Page 43 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

Unable to fight sleep any longer, I doze off, wrapped in my mate's warm embrace. In my dreams, I see witches running around in panic while Karina is banging on someone's door, a mask on her face.

***

The next morning, we resume our journey. Due to the frequent breaks we are forced to take because of me, I am plagued with the constant worry that I am holding us back. We need to move faster. But Alex doesn't take no for an answer, and whenever I begin to slow down and stumble while running, he forces me to rest.

According to the map, we have finally reached the area that Robert had crossed off in his version of the map. To my surprise, it’s a small village, surrounded by a few open fields.

We’ve been running for a couple of hours now, and when we see the small, thriving village in the distance, the idea of taking a quick rest and getting a hot meal is tempting.

Alex doesn’t argue with me, and as we get closer, he says, "I didn't know the South Alliance had villages in the free zones.”

I am equally confused. I believed that the free zones belonged to no territory. “Well, those rules don’t apply to humans, right?”

From where we're standing, we can only see older women. Some are carrying baskets on their backs as they head to the open fields nearby. It's a quaint-looking place.

“Do you think we can get something to eat here before we continue?”

Alex shrugs. “I don’t see why not. You don’t sense anything off about this place, do you?”

"Nothing. They seem harmle…" My sentence cuts off as we get closer.

I lift my arm, stopping him.

“No. There was a barrier. No wonder I couldn't sense anything. They're witches, Alex.”

Alex frowns. “It makes sense that there are so few of them. They must be a coven.”

"I thought covens were bigger than this." I look curiously at the village. "There must be less than fifty residents in this village."

"Sometimes covens also go extinct due to lack of births," Alex tells me. "Witches are females. They have to mate with humansto have children, but human males are not allowed within their covens. It's been this way for as long as I can remember."

"So, what do we do?" I hesitate. "Should we continue on?"

Alex doesn't get the opportunity to answerbecause two of the elderly women have already spotted us and arenow walking toward us.

"Visitors?" one of them asks with a sweet smile. "What a lovely surprise."

"We were just leaving," I begin hastily, but the other one's eyes turn wide as she looks at me. "Nonsense. Our little village is eager to welcome travelers. Stay. Have something to eat.”

"Come share a meal with us." Her friend smiles warmly. "Young blood revitalizes this place."

They're just old women, and they seem so excited at the prospect of having visitors, that I don't have it in me to say no. One look at Alex has me realizing that he, too, doesn't know what to do.

"Maybe a meal would be nice," I relent.

"Come on then." The two women turn around and begin shuffling toward the village huts. They're talking amongst themselves now. "Call Ariana. She makes the best beef stew. I'll go start up the bread."

"You could have said no," I murmur as we follow after them.

"So could you," Alex whispers.

I give him a grumpy look.

The two elderly women had worn looks of childlike excitement and I didn't have the heart to say no to them.

As we enter the village, I see more women. They're all old, past their sixties. All of them are carrying the same basket on their backs, no matter what they're doing. It's a handwoven straw basket that people usually wear to carry crops in. I've seen pictures of them in history books but this is my first time seeing one in person.

This whole village is quite old-fashioned. The huts are not made of wood or bricks but mud with straw roofs. It's almost as if this place is stuck in ancient times.

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