CHAPTER 150: NOTHING LEFT TO SAY

(...continued from the previous Chapter)

Kieran was about to bark back some supper inappropriate retort...But...he didn’t get the chance.

His lips parted...and then stopped as if on its own accord.

His jaw clenched. Eyes fluttered shut.Body slumped.Almost like he was a marionette!

Just for a moment.

And then he staggered.

It was so subtle at first that Velor didn’t register it. But Mango did. She reached forward.

"Kieran, you alright?"

He didn’t respond.

His brows knit tighter... as if something inside him was... shifting. Distorting.

Then, his hand shot out...gripping the edge of the bench beside Mango.

Velor straightened immediately. "Oi!"

Kieran’s head bowed, chest tightening. His breathing turned shallow.

"Kieran?!" Mango’s voice rose...sharper now."What’s happening?!"

Then came a voice that was definitely not his...Not even close.

It was a girl’s voice. Young. Strained. Terrified.But the voice did speak through Kieran’s mouth.

( Well, it was indeed the girl he had bound.But it was her first time using a ’Bind Link’ . Normally, it was supposed to work just like a common pack ’Mind Link’ but guess she couldn’t figure it out. But she was driven by desperation. She had to get the message across somehow. She was gifted... She strained, tried to use whatever power she had left... and the result was of course hilarious... if not disastrous.)

"Alpha Kieran...Can you hear me...it’s me!"

Everyone froze.

Mango’s mouth parted in horror.

Velor took a slow step forward, his face focusing hard. But surprisingly they all still had straight faces... dead serious. ( Beats me, Alpha Kieran speaking like a girl... well well... let’s just leave the imagination at that.)

Kieran’s eyes were still closed.But seemed like he wasn’t there anymore.

The voice continued, trembling through clenched teeth.

"Vera came to me. She found your mate. You were right. She was here indeed...she is at Skarthheim..."

SNAP!!!!

Just like that it was cut off...

The voice vanished.

Kieran’s back jerked as if he had been yanked by an invisible chain.

He gasped, eyes flying open.

Blood vessels stood out on his neck. He inhaled like he had been suffocating.

Then silence.

Three sets of eyes stared at him.

Mango. Velor. Niva.

Not a single breath passed.

Kieran blinked. His throat worked like he was trying to push the girl’s voice out of his own windpipe.

It was Velor who finally broke the silence.

"...well, fucking hell. Moon have mercy..." He leaned in slowly, whistling through his teeth. "What do we have here, my friend?"

Kieran didn’t answer. He was still a little giddy... just a bit.

Velor chuckled, dragging a hand through his blood matted hair. "Don’t tell me you have been dabbling in forbidden bonds. Using dark link magic? Just like me, huh?"

He grinned.

"Guess we are not that different after all, Blackmoon.Are we?!"

He didn’t wait for a reply.

Didn’t need one actually!

He turned towards Niva, and gently took her hands, looking her straight into the eye...

"Gather the Betas." He didn’t shout but his voice cut like ice.

"Check the ammunition, fuel stock, artillery inventory ..everything.We might need the full arsenal."

He rolled his shoulders once, like he was warming up for something dangerous. "Looks like I am headed to the Old World and war is knocking at the doors.You know the drill,my Queen. Get every walking soldier ’ war ready’. Wait for my signal. "

He grinned like a madman. "Skarthheim...ahh!!!Never thought I would step foot there...again."

He turned to walk away.That’s when Kieran lunged... well, almost.

"What the fuck! Where the fuck do you think you are going?!"

His voice whipped, he was about to reach Velor...about to grab him by the hair and drag him down when... A hand grabbed his wrist.

Soft, gentle... but firm.

It was surprisingly, Niva. " Take him with you, Brother Kieran."

Kieran’s body froze.It had been ages since Niva actually addressed him that way.

"...Niva?" His voice softened. Confused."Niva,I appreciate you finally talking to me...this isn’t a matter where..."

"No," she cut in, sharp as a whip, brokering no argument. "Listen to me."

Her voice trembled slightly, but her grip did not.

"Skarthheim is not like our land. Or the packs we know.It’s the land of living monsters. Even seasoned Alphas like you...with a thousand victories under their belt won’t survive there...head on."

She swallowed.

"With all due respect, Brother Kieran... you will need him."

Kieran’s jaw flexed.

"Niva, I respect your concern, I truly do...but my safety doesn’t matter. It’s about Autumn." His voice dropped, breaking. "She is not well...she is pregnant. She is all alone."

He ran a hand through his hair, ragged. "I won’t bring politics into this. I don’t give a shit about any war, any protocol. I just want her safe. She suffered a lot...and she shouldn’t suffer more.I will take the risk alone...Velor is a sell out...I can’t make Autumn suffer because of his stupid schemes...Even if I die, I need to get Autumn back home..."

"Brother Kieran!"

Her voice snapped this time. Too hard.

"Enough." Kieran barked.

But instead Niva stepped closer.

Her eyes were wet. Her lips pressed together to keep them from trembling perhaps.

"Oh, I know how she has suffered! I know she did.I have seen her suffer, Brother Kieran. When she stayed here... she was broken...shattered...heart and soul..."

Kieran looked away.

"I saw her try to move on from you...and fail. Days. Nights. It was all the same. I saw her tear apart...I did."

Niva’s voice cracked a little more. "And as if that wasn’t enough...there came the curse."

Kieran flinched.Mango stiffened beside him.

" Curse??? What bloody curse, Niva? Tell me everything! I thought it was vague... rumor that Velor came up with so he could hide her...torment me more... Tell me , Niva, what happened to her while she was here?!Tell me all..." Kieran grabbed Niva’s shoulders and shook them so hard like it was her fault somehow.

But Niva held her ground.

"This was no rumor.She was cursed indeed. A terrible curse," Niva whispered. "That curse didn’t come from within our borders....It came through you.Someone used you to bypass all our wards. Someone used your blood to get to her. Inside our own territory...the night you came for the dance, for the party...you carried the curse and passed it onto her..."

Kieran staggered back like she had just slapped him with her slippers.

" No!!! This can’t be!!! How??! "And he dared add. " You are lying!"

" Am I?"

" No! She is not!" It was Mango who replied.

" Mango?! " He turned towards Mango with disbelief.

" This... is absolutely possible. In fact it makes sense. The Bloodfangs always have had strong magic repellent charms that they use to ensure the safety of their guests. Only you could have come close enough... only you could have... "

" Mango, stop!!! " Kieran shrieked, almost ripping his own ear out.

Mango heaved a deep sigh. " I wish it was not true, Kieran. But it is. I felt it too. I wasn’t sure until I was close inside the Bloodfang borders... Niva is not lying! "

Kieran turned to Niva like a helpless lost pup.

"So...now that you know that you helped carry that curse to her...let me continue..." Another brutal slap.

" And then she was kidnapped by this strange Seer who promised us she could help her...she was convulsing...floating in the air...we were so scared...we were so desperate...we let that Seer in...It was our fault...I admit that..." Niva continued. " And I just... I just hope she is alright. I pray those babies are alright."

Niva’s voice lowered.Kieran gulped. His fists clenched. His eyes glistened.

" And that is why I am begging you."

Her hand rested lightly on his chest before she closed them together in front of him like as if in a prayer... in desperation.

" This shit is bigger than the two of you.Please... take Velor.Please...I beg you, Brother Kieran.Take him...so you have a fighting chance."

Kieran did not speak.

He simply looked at her.

Then at Mango. Then back at Niva again.

"I can’t trust him."

"I am not asking you to." Niva’s voice was calm now. "I am not asking you to reconcile. Or forgive. Or forget...Whatever...Geez...you two sound like a divorced couple..."

She looked at Velor....who was now a speck in the distance. Niva knew where he was headed. He was going straight for the garage.Velor was that adamant kind... when he made up his mind... he would be singularly focused. Won’t stop until he got what he wanted!!!

Then she turned back at Kieran again.

"Brother Kieran,if you trust me, I can only assure you one thing...from what I have seen...Velor cares for Autumn.Genuinely cares for her. I vouch for it. "

Kieran’s heart dropped at the statement. He didn’t know how to react.

"He didn’t sell her out. He wouldn’t do that in the future. I know him too well. I can bet my life on it."

Kieran’s lips parted. But no sound came out.

Niva stepped back, giving him space.

"Go to Skarthheim together. Get her out. Save her."

She shook her head once.

"Then you can rip each other apart to your heart’s content." She clapped her hands together.

Silence.

Mango, Niva and Kieran, all three of them stared at one another.

Nothing more was said...