Coven & Claw

CHAPTER #6

"Alpha."

"Alpha"

"Alpha…"

Krishun stands frozen by the door to the pack house as every member of his pack, both from outside and inside walks up to him and gives him a very respectful greeting and a bow. He raises his eyebrows at everyone who is usually scooting away from his presence and yet this time they are surrounding him like he was Santa on a christmas morning. And surprisingly none of them are in their wolf form which is pretty odd in the Nightsky pack. There is never a day everyone would be in their human form even if there is a special event, unless he required it.

"Hello Alpha!!"

A bunch of the Nightsky kids who had managed to push their way through the adults, scream their greeting and he is tempted to shut his ears. With his wolf hearing their greeting sounds like a loud screech that feels like it grazed his ear drum.

"How is the luna?" A tiny girl asks him as she steps out of the bunch proudly, showing her courage.

He sighs before squatting in front of her and forces a smile. He has got to hand it to this little girl for her courage though. He knows this is the reason everyone is gathered around him but they are just too afraid to ask what she just asked. Damn Caesar and his big mouth. He finds himself fighting the urge to look at his beta to register how displeased he is again about him letting everyone know that he had found his mate.

"Which Luna might that be now Michelle?" He replies feigning innocence while taking her little hand in his. Michelle smiles widely before giving a knowing look to her peers. The tiny outspoken person prides herself as the mouthpiece of the kids because apparently, according to her, the alpha doesn't scare her. Unlike the other kids who even now took a step back when Krishun came down to Michelle's level.

"The luna of our pack. Our Luna." She answers him with all the confidence she can master. 

"Well sweetheart…" he puts a few of her stray locks of hair behind her ear as he searches for the right words to answer her and everyone else. He doesn't miss all the eyes that are trained on him obviously waiting anxiously for him to confirm Caesar's words.

"I haven't found her yet, but I promise when I do, you will be the first one to know. okay?" He smiles but the little girl just looks at him confused as her smile fades.

"B...But mummy said you already found her." Michelle now looks at him disappointed. 

"Well am sure mummy must have misheard that from somewhere. But I promise, you will be the first one to know when I do find her.

"Run along now." He dismisses her before she can say anything else and he gets up to face everyone who looks at him surprised.

"Get back to work." He growls and everyone disappears without a word.

"You are crazy, you know that?" Caesar's voice makes him clench his teeth to keep from biting back. 

He decides to walk in without a word to his beta.

"Damn it Krishun!" Caesar yells after him but he just keeps going like he didn't hear him.

"Hey man.." 

Caesar tries to hold him back when he catches up to him but Krishun turns and grabs his beta by his throat and pins him on the nearest wall.

"Don't!" He growls right in his ear but Caesar doesn't even flinch. If it was any other wolf they would have been frozen just by his menacing tone but Caesar is probably used to his outbursts. 

"Don't do this." Caesar bites back as he struggles to hold down the effects of Krishun's aura on him. His beta's eyes are holding his in defiance and he is tempted to shift and tear Caesar apart. His wolf is not taking too kindly to this disobedience and wants out immediately. It doesn't matter that the offender is looking out for his mate, the alpha male wants to assert its dominance. It takes everything in Krishun to let Caesar go. Despite his disobedience, Krishun knows that his beta is doing what he is meant to do. It just so happens that this time around they are standing on opposite sides of the same fence.

"I won't let you do this!" Caesar yells after him again, making him stop in his tracks.

"Don't push your luck C" He warns him before going his way. 

He stomps the deserted hallways with his fists clenched wishing he could hit something or someone. He may have let his beta go but it doesn't mean his wolf doesn't still want a piece of him. He turns towards his bedroom where he decides to take a cold shower hoping the water might calm him down. While he knows everyone is happy about his mate, none of them will understand why he has to do what he needs to do.

"How long are you going to keep me waiting?" A very familiar voice comes through his mind link and he smiles feeling a sense of relief. 

"Just give me a minute. I will be right down."

After his exchange with Caesar, he totally forgot that someone was waiting for him. He grabs the closest things he can wear and puts them on quickly not wanting to keep the person waiting any longer. 

He takes one last look in his large mirror making sure to erase every trace of his earlier anger. He doesn't want to have to explain himself.

He checks his mind link and finds it quiet. He is sure it's either everyone just shut it down or they are afraid of pissing him off. Either way, he is glad it's quiet. It will give him enough time to come up with a proper answer that he can give his pack. He hopes after his visit, he will have enough wisdom to face his people. 

He trots down the hallways that are still deserted for a pack house as big as his with its many members. But he doesn't mind that much, he knows they are probably just trying to avoid him and his sour temper.

 "Am I only good for sad news around here?" A sweet and calm voice reaches Krishun's ears the moment he steps into the cool open garden that is well placed behind his massive pack house.

"Of course you are not grandma." He replies before going round and facing the only surviving member of his immediate family.

"Then why is my only grandson not coming to tell this old woman that he finally found his mate?"

"Because dear grandmother, I have found no such thing." He replies before giving the beautiful woman a kiss on her cheek."

She has seen more centuries than anyone he knows but she has still remained radiating with beauty just like her younger days. Even her long flowing hair has no single streak of gray, thanks to their pack's strong werewolf genes that even after so many centuries keep them looking just as young as they were during their youth.

"Are you telling me Caesar was just blubbering again?" The old woman frowns. 

"You know Caesar." He replies before sitting opposite her and reaching for some fruit on a table beside her.

"Krishun.." she grabs his arm before he moves back while her eyes still remain focussed up ahead.

"Let me see her." She begs him.

"No.." he replies with urgency. He is not one to refuse her anything but this is one request he simply cannot grant.

"I need to be sure first." He sighs as he leans back in his seat. Knowing very well that he just gave himself away.

"The moon goddess does not make mistakes!" 

Her sharp tone makes him flinch before looking up at her. He wonders how she can be this positive about everything in this life. Ever since he was a little boy, he has never heard her complain about a thing in her life despite her circumstances. Even when her mate died, she grieved yes, but she never let herself drown in her sorrows like any other wolf does when they lose a mate.

"Stop staring." She retorts and he scrunches his face wondering how she is able to tell what he is doing so precisely.

"Am blind, not stupid." 

She grins at him while her mischievous demeanour rares it's head.

"I didn't say you were." He replies as he takes her hand. He has never understood how she is able to do the things she does. She maybe blind but she can easily pass as one with sight. When he was young he was sure she could see but just pretending to be blind. As far as he knows she's been blind since birth. 

"Tell me about her then." She calmly asks him after a few minutes and he looks at her thoughtfully, wondering why she has given up so soon.

"She's a witch." His jaw automatically twitches when he says that.

"Oh." His grandmother turns to him with an understanding look which lasts just for a moment before it's replaced with a smile.

"I didn't mean that." She retorts and he laughs knowing what the old woman is inquiring about.

"Well?" 

"Well what?" He retorts.

"Are you going to tell me about her or not?" She asks, sounding impatient this time, making him laugh. 

"She's beautiful gran." He begins and immediately his mate's golden eyes flash before his face. 

"The most beautiful yet." He sighs longingly, wishing he was right back in that tiny cell watching her.

"I mean, no amount of filth in this world could ever erase that beauty away."

He turns to his grandmother and finds her beaming. 

"But she is a witch." He clenches his teeth.

"That she is." His grandmother puts on a more serious look, making him frown before he realizes what she is doing.

"I really wish she wasn't gran. I mean, she would be perfect if it wasn't for…" he trails off with his eyes closed as some of his dark memories surface in his mind and take away the peaceful moment he enjoyed a moment ago.

"Just promise me you won't hurt her." His grandmother begs as she gets hold of his hand that had it's claws sinking in the chair he is sitting on. He didn't even realize he was shifting until he felt her hand on his.

"I can't." He answers bitterly before pulling away and getting up to his feet.

"The moon goddess does not make mistakes Krishun!" His grandmother snaps.

"We'll see about that." He gives her a kiss before leaving. He has heard enough.

"Later grandma." He walks away but not before he hears her pissed off sigh, a first for him.