Someone indeed confirmed that they had seen Alpha Kieran towards the Eastern cliff. They told Mango that patrol was trying to pinpoint and then find his exact location.
But Mango did not wait. She sprinted towards the East Cliff herself. Her breath was ragged, the bundled cloth clutched so tightly against her chest that her fingers had started to ache. The wind howled around her, biting at her skin, but she barely felt it...her entire body was alight with urgency.
Her breath was burning in her lungs, her arms aching from the strain of holding the wrapped bundle against her chest... it was getting heavier and heavier.
She was about to round the last slope when she nearly collided with a tall figure emerging from the woods.
She stumbled back with a startled gasp.
She skidded to a halt, nearly stumbling as a broad figure stepped into her path. Kieran’s dark brows furrowed as he took in her disheveled state, the wild panic in her eyes. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
Mango did not waste a second. "Where is Autumn?" she demanded, voice sharp.
Kieran stiffened. "What?"
"Autumn!" she nearly yelled at him. "Have you seen her?"
" Mango, are you out of your mind? You came all the way here to ask me where Autumn is? What’s going on? "
" Kieran just answer the fucking question. Do you know where Autumn is? Can you feel her?"
His jaw tightened. "No. She was supposed to be in my room...or maybe hers. Why?You are scaring me Mango. Tell me what’s going on. "
" Oh! I ask because she was definitely not in your room!" Mango’s stomach twisted. "Because Roanoke and half the pack were seen leaving your room this morning. I looked for her everywhere else. It’s possible she is now... gone! "
Kieran’s expression darkened like a storm rolling in. "What!!What?" Kieran stiffened. "Roanoke? He was in my room?"
"She is missing," Mango snapped. "Some guards said she might have crossed the borders. Kieran, we need to find her...like right now."
His hands clenched into fists, knuckles white. "I will kill that son of a..."
"Kieran, focus!Autumn!!!" Mango grabbed his arm, nails digging in. "We need to find her immediately!"
His eyes flickered to hers, finally registering the sheer terror in her voice. He gripped her wrist, his voice dropping low. "Mango, tell me what’s really going on here? I will find her. But why do you sound ?"
Mango let out a frustrated growl. "You still can’t feel your mate bond, can you?"
Kieran’s jaw worked. "No. Nothing. I have been taking the antidotes, but that fucking witch must have..." He cut himself off with a snarl. "Why?Why is that important? I will find her somehow...like I found her before."
Mango exhaled sharply, her fingers trembling around the cloth. "That explains why you couldn’t feel it."
Kieran’s gaze dropped to the bundle in her arms. "Feel what exactly?"
For a heartbeat, Mango hesitated. Then, with slow, deliberate movements, she peeled back the fabric.
There lay a moonstone....glowing bright pink.It lay nestled in the cloth like a sleeping baby.
Silently, Mango lowered her arms. Her fingers trembled as she unwrapped the cloth completely that she had been holding like a sacred relic. It’s colour glowed brighter at Kieran looked on.
Kieran went utterly still.
"No," he breathed out, his legs slightly giving away without him realising.
This moon stone was not just any other moonstone.
It was a rare one...a special werewolf possession,used only when a male could not smell the change in scent of his mate...Which was really really rare. It usually happened when the bond was too weak, too damaged, to sense the life growing inside the woman. In Kieran’s case, it was a double curse.
Kieran’s hand shook as he reached for it. "This... this can not be..."
Mango’s voice was steel. "As you can see... It is! "
"No," he breathed. "You are telling me...?"
"She is pregnant, Kieran."
Kieran’s lips trembled.Mango stared at his face with pity and sorrow. She had never seen him so emotional. Even Kieran himself was unaware that he was capable of such emotions.
" I am going to be a..."
" Father... yes... unless you suggest Autumn slept with someone else! "
" Never! " A growl left his chest...not aimed at Mango but at the absurdity of her suggestion. "She is mine. Has been and always will be! Forever! All mine! "
His hands reached forward instinctively!
His fingers brushed the stone... the touch too light... like he was scared and awed at the same time...
And then, as if fate itself had decided to twist the knife, it slipped.
Time seemed to freeze.
The moonstone hit the rocky ground with a hollow crack. Then it split, shattering into gleaming pink fragments that scattered across the earth like broken stars.
Kieran stared at the shards, his face pale.
The thousand glittering shards tumbled here and there...it’s pink light flickering once... twice... then gradually it faded and died.
Kieran stared at the broken pieces, his face pale.
Only the wind howled now..somewhere far, far below the cliff edge.
"Find her," Kieran murmured. "I need to find her now! Oh god! Mango! I gave her some wine last night! Hell! I didn’t know! Mango... she was so sick! She was suffering... because..because of this??? " He laughed and smiled at the same time. " It wasn’t our bond that was making her miserable??? Thank the Moon!!!" He signed with relief one second and the next he was up on his toe. But then his eyes locked properly onto the Healer’s face.
" There is more to this... isn’t it? Tell me! But make it quick, Mango! I need to hurry. I need to find her... she can be pretty stubborn when she wants to... though I don’t exactly blame her this time... " He was already saddling his horse and then he lifted Mango onto the horse back!
" Damn right, Kieran. You need to find her as soon as possible. Because this pregnancy... its not going to be easy for her... it’s going to put her through literal hell... or maybe more..."