The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Selene's POV

The ripples in the pool slowly faded.

Kael was gone.

The courtyard was silent again. The only sound was the wind brushing softly against my wet hair.

I stayed where I was kneeling on the cold tiles, arms wrapped tightly around myself. My cloth was soaked through, clinging to my skin like it had been sewn onto me. Every part of me trembled—not from the cold anymore, but from something deeper.

Something hollow.

It felt like someone had carved out the inside of my chest and left nothing but silence.

My arm throbbed under the wet fabric. The brand. That cruel mark they burned into me like I was cattle. My knees ached from kneeling for so long. My pride? Gone. Shattered like glass. But none of that hurt as much as the question echoing inside my mind—the one that never stopped since they chained me.

Why?

Just that one word.

Why me?

Why this?

Yes, my father was a monster. Alpha Eirik Bloodfang was cruel, heartless, feared by all. But I wasn't him. I had never raised my voice at anyone. I hadn't even shifted yet. I was only seventeen. Still human. Still trying to understand the world.

But none of that mattered to them.

They looked at me and didn't see a girl. They saw his blood. His shadow.

They hated me.

And not just hate—they wanted me destroyed.

They wanted me to beg for death.

Especially the four Duskdraven alphas—Kael, with his fury. Luca, with his frozen stare. Lucian's calm that was more terrifying than rage. And Aeron, the one who already passed judgment before I ever spoke a word.

They didn't want me to suffer. They wanted me erased.

And the cruelest part?

They wouldn't even let me die.

I had tried. I had begged. But no one showed mercy.

A light breeze moved across the courtyard. My shift fluttered, still damp and cold, clinging to my skin like shame itself.

I curled up tighter, arms hugging my knees. My hair stuck to my face. I could barely breathe, my fingers trembling like leaves in the wind.

Then—I heard it.

Footsteps. Sharp. Angry. Getting closer.

Before I could even lift my head—a kick.

Pain exploded in my side, and I collapsed onto the tiles, gasping.

I looked up through blurred vision.

It was her.

That omega head maid. The same one from earlier. Her eyes were full of poison. Her face twisted with hate.

"You bitch," she spat.

I opened my mouth, confused, in pain—but nothing came out.

She sneered like I had insulted her very existence.

"You think you're clever, huh? Seducing the Alpha on your first day?" Her voice was loud, cruel, each word soaked in venom. "Just because you have a pretty face and some curves, you think you can climb your way back to power?"

Seduce?

My chest tightened. I could barely stand. I hadn't said a single word to Kael. But the accusation hit harder than her kick.

"I—I didn't—" I tried to speak, but she cut me off.

"Well then," she hissed, "if you like tempting Alphas so much, let's give them a better look."

My heart stopped.

"No… wait… please…"

But she didn't care.

She grabbed my wrist—the one with the brand—and yanked me up. I screamed from the pain, but she didn't stop. Her fingers dug into my side, dragging me forward like I was nothing but trash.

I stumbled. My knees scraped the floor, the stone tearing at my skin. I tried to resist, but I was too weak.

She didn't let me grab a towel. She didn't let me cover myself.

My shift—soaked, thin, and nearly transparent—clung to every part of me. My legs, my waist, my chest… everything was exposed under the sunlight.

I tried to cover myself with one arm. But I was too small. My hands couldn't hide the shame.

Please don't look. Please… don't look at me.

But I felt it.

Their eyes.

Servants stared. Warriors paused. Some were shocked. Others smirked. A few looked away—but it was too late. Their eyes had already touched my body. My soul.

I felt naked. Filthy.

My whole body screamed in shame.

I had once worn fine silks. I had once been someone.

Now? Now I was dragged half-naked like livestock in the mud.

She pulled me down a hallway I knew too well.

It was my new room, more like a empty cell caging for pets or worse slaves. it is just a better version of the dungeon, at least it does not have that constant screams from other people or any disgusting smell or worse smell of blood, even through it was not clean but still not worse.

She shoved me inside, slammed the door behind us.

Her eyes glittered with hate.

"You think you're better than us just because you're pretty?" she snarled. "You're filth. You're a cursed little whore branded like an animal."

Her words cut deeper than blades.

I flinched.

Her mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "I should let the guards have a look at you," she whispered darkly. "Let's see how long you keep acting innocent then."

I said nothing. I had no words left.

She looked down at my trembling body, soaked and shaking, then threw a piece of dry cloth into my arms.

"Put this on," she snapped. "If I see you walking around like that again, I'll make sure you regret it."

Then she stormed out and left me alone.

The room was cold. Too cold.

I sank to the floor. My legs gave out.

The dry clothes lay in my lap, untouched.

I couldn't move.

All I felt was shame.

Shame that crawled under my skin and stayed there like poison. Shame that felt heavier than the brand on my arm.

I didn't ask for this. I didn't choose this.

But in this place, in this cruel world—

No one cared.