Alpha Female | COMPLETED

39| Witch

-:Ashton's PoV:-

"I'm a witch."

"Don't," I warned Hayden using my Alpha command when I saw him lunge forward from my peripheral vision. He froze and looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had.

"I wouldn't," the witch agreed.

"What's your name?" I asked stiffly.

"You can call me Ariadne."

"Why are you here?" I demanded from her.

I didn't know why I was so calm. Maybe I was too desperate to hold my mate again. But since Xavier didn't lunge forward to rip her throat out immediately, I decided to give her a chance. If she would've wanted to do something, she would have already gone ahead with it.

"Didn't you Beta tell you? Or did you suffer from short-term memory loss?" She rolled her eyes.

"Just because I didn't kill you a minute ago does not mean I can not," I growled in warning at the disrespect.

"And risk losing your mate?" She scoffed, "I think not."

"Losing?" I questioned, my fists clenching.

"If you're too late," she confirmed.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Alive . . . as of now."

"I know that. I can feel the mate bond."

"Not for long, you won't." She said.

"What?" I paled and Hayden growled, his instinct to protect his Luna coming forward.

"They plan to remove her mark," she said nonchalantly.

"Remove her mark?" I blanched. "They can't do that!"

"Do you really want to find out?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" I snapped. "How do we stop them?"

We had to. Otherwise . . . no. No. I couldn't let myself think like that. Cecelia needed me and we would get her back. In time. And as unharmed as possible.

"The ceremony is tonight." She revealed.

How long was I asleep?

"How do you know all that?" I asked her. I was curious.

"That's none of your business," she replied.

"Why are you helping us?" I pressed. "Witches have been thought to be extinct for a while. Why would you blow your cover and reveal yourself?"

"After the stunt Andromeda pulled off, there was no 'cover' left in the first place," she said through gritted teeth.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I have my reasons," she said airily.

"I can imagine. I'm interested in exactly what they might be."

"You are annoying. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Multiple times. And has anyone ever told you that you are quite evasive?"

"More times than you'd believe," she grinned.

"Now that we've cleared that, answer my question."

She scowled.

"Did you know that magic doesn't work on you?" She asked, obviously not very pleased about it. Suddenly it clicked how she got into the Pack lands without raising questions.