[ Old world - into the woods ]
The Greater Woods bled shadows between the boles of the ancient trees.
Kieran’s horse tore through the undergrowth in a blur, hooves pounding towards an unknown destination.
Wind whipped his hair into his eyes.
And every second felt like another thread of her slipping away.
He knew this was pointless. He had done this only too many tis. Without her scent, without any trace where the hell was he supposed to look for her.
He rode into the wild because he knew he had to get out... that camp... those cries... were suffocating him.
He didn’t pause, instead he reached out through the mind link, his voice taut with urgency.
"Is it ready?"
There was a pause. A crackle. Then ca a breathless reply.
"We are... still working on it. With Mango gone, the substance is still unstable.We are trying to stabilise and filter the component. Even still it was just an experint.Even Mango wasn’t sure whether or not it would actually work. Now without her guidance we too are working in the dark. And the side effects..."
"I don’t care about the side effects," Kieran cut in, his tone snapping like a whip.
The horse swerved around a fallen trunk, nearly unseating him. He forced it back on track.
"I need to feel her. My mate bond with Autumn is the only thing that can lead to her now. And that potion..." his jaw clenched hard, "...is the only way.I need to get to her before it’s..." He stopped himself from jinxing it and saying ’too late’.
Suddenly another static humd in the mind link. The voice on the other end exhaled shakily.
"I will see what I can do, Alpha Kieran.... but you need to understand..."
"Just do it...and fast...I want results..."
His voice ca out low, lethal.
Another pause. Then, reluctantly there was a confirmation.
"...We are on it...Alpha Kieran, Alpha Velor wants to talk..."
The connection wavered... but before it fully faded, another presence slid in.
"You are asking for the potion again,Kieran?" Velor’s voice murmured, silk over steel.
" Yes! What is it to you? "
" You are putting my healers and witches to good use and still asking what’s in it for ? Now... now Kieran. Don’t be such a snob!"
" Velor! I am not really in a very good mood right now. Don’t push your luck! Just get the potion delivered as soon as it’s ready! "
"I will...I will...but you still haven’t answered ...are you ready to face what it will do to you?"
Kieran’s grip on the horse’s mane tightened until it bit into his palms.
"I am not having this conversation with you.Autumn is in real danger. I can risk anything for her sake...anything..."
Velor’s chuckle was like the rustle of dry leaves in a graveyard... but then he paused and humd... like he understood.
"I understand your desperation...just keep in mind that the side effects aren’t just a matter of pain, Kieran. They change things."
"I said shut it,Velor and just get the work done."
"You want silent?" Velor purred. " Alright! Alright! But watch your tone around ,Kieran. I still agreed to go ahead and sign that energy deal with your murderous, Father.Only for your sake. You should be grateful. I made peace with that demon who took my family..."
Kieran growled under his breath. " Velor,I can’t sit here to debate the last wars with you! We are in the present now! We need to move on! You lost your father. I lost my brother...rember? Your father played equal parts in Karl’s contamination. It was no accident..."
There was utter silence for a long long ti...
" Just get to work, Velor. There’s no point brooding...this deal will allow us to bring the Old World under proper administration. Without that, the territory will splinter before we even claim it properly. And it’s just a stepping stone, Velor. Once I find Autumn...we will have the opportunity to discover all the riches hiding in this ancient world...hidden for ages.Our packs will be unstoppable... I just... I just need to find her... just that... "
After few long monts of silence ,Velor added, " Kieran...just rember...if you want Autumn safe, you will need control."
Kieran’s jaw flexed. "This isn’t the ti..."
"This is exactly the ti," Velor pressed, voice coiling tighter. "Your desperation makes you reckless. Recklessness makes you... pliable."
The horse crashed through a wall of brambles, thorns scraping his boots. Kieran leaned low over the animal, refusing to take the bait.
"I will handle whatever cos when it does. But first, I need to find her."
Velor humd. "Very well. My n are getting the potion finalized and I will see to the energy supply myself.But rember, Kieran...every price is paid, one way or another."
The link went silent, leaving only Kieran’s own ragged breathing in the cold dark of the Greater Woods.
Kieran yanked back hard on the reins.
The horse reared, front hooves slashing the air, neighing loud like a war cry.
For a heartbeat they both hovered in that tense balance...beast and rider frad against the trees...but before the animal slamd back down and Kieran drove it forward again.
The wind howled past his ears, but it couldn’t strip away the noise inside him.
The storm churned and clawed, every breath scraping raw in his throat.
His mind felt like it was caught between two blades...half on the road ahead, half stuck in the gnawing truth that he was running blind.
"Hold it together... just hold it together," he hissed under his breath.
The woods blurred past...he had no idea where he was at the mont.
He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks, forcing it faster, as though sheer speed could crush the anxiety pressing in.
But then... suddenly... out of the blue...a sharp, brutal spike of sensation slamd into him.
It wasn’t pain at first... not exactly.
More like sothing inside him convulsing all at once, a violent spasm that stole the rhythm from his breath.
The next second, it was severe pain...searing, crushing, wrapping around his chest and crawling into his arms like molten wire.
Kieran jerked in the saddle, clutching at his sternum. His lungs refused to draw more than a shallow gasp.
"What the..."
The horse slowed instinctively, sensing its rider’s distress.
But the ground seed to tilt, the air growing heavier, harder to pull into his body. His vision stuttered, black edges bleeding into the silver light.
His pulse thundered in his ears, but it wasn’t steady...more like an uneven war drum, stumbling over itself.
Kieran ground his teeth, forcing his head up, scanning the trees.
No scent. No sound. Just the oppressive, waiting silence of the Greater Woods.
"Autumn...?" His voice cracked, and the word felt like it scraped sothing raw on the way out.
Another convulsion shuddered through him, this one harder, making his fingers go numb around the tips. His grip faltered, his hands sliding against his palm slick with sweat.
It felt like the start of a heart attack... but there was sothing else in it.
Sothing much much colder. Deeper.
Sothing that didn’t belong to his body at all.
He wrenched the horse to a halt, chest heaving, every muscle rigid against the creeping sensation that whatever this was... it was reaching through him... going straight for his soul!
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