Chapter 22: Dirty Blood
The sun had begun to peek from the horizon. Kieran took the initiative to tie Beta Christian up on a chair, while he, the reluctant Red Wolf, Dion, and Mist went down the mountains a couple of times to retrieve some of the sleeping Nightfall Pack members.
The fire crackled as Lind and I prepared breakfast with a few of the rations that we brought with us. With the still-unknown conditions of the curse, we dared not touch any of the food in the pack territory.
The small town was eerily silent. Dion’s sister, Agatha, had been watching over the pup and her kids. I took the ladle from the soup pot and was about to pour some into a bowl to bring to her when I heard footsteps approaching.
“Hestia…”
I turned around, only to bump against Kieran’s chest. The ladle slightly slapped against his cheek, while his arms immediately caught me from falling back. He smelled faintly of sweat and dirt, making me wonder how many trips he had made.
“Careful,” he reminded me, before taking the ladle from my hand. He stirred the pot as Lind added a few more ingredients, which I presumed were from his own things. “I can’t have you injuring yourself, Your Majesty…”
“Sorry, I just feel a bit lightheaded… It must be from the spells earlier… I haven’t used my divine magic in a long while.”
The amount of divine magic I poured into my bond with Kieran to strengthen him was not, by any means, small. After I had managed to clear the blood-binding sigils from the Beta and the pup earlier, I felt those spells taking a good toll on me.
I glanced at the pup and Beta Christian. Their skin had cleared, saved from a few bruises and wounds. My stomach turned as it dawned on me that an entire pack might’ve suffered from the same predicament before we came.
The bright-red sigils indicated a massive debt, whether of possession or of a favor, which in turn made it easier for the caster to create a powerful Dark Moon curse to have control over them. If I were not a divine wolf, it would have been nearly impossible to remove them. The caster decides on their fates when not intervened. And seeing the Beta’s condition earlier, it was clear that the caster didn’t intend any of them to live after they had been used to serve their purpose.
But… why?
The Beta and the other adults of the Pack might have had reasons to have a debt to someone, but what about the pup? She was merely a child…
When Kieran noticed my hands trembling once again, he took the ladle and the bowl from me and placed them on a table before forcing me to take a seat.
“I still can—”
“You’re tired, Hestia. You won’t be able to function well with a tired mind…”
When he poured soup into my bowl and began to feed me, I found myself caving in and opening my mouth. He gently stirred the soup before feeding me, as if I would break from a mere hot soup.
“After you eat, rest with Agatha and the pups. We’ll make sure to gather all of the Lycans down the mountains before sundown so we can perform the ritual.”
My eyes travelled to his calm face, then down to his arms that were now filled with small cuts and bruises that might’ve been due to them going up and down the steep mountain trail. I subconsciously reached to touch his arm.
“You have a lot of cuts,” I commented, before healing them. “I’m sorry you had to—”
“What’s to be sorry for?” he asked before cupping my chin. He tilted my head to meet his gaze. Kieran’s lips curved. “Your Majesty, I’m your sword. Protecting you and serving your interests is my priority. So… if you want to save an entire pack from ruin, then I’ll oblige.”
Kieran continued to feed me until I finished an entire bowl. He stood up and began to walk back to the territory’s entrance when we heard a soft growl.
Beta Christian has woken up once again, and this time, he was coherent enough to ask where he was and what had happened. Agatha immediately began to feed her husband, while Kieran ran off to call Dion and the others for the meantime.
After locking the Red Wolf in a secure shed, we returned to the Beta. Agatha had taken down his binds, and Mist was taking care of his wounds. He immediately went on his knees when he saw Kieran and me approaching.
“Your Majesty—”
“‘Rise, Beta Christian. I’m not the Queen yet. I simply went here to help you and your pack,” I said, before helping him get up. Beta Christian sat back on his seat, his voice cracking.
“I thought I wouldn’t live anymore… My mind was clouded with very dark thoughts, and I couldn’t control my body. The curse… it was so sudden…”
“We found blood-binding sigils on your skin, Beta. It might be hard to answer my question, but did you… owe anyone? Money, or perhaps a favor? As you can see, these sigils were one of the catalysts of the curse, along with the talisman papers burned around town. After you inhaled the smoke from those papers, the sigils awakened, and the curse began to take effect.” I leaned closer. “We need to know if you owe someone. They might be the ones who tried to destroy the entire pack.”
The Beta visibly struggled to say anything until he caved in. He took a deep breath. “It’s… It’s Alpha Heron and Lady Medea… They’ve been offering predatory loans around the kingdom for struggling packs. Business hasn’t been doing well lately, so I ended up taking a massive loan from them, like everyone else. I was unable to repay on time, so… the Alpha, he… he forced me to undergo a blood-binding ritual…”
My fist clenched as the Beta recounted how my family would even force blood-binding rituals on mere pups so their parents could clear part of their debts. The high interests. The predatory agreements…
“I’ve tried warning Alpha Augustus about these predatory loans, but I couldn’t bring myself to bother him, nor trust him as he’s Lady Medea’s Vassal. Alpha Heron also has eyes and ears everywhere. When I saw you earlier with the envoy, I debated on whether I could ask you for help or not,” Dion chimed in. “Your Highness, you must help my family…”
I retired to the room Agatha lent, exhausted. The sun was burning bright, but I feel…
Cold. So cold…
The brooch in my hand almost got crushed as I slammed my fist against the wall, trying to release all this pent-up anger and guilt inside me. After all, I’m also a Locke.
How long have they been doing this? Did all the privileges I tasted when I was growing up as a Locke heiress come from dirty money?
The mere thought makes my stomach turn.
I immediately grabbed for the pistol hanging on my waist when I felt another presence inside my room, watching…