Chapter 43: Chapter 43

ADELIE

I took a seat across from him. His gaze seemed to be studying every detail of me. He sparked a candle that sat on the table, and as if on cue, the rest of the room's lights dimmed.

I glanced around, feeling a sudden chill. The room had taken on a sinister air, like a scene from a horror movie.

Shadows seemed to creep from every corner, morphing into terrifying shapes in my mind. The candle's flickering light only added to the eerie atmosphere, making the shadows appear to move.

“Don’t let them get to you. Your mind is playing tricks when you let it,” he advised.

I quickly averted my gaze, focusing on the man instead.

“The vision ends when the candle burns out,” he explained, placing his hand on the crystal ball. His eyes rolled back in his head before returning to meet my gaze.

“Place your hands on the sphere,” he instructed. I hesitantly moved my hands to rest on the ball. He placed his hands over mine, his eyes rolling back once more.

His eyes were now completely white. His head tilted back, mouth slightly ajar.

“Evil,” he grunted out. “New form. Encounter with a broken being,” he continued, his body shaking. “Something is already wrong… manipulation.”

The candle abruptly extinguished, and the room's other lights flickered back on.

He looked around, a shocked expression on his face, but he kept his hands on mine. “We'll try again,” he said, quickly reaching for his matches.

“What’s happening?” I asked as he relit the candle. I kept my hands on the crystal ball, and he covered them with his own once more.

He met my gaze. “Something is very wrong,” he said before slipping back into his trance.

His body began to convulse. He held onto my hands, his face turning red from the effort. “Mind on a string…” he muttered before returning to his normal state.

He released my hands and leaned his elbows on the table. His head hung low, but he kept his tired eyes on me.

“I might be a fake... but this isn’t a joke, Adelie,” he said, dropping my luna title. “Someone is pulling your strings. This won’t end well. You need help!”

He stood up and began packing his things, not in any hurry to leave.

I stood up too, my heart pounding in my chest. He had just admitted he was a fraud. Why would he break character so soon? He was a performer.

~He thrives on this,~ I tried to reassure myself. But his sudden seriousness scared me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, not looking at me. “I don’t know anything, but it’s bad; someone is after you,” he said. “You should leave. Your alpha is waiting for you.”

I tried to reason with him, but he practically shoved me out the door.

I returned to Kairos, who immediately noticed my distress.

“What happened?” he asked, glancing back at the fortune-teller.

“He said something… he wasn’t as entertaining as I thought he would be,” I confessed, glancing back as if he might follow me. I was on edge.

“What did he say?” Kairos asked.

“He said that someone is out to get me,” I said. “Could that be true? I mean, he’s just an entertainer, right?” I asked.

Kairos placed his hands on my shoulders. “He’s just a fraud, Adelie. I’ve protected this pack from everything outside it, and if you’re threatened, I won’t ever leave your side. Okay?

“If you want, I can assign you some guards.”

He caressed my cheeks, smirking. “He’s a performer, but if you ever feel unsafe, let me know immediately so I can prevent anything from bothering you, okay?” he asked. I nodded.

“Relax, it’s a day for celebration,” he reassured me, taking my hand and guiding me away.

I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I didn’t want to burden Kairos with my worries. He was just trying to lighten the mood, even if his joke fell flat. I was tired of fighting.

After all the drama with Aldred, I craved a return to simplicity. I longed for a life where the only person I had to worry about was myself.

The festival wound down soon after. People began to disperse, heading home. Kairos and I strolled hand in hand, pausing occasionally to admire the roses and towering delphiniums. That’s when Raphael approached us.

“Kairos, can we chat?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. Kairos glanced at me for approval, and I nodded.

I lingered by a tall delphinium, its single wilted bloom making the entire plant appear sickly.

I could hear Kairos and Raphael conversing, Raphael’s laughter punctuating their conversation. He’d been drinking, so I doubted it was anything serious. I tuned them out.

I gently touched the plant, focusing on the wilted flower. I could feel energy flowing from my chest, channeling into the ailing bloom.

The world came back into focus as I withdrew my hand, revealing a vibrant, rejuvenated flower.

In the distance, a figure in a red coat caught my eye near the forest. I took a few steps towards it, but it vanished into the darkness.

“What are you looking at?” Kairos asked, startling me.

I shook my head. “There was someone in a red coat. Did you see them?”

Kairos shook his head. “All the performers are leaving. They’re coming from all directions,” he explained. I let it go, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the figure in red was someone from our pack.

As Kairos and I continued our walk home, a figure came running towards us.

“Seriously? Can’t we just have a peaceful walk home?” Kairos grumbled.

His annoyance quickly turned to concern when he recognized the runner as one of the performers, gasping for breath. Kairos approached the dancer, who was clad in a purple leotard.

“There’s a body in the forest,” she panted, hands on her knees.

“What body?” Kairos asked.

“The fortune-teller. I don’t know his name.”

“Houdini?” I suggested, a chill running down my spine.

“Yes, him. He’s dead,” she confirmed. “I didn’t check, but he looked too blue to be alive.”

“Where is he?” Kairos asked, and the woman pointed in the direction of the figure in red.

Kairos turned to me. “Go straight home. I’ll send Nathan to you. Don’t go anywhere else. Understand?”

I nodded, watching as Kairos transformed into a wolf and sprinted towards the forest, the woman following close behind.

I did as Kairos instructed, heading straight home. Nathan was already waiting at my door. “Adelie, get inside quickly.”

“Are we in danger?” I asked as Nathan locked the door behind us.

“Not unless the alpha says so, but I’m not taking any chances,” he replied. I knew Nathan would be the first to know if something was wrong; the alpha would alert him and a select few others through their mind link.

I settled onto the couch in the living room, Nathan sitting across from me. He seemed deep in thought, likely listening to his mind link.

“He’s dead,” Nathan confirmed. “The doctor is examining his body now.” He relayed the information as it came in.

“There’s no sign of a struggle, but his airway was blocked. There’s nothing obstructing it; he just stopped breathing.”

Nathan broke his gaze and shrugged at me. “The doc’s gonna take him to the hospital for a look-see. Our hunters will be on high alert for anything unusual.”

He reclined in his chair.

“What… what could’ve caused it?” I questioned.

“Our best bet is that it was just natural,” he replied.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his response. “I was with him, and he seemed perfectly fine,” I countered, watching his lips tighten into a thin line. He knew as well as I did that it wasn’t natural.

“So, what could it be?” I pressed.

Nathan leaned in a bit. “It’s a long shot, but back when a different alpha was in charge, I heard tales of a powerful witch named Circe. She had a knack for suffocating men.

“It’s just odd that there’s no sign of a struggle or anything,” he added.

“Then… why would she be here, in our pack?” I queried.

Nathan just shrugged. “The stories never mentioned her motives. Anyone who crossed her path ended up dead, which is why there’s so little known about her.

“I really hope I’m just spouting nonsense, and it’s nothing like that. Or if it is, I hope she was just passing through and has no plans to return,” he confessed.

“Do you think I could go to the forest?” I proposed.

Nathan looked at me, eyebrows raised. “After everything I just told you? Are you out of your mind? The Alpha won’t let you go until we figure out what happened.”

“If there’s something in the forest, I could try talking to the trees. If there’s an unwelcome presence, I might be able to help identify it,” I suggested. Nathan fell silent, deep in thought.

“They don’t always respond. They speak when they feel like it. I can’t guarantee anything,” I clarified.

He turned away from me. I had a hunch he was mind-linking with Kairos. He didn’t confirm it, but I asked anyway, “What did he say?”

Judging by his expression, I was right; he had mind-linked with Kairos. But I didn’t expect Kairos to give his permission.

Nathan turned back to me. “We’ll bring two other guards with us. They’ll stick with us the whole time. If anything happens, even if it’s just a branch falling, run back,” he instructed.

I nodded, suddenly wishing I’d never heard of Circe.

“Is it really that dangerous?” I asked.

“It’s always dangerous when someone dies,” Nathan replied.

In the back of my mind, I heard Kairos’s mind-link ~“Listen to Nathan. He knows how to handle danger. Don’t be stubborn or reckless. This isn’t a game,”~ he cautioned me.

~“I understand,”~ I responded.

A knock on the door signaled the arrival of the guards. I glanced at Nathan, who gave his approval and nodded at me.

“Let’s do this.”