The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 5: Chapter 05: I hated her

Kael’s POV

The courtyard behind the Alpha residence was alive with activity. Gardeners moved with swift precision, trimming the hedges into perfect lines. Servants carried long tables draped in white cloth, their arms straining under silver trays and flower arrangements as they prepared for the upcoming parties.

Every inch of the estate gleamed under the afternoon sun. The polished marble shone so brightly it was hard to look at, and the scent of rosemary and freshly cut grass lingered in the air. It was perfect.

But no matter how flawless everything looked on the outside, it did nothing to calm the storm building under my skin.

I stood near the center fountain with my beta at my side, pretending to pay attention to the arch being raised near the pool. My tunic clung to my back, damp with sweat...not just from the summer heat, but from the morning drill and after that I straight came here to organize everything.

My duty was simple: oversee the courtyard. Keep everything in order.

And yet my eyes kept drifting... to the far edge of the stone path.

She was there.

Hunched low, knees against the hard stone, scrubbing the walkway like a nameless servant. Without any voice or presence, anyone could overlook her presence but not him, not after what he had faced because of her and her god damn father.

She has just a small rag in her hands and her trembling fingers that moved as if her life depended on it. Her body was too thin, the outline of her spine visible even through the threadbare cloth she wore. Her arms shook from the effort, her shoulders sunburnt and raw, and the red brand seared into her flesh made bile rise in my throat.

Selene.

My jaw clenched so tightly I thought I might crack a tooth.

My fists curled at my sides as memories tore through me—bloody, violent, and sharp.

night my world shattered came flooding back. The hall of her home had been so cold.

saw her

Until now.

she was kneeling in dirt. Stripped of her pride, her title, and everything she had once been. There was no silk on her skin, no crown in her hair. Only bruises, wounds, and the broken silence of someone who had been crushed too many times

still... it

my beta said quietly, not noticing the chaos in my chest. "We’ll

hear the rest. My feet had already begun

him without answering, my boots grinding against gravel. My shadow stretched long in

head. Her fingers kept scrubbing, as if she hadn’t noticed me

her pathetic obedience...infuriated

"Stop," I said coldly.

halted mid-motion. Slowly,

bruised, and hollow. Her lips were dry, and her silver eyes—those same eyes from that night—looked up at me without fear, but not with pride either. There was something buried in them. A faint flicker. Not defiance...

that flicker

courtyard," I said with venom, trying

didn’t respond. Just stared at me

understand why I was

did. A part

the way I’d felt all those years ago. My mother had died at her hands. And

"Get up."

legs trembled as she tried to stand, but she failed. Her knees

down and grabbed her arm...right over the

was too weak, too fragile. It felt like I could snap her with a single squeeze. And yet I didn’t let go. I pulled her forward, dragging her past the neatly set tables and wide-eyed servants who

didn’t care who