The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 8: Chapter 08: From Dreams to Ashes

Selene’s POV

My fingers trembled as I held the dry clothes in my lap.

The silence in the room was unbearable. It pressed against my chest like a stone, making it hard to breathe. Even the walls felt like they were watching me—mocking me—like they had witnessed my shame, my humiliation, my pathetic state as I was paraded half-naked through the halls of the very place where I was once treated like a guest. A child of an allied alpha. A girl who was welcome.

Now I was just... filth.

I slowly pulled the wet shift off my body, the fabric clinging stubbornly to my skin as if it too was ashamed to be discarded. My skin was cold and sticky. Covered in bruises. Covered in shame. The shift fell to the ground with a wet slap, and I stood there in my undergarments, arms wrapped around myself, shaking.

My branded arm throbbed with every movement. A dull, burning pain that refused to let me forget. My ribs ached from where the maid had kicked me earlier. My throat was raw—burning from all the sobs I’d swallowed down just to keep some shred of dignity.

But now... now I couldn’t hold it in.

I looked down at myself. I was bruised, dirty and exposed.

And then the tears came. it star with tiny drops but I did not when they start falling like broken dam.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed beside the bed, the clean clothes forgotten. My hands gripped the edge of the bed like it could keep me from falling apart completely.

"Why?" I whispered, voice cracking. "What did I do?"

My shoulders shook, the weight of everything finally crashing down on me. The hot tears blurred my vision as they hit the cold stone floor. The scent of dampness mixed with old memories—ones I didn’t dare think about. But they came anyway.

"Why do they hate me so much?" I choked, clutching the bed like it could answer me. "Why am I being punished... for what he did?"

My father.

Alpha Eirik Moonveil.

that still made people flinch. He destroyed lives. Crushed anyone who opposed him. He

But I wasn’t him.

never asked for this bloodline.

lifted a weapon. I couldn’t even shift

why did they—why did the Duskdraven heirs—look at me like I was filth? Like I

whispered again, the words barely audible.

My breath hitched.

just like that, I was pulled

I had been thirteen.

celebration of

been unusually calm then. Speaking of peace and unity. Even if I knew now those were lies. But back

remember the night of the

hall shimmered with light—chandeliers glowing like stars, laughter bouncing off the marble floors, soft music playing from every corner. It was like stepping into a dream. And in

Four brothers.

The room bent around them like

stormy expression and sharp jawline, stood near

he owned it—sharp-tongued and graceful, with a

stood still and noble, his presence alone commanding attention, even

And Lucian...

was the most gentle, just like

entire room filled with countless peoples, his eyes had found mine when I felt almost

My hands were

me and bowed

I have this dance?" he asked, his

in his. He led me gently to the center of the room, guiding me through the steps. I barely heard the music. All I could feel was the warmth of his