Back inside the Bloodfang territory,the Alpha’s carriage rolled smoothly through the dense forest.
Its rhythmic clatter of hooves against the dirt path was the only sound cutting through the tense silence inside.Velor sat across from Autumn, one leg propped lazily on the seat, his sharp gaze never leaving her face. While Autumn still shivered though she was tucked beneath the thick wool blanket. Her fingers twitched weakly.Rory fidgeted beside her, his hands clenched into fists.
The gates creaked open urgently as the carriage made its way through. Rory watched as the guards bowed while they raced past the standing battalion. Unlike the Blackmoon or the Curzon packs, Velor lived in a castle, not along with the rest of his pack.
The darkened halls of Velor’s castle had velvet draped corridors that stretched endlessly. It was luxurious and ominous at the same time, humming with ancient wards that shimmered faintly under the flicker of firelight.
Velor strode through them like he owned the damn place...which, of course, he did (my bad)!
Autumn was limp in his arms, her breath shallow and her skin getting paler by the minutes. Rory trailed behind like a loyal dog, his gaze locked on the unconscious girl, worry carved deep into every line of his young face.
Velor took Autumn directly inside his private chambers.
It was all dark marbles and onyx. He moved like a storm. He kicked the door open with a booted foot, gestured for Rory to follow, and laid Autumn down on the massive bed draped in fur and midnight colored sheets.
The room was cavernous, lined with weapons and relics, but it was warm. Too warm.
"Call the damn healer," Velor barked at a guard at the doorway. "And the witches too! "
Rory sat beside the bed, gripping the edge tightly, his small frame stiff as a bowstring.
Autumn murmured, her lips barely parting as she twisted slightly. "Don’t... tell... don’t tell him..."
Her voice was so faint, it nearly got lost in the rustle of the firewood.
"I don’t... wanna go back..."
Velor raised a brow and then, slowly, slid into the chair beside the bed. His palm found her limp hand.
"Oh, trust me, sweetheart," he murmured with a smirk. "This territory’s shielded by magic older than your boyfriend’s daddy’s sword. No message goes in or out unless I say so. Kieran won’t know a damn thing unless I decide he should."
Rory’s eyes widened. His face went pale. Something about that answer did not comfort him at all. He edged forward quietly, then slipped Autumn’s hand gently out of Velor’s grasp and clutched it himself. Velor watched, amused.
"Oh ho! Possessive, are we?" Velor chuckled darkly. "You got guts, kid. I will give you that."
Before Rory could retort, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The doors burst open.
Three beautiful wowil, all draped in fine silks and thick hair cascading around their shoulders,swept in, their heels clicking sharply against the stone.
"VELOR!YOU ARE FINALLY BACK! " one of them cried, her kohl lined eyes flaring.
"You brought...another wife home?" said the second, voice sharp as nail.
"She looks like she is dying!" the third gasped. "Oh Goddess, she is bleeding...Velor! Is she pregnant ?"
The first woman rushed forward, knelt by the bedside. "She is cold. Her pulse is weak. Velor, who is she?Whose child is she carrying?"
"The girl’s name is Autumn," Velor said dryly. "And no, she is not my wife...Yet."
That earned him simultaneous glares from all three women and Rory alike
"Get the healer in here!" one snapped.
"We already did," Velor waved lazily toward the doorway. "They should be..."
Then an old healer stepped in...bent backed but sharp eyed, his leather satchel brimming with roots, herbs, and glass phials that clinked against each other with every step that he took.
He nodded towards Autumn. "Move aside."
Rory backed off immediately. The three women also stepped away, forming a tense semi circle.
The healer murmured to himself as he examined Autumn, pressing two fingers to her pulse, sniffing the faint scent of blood on her clothes, examining her pale skin.
A long moment passed.
" She bled out a lot... we might have to transfuse some blood... "
Then came the second knock...softer, colder.But with a lot of weight.
The witches entered, three in number, cloaked in ink dyed robes and smelling of sacred ash and wet soil after a thunderstorm. Their eyes glowed faintly, magic already stirring around their fingertips.But this wasn’t like Mango’s. This was greenish. Different.
"She is not just bleeding," one witch whispered, her voice like winter wind. "She is carrying a rare child."
Gasps echoed around the chamber.
"And she is on the verge of losing it," the eldest witch added gravely. "If not treated immediately, both mother and child could perish by morning."
"Rare child?" one of the women repeated in shocked. "Then whose...?"
"Don’t say it," Velor cut in, raising a hand.
He stood up slowly, turned his back towards them as he stared into the fire licking the hearth.
The flicker of light danced in his eyes.
The witches hesitated, glancing at Velor.
"Alpha... the child is Blackmoon blood. If we save it..."
"Ahhhhh! To save or not to save the bastard’s child..." he said out loud,tilting his head, studying Autumn’s pale face."That’s the question, isn’t it?"
The witches waited, unreadable.
"Ple...please..." Autumn’s cracked whisper curled into the room like smoke.
"Plz... save... my baby..."
And then more mumbled words...too garbled to understand...but her hand twitched against the sheets as if reaching out for something, for someone.
Theatric. Tired. Resigned.
But maybe a little touched.
"All right then," he said with an exaggerated shrug. "You heard the lady."
He turned back towards the witches, his eyes glinting.
"Save the damn baby." But then his smirk returned, wicked as ever. "Fix her. And if that pup survives? Well..." He leaned down, his breath brushing Autumn’s ear as he murmured, "Kieran’s gonna lose his damn mind."