A Luna for Alpha Kieran-Chapter 21: Who is she

Autumn rushed back towards the infirmary, clutching the sage tincture in one hand and the rest of the herbs in the other.

The blue bottle with its delicate silver thread swung precariously from her fingers as she pushed open the door...Mango nearly collided with Autumn as she flung open the infirmary doors, her cloak brushing Autumn’s face like a ghost’s whisper.

"Careful!" Mango snapped, her voice unusually sharp and rude, eyes darting behind her as though something were chasing her out.

Autumn stumbled, clutching the delicate tray of herbs and tonics, balancing well when her boots slipped slightly on the smooth stone floor.

"Oh...sorry, sorry...shit..."

But it was too late. The tray tilted, and a cascade of glass , blue and green tumbled through the air.

Bottles shattered like icicles, their contents splashing across the tiles. A pungent, earthy aroma filled the room.

Autumn bent down, heart sinking. "These were rare...shit...shit..." she whispered, fingers trembling as she reached for the herbs.

"Sorry...sorry!" Autumn gasped, dropping to her knees. Her fingers trembled as she tried to scoop up the salvageable remains, but the glass bit into her skin. Blood welled from a shallow cut on her palm, dripping onto the herbs, staining them . Worse...

A sharp pain flared in her knee as she had landed on a shard.

"Mango’s going to kill me." Her mind had other thoughts.

She glanced up, expecting to see the healer’s disapproving frown but the room was empty.

Another slice tore through her palm as she tried to salvage more of what she could, mixing more crimson streaks with the crushed plants.

She blinked back tears, frustration biting at her tongue.

"Stupid...stupid girl...I should have seen her coming," she muttered, glancing back at the door.

Just then, the air in the room changed.

Heavy. Charged.

A faint creak echoed behind her...floorboards groaning under weight.

Autumn froze.

She felt it before she saw it. A presence. Heat. Breathing.Both familiar yet something alien.

Two bare feet stepped into view. Calloused. Broad.Scared in places. She knew who it was.

Her gaze traveled upward, her hands still hovering over the mess of herbs.

Legs. Hips. Chest.

He stood before her, naked. Not a sheet. Not a whisper of fabric. His skin was pallid, almost gray in the low light, his muscles taut, veins bulging like writhing vines beneath the surface. His eyes ...

Gods, his eyes.

Not blue. Or gold... lost... like sucked inside a void.

No hint of warmth, but with something feral. Cursed.

She staggered to her feet, heart pounding.

"Kieran!You are...you are awake finally," she managed, forcing a shaky smile. "I was just... Mango...she was just here. I will get her, she will..."

"No."

One word.

So cold. Not his voice. It rumbled like thunder through a cave.

She did not have time to scream.

His hand clamped around her throat, so fast she barely saw it move. Fingers digging into her skin like claws. Her feet left the ground.

Fingers like iron clamped harder around her throat.

"Ghk...!"

Air vanished. Her spine slammed into the wall so hard her teeth rattled. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, and sent her vision splintering white.

"Kieran!" she gasped, kicking. "W..What...are you...trying...to...?"

He slammed her into the wall harder.

CRACK.

The impact stole her breath. Her back arched off the stone. Then again...

SLAM.

Her skull bounced against the wall, vision bursting into white hot sparks. Bottles rattled off nearby shelves. She slumped slightly, choking, boots scraping against the wall.

Kieran’s face was inches from hers now.

His breath reeked of iron. His lips curled back, exposing fangs!

"You smell... wrong," he growled. "You should not be here."

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as her nails dug into his wrist, struggling.

"Kieran...look at me...it’s me! Autumn. You know me...please, you know me...you are the one who forced me to stay...now you are saying I should not be here...damn,fuck you...Kieran...may be I shouldn’t have saved you ass...let me go, you motherfucker..."

His grip loosened...just for a second.

A flicker. Confusion? Recognition?

Then the hollow glow in his eyes pulsed like a second heartbeat.

He snarled, and his other hand slammed beside her head, splintering the stone.

"You lied," he hissed. "You all lied. She showed me. The forest. The fire. The truth."

Autumn’s throat convulsed. Her voice came out a broken whisper, confused as hell!

"Who? Who showed you what?"

A pause.

Then he leaned in, lips brushing her ear.

"Selene."

Her knee jerked up in instinct...desperation but before it could connect, his free hand caught her thigh, squeezed.

Bone creaked.

She screamed.

The door burst open.

"Alpha!" Dax barged in!

No response.

Kieran’s grip only tightened.

Autumn’s vision darkened at the edges. Spots danced. Her lungs screamed.

Then...

A snarl.

A blur of movement.

Dax lunged, slamming into Kieran with enough force to send them both crashing into the opposite wall. Autumn dropped like a stone, gasping, coughing, her throat on fire.

She barely had time to register the chaos.Kieran moved again...too fast, too fluid...twisting mid air and throwing Dax off with a roar.

He hit the ground, skidding, but was already rolling to his feet.

"What the hell did you give him?!" Dax snarled ,not at Kieran, or Autumn but at the doorway.

Autumn followed his gaze.

Mango stood there.

Watching.Her expression was unreadable.

"Mango...!" Autumn croaked.

But the healer did not move.

Kieran did.

With a sound that was more beast than man, he turned...

They crashed into a cabinet, shattering it into splinters. Autumn hit the ground on the opposite side from the impact...violently, hand at her own throat as air surged painfully back into her lungs.

Dax did not hesitate. The moment Kieran lunged , he was already moving, his massive frame slamming into Kieran’s side like a battering ram.

The two of them crashed into the infirmary shelves, glass vials shattering, herbs raining down like bitter snow.

"Alpha! Snap out of it!"Dax snarled, locking an arm around his throat from behind.

Kieran thrashed. His muscles bulged, veins blackening beneath his skin as he twisted with unnatural strength. A feral growl tore from his lips...wrong, wrong, wrong...as he clawed at Dax’s forearm, drawing blood.

Dax recovered fast, lunging in to grab Kieran’s other arm.

"Hold him!" Mango yelled.

But Kieran wasn’t just strong...he was a feral Alpha!

His knee jerked up, catching Dax in the ribs with a sickening crack.

Autumn, still gasping on the floor, watched in horror.

"This isn’t him. This isn’t Kieran."

Mango took a step inside the doorway.

Then, abruptly, she moved...quick, deliberate.

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a wad of dark leaves, and shoved them into her mouth. Chewed. Once. Twice.

Then...

She spat.

The wet, greenish black mass hit Kieran square in the face.

"AGH....!"

He recoiled like she had thrown acid, hissing, clawing at his skin as if it burned. His grip on Dax loosened just enough...

"NOW!" Mango barked.

Dax seized the moment, twisting Kieran’s arm behind his back and slamming him face first into the floor. Kieran snarled, bucking like a wild animal, but Mango was already on him, knee digging into his spine.

"Good. Hold him down and force his mouth open," She ordered, voice eerily calm.

Dax shot her a sharp look.

"I knew that witch was cooking something. She would never help us normally." Mango murmured!

Mango pulled another small pouch from her cloak. Inside was a thick, tar like paste that reeked of iron and rot.

Kieran’s eyes,still half mad,widened in recognition. He fought harder.

"No!!NO!" he roared, teeth bared.

"Some people never learn," Mango muttered. Then, to Dax, she yelled."Pin his jaw."

Dax did not hesitate. He wrenched Kieran’s mouth open, fingers digging into pressure points until his resistance faltered.

Mango shoved the paste inside.

Kieran gagged, choking, but she clamped his mouth shut, holding his nose until...

Gulp!!! It was done!!!

Silence.

Kieran went limp.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

Then...

A shuddering breath. His muscles relaxed. The black veins receded.

When his eyes opened again, they were clear.

"What... the hell...?" Kieran rasped, as he looked around.

Mango and Dax exchanged glances but did not let go. Not yet.

Autumn, still massaging her bruised throat, slowly pushed herself up. Her voice was hoarse, but her words cut through the tension like a poison blade.

"Who is Selene?"

Freeze!!!!

Mango’s hands stilled.

Dax’s grip on Kieran tightened.

Kieran’s gaze snapped to Autumn.His eyes looked normal, though still in haze."Selene? How the hell do you know that name?" Still pinned, he looked between them, confusion flickering across his face. "What’s going on?"

" Does it matter? You nearly choked me to death after I sacrificed my freedom and saved you sorry ass! You literally broke my neck the second you regained consciousness... And you murmured her name! I deserve to know! Who is Selene? "

Autumn could literally see sweat drip from Mango’s head and Dax turn all the way around, to avoid eye contact. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on Kieran. He, however, looked as confused as she was.

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