CHAPTER 211: CHAPTER 211

Celena’s POV What the hell was wrong with me? Ever since that witch ritual, the wolf inside me had been acting weird. Before, it was like an over-energetic companion or a clumsy dog that kept getting into trouble. It was affectionate but impulsive and quick to anger, always drawn to Jacob like he had a juicy bone in his hand. But now? It was like a ghostly older sister! One minute it was bossing me around in my head, offering all kinds of "advice," the next it was completely lost in its own world, ignoring my calls. This felt awful. Maybe I should ask Lily? She was the Luna, she must know how to handle this wolfish side. I rushed through a shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed to find her. But she wasn’t in her room or the living room. Ren told me she was at a meeting between the pack alliances. "She’s our Luna—it’s her duty, sweetie," Ren said while organizing the medical kit. Alright, she was busy. Then... ask the witches? After all, they were the ones who organized that ritual. Turns out Maya and Rose weren’t in their room either. I caught the lingering scent of Jim and Dave, the twins, in the air. Looks like they were cozying up with their boyfriends in some corner. Damn. Guess I would just head back to my room and wait. Flipping through things bored, my fingers accidentally brushed against that antique dress shop’s business card. The elegant middle-aged woman’s phone number... For some reason, a voice in my subconscious whispered, Call her, it might help. As if possessed, I dialed the handwritten number. "Hello?" That familiar, elegant, calm voice came through the phone. My heartbeat quickened inexplicably. I stammered several times before managing to articulate my confusion, which was about my wolf, about its strange transformations. She gave a soft laugh, like feathers brushing against my heart. "I knew you would call," she said. "I’ve been waiting for your call." The next second, before I could react, the card in my hand suddenly flashed with an eerie light. A complex, dazzling magical array instantly unfolded beneath my feet, enveloping the entire room! As the light faded, the elegant woman in the black gown stood before me. "Holy shit!" I gasped in shock, instinctively reaching for my link to call out to Lily or Jacob. "Useless, child," she said calmly, her gaze holding no malice, only an unfathomable serenity. "I’ve sealed this room with magic. Sound, scent, even the telepathic link between you werewolves—all temporarily severed." I froze in place, my heart pounding wildly. "Fear not, I mean you no harm." She took a step forward, her gaze seeming to pierce right through me. "I come because I detected the scent of an ‘old friend’." An old friend? I was utterly baffled. She offered no further explanation, instead beginning to tell a story, her voice like the chanting of ancient poetry: "Long, long ago, in a time when kings and nobles ruled, and all others were mere peasants, there was a village. Unable to pay the heavy taxes demanded, it was slaughtered by the king’s soldiers. Only three little girls survived, hiding in a cellar. They lay near death, starving and freezing, until a passing ‘kind soul’ rescued them." "The kind stranger took pity on these three orphaned girls, sending them to a distant school where they could grow up. But fate played a cruel trick, there, they stumbled upon the secrets of witches. Everything changed from that moment on. They began using their powers to punish the wicked and aid the righteous. Their deeds grew ever more audacious, until eventually, their trail spread throughout the entire kingdom, and their organization drew in more and more members. The most renowned were the twelve core witches, each named after a month, from January to December." "As time passed, members passed away and new ones joined. Yet the original founders gradually vanished, until the entire witch organization faded from history, never to be seen again." I listened in a daze, yet felt a faint spark of inspiration. "You... are you one of them?" I ventured cautiously. The middle-aged woman shook her head, a fleeting, inscrutable curve playing at the corners of her mouth. "No, child. I was even their... adversary." The words had barely left her lips when, before I could register any movement, a wave of intense dizziness washed over me. Darkness engulfed my vision, and I lost consciousness completely.