“Ahhh… you make too much noise! I can’t even sleep well!”
A sudden voice made everyone look up.
A red-haired girl was hanging upside down from the high ceiling of the library.
Her long red hair fell toward the floor like a curtain of fire.
Her legs were stuck to the roof as if gravity did not work on her.
Her big eyes were wide open and shining with a strange light.
A cold smile stretched across her face.
Hazel screamed and stumbled backwards in fear.
The girl’s position looked completely wrong and scary, like something from a nightmare.
Janet glared at her.
“What are you doing here, Rita?!”
Akeelah froze.
“You left the headquarters?”
Rita’s smile grew wider.
She flipped down lightly and landed on her feet without a sound.
She walked straight toward Hazel and narrowed her eyes.
“Tsk tsk. Who is going to tell this poor girl that her mate is both scary and creepy at the same time?”
Hazel looked at Akeelah and Janet in shock.
“How do you know her? She’s a witch!”
Rita paused, opened her already big eyes even wider in fake surprise “Oh?” she mocked.
“And what are you going to do about it?” and then burst into loud laughter.
Hazel stepped back in fear and looked left and right, ready to call for help.
In the blink of an eye, Rita appeared right behind her.
Hazel jumped and ran a few steps away.
Everything about Rita felt wrong: the way she moved, the way she smiled, and those huge, strange eyes…
like a real-life Barbie doll!
or aminated character.
she supposed to admire her beautiful, but she intentionally widened the eyes to scare her.
“Ahh! This is so annoying!” Rita said in frustration.
“Is the Moon Goddess kidding? How can a little bunny survive next to a savage beast?!”
Janet grabbed Hazel’s arm and sighed.
“She’s here to help you, Hazel…”
Hazel shook her head hard.
“How do you expect me to trust you when you have a witch on your side?!”
Rita folded her arms and raised one brow.
“Says the girl whose mother made a stupid deal with a witch…”
Hazel frowned and looked at her with annoyance.
“What nonsense are you saying, witch?”
Rita moved closer and grunted.
“You already saw the truth. You’re just too dumb to understand it.”
“Rita…” Janet called in a worried voice.
Then she looked at the quieter Hazel.
“What you told Emily is meant to happen. Don’t try to play the angel. Luna Charlotte already knows about it.”
Hazel blinked.
“What kind of deal? The wolf governments hate witches…”
Rita burst into laughter again and looked at Akeelah and Janet.
“You’ve been with her for so long, and you still haven’t told her anything? Fools!”
“Watch your mouth, creepy doll!” Janet shot back.
Rita raised her chin.
“What? You think he’ll choose you just because you help his friend?”
Janet’s eyes suddenly lost their light.
Hazel put a hand on her shoulder.
“Why are you so cruel?”
Rita scoffed.
“I hate weak dogs. It’s annoying that we all had to leave our posts just to help you wake His Majesty.” She pulled out a small golden badge with a wolf logo on it.
“And yes, I’m really a witch from the headquarters. See? I have the badge.”
Hazel stared at the badge in shock.
Basileia was the most powerful city of the werewolves.
It was the place where all the important rules for every pack in the world were made.
The werewolf race practised a kind of monarchy.
Around the King, some special people carried these badges.
They were like his pillars — the ones who helped him make decisions and enforce the laws.
They were almost like high executives.
Seeing a witch carry one of those badges felt completely wrong.
“How do you know my mother made a deal with a witch?” Hazel asked.
Rita glanced at the heavy iron collar still around Hazel’s neck and sighed.
“The dark witches are already on their way here. Ryan is taking too long to get the key.” She looked at Hazel.
“Later, girl.”
Janet placed a hand on Hazel’s shoulder, but Hazel pulled away.
They had left her in the dark for so long and waited until Scarlett made her moves.
“I understand how you feel,” Janet said softly.
“We should have told you everything when you turned eighteen. But you couldn’t shift. You needed to become stronger before meeting His Majesty. Now we can’t wait any longer. I still don’t know how the witches found out you are his mate.”
Rita, who was checking something on a bookshelf, answered without looking up.
“Simple. It means there is another traitor among the wolves… besides Scarlett and Sarah.”
Hazel said nothing.
She found a chair and sat down.
Everything felt upside down.
Her head was full of noise.
She did not understand why the world had become so messy while the real king was still asleep.
“We don’t care,” Rita said.
“It will be fixed the moment His Majesty returns.” She pulled a greenish old book from the shelf and walked toward Hazel.
“Hold this book and tell me what you see.”
Hazel glanced at the strange book, then at the dog collar on her neck, and looked away.
“Turns out she’s blind too.”
Rita glared at her and forced the book into her hands.
“You think you’re a real witch? Stop flattering yourself. Just focus on the truth!”
Hazel was about to argue when the world around her suddenly changed.
She found herself inside a strong vision.
She saw several witches accusing her father of hiding a green book that belonged to them.
The funniest and most shocking part was that Scarlett was the one who had put the book there.
When the vision ended, Hazel looked at the book in disbelief and told them everything.
Rita nodded.
“I knew it. Things are about to get messier.” She snatched the book away.
“Alpha Gabriel already has many enemies because he is the only Alpha that His Majesty ever favoured. Getting rid of him is one of their goals.”
Hazel stood up in a daze.
“How can I save him?”
At that moment, Emily rushed into the library and quickly gave Janet a small key.
Janet hurried to Hazel.
“Sorry, Hazel. We have no time.”
She unlocked the heavy iron collar and pulled it off.
The cold weight finally left Hazel’s neck.
Hazel sighed in deep relief and thanked Emily.
Emily scoffed.
“No. Thank Ryan. He sacrificed a lot for your sake.”
Rita put the green book into her bag and moved toward another door.
“I will be able to teleport us once we get out of this library, uhh… a lot of witchy restrictions.”
Janet and Akeelah started following Rita.
Hazel looked at Emily quickly.
“There’s something you should know… Father is in danger.”
Rita scoffed from the doorway.
“You underestimate the power of an Alpha, Hazel. Your father can handle it — especially with your mother and her psycho friends backing him. We only have five minutes before my fellow witches arrive.”
Emily frowned.
“What is she talking about?”
Hazel sighed.
“I’ll get back to you…”
Rita grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the library.
They moved fast through the hallways until they reached the quiet flower garden — the same place where Hazel and Ryan used to sit and talk.
What shocked Hazel most was that Ryan was already there, waiting.
She yanked her hand free from Rita and walked straight past him without saying a single word.
But Ryan reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.