Chapter 127


    Book Two – Ch.# 19 “KIERAN!”


    I screamed, throwing the car door open. After the initial shock of watching the scene unfold, my senses


    finally kicked back in and I jumped into action. There was no longer any hesitation within me. I just


    immediately sprinted towards him.


    Moving as fast as I could, I was already reaching for my dagger before my feet had hit the ground, And


    the closer I got, the more of themotion I could hear.


    There was growling, a significant amount, and grunts of pain as the two rolled along the ground


    engaged inbat. But it was only as Kieran finally ced the man in a headlock that something truly


    bizarre happened.


    Strange enough to make me instantly skid to a halt, now only a few feet away.


    …Because despite the attacker being madepletely powerless, he just easily gave up the fight


    without a fuss… and started tough.


    I stood wide-eyed with adrenaline as I tried to figure out the situation, however Kieran proceeded to just


    smile and help the assant to his feet. A man with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes.


    “I see you didn’t lose your touch during the city vacation,” he said jokingly. “For thest time; it wasn’t a


    vacation,” Kieran argued. “I was working. At least one of us has to take our job seriously because you


    clearly like abusing yours.” He then raised an eyebrow.” A warning howl, Daniel? Really? Was that


    absolutely necessary?”


    The man named Daniel rubbed his neck and smiled guiltily. “I just wanted to make sure our fearsome


    future leader didn’t get soft whilst hanging out with the humans.” “Why? You looking to take my job?”


    But Daniel justughed at that and grabbed his shoulder inradery. “No thanks. I already have it


    hard enough keeping you in check as it is. I don’t need more responsibi—.”


    Abruptly, he then stopped and turned towards me. “Woah, I didn’t even notice you. Where did you


    come from?”


    Realising that there was no danger, I quickly sheathed my dagger before he could see it. Whoever this


    was, he was evidently a part of the town. I knew it wouldn’t be a very good first impression to be seen


    attacking him.


    …After all, I’d already done that once with Kieran, “Ah… I’m here with… -.”


    I couldn’t get the words out though as Daniel then sniffed at the air and looked confused.


    “You reek of Kieran,” he said as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say.


    Immediately, my mind went nk as I wasn’t sure how to respond. Should I be denying it or brushing it


    off? It wasn’t as though we were officially dating or anything. Truthfully, I didn’t even know myself what


    was happening between the two of us, let alone be able to startbelling it. If they really were old-


    fashioned here, did people need to be married first?


    Were werewolf weddings a thing? “She’s with me,” Kieran finally answered, taking a step forward.


    “What? Like—.” “She’s… *with me*,” Kieran repeated, emphasising the words. I couldn’t see his face


    but I got the feeling he was trying to tell Daniel something. A little irritating, to say the least, but I was


    still too confused by the whole situation to press for answers.


    Recognition seemed to cross Daniel’s expression though. Whatever had been said was apparently


    enough to quell any prior issues as he then promptly turned to Kieran and threw his arms around him in


    a hug. “Oh, man, I’m so happy for you,” he said. “It took you long enough.” Kieran patted his back a few


    times, giving a light chuckle, but tried to pull away as soon as possible. Clearly attempting to downy


    what was happening. Something I was still very perplexed about


    Only it didn’t stop there either.


    Daniel then turned his attention towards me and walked right up, bowing his head slightly as a hand


    covered his chest.


    …And I simply stared at him.


    What was he doing…? Was this what Kieran had meant by saying the people here were extremely


    formal? I wasn’t entirely sure what to do as he had failed to mention it in the car. …Should I be bowing


    back, or..? I stood there a little awkwardly but thankfully the whole thing onlysted about a second. As


    he finally came back up, he proceeded to smile and held a hand out for me to shake. A gesture I was


    much more familiar with and one I quickly reciprocated.


    “I’m Daniel Cooper. The Beta heir of the Ashwood Pack,” he said. “And Kieran’s best friend… though


    he will sometimes vehemently deny it.”


    Right. I knew what that was… it meant that he was the eldest son of the second in charge. The son of


    the Beta.


    “Nice to meet you,” I said, giving a small, polite smile. “You can call me… Raven… Raven Reid.”


    I felt a little uneasy saying it, especially in light of the conflict with my father. But I knew the reminders


    would continue to haunt me until I made a final decision. A choice to be left for another day and another


    time.


    “Reid’?” Daniel asked, his brow creasing. “I’m not familiar with any northern families with that name.


    Which pack are you from? Is it from the east?” I shuffled a little ufortably. “Oh, well… I don’t


    actually belong to a pack….” Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. Instantly, Daniel’s demeanour


    changed. I saw as his eyes sharpened and all trace of the friendly persona vanish. Almost as though


    he were apletely new person.


    …A person who was dangerous. And I took a step back, my hand instinctively starting to twitch towards


    where my dagger was waiting. “What do you mean? Are you saying you’re a rogu—.”


    But before he could get the question out, Kieran then suddenly stepped in and threw a hand over his


    mouth, pulling Daniel away. It happened so quickly that I flinched in surprise.


    Was it a bad question…? I had no idea. But whispering was soon the only thing I could hear, and


    although it was too quiet to pick up anything important, I did manage to catch a few words. ‘Human’


    and ‘Father’ being the most significant.


    …Spiking yet another re of irritation from me. I didn’t enjoy being kept in the dark.


    ‘Calm. I need to be calm,’ I told myself.


    And, internally, I sighed, pushing it out of mind. Not knowing enough about this ce, and wanting to


    avoid a fuss, I needed to do my best to not let things bother me.


    When they did finallye back over, I admittedly felt a little stunned to see Kieran push a very


    ashamed-looking Daniel towards me.


    “Apologise,” Kieran said, appearing annoyed. Daniel scratched his head and chuckled guiltily. “Sorry,


    Raven… I hope I didn’te across as rude. We’re just a little strict on… outsiders. The war might


    have ended a long time ago but I guess you can’t be too careful.”


    It was simr to what Kieran had already told me; the closed-off nature of Ashwood. But I couldn’t help


    but pick up the mention of a war again. I assumed this had to be the same one the suppressors were


    initially designed for.


    The very medicine that was still in my system.


    Cautiously, I just nodded my head in response, still wary of whatever had just transpired.


    “Let the others know that we’ve arrived,” Kieran said, his friendly tone now gone. “We’ll head to the


    house soon for introductions. Please also make sure that my father is advised.”


    Daniel’s expression instantly became serious at that, a look exchanging between them that ended with


    a nod in understanding. It didn’t take long before he left to do what was asked.


    Despite not stepping foot in the town yet, I already could sense the drastic differences from the city I


    was raised in. The manner, the speech, the terminology… it was crazy how swiftly it could change into


    something entirely foreign. I was merely a few hours’ drive away and yet it felt like a whole different


    country. And Kieran seemed… different too. Though not in a bad way. I was used to seeing him being


    caring and funny, but this was my first time seeing him in a new light. The light of someone who was a


    leader. A definition that seemed vastly contrasted to what I knew of human mayors. He walked to my


    side and I could tell he was still angry. Whatever Daniel had tried to say was


    apparently bad enough that Kieran seemed outraged on my behalf. “I really am sorry if he freaked you


    out,” he said, looking at me with genuine concern. “Your situation is a little… *unique* and I didn’t have


    any time to send word that you wereing.


    He’s not a bad guy, I swear. He just… doesn’t really think sometimes.” Though I still wasn’t sure what


    Daniel had said, i’d only be guarded due to the circumstances. But if he really was Kieran’s friend,


    then there was probably no danger at all. Just a misunderstanding. If anything, this was a good


    reminder that I didn’t need to act so cautious. That I wasn’t in constant danger and didn’t have to treat


    this like a job if I didn’t want to. I could just… be normal


    Be… someone new. Maybe someone less grim and a bit more positive. And so I reached out and


    grabbed his hand gently, instantly making his shoulders visibly rx. “I’m okay,” I said, weaving my


    fingers with his, “I know better than most when ites to people with trust issues. After all, how long


    did it take you to convince me?”


    I gave him a small smile to lighten the mood, trying to persuade him that I really was fine. And, to my


    relief, it seemed to work. He quietly exhaled, releasing thest bit of tension he was holding on to “I


    haven’t even made it to Ashwood yet,” I joked. “You can’t be getting this worked up already. Besides,


    I’m tougher than I look.”


    He finally cracked a small smile at that, his normal manner returning.


    “Come on then. Let me show you around.”


    And we returned to the car.


    After being waved across the border, Kieran began driving us up to the town. Only, it was nothing like


    what I expected. In my mind, this ce had been a tiny settlement of houses and a few facilities, as


    would be expected from somewhere I’d barely heard of. But it was actually far from it. Though not quite


    asrge as Lockdale City, the town still had a bustling life about it.


    After driving through a suburban area of nice houses, we finally made it into the heart of the town


    where it wasplete with shops of all different varieties and even restaurants. If I didn’t know any


    better, I would have just assumed it was the wealthy outer suburbs of Lockdale,


    How they managed to keep this ce a secret though baffled me. A town this size so close by? I could


    easily see it being a popr holiday area. And yet they’d kept up the illusion of being a small country


    town’this whole time. It was impressive.


    Along the way, Kieran was pointing out notable things,ndmarks and other interesting ces, but it


    was as we rounded a corner onto a new strip of shops that I saw something. A building thatpletely


    absorbed my attention.


    “Wait, slow the car,” I quickly said, unable to look away.


    He pulled over to the side as requested and I spent a moment taking in the detail. Though nothing


    more than a restaurant, the ce looked far fancier than all the others we had passed. Even from


    within the car, I could vaguely make out an open floor and beautiful furnishings, something I normally


    wouldn’t care about. But with this ce, I felt an indescribable pull.


    Kieran leaned over to see what I was staring at andughed. “Ah, yeah, that’s Rose & Thorn. Really


    great food. It’s actually my favourite restaurant.”


    “It is?”


    He nodded. “I’ll have to take you sometime.”


    “…I would like that.”


    It was then that I finally tore my eyes away from the building to look over at him, only I found him much


    closer than expected. And, instinctively, my gaze moved to his lips. Almost as if I were subconsciously


    drawn to them.


    That urge to kiss him was now stronger than ever, but I knew it was most likely caused by just the


    excitement of everything happening. A new ce, a new world of possibilities. I was giddy from it all.


    “Um… did you say we were meeting people somewhere?” I managed to ask quietly.


    “Oh, yeah,” he said, moving back over to the wheel. He hadn’t seemed to notice my momentary


    change in focus. “Everyone should be there by now.”


    And so we continued back on our journey, driving for another few minutes until we finally pulled up at a


    large property. Based on the gardens surrounding it, it seemed almost like a residential lot. Except,


    instead of a normal house, there was a multi-levelled structure that seemed a little strange.


    “What is this ce?” I asked.


    But he just turned the car off and gave me a smile.


    “This is my home,” he said. “…Wee to the Ashwood Packhouse, Raven.”Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.