Chapter 33: Witch

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Witch

The woman in black took a cautious step forward, her body still coiled like a spring, ready to yank Selena away from the clutches of the deranged she-wolf currently molesting her with affection.

"Let her go!"

Azura, however, acted as if she had suddenly developed selective deafness. She couldn’t hear her. Nope. Not a single word. Must be the wind.

Instead, she grabbed the straw from her half-empty boba cup and, with the precision of a surgeon performing a life-saving operation, shoved it directly into Selena’s mouth.

"And we met at just the RIGHT time! You must be thirsty! Drink my milk tea!!"

Selena made a sound like a confused dolphin. "Mrrk?!"

"Oh, and I bought lots of new clothes for you!! Forget about those revealing clothes I gave you before—that was my fault! My mistake! I was a fashion criminal! A style terrorist! But THIS time? Ohoho, THIS time you are going to LOVE them!"

She shoved the shopping bags into Selena’s arms with the enthusiasm of a door-to-door salesman who had finally found a willing customer.

Selena stared down at the seven shopping bags now weighing down her arms..

Her brain, which had already checked out of reality, was now trying to piece together what was happening. Curiosity flickered in her chest like a dying ember that had just been sprinkled with gasoline.

She had expected more scandalous outfits. More leather. More lace. More "please wear this so I can make you look like a streetwalker."

But when she peeked inside the first bag and saw a cute white dress—a soft, flowy, innocent dress that looked like something straight out of a cottagecore fever dream—her breath caught in her throat.

These were actually her favorite style.

How long had it been since she had worn something like this? Ten years? Maybe more?

She had been drowning in the maid’s wardrobe for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to wear something that actually felt like her.

Her fingers tightened around the shopping bag. Her voice came out small. Vulnerable. Almost a whisper.

"...Thank you."

Azura’s face lit up like a Christmas tree that had just been plugged into the sun.

She puffed out her chest, looking smugger than a cat that had just knocked an entire glass vase off a shelf and gotten away with it.

"Hehe~ I told you I’ve changed! Trust me!"

The woman in black, however, was not impressed.

In fact, she looked downright annoyed. She glared at Selena’s softened expression, her eye twitching. She regretted never thinking about buying Selena new clothes. If she had known that Selena would be swayed by such useless, trivial things—mere pieces of fabric—she would have bought her entire store a long time ago.

"Selena, don’t trust her," she snapped, her voice sharp as a blade. "If she’s really a good person, why is her friend over there bullying someone?! Don’t be manipulated by her sweet words!"

Selena blinked.

She turned her head slowly, her gaze drifting past Azura, past the crowd, and landing on Caroline.

Caroline, who had apparently finished slapping the first woman and was now moving on to slapping the woman’s two friends as well. A three-for-one special. A slapping buffet.

Selena’s expression shifted. Her gratitude began to drain from her face like water through a sieve.

She turned back to Azura, her eyes now cold and guarded.

"If you’ve really changed, then why is Caroline doing that? Still bullying others? I know that besides bullying me, you sometimes bully others too. Secretly. Without Jonathan or Alpha Adrian knowing." Her jaw tightened. "It’s hard to trust that you’ve changed, Azura."

Azura’s eye twitched.

Internally, she was screaming. Externally, she was smiling like a woman who had not just been caught in a lie she didn’t even commit.

She wanted to strangle the woman in black. She wanted to grab her by the collar and shake her until her bones rattled.

But she couldn’t.

So instead, she did what any reasonable person in her situation would do.

She made up a completely random excuse.

"Don’t misunderstand!!" She threw her hands up dramatically, her voice hitting a pitch that could shatter glass. "She slapped that woman because she SEDUCED VINCENT!! Of course, as his mate, she’s ANGRY!! Who wouldn’t be?! If someone tried to steal your man, you’d slap them too, right?! RIGHT?!"

She looked at Selena with wide, pleading eyes, praying to every deity she could name that Selena would buy this completely fabricated nonsense.

"And also—believe me when I say I’ve really changed! I was different when I was a kid too, wasn’t I?! Living beings can change several times in their lifetimes! Even a grumpy lion can turn into a cute, kawaii lion under certain circumstances!! It’s basic biology! Evolution! Anime logic!"

She was rambling now. She knew she was rambling. But she couldn’t stop.

Azura had absolutely no idea what Azura Williams’ childhood was like. She was flying completely blind here.

What if baby ’Azura’ was already a demon spawn? What if she had emerged from the womb already mid-eye-roll, slapping the nearest midwife for having the audacity to exist? What if she had shaved Jonathan’s head while he was sleeping and blamed it on her pet hamster?

She could only pray to whatever cosmic force was listening that the real Azura Williams had at least been a decent child before her father’s death turned her into a monster.

Thankfully, the universe decided to cut her a break for once. Because apparently, Azura Williams had been a perfectly normal, sweet little girl.

So by some miracle of the universe, her random ramblings matched reality.

And those words? They pierced straight through Selena’s heart like a kebab skewer through tender meat.

Selena’s expression softened. Guilt flooded her chest. Her shoulders drooped, and suddenly she looked like a puppy that had just realized it accidentally bit the hand that was feeding it.

Because she suddenly remembered—Azura’s entire personality shift, was indirectly because of her. Because of what Selena had done. Because of Adrian. Because of everything.

Azura used to be kind to her. Then she became her tormentor. And now she’s being kind again.

Maybe... just maybe... people could change multiple times in one lifetime.

Without a word, she reached into her jeans pocket, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled something out.

It was small. Worn. Tattered.

She placed it gently into Azura’s palm.

"Here..."

Azura stared down at the object.

Her brain short-circuited.

"...Isn’t this the bracelet I returned to you yesterday?"

It was. It absolutely was. The same frayed, weathered bracelet with the little wooden carving attached to it.

Why was Selena giving it back?

Selena’s cheeks flushed. Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I... was just returning what rightfully belongs to you..."

She hesitated. Chewed her lip.

Then she leaned in close. Her breath brushed against Azura’s ear.

"And besides..."

Her voice dropped even lower, barely audible.

"Yesterday... I told you I would take care of your situation and that we’d meet tomorrow. But it got done quicker than I expected, so no need to meet tomorrow. Just take this now. Wear this bracelet, and if someone think you’re wolfless and insult you—or anything related to that—just... rub the wooden carving on it three times."

"....." ℯ

".....??????"

Azura’s brain processed the words slowly, like a computer from 1998 trying to load a high-definition video.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

What does being "wolfless" have to do with this bracelet?!

And why do you have to rub it THREE TIMES?!

Was she supposed to summon a magical genie?!

Would a puff of smoke come out and grant her three wishes?!

Could she wish for a manual on how to survive this insane world?!

Azura stared at the bracelet like it was a cursed artifact from a horror movie.

The more questions she had, the more her head started to ache.

She had transmigrated into a fantasy world, expecting drama, romance, and maybe a few slapstick comedy moments.

Instead, she got a mystery box that required rubbing rituals to unlock.

"Uhm... okay, thanks! But can you tell me why I need to—"

Before Azura could even finish her sentence—before her brain could even formulate the question that was dangling on the tip of her tongue—the woman in black moved.

Fast.

Like a viper that had been coiled and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

She grabbed Selena’s wrist with one hand, yanking her backward, while her other hand rose—palm open, glowing with an ominous, eerie light—and pointed it directly at Azura.

"SO YOU CAME TO MY PLACE FIRST THING THIS MORNING ASKING ME TO CAST A SPELL ON THAT THING FOR HER?!" Her voice boomed, shaking the very air. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, SELENA?!"

Selena’s face went pale. She struggled against the woman’s grip, her eyes wide with panic.

"Stop, Mara! You know you’re not allowed to cast spells on pack members unless they attack you first!"

"BUT SHE MUST BE ELIMINATED." Mara’s voice dropped to something dark and guttural, like a demon gargling gravel. "And I don’t want her wearing that bracelet. I will eliminate both. The bracelet AND the wolf wearing it."

"No!! You can’t just—"

"MARA!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!"

Caroline’s voice thundered across the yard like a cannon shot.

She had finally stopped slapping the trio women into next week and noticed that Azura had vanished from her seat. Her eyes darted around wildly before landing on the scene unfolding not far from her—Azura, frozen like a deer in headlights, with Mara’s glowing hand aimed at her face.

Caroline sprinted over, her boots pounding against the dirt. She shoved herself between Azura and Mara, arms spread wide like a human shield.

"When you made a pact to become a witch in this pack," Caroline snarled, "you agreed NOT to harm pack members unless they’ve done something to you FIRST! So what the hell do you think you’re doing now?! Did this little loser tattle on you again?! Is that it?!"

Mara’s eye twitched.

Her glowing hand didn’t lower. If anything, the light grew brighter.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT SELENA IN FRONT OF ME, YOU BRUTE—"

Selena quickly wrapped both arms around Mara’s torso, squeezing her in a bear hug that would make a python jealous.

"AZURA, GET OUT OF HERE FAST!!"

Azura, who had been standing there like a statue of a deer caught in seventeen different headlights, finally snapped out of her trance.

Her hand shot out.

She grabbed Caroline’s wrist.

And she RAN.

Her legs pumped like pistons, dragging the confused warrior behind her like a ragdoll.

"HUH?! WHY ARE WE RUNNING, AZURA?! LET ME GO BACK AND KICK THAT GLOOMY WITCH’S—"

But Azura didn’t stop. She didn’t slow down. She just ran.

Behind them, Mara’s face had twisted into something demonic. Her glare swiveled to Selena, still wrapped around her torso like a koala of inconvenience.

"WHY DID YOU STOP ME?!"

Selena’s voice was small, but firm.

"Because... I already told you. Whatever she did in the past... she’s still my sister. And she looks like she’s really changed. And—"

"And what?!"

"And... I don’t want you to get in trouble with the Alpha because of me."

Mara’s eyes still burned with barely contained fury as she stared down at Selena, but the glow in her palm slowly dimmed. She clicked her tongue, then leaned in close. Her voice dropped to a whisper, low enough that the crowd of onlookers wouldn’t catch a single syllable.

"Selena... I’m glad you’re worried about me. Truly. Touching, even. But you need to listen to me very carefully."

Her fingers tightened around Selena’s arm.

"Something is wrong with that sister of yours."

Selena’s brows furrowed. She lifted her face to meet Mara’s gaze, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Mara’s expression darkened. Her voice became a razor-thin blade of warning.

"Azura... her soul is different. I can feel it. Her aura is unreadable—it’s not of this world. It’s like looking into a fog where nothing should exist. She might seem nice now. She might be feeding you sweet words and giving you gifts. But she’s an unknown quantity, Selena. And I don’t know yet whether she’s dangerous or not."

She pulled back just enough to lock eyes with her friend.

"So listen to me carefully." Her voice was ice.

"It’s better to avoid her."

A pause.

"Or better yet—kill her."