“I knew you’d be here soon…”
Kellan looked straight at Seth, who was sitting opposite him. He lifted the cup filled with chamomile tea and sipped slowly. In his twilight years, Kellan only had to reap the benefits of what he had sown.
Seth didn’t move. He waited for his grandfather to start talking. On cloudy mornings like now, sitting in front of the fireplace was one way to ward off the cold that blew in from the window.
“I’m at the point of no return. I need to find the truth soon because I feel like the witch is after me.”
“I saw the trials coming at Red Crescent Moon. Yeah, I experienced that back then too. Challenging the Alpha takes a lot of courage because it’s the same as betraying her.”
“That’s what I’m doing now… I need to solve this problem right away, sis. I’m looking to you for guidance.”
Kellan rubbed his chin. For a moment, he considered whether to tell the truth or not. He didn’t want to be seen as a horrible werewolf by his grandson, but after seeing the worried look on Seth’s face, Kellan understood.
Kellan knew that he would feel the same way as his grandson right now. A werewolf’s pride would be at stake, especially since Seth was the Alpha wolf. He would use any means to maintain the survival of the pack he led and overcome all the problems that befell the pack.
“Alright. But before that, drink your tea first. Your grandmother made it for you.”
Seth complied with Kellan’s request. He grabbed the mint green cup from the table and brought it to his mouth. He sipped the drink at the same time as Kellan.
“200 years ago…”
*
Kellan was standing in front of the window. He saw a wolf running through the tall, black gate. Once on the front porch, the wolf shifted into human form and put on the clothes he had taken from his backpack.
Kellan heard steps coming closer. He saw the door open to reveal the human who had just shifted from his wolf form. Kellan became focused on the tense look on her face, so he walked over.
“What have you got?” Kellan asked her.
“Alpha is in her home. He and seven witches are executing the seven Alphas of the seven packs. You were right; they are extracting all the Alpha’s blood.”
“Gamma Lee, I order you to give this news to the seven packs and immediately ask them to send representatives to help us. We are going to stage a coup tomorrow night.”
“Are we going to ask the witches for help too?” asked Lee with some hesitation.
“No, we won’t. Just the werewolves-I won’t ask them for help just to fight, unless it’s a matter of life and death for my family,” Kellan answered confidently.
“Alright, orders will be carried out immediately.”
Lee turned around and opened the door. He walked out, leaving Kellan in his room. The beta walked over to the chair and sat down. He opened the thick book in front of him and turned to the marked page.
Kellan read it. His eyes focused on each sentence describing the blood ritual held on the red full moon. Kellan felt fully confident that the full moon would occur tomorrow night, according to the instructions in the book.
*
Kellan stared at the ceiling as he recalled his coup. He got up from the chair and walked to the fireplace. Kellan put in some extra firewood to keep the fire burning.
“I think we killed that blonde witch. After we cleaned the house, the witch’s body disappeared. I suspect that the events in the Black Bold still have something to do with that witch.”
“Did they say anything, Grandpa?”
“Vincentius said that karma would follow me. At first, I just thought it was nonsense, but as it turned out, it was my great-grandson who violated the rules of nature, and I punished the warrior until he became a hybrid.”
Seth began to feel awkward when his two children were mentioned by his grandfather. When Seth sent word of Julian’s birth, Kellan didn’t make any comment. He remembered that his grandfather still gave them a birth present for his first great-grandchild.
“Moon Goddess has planned the destiny of her werewolves. I would only be an ignorant werewolf if I defied that destiny. I think it makes sense that my two great-grandchildren went through the actual process of nature, which is birth.”
“Then, did you ever meet those rogues?”
“Yes, I met one of them when Christian called me. They only said that they would avenge Margot and would take what was rightfully theirs.”
“The same case happened fifty years later. Did you know about that case?”
“I didn’t pay much attention to it because of the problems in the pack at the time. So the Supreme Alpha before me solved the case.”
“Do you think it was done by the same witch?”
“I can’t be sure. Witches always disguise themselves as something else, and a wolf’s senses can’t indicate that. But if you want to find the answer, maybe you can meet the witch I ordered to curse Kai, the warrior. I think they are the same age.”
“Thank you, Grandpa. The information you provided is very useful to me.”
Seth began to put the scattered pieces of the puzzle together. His intuition also told him that both were the work of the same witch. Seth was just about to get up from the chair, but Kellan held him back. “Are you in a hurry?”
“Yeah, a little, grandpa. What’s wrong?”
“I want you to accompany this old man fishing at Webster Lake. Maybe we’ll get some white perch later.”
Kellan looked at Seth with a rather pitiable face. Getting a visit from his family was a rare thing considering his son and grandson’s status as leaders of the werewolf race. Kellan sulked a little with his facial mimic and smiled when Seth melted with his efforts.
“Okay. I’ll go change first.”
Five minutes later, Seth was greeted by Lola at the bottom of the stairs. His grandmother was holding lunch boxes for them. Once Seth had reached the bottom step, he accepted the lunchbox from his grandmother.
“Where’s grandpa?”
“He’s taking the car out of the garage.”
“I can’t fish, but he made me accompany him,” Seth grumbled to his grandmother.
“Your uncle used to come here, but he’s in the middle of some business with another pack. Just enjoy your time together. He’ll be so happy when he hears that his proud grandson is coming to visit. Ah, I forgot about my cooking. Go on, I have to get back to the kitchen.”
Seth heard his grandmother’s chatter as he walked back to the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and descended the steps on the front porch. He saw his grandfather already waving from the car, preparing to leave.
“You’ll get so excited about the fish in the lake that you’ll want to scratch them with your paws.”