Chapter 168: Urgent matter
[ Blackmoon pack - Lyla/ Kieran’s chamber ]
Healers darted across corridors with rolled linen, steaming poultices, and glistening vials clutched in trembling fingers.
They moved with purpose but they also looked scared. There were a few witches murmuring some incantations.Others just looked on...some with dread...some with anticipation.
Inside Kieran’s room, which he had long since discarded,there was chaos of a different kind.
He hadn’t been to that room since Autumn left. He slept in his office or the pack dorm often. So the place had basically been handed over to Lyla and her father
Roanoke sat hunched over Lyla’s shaking frame. The girl’s body jerked with every spasm, her chest rising and falling in panicked gasps, and her pale lips were stained with the yellowed bile of repeated vomiting. Her nails dug into the bed sheets, eyes wide and wet, blinking rapidly like they were searching for a way out of her own skin.
"Breathe, Lyla... come on," Roanoke whispered in aggression, wiping her sweat slicked forehead with his sleeve.
But she wasn’t breathing right...at least not in any way that brought peace. Every inhale dragged a gag behind it, every exhale trembled like it carried too much pain. Lyla gagged again and turned to heave over the side of the bed, but there was nothing left in her stomach to give.
The door burst open.
A young healer with panic in her eyes rushed in and fumbled a small corked vial into Roanoke’s hand. "Here! The root balm! It might ease the internal resistance."
Roanoke looked at the thick, syrupy liquid in the vial. It stank like crushed garlic and raw blood. Lyla sniffed and immediately turned her head, groaning.
"No... no more... it hurts..."
"You have to take it," Roanoke growled softly, almost pleading now. "It will help, girl. Please."
Lyla sobbed, turning away again, eyes squeezing shut. "It’s burning me...The baby is distressed! I can feel it...it’s not comfortable in this body...it’s burning...help me...somebody help me please..."
Roanoke’s jaw locked. It looked like he was fighting his urge to smash something...looked like he was gulping his anger,twisting and turning on his feet.Then he turned around and cupped Lyla’s jaw, gently but firmly forcing the vial to her lips. "Drink it."
With a choked sob, she did.
Seconds later, her body convulsed.
The liquid surged back up, mixed with blood now, splattering the sheets and Roanoke’s chest. She let out a weak, wounded cry...and then slumped back onto the mattress like her strings had been cut.
Roanoke froze, staring at her.
Her lips parted slightly. Her breath was shallower that before.
One thing was clear... her body was not being able to accommodate the pup.
She wasn’t unconscious...yet...but her body had given up the fight for now.
He stood there, heart thudding. For one, two, three painful moments. Then the chair clattered back as he stormed out.
His boots thundered against the floor of the packhouse. He turned down the corridor that led to the Gamma quarters, fury painted across every line of his body. His teeth gritted so hard his jaw pulsed.
Kael was seated at his breakfast table, munching on toasted rye and smoked meat. He looked up in mild surprise...just in time to see his plate fly off the table.
CRASH!
Food, cutlery, and china exploded across the floor and the wall.
Roanoke didn’t flinch. "Where the fuck is your goddamn Alpha?"
Kael sighed and set his fork down with exaggerated care. "You are going to clean that up."
Roanoke’s hands curled into fists. "His Luna is in agony. Vomiting blood. The pup is destroying her from the inside and he is nowhere in sight. Am I supposed to play nursemaid to his child while you all play poker and ignore the goddamn crisis?This is your pack’s heir and yet none of you care to do anything solid! "
Kael stood up, brushing off his sleeves. He didn’t speak for a beat. Then he slowly bent to pick up the shattered plate and tossed it into the trash bin in the corner.
Only when he rose again did his eyes sharpen.
"An Alpha," he said slowly, "has responsibilities...territories, treaties, pack security,politics, policies,threats,rogue surveillance...should I name more? These things your stunted mind couldn’t possibly grasp."
He took a step forward, grabbing Roanoke’s chin with rough fingers. "But let’s not pretend, shall we? Isn’t this what you wanted? You clawed for this pregnancy. You moved your pieces, aligned your stars. You wanted Luna Lyla to carry Alpha Kieran’s heir. Your heir to be exact. Or am I missing something?" His lips curled. "What happened, old man? Getting a taste of what legacy actually costs?"
Roanoke shoved his hand away, breathing hard. "This isn’t about me, you insolent idiot."
"No?" Kael murmured.
"Lyla needs her mate." Roanoke’s voice dropped, steady and frustrated. "The child inside her is suffering. It needs the Alpha’s grounding...his energy. His presence. Or it might kill her in her current state...before she even births it."
He poked Kael’s chest hard. "So if you give a damn about your Luna, the baby, or this pack, you will find a way to send this message across to your Alpha. I don’t care if you have to jump off a cliff. You just get this message across.Immediately."
He turned and stalked off.
Kael stood rooted in place. The fire in Roanoke’s words echoed inside him like thunder, bouncing off the walls of every rational thought. He rubbed the back of his neck.
That’s when the mind link hit.
"Kael, can you hear me?"
The voice sliced through him like lightning.
He gasped. "Dax? You goddamn ghost! Where the hell are you? Are you even alive?"
He felt himself grinning stupidly. His Beta. His brother in arms was finally back... Well, at least his voice was. Even that was much.
But Dax’s tone was urgent.He didn’t have time to entertain his enthusiasm. "No time. I have been trying to reach Alpha Kieran. He’s not responding through the link."
Kael frowned. "He might have switched it off...might have gone after Autumn..."
" Oh, alright.Something is definitely blocking him. I need you to get through to him. Tell him it’s me. Tell him the time has come and we are waiting for his instruction before making the next move! "
"Where are you? What the hell is going on?"
"Can’t explain, mate. Not now.Send the message.Alpha knows! "
"Dax, wait..."
The link snapped.
Kael stood there, heart pounding, head spinning.