The welcoming feast that had been prepared for me was bigger than I anticipated. The halls were filled to the brim with witches who were very eager and happy to welcome me.The tables were filled with delicacies and wine. It was hard to think that they had prepared all this just for me. The witches were nice and acted genuinely happy to have me here.All this came as a surprise for me due to what I had heard about witches. Witches were known to be wicked and unsociable people, but seeing them dance around and converse with one another changed my mind instantly.The party lasted through out the night as we all danced and ate to the fullest. The next morning came in a flash and I was already anticipating the welcoming rites.I took my time walking around the building, conversing with the other witches and asking the questions about things I was not familiar with. As night slowly approached, I was ordered by the empress to get ready for the welcoming rites. Two witches, who looked just

CLAIRE's POVMy head felt like it had been dragged around a concrete floor ruthlessly. The pounding in my head refused to stop and it felt like my skull would rip apart.I forced my eyes opened and I was immediately greeted with a blurry room. I blinked my eyes twice and my vision began to clear slowly.I looked to my side and found the empress seated beside the bed, looking deep in thought.“Empress?”She looked up at me, and her eyes lit up.“Is the ceremonial rites over?” I asked.I felt disoriented. I tried to recall what had happened during the rites, but the ache in my head refused me to do so.“Claire, your eyes…they are a different colour.” The empress breathed as she stared at me with wide eyes.Different colour? I blinked at her, my brows wrinkled with puzzlement. She swiped a small hand mirror from the table beside her and handed it to me.“See for yourself.”I placed the mirror in front of me and my heart caught in my throat. My blue eyes were no where to be seen. What sta

CLAIRE's POVThe voice I heard behind me was unfamiliar and for some reason, it sounded unpleasant. Emmaline and Danica however, had a frown on their face.I turned to see who they were staring at and my eyes fell on another witch. She was taller, about six feet tall from my calculations. Her almond shaped eyes held brown coloured orbs in them that stared at us with disdain and contempt.Her thin black hair was tied up in a tight bun and her hands were planted on her hips as she smirked at us. I had never seen her before, neither did I know her, but I felt an uneasiness creep down my spine as she approached us.“What the fuck do you want Martha?” Danica snapped with a scowl on her face.Did they know each other? I felt Emmaline lean towards me and whisper into my ear.“That is Martha. She is a big bully. She is higher than us in ranking and age. Her habits of bullying new witches in the guise of wanting to help them train knows no bounds. In summary, she is an evil bitch.”I shuddered

DOMINIK's POVWeeks had gone by and the uneasiness in my chest still remained. Being without Claire had taken a huge toll on me, more than I had expected it to.I began to regret my decision on leaving her with her captors. I felt rage at the thought that my mate was in the hands of another clan. How dare they take her away from me?I banged my fist on the wooden table and several cracks appeared on the surface. It was getting harder to control myself as the days went by.I ran my hands through my hair and let out a harsh breath. I needed to calm myself down. But my wolf would not let me be. He cried out to me, pleading with me to go after our mate and take her back from the clutches of those wolves.Wolves.A low growl escaped my lips. My mate was in the hands of other wolves. What if they had touched her? My seething rage exploded into a full blown anger and I drove my fists into the table.The table shattered from the impact and I stood behind the mess I made, heaving heavily. This

CLAIRE's POVThe cool evening breeze gracing my skin brought a smile to my face. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the relaxing sensation it brought. I stood in the woods, my aim was to have Elide go on a little evening run.Aside from training and spending quality time with Emmaline, Danica and the other witches, I also enjoyed taking occasional evening runs. It was fun, exhilarating, and most of all, Elide loved it.I placed the folded change of clothes I had brought with me down on a tree stump and exhaled sharply.“Okay Elide....”I closed my eyes and my limbs began to change. Fur covered my legs and they became sturdier and stronger. I finally morphed into Elide and she howled into the air, her voice echoing within the trees.She took off in an instant, running on all fours and huffing happily. As I viewed the woods through Elides eyes, I enjoyed the feeling of running, unchained through the woods.It made me feel like I was free and unstoppable. We ran for hours until Elide was final