The witches in the room suddenly felt a heavy pressure.
Even though Caius was still lying in the coffin, they all knew he was awake.
Fear filled their faces.
They turned to run toward the door.
Rita raised both hands.
Blue light shot out and sealed the heavy doors shut.
No one could escape.
Inside the open coffin, Caius began to move.
His arms stayed crossed over his chest, but his whole body rose straight up into the air like a puppet being lifted by invisible strings.
He floated out of the coffin and slowly stood on the floor.
Hazel’s eyes went wide with pure terror.
How could someone rise from sleep like that?
It looked completely unnatural and scary.
“Bow,” Janet whispered.
Rita and Akeelah dropped to their knees at once and lowered their heads.
“Welcome, Supreme Alpha,” they said together in respectful voices.
Even the remaining witches felt the same fear.
They stayed frozen in place.
Caius slowly lowered his arms and stepped fully out of the coffin.
His presence filled the entire room.
He looked like a king who had never lost a single battle.
One of the stronger witches — the one whose power almost matched Rita’s — stepped back in panic.
“Please spare me… we were only sent by the Queen Witch. She and the others are not here—”
Before she could finish, Caius’s hand shot out and grabbed her neck.
With one cold, easy movement, he ripped her head clean off.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
Hazel covered her mouth in horror.
He did the same to the second witch without any effort.
Their heads rolled away.
He made it look as simple as breaking a stick.
Hazel stared at him in shock.
His long white hair was tied high on his head in an elegant ancient style.
A beautiful silver and jade hairpiece held the thick hair in a perfect topknot, with long strands falling down his back.
The style made him look even more royal and untouchable.
His skin was pure snow-white.
His body was strong and well-built under the dark royal clothes.
Everything about him screamed power and kingship.
Rita leaned close to Hazel and whispered quickly, “Looking at him for too long may increase your chance of him killing you.”
Hazel forced herself to look away from the angelic but deadly man.
Caius turned around with a small frown on his face.
“What took you so long?”
His deep voice rolled through the room.
It was low, smooth, and powerful.
Hazel felt her head spin for a second.
Everything about this man felt dangerous and tempting at the same time.
Rita stood up and bowed low.
She stopped there.
Caius waited for more words.
When none came, his eyes narrowed.
In a flash, he grabbed Rita by the neck and lifted her high into the air.
“I was supposed to wake three years ago,” he said coldly.
“And this is the only explanation you give me?”
Rita’s face turned pale.
Blood began to drip from the corner of her mouth as she struggled to breathe.
“Please… forgive us…” she choked.
Hazel’s eyes widened.
She looked at Janet and Akeelah in panic.
“He is going to kill her!”
Janet only scoffed quietly.
“What do we do about it?”
Hazel could not watch any longer.
Blood kept coming from Rita’s mouth while she begged, but Caius’s face stayed completely cold.
“Don’t!!!” Hazel suddenly stood up and screamed.
Caius paused.
His glowing golden eyes shifted to her.
Akeelah shook her head and sighed deeply.
“I tried to protect you.”
Caius still did not let Rita go.
This only made Hazel more upset.
How could one man be so stubborn and cruel at the same time?
“It is my fault!” she said quickly and dropped to her knees.
“I am sorry… please…”
Caius’s eyes narrowed.
After a long second, he opened his hand and let Rita fall to the floor.
She coughed hard and sucked in air.
It had been a long time since she had been punished this way.
“You…” Caius began and raised a brow.
Rita bowed weakly.
“She is your mate, Your Majesty.”
Hazel froze and glared at Rita.
The red-haired witch was secretly smiling.
Of all the ways to introduce her!
Caius looked Hazel up and down.
Clear disappointment showed on his face.
“A saintless human?” he said.
“Is the Moon Goddess joking? Bring her here.”
Rita cleared her throat.
“She is not human…”
Janet sighed, stood up, and placed a hand on Hazel’s back.
“Sorry, buddy.” She started pushing her forward.
Hazel froze in fear.
“Don’t worry. It will not hurt if you do not fight it,” Janet answered, sounding annoyed.
She had planned to keep Hazel safe and hidden.
Now everything was ruined.
Caius tilted his head.
“Not human? Why can I not smell her?” A small, cold smirk appeared on his lips as Hazel began to tremble.
Then he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
Her legs swung in the air.
” Why is she tiny…a fairy?” He frowned at her arms.
“The Moon Goddess must be testing my patience by sending me this,” he said.
Hazel struggled for air.
Suddenly she felt a sharp crack in her jaw.
Pain exploded through her face.
Her eyes went wide.
Caius was looking at her with his cold golden eyes.
He had broken and dislocated her jaw with one squeeze.
Tears filled her eyes.
The pain was so strong she could not even scream.
A break like this was enough to kill a weak wolf.
Rita spoke fast.
“You cannot kill her, Your Majesty! She can see visions!”
Caius paused and looked at Rita with mild surprise.
Then he threw Hazel aside like a broken doll.
Janet quickly caught her limp body.
Caius turned away and looked up through a broken window at the rising moon.
“She really wants to punish me,” he muttered.
He clenched his fists.
In the next second, he shifted into a huge, beautiful white wolf and charged out of the window.
Akeelah, Janet, and Rita all bowed deeply.
Hazel watched the white wolf disappear.
She felt her life slipping away… until Janet gently placed a hand on her broken jaw.
Warm energy flowed into her.
The sharp pain faded.
She felt the bones slowly move back and heal.
When the healing finished, Hazel sat up in shock.
“What just happened?”
Janet looked angry.
“He broke your jaw — the perfect place to hurt a weak wolf. You should not have interfered.”
“But he was going to kill her…”
“He would not have killed her. It was only a punishment. This is not the first time he has done it to her. He knew I would heal her if he mistakenly killed her” Janet stood up and walked away.
Rita chuckled weakly and wiped the blood from her mouth.
“Aww… I did not know you cared so much about me.” She grinned at Hazel.
“Be lucky I made you useful.
We lack seers at the headquarters.
Only a few of the ancient wolves are blessed with the gifts…but we couldn’t locate any seer…” She pointed at Hazel “His Majesty needs your visions.”