The Alpha's Contract Luna (Alexia)

- Seth -

"Alpha Kieran! Alpha Kieran!" Seth yelled, trying to find his alpha. He and his group had called out to him for hours, but it was useless. Kieran did not answer.

When the fog blinded them, they tried moving into the crater but realized they could easily slip and fall into the volcano. While the volcano's center was no longer burning, Mount Nefarious was known to kill, even if the fire was out. "Alpha Kieran!" Ace called from afar. Seth glanced his way, and he saw Ace's look of defeat.

"Alpha Kieran is still alive. We would have felt it," Seth claimed. While they were no longer formally a pack, their allegiance to Kieran remained the same. They were still bounded by the promise under the blood oath. If Kieran had died, they would have sensed it, but that did not happen.

"He is still alive. I know it!" Seth claimed.

"Let's look around then!" One of the king's guards said, and Seth nodded.

Seth was thankful to the king's guards. Despite how two of their own had been badly wounded, they did not give up on Kieran. For another hour, they navigated around the crater.

When they went past the path where the fire root plants had poorly been destroyed into nothing, some clearly had been thrown down into the volcano's opening, Seth's heart broke. While he still felt deep within his bone that Kieran was alive, he could not say the same for their king.

King Balthasar might not survive, not without the fire root plant.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Looking at the king's loyal guards, he saw them stilled. Some cried, knowing what would happen next. That was how much they loved their king.

One of the king's guards had climbed up to the very top where Alpha Kieran had fallen, saying, "Maybe I can get a better view from there!"

It made sense. At the very peak, the said guard could see parts of the opening that may not be visible from where they stood.

For minutes, he kept eying the insides of the crater, but moments later, he turned, saying, "I see movements down there!"

The king's guard was looking outside the volcanic opening, narrowing his eyes. Seth climbed up to where the guard was and looked down. There was thick vegetation around, and it was moving downward.

Seth did not know why, but his heart raced. He frowned and decided to descend on the same path, no matter how difficult it was, going through the rocks and the slippery earth of the volcano.

He suddenly felt that familiar aura reaching out to him as if calling him. He shouted, "Alpha Kieran! Alpha Kieran!"

Out of nowhere, the movement below stopped. Whatever vegetation below started to clear, and a hand reached out. As seconds passed, more and more of the leaves opened up to a view of a frame. Soon, he felt the man's scent. It was indeed his alpha.

"Alpha Kieran! Alpha Kieran!" Seth repeatedly called. He shifted into his wolf, hoping to reach Kieran faster. When he did, he was more than elated, for not only was Kieran safe, he was holding about ten of the fire root in his hands. Seth heard Kieran declare, "Let's return and save the king."

- Kieran -

The next day, Kieran awoke from his rest. Last night, when his group returned to Morgan's house, they first attended to the wounded guards of the king.

It helped that Kieran brought more than enough fire root plans that the soldiers also received a dose of the healing potion Morgan created.

Back in the cave, after securing the miracle root, Kieran followed a lighted path, eventually leading him to an opening right side of Mount Nefarious. That was how he made it out, alive and well.

Kieran also received treatment for his eyes. He could still see, but there were minor signs of burns. He rested it overnight and was surprised to wake up with a twenty-twenty vision.

"Kieran, you are awake," he turned to his left and saw his wife holding a tray of food. "Have something to eat."

"What time is it?" Kieran asked.

"It's almost noon," Alexia answered while kneeling beside the made-up bed outside Morgan's home. They needed to stay close to the king, and since Morgan's house was not big enough to accommodate everyone, they set up tents as their resting place. Alexia raised the tray and suggested, "This is lunch for me and brunch for you."

"The king," Kieran asked.

Alexia smiled and replied, "He is doing better after getting the first dose of the healing potion. In fact, he is sweating and starting to make movements - simple ones, like flinching and hands clenching. Sometimes he would groan - it's a significant improvement compared to how he was a few days back."

"By the way, while you were asleep,

Alpha Declan called. They suspected him already. He said they practically turned his pack upside down in search of the king. However, since the queen's guards did not find the king, Alpha Declan was absolved - somewhat. Movements within his pack are still being monitored, and he said it will take some time for him to join us at the Cross River Pack," Alexia reported.

"That's understandable," Kieran replied.

Alexia fed him some food, but instead of taking it, he put it down and first embraced his wife. He kissed her cheek and neck, saying, "I thought I was going to die."

Kieran narrated to Alexia what had transpired at Mount Nefarious. How he had fallen down and nearly fell into the inferno. He described how he was saved by violent rains and shrub trees that miraculously carried his weight. Of course, the best part was how he found the cave and discovered a plantation of fire root plants.

Despite the good in what happened, he also realized how Caspian had escaped him, and then he revealed to his wife, "The prince is not the king's son." "What?" Alexia asked in horror, her eyes widening.

"He colluded with his mother, and I

could not accept that he would kill his father. I questioned him back at Mount Nefarious. He probably thought would die with the sneak attack that he admitted not to be the king's biological son," Kieran revealed. "He didn't deny the poisoning either, and the fact that they were there, they knew that the fire root plant was the only way to save the king."

With a sigh, he added, "They were trying to sabotage our plans to save the king. Clearly, Caspian and the Queen had been poisoning the king."

"Kieran," Alexia kissed his lips. She said, "I'm glad you are safe. I don't know what I would have done without you. It was the Moon Goddess' will. She saved you."

"With the truth out, at least, we know who are the real enemies," Alexia suggested, and Kieran nodded.

Alexia and Kieran ate together in the next few minutes, relieved that the king would soon be fully healed. After finishing their meals, however, Alexia acted to heave, and her face paled completely.

"Are you okay?" Kieran asked.

"I - I don't know. I have been feeling sick since yesterday, Kieran -" Alexia covered her mouth and ran outside the tent, where she threw up all the contents of her stomach. She was at it so hard that she alerted the other tens around them. Seth, who saw Alexia, expressed his concern, "Are you fine, Luna?"

Immediately after Alexia emptied her stomach, Kieran carried her in his arms and rushed into the house, alerting Morgan. "Morgan! Morgan! My wife is sick. Please check her!"

Morgan promptly attended to Alexia, guiding her inside her treatment room. Half an hour passed, and Morgan came out of the chamber, saying, "Your wife is not sick, Alpha Kieran." "What do you mean, Morgan?" Kieran was utterly worried. He could handle all the pain in the world, but he did not want anything to happen to his wife. "Why was she vomiting?" Behind Morgan, Kieran saw Alexia walk out. She was still pale, but unlike earlier, she had a smile on her face.

"Alpha Kieran. I have good news. Congratulations, your wife is pregnant," Morgan revealed, and the half-witch grinned from ear to ear.