CHAPTER ELEVEN
DANIEL'S POV
Tanya's gaze always sent a cold shiver through my entire body, but no matter how frightening it felt, I never stopped looking into her cold and dark eyes. I often wondered if I would truly succeed in making her fall for me with such hatred burning inside her heart.
After she warned me never to repeat my attempt to escape, I began to understand something that made my heart skip a beat.
No wonder there were no guards guarding the dungeon.
That meant the witches had been watching me the entire time through their sacred mirror.
There had been no chance of escape from the beginning.
The next day, two guards opened the dungeon and ordered me to follow them to the ritual ground. My hands were still sore from the ropes, but I obeyed without resisting.
When I arrived at the ritual ground, I saw Tanya standing beside her godmother. The Queen of Witches stood proudly near the ancient baobab tree, her presence commanding respect from everyone around her.
The air was heavy with the scent of burning herbs, and symbols drawn with dark ash covered the ground.
The ritual began.
They forced me to swear with my own blood to join their covenant as a servant of the Lion Pack.
To my surprise, a small part of me felt relieved.
That was the same pack where Tanya belonged.
Her godmother then announced that I would become the servant of my greatest enemy—the blood-sucking witch Tanya herself.
Although it had always been part of my plan to get close to her, fear still crept into my heart. I knew that even the smallest mistake could cost me my life.
Tanya had wanted to kill me before.
The only reason I was still alive was because of the respect she had for her godmother.
But that did not mean she would treat me kindly.
If anything, becoming her servant might give her more opportunities to torture me whenever she pleased.
Still, I accepted the role without hesitation.
It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for my kingdom.
When the ritual was almost finished, the Queen of Witches made me swear another oath.
I had to swear that I would never again fall in love with a human woman. From now on, I could only marry a witch if I ever chose to marry.
When I finished the oath, I looked at Tanya—my new master.
She gave me a cunning smile, as if she were already planning something dark and cruel for me. Her eyes seemed to promise that she would make my life in the covenant miserable.
Jerry was assigned as a servant to the Wolf Pack.
This time he did not argue or fight like before. I could see fear written clearly across his face. When it was time for him to swear his oath, he hesitated and glanced at me.
I quietly gave him a signal to continue.
Jerry understood and finished the oath.
One month passed as we servants trained to learn the duties and rules of the witches' covenant.
During that time, I noticed something surprising.
Jerry had grown close to a witch servant from the Snake Pack named Tammary.
I could hardly believe it.
How could he fall in love with a witch—someone who drank human blood without hesitation?
Meanwhile, I continued trying to get closer to Tanya. I used my charm, my handsome face, and every opportunity I could find to speak to her.
But Tanya never gave me even a single glance of interest.
Every time she looked at me, I saw nothing but hatred in her eyes.
There was not even the smallest hint of kindness.
Life in the Lion Pack became miserable for me.
Whenever Tanya was angry, she used me as the target of her frustration. She would torture me in different ways just to release her anger.
One day she told me something that surprised me.
She said she hated my nerve, my ego, and my pride.
According to her, I never showed fear whenever she looked at me.
But the truth was different.
Deep inside, I was terrified of her.
Yet for some strange reason, whenever she looked into my eyes, I found myself unable to look away.
Soon the night of the full moon arrived.
On that night, every pack in the witches' covenant gathered together to celebrate the full moon. Music, fire, and dancing filled the ritual grounds.
The Queen of Witches announced that special guests would be joining the celebration.
They were witches from another territory.
Long ago, they had once lived together with this covenant, but after the death of the queen's great-grandmother—who had been betrayed by a human—they argued and separated.
Now they wished to reconcile.
When night finally came, the guests arrived.
Everyone seemed happy and excited—except Tanya.
I noticed she looked distracted, as if she had received troubling news.
Then I saw the prince who ruled that distant territory.
He was tall, dark, broad-chested, and extremely handsome.
Until that moment, I had always believed that I was the most handsome man in the covenant.
But after seeing him, a strange feeling of jealousy rose inside me.
The queen introduced the guests one by one and mentioned the packs they had once belonged to before the separation.
Among them was a beautiful witch named Eve.
She was breathtaking.
When the queen introduced her, I noticed every man's eyes were fixed on her beauty.
But to me, something about her felt strange.
Her gentle smile seemed too perfect… almost fake.
At least Tanya, even though she was cruel, never tried to hide her true nature.
Suddenly I noticed Prince Raymond—the ruler of that other territory—walking toward Tanya.
He sat beside her.
Throughout the entire celebration, my eyes kept returning to them.
Prince Raymond hardly paid attention to the party around him. Instead, he kept scanning Tanya from head to toe.
When the music began, Prince Raymond asked Tanya to dance with him.
I expected her to refuse.
But to my surprise, she agreed.
They began dancing together under the moonlight.
For the first time since I had met her, I saw Tanya smiling.
Her eyes looked normal, and the hatred that usually filled them had disappeared.
She looked beautiful.
Seeing that smile sent a painful feeling through my chest.
Was she falling for that handsome prince?
Why not me?
How was I supposed to get close to her if she gave her heart to someone else?
A disturbing thought crossed my mind.
Was I only trying to deceive her…
or was I truly beginning to fall in love with that blood-sucking witch?
I quickly pushed the thought away.
No.
My betrothed was waiting for me back in my kingdom.
I only wanted to use Tanya.
That was the reason I needed her to get close to me.
That night I could not sleep.
The image of Tanya dancing with Prince Raymond kept returning to my mind.
Restless, I walked outside the servants' quarters.
As I passed near the guest chambers, I heard strange moaning sounds coming from inside.
Curious, I moved closer.
I realized the sounds were coming from Prince Raymond and Eve.
They were making love.
When they finished, I heard Eve complaining angrily.
She said she was furious after seeing Raymond dance with Tanya and smile at her like a lover.
Prince Raymond laughed softly and assured Eve that he would never betray her.
He told her to calm down.
Otherwise, their plan might fail because of her jealousy.
My heart raced when I heard those words.
Plan?
What plan were they talking about?
I accidentally stepped on some dry leaves.
The crackling sound echoed in the silent night.
Immediately I heard Prince Raymond shout from inside the chamber.
"Who is there? Don't run away… otherwise I will kill you!"
Fear gripped my heart.
I turned to run, but before I could take more than a few steps, something invisible wrapped around my legs.
It felt like chains made of dark magic.
I fell to the ground.
Prince Raymond had already trapped me with his invisible charms.
Realizing escape was impossible, I stopped struggling.
I knew I was about to die.
The chamber door suddenly opened.
Before Prince Raymond could see me clearly, Tanya appeared beside me.
Using one of her dark charms, she broke the invisible chains around my legs.
Then she grabbed my hand.
Before I could even react, we both disappeared into the darkness.
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DANIEL'S POV
Tanya's gaze always sent a cold shiver through my entire body, but no matter how frightening it felt, I never stopped looking into her cold and dark eyes. I often wondered if I would truly succeed in making her fall for me with such hatred burning inside her heart.
After she warned me never to repeat my attempt to escape, I began to understand something that made my heart skip a beat.
No wonder there were no guards guarding the dungeon.
That meant the witches had been watching me the entire time through their sacred mirror.
There had been no chance of escape from the beginning.
The next day, two guards opened the dungeon and ordered me to follow them to the ritual ground. My hands were still sore from the ropes, but I obeyed without resisting.
When I arrived at the ritual ground, I saw Tanya standing beside her godmother. The Queen of Witches stood proudly near the ancient baobab tree, her presence commanding respect from everyone around her.
The air was heavy with the scent of burning herbs, and symbols drawn with dark ash covered the ground.
The ritual began.
They forced me to swear with my own blood to join their covenant as a servant of the Lion Pack.
To my surprise, a small part of me felt relieved.
That was the same pack where Tanya belonged.
Her godmother then announced that I would become the servant of my greatest enemy—the blood-sucking witch Tanya herself.
Although it had always been part of my plan to get close to her, fear still crept into my heart. I knew that even the smallest mistake could cost me my life.
Tanya had wanted to kill me before.
The only reason I was still alive was because of the respect she had for her godmother.
But that did not mean she would treat me kindly.
If anything, becoming her servant might give her more opportunities to torture me whenever she pleased.
Still, I accepted the role without hesitation.
It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for my kingdom.
When the ritual was almost finished, the Queen of Witches made me swear another oath.
I had to swear that I would never again fall in love with a human woman. From now on, I could only marry a witch if I ever chose to marry.
When I finished the oath, I looked at Tanya—my new master.
She gave me a cunning smile, as if she were already planning something dark and cruel for me. Her eyes seemed to promise that she would make my life in the covenant miserable.
Jerry was assigned as a servant to the Wolf Pack.
This time he did not argue or fight like before. I could see fear written clearly across his face. When it was time for him to swear his oath, he hesitated and glanced at me.
I quietly gave him a signal to continue.
Jerry understood and finished the oath.
One month passed as we servants trained to learn the duties and rules of the witches' covenant.
During that time, I noticed something surprising.
Jerry had grown close to a witch servant from the Snake Pack named Tammary.
I could hardly believe it.
How could he fall in love with a witch—someone who drank human blood without hesitation?
Meanwhile, I continued trying to get closer to Tanya. I used my charm, my handsome face, and every opportunity I could find to speak to her.
But Tanya never gave me even a single glance of interest.
Every time she looked at me, I saw nothing but hatred in her eyes.
There was not even the smallest hint of kindness.
Life in the Lion Pack became miserable for me.
Whenever Tanya was angry, she used me as the target of her frustration. She would torture me in different ways just to release her anger.
One day she told me something that surprised me.
She said she hated my nerve, my ego, and my pride.
According to her, I never showed fear whenever she looked at me.
But the truth was different.
Deep inside, I was terrified of her.
Yet for some strange reason, whenever she looked into my eyes, I found myself unable to look away.
Soon the night of the full moon arrived.
On that night, every pack in the witches' covenant gathered together to celebrate the full moon. Music, fire, and dancing filled the ritual grounds.
The Queen of Witches announced that special guests would be joining the celebration.
They were witches from another territory.
Long ago, they had once lived together with this covenant, but after the death of the queen's great-grandmother—who had been betrayed by a human—they argued and separated.
Now they wished to reconcile.
When night finally came, the guests arrived.
Everyone seemed happy and excited—except Tanya.
I noticed she looked distracted, as if she had received troubling news.
Then I saw the prince who ruled that distant territory.
He was tall, dark, broad-chested, and extremely handsome.
Until that moment, I had always believed that I was the most handsome man in the covenant.
But after seeing him, a strange feeling of jealousy rose inside me.
The queen introduced the guests one by one and mentioned the packs they had once belonged to before the separation.
Among them was a beautiful witch named Eve.
She was breathtaking.
When the queen introduced her, I noticed every man's eyes were fixed on her beauty.
But to me, something about her felt strange.
Her gentle smile seemed too perfect… almost fake.
At least Tanya, even though she was cruel, never tried to hide her true nature.
Suddenly I noticed Prince Raymond—the ruler of that other territory—walking toward Tanya.
He sat beside her.
Throughout the entire celebration, my eyes kept returning to them.
Prince Raymond hardly paid attention to the party around him. Instead, he kept scanning Tanya from head to toe.
When the music began, Prince Raymond asked Tanya to dance with him.
I expected her to refuse.
But to my surprise, she agreed.
They began dancing together under the moonlight.
For the first time since I had met her, I saw Tanya smiling.
Her eyes looked normal, and the hatred that usually filled them had disappeared.
She looked beautiful.
Seeing that smile sent a painful feeling through my chest.
Was she falling for that handsome prince?
Why not me?
How was I supposed to get close to her if she gave her heart to someone else?
A disturbing thought crossed my mind.
Was I only trying to deceive her…
or was I truly beginning to fall in love with that blood-sucking witch?
I quickly pushed the thought away.
No.
My betrothed was waiting for me back in my kingdom.
I only wanted to use Tanya.
That was the reason I needed her to get close to me.
That night I could not sleep.
The image of Tanya dancing with Prince Raymond kept returning to my mind.
Restless, I walked outside the servants' quarters.
As I passed near the guest chambers, I heard strange moaning sounds coming from inside.
Curious, I moved closer.
I realized the sounds were coming from Prince Raymond and Eve.
They were making love.
When they finished, I heard Eve complaining angrily.
She said she was furious after seeing Raymond dance with Tanya and smile at her like a lover.
Prince Raymond laughed softly and assured Eve that he would never betray her.
He told her to calm down.
Otherwise, their plan might fail because of her jealousy.
My heart raced when I heard those words.
Plan?
What plan were they talking about?
I accidentally stepped on some dry leaves.
The crackling sound echoed in the silent night.
Immediately I heard Prince Raymond shout from inside the chamber.
"Who is there? Don't run away… otherwise I will kill you!"
Fear gripped my heart.
I turned to run, but before I could take more than a few steps, something invisible wrapped around my legs.
It felt like chains made of dark magic.
I fell to the ground.
Prince Raymond had already trapped me with his invisible charms.
Realizing escape was impossible, I stopped struggling.
I knew I was about to die.
The chamber door suddenly opened.
Before Prince Raymond could see me clearly, Tanya appeared beside me.
Using one of her dark charms, she broke the invisible chains around my legs.
Then she grabbed my hand.
Before I could even react, we both disappeared into the darkness.
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN