Chapter 44: Throne challenge

Janet, one of the witches who had successfully stolen the identity of a wolf maid, walked happily through the palace as if she had been living there for years. She smiled at everyone she passed, and the funniest part was that nobody questioned her because everyone seemed to know her as the original maid whose identity she had stolen.

"Good morning, Janet."

"Janet, have you taken the clothes to the laundry?"

"Janet, the High Priest asked for you earlier."

She answered them all with a smile while secretly enjoying herself.

Nobody knew who she really was. Nobody knew that the woman walking around the royal palace was not the maid they thought she was.

Meanwhile, the ceremony continued in the huge throne hall.

Caius finally stepped forward and looked at the thousands of werewolves gathered before him. He raised one hand, and the loud whispers immediately stopped.

The drums became quiet.

"I am finally back," he said calmly.

His voice was not loud, but everyone heard him.

"For two hundred years, the werewolf race has continued without its king. Now that I have returned, the first thing we will do is strengthen the protection of our people."

The werewolves immediately cheered. Some raised their fists while others placed their hands over their chests.

Caius waited until they became quiet again before continuing. "There is also something important concerning the witches."

The hall became quiet.

"We have both good and bad witches. The Light Witches are not our enemies. The Dark Witches are."

A werewolf immediately raised his hand. Caius nodded at him.

"How can we recognize a Light Witch, Your Majesty?"

Caius nodded. "A witch’s energy will reveal what she truly is. If the source of her power is not black, she is not a Dark Witch."

He paused before continuing. "Dark Witches cannot simply pretend to be Light Witches. Their aura remains dark no matter how hard they try to hide it. Those who have the ability to sense magic will notice the difference."

The crowd nodded carefully.

"For now, the Light Witches will live among us because they do not have a kingdom of their own. They can recognize Dark Witches better than most of us can, so if one of them notices something dangerous or someone does something you believe is wrong, report it to your Alpha."

Another werewolf raised his hand. "Will the Light Witches attend our academies?"

Caius chuckled. "They do not really need our schools. Their children are already studying in the schools of the Fairies and Fae."

A few people laughed.

"But since they will be living here for some time because their queen has a reason to remain in my palace, they may choose to send some of their children to our academies."

A young werewolf stood up nervously. "Sorry, Your Majesty, but I thought we were supposed to hate witches because of what they did to you."

Caius looked at him. Instead of getting angry, he smiled faintly. "Thank you for standing up for me."

The young werewolf immediately lowered his head.

"But you should understand what happened. The Dark Witch Queen was the one who confused the other witches and made them believe the Light Witches were their enemies. During the war, the Dark Witches believed they had killed every Light Witch, so they took over their city and claimed it for themselves."

Several people nodded as they finally understood the situation. Caius continued explaining until there were no more questions.

When he finally stepped back, Rita walked forward.

She stood proudly in front of everyone with the royal-blue cape around her shoulders and the two ancient wands crossed against her chest.

"I will protect the witch race," Rita said firmly. "I will make sure the Light Witches have a place where they can live without being hunted, and I will not allow the Dark Witches to destroy what we are trying to build."

Before she could continue, Rebecca suddenly raised her hand. "What happens if someone challenges your throne?"

The entire hall became silent. Alexander looked at her with amusement. Even Caius smiled.

Rita slowly turned toward Rebecca. Before she could answer, Alexander stood up and took the microphone. "Anyone who believes they are capable of challenging the new Witch Queen should come forward."

The crowd immediately became excited. Azula scoffed from her place among the warriors. "Must it always become a bloody show?" She glanced at Rita, who was smiling with quiet confidence, and rolled her eyes.

Caius looked at Rita. She felt his gaze and looked up. "Your Majesty?"

"Just one bottle of blood," he said lightly.

"Supreme Alpha?" the High Priest said quickly, almost pleading. She was one of the few people who could speak to Rita and actually be heard. Rita was even more stubborn than Caius himself.

Caius sighed. "Today is a happy day. No blood... unless it is truly necessary."

Lady Mira held her head with both hands in helpless worry.

Two guards stepped forward and helped Rita remove her heavy velvet cape, leaving her in a beautiful light dress underneath. The moment she turned around, everyone became quiet.

To everyone’s surprise, Susan, the former Dark Queen walked out first. She folded her arms and stared at Rita with cold eyes. "At first, I found you interesting. Now I understand." Her eyes narrowed. "Your mother hid you because she wanted you to stab us in the back."

Rita smiled.

Blue flames suddenly appeared around both her hands. Her eyes began glowing blue. "Don’t think I don’t know what your cunning mother did."

Susan’s smile disappeared.

Rita slowly moved into a fighting position. "Your mother confused them to killed Alpha Caius’s parents and framed my mother and her friends for it. She used that lie to force them to kill King Caius"

Susan’s face tightened. She wondered how Rita knew so much.

Rita raised one hand higher. "Yes. I have my mother’s memories. And..." She looked at the other witches in the crowd. "Do you really think I am the only royal Light witch left?"

Without another word she launched a powerful attack. Susan’s eyes widened. She never saw it coming. The blue energy hit her hard in the stomach and sent her flying high into the air. People in the crowd panicked, afraid she would fall on them.

Rita angrily pulled her back with invisible force, caught her by the neck, and lifted her up.

In the corner, Hazel unconsciously touched her own neck. She had not realized Rita was this powerful.

Susan struggled to breathe. The young woman was much stronger than she expected.

"How dare you crown yourself as the Witch Queen... when the Dark witches are the true rulers and the Light witches are only—"

Rita’s eyes began to change. The blue light turned bright orange, then deep red.

"Your mother betrayed my mother and even snatched her husband! If the werewolf king had not saved me, I would have died because of your mother’s schemes. And now you dare to question my throne?"

Her eyes glowed pure red. The High Priest stood up at once and looked at Caius in panic.

"Your Majesty! She is in her anger mode! She will kill her!"

Caius was watching the fight with clear interest and did not move.

Lady Mira rushed forward, but she froze when she saw Susan’s body turning grey. Thick black smoke began to leave the older witch’s mouth and skin.

Rebecca stared in horror. "What is she doing?"

"She is pulling her soul out of her body!" another witch cried. "That is the most cruel way to kill a witch. The soul will suffer forever!"

"Stop!" Caius finally said in a firm voice.

Rita’s red eyes quickly returned to blue. The black smoke stopped rising and slowly went back into Susan’s body.