin and the other two alphas of the strongest packs walked out of the cave, followed by three warriors.
"If possible, I would like everyone to enter the cave right now," Elder Kirin said coldly, looking around until his gaze fell on Alinta. "I believe you've come to heal the other elders."
Alinta snorted inside, but she still showed a lovely smile. "I believe so," she said dramatically, "What can I do when my beloved wanted my help?" She turned to Severino and hooked her arms around him, sweetly leaning into him, "I can only do what he wants to make him happy." Thinking she was doing it for Severino was preferable to thinking she was caving into this elder's demands!
"Then, let's proceed."
After saying those words, Elder Kirin turned his back and returned to the cave.
"He appears to be different," Alinta couldn't help but remark.
"Do not leave my side," Severino advised. He, too, couldn't help but notice that something was amiss. "If something happened unexpectedly, do not hesitate to treat me as a shield," he said as his arms snaked around Alinta's waist.
Alinta remained silent. She dislike this man, but she still had humanity left in her. She didn't kill just because of some sort of reason; she didn't because she was, in fact, soft inside. That, she admits. So there was no way she could abandon Severino and the others and use them as shields to save herself; regardless of how much she wanted to. Sometimes, what your heart wants doesn't resonate with your mind.