Chapter 19: Chapter 19

KEVIN’S POV

Slap! I staggered due to the impact as a blow landed on my face. Before I could recover from it I was pulled into a tight hug by my mother.

“Where did you vanish without telling us? Do you have any idea how worried we were? You father deployed all the members of the pack to search for you but they couldn’t find you anywhere… we thought that….” her voice broke and then she burst into sobs.

I stole a glance at my father expecting to meet his furious expression. I was startled when I saw only grief and worry in them.

My heart twisted with guilt. I rejected Kiara to bring peace and happiness to my family yet all I did in the past six months was to cause them pain and sorrow.

It was high time that I got my shit together. I couldn’t let my family suffer anymore because of me. I pulled away and wiped the tears running down my mother’s cheeks.

Cupping her face, I looked into her eyes and said in a firm voice, “This will never happen again… I promise…”

She nodded her head and led me to the table. Pulling a chair for me she said,  “You must be hungry. I had made pancakes for you… I will just heat it up for you…”

Before leaving she gave Dad a deadly glare as if warning him not to scold me. Dad just shrugged and sat opposite me.

He cleared his throat and said, “I was wrong… I should not…”

“Dad… please don’t… I will feel bad if you apologize… I was the one who was being unreasonable…I…”

“Let me finish what I started… This is your Alpha’s order…” He said in a stern tone. So, I had to seal my lips.

“I shouldn’t have forced you to marry Cami… If you can’t give Kiara’s place to anyone else I should respect your wishes…”

Dad became quiet when mom came in with a tray. Probably mom didn’t know about this. So, I changed the topic and told them all about my mini adventure.

It was decided that My dad and I would go to meet the Alpha of the Rustic Pack as soon as possible.

I had just finished my dinner cum breakfast when Collins came running. “There has been another rogue attack..” He said between gasps.

My heart sank at the thought of losing more members. I hadn’t managed to get the antidote yet.

I jumped to my feet and said, “Uncle, go and gather the pack. Enough is enough! We will teach these rogues a lesson today!”

He looked at me with a stunned expression before leaving to follow my orders. Within a few minutes about fifty to sixty members had gathered in our courtyard.

The courtyard rang with incessant chatter as they discussed how this was a suicide mission. They quietened down when they saw me and Dad approaching. But, the fear and apprehension was clearly visible in their eyes.

“We can’t let our brothers die like this. We will have to find a way to capture them or kill them!”

‘But, Alpha… How… their poisonous bite can kill us in a few seconds…”

“And if we bite them, we still die… our wolf form is useless against them…”

“Then we will fight in our human forms. If we can’t bite them, we will use silver weapons…”

There was pindrop silence in the courtyard as the members of the pack processed this information. Now, that they thought about it, it seemed so obvious...

Soon, Collin left with a group of members to hunt those poisonous wolves down.

My father placed the back of his hand on my forehead and asked, “What has gotten into you? Are you alright?”

I could sense the pride in his voice. He seemed so relieved that I had started taking interest in the affairs of the pack again. I vowed to never let him down again.

Now that I think about it, the trip to the Rustic Territory had changed me in some way. My heart still felt hollow but a sense of purpose had patched it up to a certain extent.

***

That night we gathered in the courtyard again. This time to celebrate our victory. A huge bonfire illuminated the dark night.

The three wolves that had been captured were dragged and presented in front of everyone.

“Alpha! It is time for justice…” Collins said with a deep bow.

“Yes, Alpha… these wolves killed my brother… their lives should not be spared!”

“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!!” the rhythmic chanting echoed in the courtyard.

“No! Please don’t kill us… we had no choice… we were forced to do this…” The tall man with a scar across his eyebrows begged.

My father’s fist clenched and he gritted out, “So, You were forced… then tell me this… who set you up…”

He kneeled to the ground, hissing in pain as the chain came in contact with his bare skin. “I don’t know… I really don’t know… he always hides his face under a black mask when he came to meet us.” He said in a shaking voice.

“Nonsense! You are just making an excuse!” father’s voice boomed in the courtyard rendering everyone speechless.

Exhaling deeply, I stepped forward and said, “If Alpha permits, can I say something…”

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t think we should kill them yet. It is better to keep them imprisoned in a dungeon.”

Angry chatter erupted in the crowd. They didn’t seem in a mood to listen to anything. No, we couldn’t kill them without investigation. We were supposed to be better.

“Quiet!” I said in a loud voice raising my hand. The crowd had to respect my authority and soon the chatter died out.

“Hear me out first! The Rustic Pack has antidote to their poisonous bites. We will try to ask them for help but what if they refuse… then we can use the poison from the men we captured to make an antidote…”

The members of the pack, even Collin remained quiet. It was evident that they were not happy with my suggestion. I looked at my father with hopeful eyes willing him to support me.

There was a long moment of silence before he cleared his throat and ordered, “Kevin is right. We should not take any decision hastily. Collins, take them to the dungeon.”

No one protested against him but the atmosphere turned from cheerful to depressed in a matter of seconds. It was important to keep the morality of the pack high if we were to win this battle. Maybe this was the time to make the announcement.

I walked up to my father and stood beside him. I cleared my throat to draw everyone’s attention and said, “I have something more to discuss. As you all know I rejected Kiara…”

“You did the right thing, Alpha. She was totally unfit to be your mate.”

“Kiara didn’t deserve to be the luna of our pack.”

They all went down on their knees and said in unison, “We support your decision. You deserve better than a despicable mate.”

I was startled by the venom in their voice. Every word they said dripped into my ears like hot lava.

Drawing in a deep breath to restrain my temper I said through clenched teeth, “I am not here to ratify my actions. I just want to make an announcement. For the bright future of the Mystical Pack, I have decided to choose Cami as my Luna. We will hold the Unification Ceremony the next full moon.”

Then I walked away leaving behind a stunned crowd. I didn’t feel like celebrating anymore. Kiara had become a part of me. How could I stand in a place where she is not wanted…