Chapter 15
“Kian…”
He growled in warning, tossing around and ignoring the incessant shaking.
“Kian, wake up. Lana is calling us for brunch.”
Lana who?
He growled again.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. It’s almost eleven.”
Kiara’s voice woke him up from his sleepy haze.
"Kian…" Kiara shook him again, and this time she sounded a bit frustrated. It was his cue to get up if he didn’t want her climbing over him and start bouncing until he woke up.
“I’m up,” he grunted, dragging himself out of bed and making his way to the bathroom.
***
“Good morning,” he greeted no one in particular before taking his place at the dining table, where a plate filled to its brim sat.
Others were almost done with the brunch and nodded their head in acknowledgment. He slept surprisingly well last night. He glanced around the table. The young wolf seemed happy, and it was then he noticed she was sitting between him and Kiara. He growled low, not liking that the wolf had Kiara to herself.
“Stop growling, Wolfie. I’m not going to eat her alive. You can have her if you want," Layla whispered under her breath in a voice that was barely audible, so only he could hear what she said.
Kian huffed and pretended he didn’t hear her. He told himself it was because he didn’t trust the wolf yet. He silently ate his brunch, which he knew Kiara cooked, considering the amount of meat in it. He couldn’t help but glance at Kiara from time to time, just to make sure she was okay. She was talking to Layla and her parents, filling them in about their journey.
The humans looked much better, and their faces held some color. After brunch, Ronald led them to his study, which was spacious with lots of bookshelves and a desk, among other things.
His anticipation grew as Ronald disappeared under his desk, rummaging through a secret compartment that was on the floor. It didn’t take long before he joined the human to haul the heavy trunk onto the desk.
"You sure you can open this?" Ronald asked, cleaning the dust on top of the trunk with a hand towel Lana handed him.
“Not sure, but I’m gonna try,” he said. With Kiara and Layla beside him, he studied the trunk carefully.
The trunk looked ancient, with intricate patterns of signs and symbols all over it.
“Do you know what this is?” Kian asked Ronald, pointing at an intricate design that was woven around the lock. It looked like some kind of puzzle.
Ronald shook his head. “Don’t you think I’d have opened that trunk already if I had known?”
“How come you know nothing about this if it’s passed down from one generation to the other?” Kiara asked.
“Ronald inherited it after his father’s death. We never knew it existed until that moment,” Lana said.
Kian continued to study the trunk, looking for clues while the human couple retired to their rooms to rest.
"What's this?" Kiara murmured, tracing the weirdly placed design on the right corner of the trunk. It looked like some kind of animal. Inscribed around it was an ancient language now forgotten to the world.
Kian moved closer to get a better look. He recognized that language. He has seen it in scrolls that littered Konrad's office and the old books in Lucille's hut. They glanced at each other for a moment before a smile spread on their faces. Kiara had been studying this language since she was a child, hoping to appease her father.
“You can only look into the hole through sunlight,” Kiara read aloud.
“You can read this?” Layla asked. “Looks like doodles to me.”
“Yes.” Kiara rolled her eyes. “And it’s called Kilngen. Our ancestors used it to send secret messages. It was mostly used by the elders who guided the packs and spies,” she explained. “Didn’t know Lune Hunters used the same language.”
"That's cool!" Layla beamed. "Look, there is more here.”
Kiara moved to the other side of the trunk, where Layla was inspecting. “The sun rises from the south, setting in the north, greets its lover before time to make it full,” Kiara read the words that made little sense.
"Doesn't the sun rises in the east?" Layla thought out loud. “Or did I get it all wrong until now?”
“What does this even mean?” Kian asked.
Kiara’s face was screwed with concentration as she read the words over and over again.
“That’s it!” She suddenly beamed. “We need to find the sun and moon together.”
“Moon?” Layla frowned.
“Yes, it says lover.” Kiara pointed. “For ages, it’s been believed that the sun and moon are lovers separated by ancient gods. They can only greet each other at the eclipse.”
“Oh.” Layla looked intrigued.
They searched for the sun and moon among the array of complicated patterns on the trunk.
"Oh, I found it," Kiara shouted in glee after a while, looking at the sun and moon side by side.
He must admit it was hidden well, and one wouldn’t find it easily unless they were searching for it specifically.
“But it's a half-moon," Layla said, touching the carving.
“Now what?” Kian asked.
“It said that the sun rises from the south and settles in the north.” Kiara continued to study the signs.
Kian traced the sun carefully, Kiara’s words replaying in his mind. He pressed and prodded it. A sudden thought struck his mind. The sun was positioned in the south. Did that mean—
He pressed and tried to move the sign to the north. To his surprise, it worked. Suddenly, a loud groan echoed from the trunk. He jumped back with a growl as the sun repositioned to the place of the moon, making the half-moon into a full moon.
‘‘The sun rises from the south, setting in the north, greets its lover before time to make it full,” he said, a smile spreading on his lips.
“We did it!” Layla clapped her hands.
“Yes, we did,” Kian agreed with a satisfied grin watching the trunk unlock with a click sound.
“That’s it?” Layla wondered again. “This is so easy.” She popped the lid open, excitedly going over the contents inside.
At first look, it only seemed to contain scrolls and parchments. But, there was a scroll, wrapped in red thread, sealed with a red stamp. The stamp design was the same as they used in packs for sacred rituals. He took it out and opened it to read but scowled at seeing the content written there.
"Ah, I forgot it's your domain." With a huff, he pushed it into Kiara's hand, and she smiled at him before reading the scroll, wide eyes raking through the contents.
He watched her expression change continuously as they waited. Once done with the scroll, she grabbed the parchment underneath the scroll and began to read them hurriedly, her expression changing grim with every page.
“What does it say?” Kian asked when Kiara said nothing even after finishing the scroll.
She looked at both of them once and nodded her head to the small sofa in the room. Kian shared a look with Layla, but they both followed, taking seats beside Kiara, sitting on either side of her.
“Tell us,” he demanded her. “What is this?”
“It’s an order from the King,” she whispered, opening the scroll to show them. Her fingers trembled as they flitted over the edge of the scroll over the seals and signatures. “I…I’ve seen that seal in Lucille’s hut,” her voice shivered. “I-It’s one of our elders.”
“What?” Kian growled. “Are you sure?”
Kiara nodded shakily. “Yes, I’ve seen it on several scrolls. Lucille told me it belonged to her predecessor.”
If it was her predecessor… Kian slouched on the sofa. So, she knew about this the whole time.
“It says that the Lune Hunters were formed on this date to hunt werewolves who lost their path,” Kiara continued.
“Lost their path?” Layla’s voice was barely audible.
Kiara nodded. “It’s obvious the humans weren’t the only ones who attended the council meeting.” Her voice grew steady. “There are three signatures at the bottom. One is by the King, one is by the leader of the council of Lune Hunters based on the seals. And this one is our elder's.” She pointed at the third that had a seal with a wolf etched on it. “It’s the elder’s insignia for centuries.” Kiara took a deep breath. “Everything is clear here. They’re allowed to hunt one specific type of werewolf who are dangerous to the others. They aren’t supposed to harm an innocent wolf at any cost.”
“This changes things,” Kian whispered.
“It does.” Kiara looked pale. “Because there is more.”