"You did what?" Kieran bellowed.
The power behind his voice made the glass of a nearby medicine cabinet, which was still intact, tremble for dear life.
Mango shuddered violently as Kieran’s roar shook the very walls of the infirmary as well.
"You made a deal with that devil? Without my consent? You went against my laws, Mango? !"
The floor beneath their feet shook as if struck by an invisible force. Dust rained from the wooden beams above. Even Autumn, who had no idea what was unfolding, took a fearful step back behind Mango, her wide eyes darting between the towering Alpha and the others.
"You think I would willingly invite that viper into our affairs if there was any other choice?" Mango tried to please her case!
Kieran’s chest heaved. The muscles in his arms corded, his fingers flexing like he was imagining wrapping them around someone’s neck!
Mango stood rooted in place, trying to hold her ground as Kieran’s aura pressed down like an avalanche. Her fingers curled into fists as well, as she held her dress, trying to steady herself! "You were dying, Kieran. I was desperate," she whispered, but her voice trembled.
" You should have better let me die than give that bitch a chance...",Before Kieran could launch into another fury, Dax stepped between them, palms raised, chest heaving.
"Alpha! Enough!" he barked, voice firm but respectful. "The Council was here! Fenric and his entire filthy brood.They came while you were unconscious after fighting off those Bloodfangs! I told you they have been using dark magic! It was difficult holding the Council back when they had so many excuses to push us! They gave us an ultimatum. Three days...or they would bring war to our gates!"
Kieran’s eyes flared with rage, but he froze,fists still clenched at his sides, jaw gritting together...breath labored. The room held its breath.
"We really had no other option,Alpha" Dax said, softer now. "We could not afford to lose you even if we wanted to. We could not lose the pack to those filthy bastards."
That pause...barely a heartbeat...was all Mango needed.
"You were stabbed by a Demon Blade, Kieran!" she rasped, voice cracking under the weight of everything she had held in. "That blade was meant to steal your soul. You somehow survived...a miracle in itself.But it apparently wasn’t enough to get you back!"
Kieran’s eyes snapped to Autumn who stood trembling behind Mango, then flickered just for a moment,before turning back to Mango. His gaze hardened again.
"What exactly," he said, teeth clenched, "did you offer that witch in exchange for her help?"
Mango swallowed hard. "She asked for two things. A vial of your blood... and your acknowledgment that she saved your life."
The room went deathly silent.
Kieran stared at her as if she had grown horns.
"She wants my blood?" he asked, voice low, lethal. "And a public acknowledgment? That she, of all people, saved me?"
He walked towards the window, stepping carefully around the splinters and dried blood on the floor. Outside, a raven sat on a distant branch, silent and still. Kieran’s jaw worked furiously as he watched it. His hands twitched at his sides.
A sharp, bitter laugh tore from Kieran’s throat. "Of course." He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the window sill.
The wood creaked under his grip. "And in return, she thought she would slip something extra into me, didn’t she? A little... gift from my former lover?Bad bitches don’t die that easily!"
Autumn’s stomach twisted. "Selene was Kieran’s ex?" She thought, watching his face closely.
"She will get what she was promised," he said finally, voice like stone. "But she will have to face me first."
Immediately, Mango sprang forward. "No, Kieran! You don’t face that witch again!"
"She is too dangerous," Dax added, placing a firm hand on the Alpha’s shoulder. "We will deliver the blood ourselves. You don’t need to risk anything else."
Kieran shrugged him off. "No. She wants to see me! She will get to see me."
He turned, eyes dark and furious as a brewing storm. "Because she did something to me that was not part of that goddamn deal. And now, she will pay dearly for trying to cheat me again! "
Mango’s face paled. "I didn’t know she would...I mean I suspected...that’s why I kept a suppressant handy...but..."
"That’s her game, Mango. You walk in thinking you are the one holding the leash, and next thing you know, you are the one choking on it."
"What did she do?" Dax asked,looking very worried. .
Kieran did not answer immediately. His eyes drifted again to Autumn. She flinched when his gaze landed on her.
"You," he said, voice suddenly quieter. "You are coming with me."
Autumn blinked, confused. "W..what? Me? Why?"
"Because whatever she did to me... it is linked to you." Kieran’s voice was very cold and certain. "I don’t know how, but she bound something inside me. I can feel it every time I look at you. I need to get this undone...And teach her a proper lesson."
Mango stepped in front of Autumn protectively. "She is just a kid, Kieran. She doesn’t even completely understand what is happening!It will be better to leave her out of this! "
"She is a part of what is happening," Kieran snapped.
"Let me talk to the witch," Mango pleaded again. "Let me..."
"No," Kieran growled.
Autumn’s voice was barely a whisper. "Where are we going?"
Kieran did not look back as he answered.
"To the Black Hollow." He paused in the doorway only for a moment!
Outside, the raven cawed once, and then took to the sky.
The moment it was gone, Kieran turned around and scooped Autumn up effortlessly, flinging her on his back, before anybody could understand or protest!
" Stop! I am not going to meet your ex! Put me down! " Autumn had no idea why she shrieked like that. By the number of times she had been flung and carried by Kieran, that should have become her normal mode of travel!
Kieran said nothing. He just smirked and carried on!