CHAPTER 234: COHERENT

(... continued)

The brilliant bluish shimmer began to fade a little... or perhaps their eyes were adjusting to the changed light condition.

The angelic woman ,clad in moonlight white...if she could be called a woman at all...hung in the air for one last breathless moment, then her gaze fell on Kieran.

Without a word, she extended a thin scroll sealed in silver wax and the same glowing bluish thread.

Her movements were unhurried, almost reverent,too careful as though the letter weighed more than the world itself.

Kieran’s hand reached out of its own,though he himself was hesitant. The moment the scroll touched his palm a strange warmth pulsed against his skin...breathing.

And then... the glowing woman was gone.

Just like that. No sound. No flash. Only a sudden collapse of light.

The woods plunged into darkness again.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Kieran stood rooted in place, staring at the sealed letter as though it might explode...or perhaps start talking.His breath was uneven. The fire of his aura dimmed.

"...Dada?" Freya’s small voice broke the stillness.

She tugged at his arm, her wide eyes glimmering with childlike curiosity. "What’s that? What did she give you?It’s so glowing...and sparkling...Show me...please! I want it..." Freya reached out.

Kieran jolted, almost as if waking from a trance. His grip tightened on the scroll.

"No," he muttered, voice low and rough enough to scare the little babe.

He pulled it well out of her reach. "This is not for you, Freya.This is definitely not a toy. If anything,it might be dangerous."

Freya pouted, confusion swimming in her gaze.

"But... why not? It looks like a letter. Maybe it’s for all of us? What if it’s something good? "

She bent her little head, desperately trying to catch a few words here and there... but it seemed like the words were fleeting... However she was able to figure out the word ’party’!

" Party?" She cocked her head,taking a moment to analyze. "Yeahhh! Dada! It’s a party. It’s an invite! Yeah! Hurray! Someone invited us to a party! " She clung onto Kieran’s knees. "Dada, I wanna go! I wanna go to a party! Pretty please! "

Kieran forced his eyes away from hers, but his jaw clenched.

He couldn’t lie to her...not entirely. Still, he swallowed back.

"Not everything that comes wrapped in light... brings good," he said, more to himself than to her.

Freya tilted her head. She didn’t understand, but she could feel the weight in his tone. She shifted uneasily and glanced at Lyla.

"Mamma? Can you ask him?"

Lyla’s gaze lingered on Kieran,questioning. "Alpha." Her voice was steady, though a note of unease bled through. "What is in your hand?"

For a moment, Kieran didn’t move. The letter seemed glued to his palm. Finally, he drew in a slow breath and spoke without looking at her.

"Take Freya. Go back to the pack. Get her cleaned. Fed. She has been through enough today."

Freya frowned, stamping her foot lightly. "But I want to go to that..."

"Freya." His voice cracked like a whip, sharp, commanding.

She froze, her little lips pressing together. Tears threatened to well up, but she nodded quickly, knowing better than to argue again. She knew her father never raised his voice over her. She knew she must have done something wrong... she could sense he was thoroughly pissed.

Lyla placed a firm but gentle hand on Freya’s shoulder. "Come little darling," she said softly, though her eyes never left Kieran."Dada will explain what’s going on when he is done investigating it. Let’s go eat something. I know you must be very hungry!"

Freya cast one last glance at her father, small,maybe a little hurt, before letting Lyla guide her away.

A few scouts followed them silently into the trees at Dax’s command. Their shadows thinned as the group disappeared beyond the border of the woods.

Then the silence returned, heavier than before.

Only one figure remained with Kieran now...Dax, standing stiff at his side, eyes flicking between the letter and his Alpha’s face.

Kieran exhaled slowly and finally turned to meet his Beta’s gaze. The pale glow from the bluish thread of the scroll, cut across his features.

Dax swallowed. "I have seen that look on your face before."

Kieran didn’t respond. His thumb brushed over the silver seal. The faint hum it gave off made his skin prickle. He glanced at Dax, a shadow in his eyes.

"If it’s as I feared..."

A long silence stretched.

"Open it?"

Kieran’s jaw locked. His eyes burned into the scroll, then lifted slowly to Dax.

"Not yet," he replied, his voice rough, low. "Let’s get back. Gather some witches. We might need help...translating..."

Dax simply kept looking at him.

"This feels ancient, Dax... I am very certain it has something to do with that mysterious fortress that came out of nowhere in the woods.I remember the residual energy clinging to the bodies of the scouts who came back and reported it."

Dax looked very concerned. " Are you certain, Alpha!"

" Quite certain. It’s not a kind of energy that one would forget... besides... "

" Besides what, Alpha?"

"Oh nothing! I am probably over-thinking it! Let’s get back and open this! Let’s see what they have to say! " Kieran turned around to get back to the pack when Dax suddenly grabbed his arm.

" Alpha wait!"

Kieran arched his brows. " What is it, Dax?"

" What if this is a trap? It might as well contain a curse. In that case it would not be a very wise decision to take it back to the pack!" After a short pause Dax added. " Why not destroy it here, Alpha? "

Kieran said nothing. Dax inched closer taking a good look at what looked like scribbling on the surface. " Princess Freya seemed to have thought this was some kind of an invite..." Still no answer from Kieran so he added with a half hearted laugh. " Probably her childish imagination... I mean there is no word or anything... it’s just gibberish..."

But when Kieran looked down the words formed coherent lines, though he needed to read it all to understand the complete matter. Could the scroll be encrypted or could it be cursed like Dax mentioned?! Damn! This was going to be a close call!