Chapter 31

Hi :)

Chapter 31, which is dedicated to @JoanneDeLeon5 who is celebrating her birthday today :D Happy Birthday :D:-*

Pic on the above is of Sanity ^^^

****

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind,

you should not blame the wind for

revealing them to the trees."

—Kahlil Gibran, The Wanderer

At Konrad's warehouse....

"You did what?" Konrad demanded growling murderously.

"I.... I thought..." Cable stuttered and in a blur of movement, Konrad stood right in front of his nose.

"You thought?" Konrad hissed. "Who gave you the permission to think?" Konrad demanded and Cable gulped.

"I...." Cable couldn't even think of anything certain to say in his defense.

"Tell me... what were you planning to achieve by attacking Quillon?" Konrad questioned, clenching his jaws.

"I thought you would be pleased" Cable replied meekly.

At this, Konrad's eyes turned dark and he bared his fangs, "Do I look pleased?" he inquired lethally and Cable shook his head, nervously. "Then?"

"It was... Wesley... he told me—"

"You asked advice from that pathetic human who cannot see anything past his dead mate?" Konrad growled out in rage and Cable paled.

"I didn't think she would come..." Cable defended in a low voice. He had made sure Darya would be away.... But still she came!

"That exactly is the fucking problem. You. Do. Not. Think" Konrad spelled out savagely. "If killing them would have been that easy, then I would have already been done with it. To kill them, you have to first, separate them" Konrad added and then returned to his seat on the couch.

After few minutes, Konrad closed his eyes, leaned back and said, "Tell me, what happened today."

Cable heaved a sigh, pleased that Konrad was calm. "I had asked two of our men to kidnap the Sanders's company accountant's daughters. They did and we blackmailed him to call Quillon to his house. After he called, Quillon was on his way. Until, out of blue, he stopped and reversed the car."

"His pack must have informed him" Sanity, who was quiet until now, said with a frown.

"Not possible. I have kept moonflower in the area. I am sure he got a phone call asking him to return" Cable replied.

"Possible. Darya might have informed one of the pack members" Sanity mused.

"That's the unexpected thing" Cable growled in frustration. "How did Darya get to know? Wesley and I had made sure she was away and busy."

"How so?" Konrad asked and Cable told him about his plan of John (Wesley's father), who had called and informed Darya to come to the farm and stay with Wesley.

"And she did come to the farm" Cable continued, "But that very moment, she got a call and after that she ran away" Cable said sourly.

"A call?" Konrad demanded, cocking one dark brow. "Whose call?"

"No idea. I asked Wesley and he told me that before the call, she was her normal self, but after answering the call, she turned pale, dropped her phone, muttered something irrelevant and ran from there."

"Did John or Wesley see, whose call it was?"

"No. One of her guards—Shane, picked the call and Wesley said, the moment Shane answered the person on the other side, cut the call" Cable filled in and Konrad narrowed his eyes. "Also.... Shane and Nick were confused because there was no name... the call was from private number."

After hearing it, Konrad threw his head back and laughed out loud while Sanity and Cable stared at him in bewilderment. A minute later, he stopped laughing and snarled, "Very clever Darya. I must admit, I am impressed."

"Why so?" Cable asked in confusion.

"Whoever that person is, he or she is gifted," Konrad stated with a loud growl and Cable's eyes widened to its fullest extent.

"Gifted? What gift?"

"Some gift that she badly wants to hide from me" Konrad said through gritted teeth and Cable looked at him in bewilderment. For a long time, Cable stared, but Konrad did not reply.

A few minutes passed and then, Konrad sighed and stood up, "Even though your plan was a dud, at least one good thing happened out of it" Konrad stated and Cable smiled, glad that he pleased his chief.

"What good thing?" Cable dared to ask.

"There is another gifted wolf out there, who is helping Darya" Sanity replied flatly.

"Oh!" Cable mused.

"Now leave and find me something useful about Quillon Sanders" Konrad growled out and Cable nodded.

Once Cable was out of ear-shot, Sanity turned to face Konrad, "This gifted wolf... his or hers gift is something very important, isn't it?" she demanded and gritting his teeth, Konrad nodded grudgingly. He went to the glass board and drew a circle in it.

"What is the gift?" she asked in a low voice.

"Guess what it is" Konrad said looking at her. "Cable just told that Darya was all fine when she came to the farm. Then, she gets a call and runs and arrives just in time to save Quillon. Guess what the gift of the caller is" Konrad hissed.

Sanity sucked in a breath as she realized what might possibly be the gift of the caller. How could the caller know prior hand Quillon Sanders life is in threat? It cannot be possible! Unless...

Her suspicion was confirmed when Konrad wrote in bold letters, the word― SOOTHSAYER inside the circle.

Konrad had been created so that he could have the ability to see future. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way. But the fact that there is another one at the present time was like a body blow to Sanity.

How must Konrad feel?

He must be furious to know there is one such wolf and that that wolf is working with Darya.

Placing the pen on the pen-stand, he tapped his knuckles on the word; the sound of which broke the silence of the room. "This person has been helping her for a long, long time. It was only with this person's help that she understood what would happen to Quillon today."

"Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know" Konrad breathed out curtly. "Darya had made sure that I never ever suspect that one such wolf exists. She had been very successful in her plan of keeping this person hidden from me" Konrad said and once again tapped his knuckles on the written word. "Why else, would they use the private number to call even at times like this? She knows that I can trace her call anytime, hence she has been very careful" Konrad admitted with an notable smirk.

"Her family might know―"

"No" Konrad cut her off and gently shook his index finger to prove the point. "I highly doubt they know. If her guards don't know who the person is, then there is a very low chance that her family might know. This person is someone from the outside."

"But the five Alphas' protecting Darya know everything about her" Sanity protested.

"True... but I doubt they know about this person" Konrad said.

"So, there is a chance that they might know about this person."

"There is. But it is a very low chance" Konrad observed. "If they know about it, then this person is definitely within the family circle and highly guarded."

At this Sanity stood straight and then growled lowly. Her growl caught Konrad's attention and he turned to face her, "Do you know something?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye.

"I am not sure, but I suspect it might be that girl... Tyler and Tyson Grier's little sister― Kasey Grier."

Konrad narrowed his eyes after hearing the name, "Why do you think it is her?"

"She is well guarded, belongs to the family circle and Darya is friends with that girl. Also, there is something odd about that girl... some aura reeks from her wolf" Sanity replied carefully.

"You are not sure" Konrad said and Sanity nodded reluctantly. "I want absolute confirmation" Konrad growled out and Sanity lowered her head.

"You can ask Cable to get it" she supplied.

At this, Konrad scoffed, "Cable better get a place to hide."

Shocked, Sanity raised her head to look at Konrad, "Meaning?"

"His days are numbered. She is not going to spare him."

"You mean to say, she knows Cable did all this?"

"Cable and you have a patterned way of killing others. One look and Darya will know who killed the accountant and his family."

"Are you not going to do anything to save him?"

"No" Konrad said and smirked, "I have no further use of him. He is better dead. Right now, all I want is to find out who the soothsayer is."

"We can have that girl investigated" Sanity suggested.

"Do that" Konrad told her, staring at the glass board. He kept wondering who the soothsayer is. His mind went through list of names closely associated with Darya, yet he could not pinpoint to one particular name.

Darya had been very shrewd while dealing with this person. So bloody smart that until now, she had been successful in keeping the real identity of the wolf a secret!

However, Konrad intended to find this person and acquire the gift of seeing the future for himself because it is his right. He had been created so that he could have the ability to see future.

He flinched as he recalled the disappointed look his father and Isadora had when he had told them that he couldn't see the future like they thought he would.

Nevertheless that is going to change soon. All he had to do was find out who this wolf, who had the gift to see the future is.

There might be a chance that the soothsayer is Kasey Grier, but Konrad did not want to take any risks. He wanted to keep all the options open!

At present, he was sure of one thing and that was—Darya knew about this wolf and only she could help him reveal the name of the person. For that to happen, some major event, just like today, must occur. Some event, where lives are in danger and once again, Darya is forced to be the savior. Some event which the soothsayer is able to predict.

As Konrad kept thinking, he found a solution. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at Sanity who was busy sketching.

"Do Quillon Sanders and the rest of the Serene Pack have any idea about Darya's gifts?"

"No" Sanity replied.

Perfect! Konrad thought smugly.

One corner of Konrad's lips tilted upwards as he smirked and said, "How about we change that?"

____

DARYA P.O.V

"This looks really beautiful Darya" Dr. Chapman, one of my professors, said after watching the ficus starlight plant that I was assigned to grow for my floriculture class. "It's definitely selected for the exhibition" he said and attached a golden star on the pot.

"Thanks" I said grinning widely.

"You never disappoint" he added gently patting my shoulders and then went to inspect the next assignment.

At that time, I sat on my seat and kept thinking how to convince Sabine to agree to my plan. It has been five days since Cable attacked Quillon and other than asking the Alphas' to find his whereabouts, I have done nothing. I didn't even call and tell Sabine what I want her to do. I know she won't agree because she is dead scared of guys like Cable. Even if she agrees then Vincent wouldn't allow it. I'm sure of that.

Quinn and I hadn't informed Quillon what happened that day but he suspected something amiss when he learnt about the death of the accountant. I had kept mum and Quinn did the same. But he had been urging me to tell Quillon about my gifts. He had warned me that I should do it before Quillon finds it from 'other sources.' My wolf agreed with Quinn on this and now I'm pondering to do the same.

As the bell rang, the class got dismissed. Pleased after receiving a golden star, I picked up my bag and walked out of the room. I spotted Nick and Mikhail near the entrance and I rushed towards them.

"I got a golden star" I squealed and then hugged them in turn because they were the ones who carried and brought the pot here from the farm.

"You always do" Nick laughed while I hugged him.

All of a sudden, there was a loud and familiar sound of a horn. I pulled away from Nick and turned to look at Quillon who was sitting behind the wheels and glaring at us. Just looking at him had my heart beat very fast behind my ribcage.

"Wrong time" Mikhail whispered from behind me and I shook my head. Waving at them, I went and sat beside Quillon.

"Let's go" I said cheerfully and bent down to remove my ankle boots because my toes were hurting. When the car didn't start, I looked at Quillon who was glaring at a flustered Nick. "Quillon" I called and he directed that glare at me. My smile faded and I blinked but Quillon didn't utter a word. Instead he growled at Nick before driving away.

Through the corner of my eyes I saw that his knuckles were as white as milk and his jaws were clenched. The air inside the car was filled with tension and my wolf sighed inside me. I knew he did not like seeing me hugging Nick. I could understand it because it's the same way I feel whenever Leah is around Quillon.

When I couldn't take the silence anymore, I spoke, "Nick was wishing me for getting golden star in my assignment."

"He could have done it without physical contact" Quillon bit out.

"Physical contact? Are you serious?" I said chuckling in disbelief and Quillon growled. "He was just hugging me."

"His hands were all over you" Quillon snapped. "Next time I see him anywhere close to you, I'll break his neck" he threatened and I scowled at him.

"Nick is a very dear friend"

"Does Duncan know how close this dear friend is?" Quillon demanded and I paled.

Duncan had already warned all my guards to maintain arm length distance from me. Once he had assigned Tony, one of my guards, for other duties after he thought we had become too friendly. If Quillon tells anything to Duncan then surely all my guards will be changed.

"Don't tell anything to Duncan" I said tightly and Quillon smirked, which caused me to growl lowly.

Crossing my arms, I turned my head and stared out of the window with a frown etched on my face. So much for wanting to tell him the truth....

Quillon was silent for a long time before he sighed and then muttered, "I am sorry" quite painfully, I must add.

My wolf perked up, while I cocked an eyebrow. "For being an ass?" I demanded, well aware that he wouldn't like hearing it.

Just like I expected, Quillon growled which caused me to smile. "Nick is a friend" I said quietly, hoping he would understand.

"That's what you think" Quillon said and I frowned.

"Are you implying that Nick is interested in me?" I asked incredulously and Quillon compressed his lips. "He is not" I clarified. "He is just a―"

"Friend?" Quillon broke in with a sneer and I scowled at him.

Before I could reply, Quillon cursed and I clenched my fists. I growled and was about to curse back but stopped when I noticed the distant look in his face. It made me grasp that he didn't curse at me, but at the person he was connecting through the mind-link.

With fascination, I watched the change in Quillon's expressions from shock to worry to fury to rage. The loud snarl that erupted from his chest had me jump in the seat.

My wolf stood up straight inside me and I knew something was seriously wrong. She could sense the way Quillon's wolf was pacing inside him. He wanted to shift very badly.

"What happened?" I asked in a low voice as Quillon increased the speed.

"Konrad" Quillon hissed and I turned rigid in my seat. My wolf bared her sharpest canine the moment she heard his name.

He is back? Well, this time he will not be able to leave. This time, I am going to kill him.

"Where is he?" I asked grinding my even teeth as Quillon turned the car to a muddy road in between the woods which I think was a short-cut. We were already in Serene Pack territory, so we could reach wherever Konrad was quite quickly.

"He has hypnotized some wolves. They set fire on a daycare" Quillon growled out and I felt the color drain from my face. I got shocked to the core once I grasped why Konrad did this.

Quillon cursed louder than the last time and brought the car to an unceremonious halt. "I am going there Darya. You take the car and drive home" he instructed while removing his seatbelt and getting out of the car.

For his sake, I nodded as a reply and watched Quillon sprinting in between the trees.

I was incapable of movement for a very, very long time. I just sat in the car... Frozen! I couldn't even form a coherent word. I knew why Konrad did this. I also knew what he wanted to achieve by this. I was just dreading the outcome.

I had two options. One― Walk away and let all those children burn to death. Two― Let Quillon and everyone else know what I really am. It's obvious what option I'll choose. Konrad knew it and he too wanted me to choose it.

I wasn't scared about what everyone else would think after seeing me. I was scared of what Quillon would think.

His opinion mattered.

The man, who was part of bringing me to this world, loathed my gifts. I had been confident Alpha Abraham Rhoades would accept me and my gifts. However, he didn't. He called me a vile creature and blamed me for everything. Will Quillon do the same?

My wolf, who was always confident about Quillon, was now panicking inside me. She could tolerate his anger, his frustration, his confusion. But not his rejection. Anything but his rejection. I feared that rejection.

At that moment, my wolf wanted to be with the only person she trusted blindly. Only person she knew who had never disappointed her. Never broke her trust. Was always there for her and who always put her welfare first. Only person, I knew, who would protect me with her life.

My shield. My guardian.

"Orseline" the name was out of my lips even before I could stop myself.

I was sure she would be able to hear me. I needed no mind-link to call her at time of need. And I needed her the most now.

I had stopped calling Sel for help after Lorcan's birth because I knew I had to stop depending on her and I also knew that her son was her priority. However, now I needed her... Desperately! If anything bad happens, she would be there for me. She would shield me from the disgust in everyone's eyes. From Quillon's eyes!

With shaky hands, I opened the car door and forced my body to turn and climb out. As my bare feet touched the grass and mud texture of the road, I felt a cold shiver that chilled me to the marrow.

I had to do what I had to do. Not only because it was the right thing to do but because it was what I wanted to do, irrespective of the consequences.

The daycare was a small building, with a beautiful garden in the front and a park behind. It was also secluded from the rest of the pack because it was at the other end of a wide pack playground.

I knew where it was and I reached there within a fifteen minutes. I ran in a similar way I did the day I had wanted to stopped Quillon from going to the accountant's place.

As I looked, I grasped that Konrad had made sure only I am able to help. He had had the hypnotized wolves block the daycare from all the four sides. They had thrown thick trees blocking entrance and exit, showered fuel all over and around before setting them ablaze. Not satisfied with it, he also had them set fire on the single storey building. Any wolf who wished to help, could enter the daycare only after the fire― blocking the entrance― was put off.

Cries and screams of the children, the parents echoed in the area. Pack wolves were trying to help by bringing buckets of water but it was of no use. The only source of water close by was inside the building. The daycare staff was without doubt under Konrad's spell and the children trapped inside where too young to know the method of extinguishing fire.

I was standing a few steps behind the crowd gathered. The screams of those little children made my blood freeze in my veins.

"Darya" I heard Quinn calling me but I didn't look. "Darya" he called louder but his voice got absorbed by the painful sobs of mothers.

"Move.... Move" Quinn was shouting, growling before finally making his way to where I was. "I knew you would come" he said confidently. "Q and his friends have gone to get fire extinguishers. Dad has gone to call the fire fighters but only you can save them" he said breathlessly but I did not respond.

He strode ahead and then literally caught and pushed people away to make way for me. "Move" Quinn commanded. "Let Darya pass. She can help" he was growling.

His loud, authoritative voice got heard and slowly, people stepped back to make way for me.

Once there was a clear path ready for me, I stood ramrod straight and slowly started making my way ahead. I was completely aware that many confused gazes were solely focused on me. People were whispering, asking questions with Quinn but my sole focus was on the flames rising higher and the crackling sounds of the wood as it got burnt.

My wolf was torn. She wanted to run away from here but she also wanted to help the children. As I walked closer and closer, I felt the heat of the fire and immediately my body started reacting to it. I felt warm. My heart thumped violently in my chest and I felt heat envelop it. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand straight.

The chill feeling which I had earlier was now slowly vanishing.

"Darya" I heard Quillon calling me and my wolf stopped pacing inside me. His voice stilled me.

Quinn who until now was standing in front of me, moved towards Quillon.

I wanted to turn and look at him, but I didn't. I did not look because I figured out that if I did, then I would fail... I would give up. I would even lie to him, just so that he doesn't come to know what I am capable of. However, I did not want to do it. I was tired of lying, tired of keeping it a secret from him... from everyone!

Hence, without paying attention to Quillon's constant calls, I marched ahead.

As I approached, I focused on a large trunk of the tree which was blocking my way. Surely, any wolves could have thrown the trunk away but the fact that it was burning prevented them from doing so. With my gift of controlling the element earth, which also had me control trees, I exerted a lot of force through my mind and pushed the tree away in a similar manner in which a door is opened.

Gasps, murmurs, whisper grew to astonishing level and why wouldn't it?

I took three more steps ahead but was stopped when someone screamed, my name.

Grace.

"Stop" she urged.

I paused, and through the glass walls, looked at the terrified children huddled closer; their tiny bodies trembling in fear. They were at least twenty of them and all under the age of seven. Konrad went too far for my liking this time and he is going to pay for this with his life.

Looking at those children, I knew that no matter what the consequences, I would not regret saving them.

Blinking once and blocking all the sounds around me, I took that one last step and stood barefoot on the burning pasture.

The shouts and screams increased tenfold. They probably thought I would burn to death, but nothing happens to me.

I felt hot and flinched as I felt my skin burning and within no time, it started healing. Slowly, my body started adapting the heat and as the fire burned my skin, it got absorbed by the pores of my skin. My whole body was on flames but once I would absorb the energy, the fire would die down and then would disappear in a puff of black smoke. Very soon, my skirt and top caught the fire, got burnt, charred and bits of them dropped on the ground. I tensed at the prospect of being naked in front of all these wolves.

But nature as usual, came to my rescue. Within no time, I felt green vines, coiling itself around my body and covering me from shoulder to thighs. These vines were not being controlled by me and they weren't getting burned by fire either.

My body was absorbing the fire, but it was not helping as there was too much fire for my liking and it was spreading fast because of the fuel. The only way to put it off was through water.

While the vines were twirling on every side of my body, I craned my neck and slowly raised my left hand. As I arced my hands high above my head, the detached clouds on the blue sky were replaced by dark-grey rain clouds, which completely blotted out the bright afternoon sun. While I dropped my hand, a cold breeze had my hair fly round my face.

When I cry, nature cries with me only if my tears drop on the ground. I had first experienced this after my mom's death and took it as a sign that she did not want me crying for her.

At present, if I wanted to put off this fire, I had to cry... Loudly!

It wasn't so hard for tears to cloud my eyes because my wolf was already sad. The fear of Quillon's rejection distressed her. As I closed my eyes, a drop of tear rolled down my cheek and when it reached my chin, it let itself spill to the smoldering ground.

The very next moment, I felt a rain drop hit my head. And then, one after the other, the rain drop pitter-pattered on the ground. It was not enough to snuff out the fire.

Which is why, my muted laments turned into sobs that shook my body. The rain pelted steadily soaking the ground while also beating out the fire.

My sobs turned into disturbing wail as my wolf howled out in grief.

There is a limit on how much a person can bear. Konrad has always meddled into my life, hurting me mentally, physically and emotionally. My wolf was tired sick of him!

As I let it all out by yowling, thick, see-through sheets of windy rain battered the ground and completely doused the fire.

When I had no more tears left, I closed my mouth and swallowed hard. Through misty eyes, I looked at my surrounding and grasped that it was still raining, though not as hard as earlier. Lowering my head, I sniffed and licked my wet, salted lips.

An arm got enclosed around my waist and as I shivered by his touch, my wolf mewled liked a weak kitten. Quillon, who was standing behind me, hauled me so that my back was pressed to his chest.

He was offering me comfort, I could feel it. I could sense his wolf trying to connect with mine. But I was emotionally and physically exhausted.

My eyes felt huge on my face and my eyelids were drooping repeatedly. Everything around me was hazy. Clear one minute and unclear the next.

My wolf was fading inside my mind. She was going to a distance that I could not close no matter how hard I tried.

Quillon was whispering, others were also whispering. I blinked and through dazed eyes looked ahead. The crowd which had covered the place earlier, had now vanished.

After closing, I opened my eyes and this time I spotted them. They were all on their knees and staring at the ground. That's why I couldn't see them earlier!

Quillon was saying something right next to my ear, but it wasn't audible... Or maybe only I couldn't hear it.

I felt cold. So cold, that my teeth were chattering inside my mouth. Goosebumps appeared on my skin as I felt my heart sink into my stomach.

Quillon was holding me tightly, shaking me forcefully, saying something but I was unable to respond.

The last thing I saw, before I drifted into darkness, was Sel rushing towards me with inhumane speed.

****

Aha... I really, really, really hope you like this chapter :D

Finally, her gifts are out. What do you think will happen next? What do you want to read next? Do tell me...

ALSO, I want to announce the winners of #hottiealert contest. Quillon and Cortez, I had expected... but Tyson is also one of the most favorite Alphas' :D

Next update on 20th. If the chapter is ready prior to that date, then I will update sooner :D

Please vote, comment and follow!

I love you all :D

ction(