73
73
3RD POV.
The brothers grunt as they break through the fragments of rocks that’ve fallen upon them under Kaya’s influence. Their skin is broken from the effect, their faces are messed up with dirt, and their hair is messy, like it hasn’t been brushed for years.
Kieran and Kade help Kyle from under an iron bar that’s hooked him into the ground, and he groans out loud as his rib breaks in the situation.
“Fuck, couldn’t you have been careful?” His voice is coarse as he lashes out at his brothers.
Kieran hisses while Kade looks back at their men. With his reasoning mind, he understands only more the aftermath of what he’s created. If anyone had told him about two months ago that Kaya would become what she’s become now, he would not have believed it.
She was a sweet soul, but he tainted her. He and his brothers turned her into exactly what she never wanted to become, and maybe just then they are the ones who can help retrieve her from the brainwashing of Olivia. They have made her need validation from others before she can make a decision, and that is what Olivia is using against them.
As long as they are both on the same path, Kaya won’t have a reason to see Olivia for who she really is.
As they make their way back to the throne room, their body regenerates, healing all wounds and broken bones. As soon as they enter the room, “damn, I need a drink after all that,” and Kyle heads right for the small bar on the east side of the room.
“If I’m to guess, their men have retreated again, haven’t they?” Kieran speaks to Kade, who nods instantly.
“I can’t hear their war chants anymore.” Kade replies back with the words, finding it hard to drip off of his tongue. He is just reopening his eyes, having closed them before so he could pay attention to what is happening outside.
Kieran tsks as he laughs maniacally. “It’s so clear, isn’t it? They are eating us little by little. This is fun for them. It’s a play, isn’t it?” When Kieran becomes like this, he is far from pissed. He is palm-twitchingly infuriated and could do anything at this point. Kade is ready to calm him so he won’t do anything irrational. They have to be decisive in thinking differently than these packs, and that’s the only way they can win, especially having gotten Kaya back.
“Yes, you’re correct. And Kaya is their bomb. She is such a timer that they are only nursing her just so they can use her when it’s time. And they would ruin her forever. That she doesn’t know.”
“Then, how do we get her back? It’s not like we were ever good to her either.” Kieran is groaning, his head positioned towards the ceiling, when Kyle comes to join them back.
“I made Chester follow them already. He would find out their tracks.” When Kyle explains, Kieran and Kade look at each other in surprise.
Kieran scoffs, “you did?”
“Oh, brother, don’t mock me for thinking past you this time around.” Kyle is just feeling the glory of his better reasoning when the door snaps open and Jared enters. His boot clicks with an annoying sound until he stops in front of the table and slams his hand onto it.
“It is the witch, isn’t it? She’s gone far more rogue than we think, hasn’t she?” The brothers don’t know how to reply Jared.
They have come to the conclusion that Jared doesn’t just hate her like they do, but perhaps there’s something more to it that he isn’t telling them. He’s come to take Kaya’s situation more personally than any of them, more than even their mother, who was the one to have suffered at the hands of witches. Or another thought is that maybe he is just watching out for them since the triplets have been in care since childhood, so he’s grown very attached to them.
And the triplets chose to trust the latter.
“Uncle, not again, not after all that we are facing. We need time to think.”
“No.” Jared adds more effect by gesturing with his fingers. “Let’s discuss this all together. We are family after all, aren’t we?” He occupies a seat in one of the many chairs, and Kyle groans, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
“What’s your plan?”
“Chester would find out their tracks, and once he’d reported back, we’d trail behind them and get back the girl. Afterward, we can decide on a plan on how to stop this war once and for all. However, in the meantime, we must protect what is left of the kingdom. The citadel is getting infiltrated, and that would continue to scare our people, and once fear comes in, it’s only the beginning of betrayal, which calls for more disaster.”
“So, you’re saying that we need to protect the people for now while you and your brothers go and fetch the girl?” Jared tries to interpret Kade’s words in the way he has understood them.
He nods lightly and says, “Yes, uncle, exactly that. We can’t do it all at once. Plus, we need to face the bigger threat while you and mother can protect everyone. We need all slaves and royals protected because we’ll need everyone when this war is over. The subjects remain in the higher town, don’t they?”
Jared nods, “of course.”
“Then we must keep them protected. Double the guards. Take as many men as you want. They are at your disposal. Utilize them wisely, and most importantly, protect the citadel to the very end. This is where everything stands. This is our origin.” Kade ends by looking at the room. The citadel is the actual palace, and it needs to be protected, or else there is no way the pack can ever hold again.
The citadel has never been won over before. Hell, the triplets have never been so threatened, even to the stage where the lower town would be overridden. They’ve never had to fight their enemies past the lower town before, much less now losing the lower town entirely to their enemies.Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
This is a threat they must take seriously. And Kaya being with the neighboring packs has given them a better chance than the triplets.
“And when you bring her back, what will happen?” Jared asks. By “her,” he means the witch, and his tone is utterly serious.
The triplets look at one another, and Kyle replies, “of course, we try as much as possible to take back all the evil we’ve done.”
Jared raises both brows before he scoffs. “What is this? A joke?”
When he sees that the brothers are actually serious about what Kyle has just said, he tsks in disappointment. “When you bring her back, you put her in chains, lock her hands off from being able to cast any spells with them, and then use the head mask on her. It’s worked before, and it would work on this young witch too. She won’t be able to cast any spells with her thoughts, either. Then, she can be executed later.” Jared has thought of his plans perfectly well, and he believes that the brothers will align with them this time around, but he’s only naive.
They aren’t the monsters he once trained. “I’m sorry, uncle, but that’s not a plan we’re willing to follow.” The triplets say in unison.
Jared is about to counter when Chester enters the room with a slight bow. “I followed them through to the end of the woods, my Lord. I know their hideout.”
“Thank you, Chester. Get four horses. We ride out this evening.” When Kade says, Chester frowns a little in confusion.
“But my Lord,”
“We don’t want crowds now, do we? We aren’t going to war, are we?” Kade ends his words then, except Chester has more to spill.
“And my Lord…”
“What, Chester?” His voice has gotten tighter.
“There’s something weird happening outside? The people are scared to their core. I have never seen such before, but there is an explanation…” Chester stops there when Kade points out his palm at him.
The brothers’ hearing range to walls outside the citadel has given them hints as well. They’ve come to hear the sounds of people’s screams.
The brothers run to the window, looking down at the change in nature. The ocean in the distance is crashing with such unreal waves that all the canoes have been swallowed by its rage. And the sky is suddenly being covered by dark clouds, casting shadows of darkness. The ominous feeling is one that can’t be shaken, even by these powerful wolves.
Their eyes are widening at the imbalance.
“What’s happening, Chester?”
“My Lord, it’s a curse.” Kade snaps his eyes toward Chester. “The crops are suddenly dead. The water has dried. All foods have rotten. It’s Doomsday.” He finishes with an alarm in his tone.
“And this is what happens, uncle, when we pay evil with evil.” Kade tells his uncle. “But my brothers and I are going to change history. We are getting Kaya back, and this time around, we are going to do right by her.”