Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
KAI
W hen I entered the mansion, I had the unsettling feeling that Valeria wasn't there. My suspicions grew stronger when I checked her tracker; it showed that she was in the mansion, but her scent was faint and clearly a few hours old. Something was off. When I asked Eli, he responded as I expected since he would never go against my wishes. Eli went to see his kids after Alex called him. I was left pacing in the foyer.
The main door opened with a squeak. I turned around to see Valeria and Anna entering. Their expressions were shocked to find me waiting there. Anna's eyes widened in surprise as Valeria's face became pale.
"Where the fuck were you?" I asked with a controlled yet simmering rage in my voice. My hands curled into fists by my sides as I tried to keep my cool.
Valeria stepped in front of Anna. “Anna didn’t want to go, I begged her to help me, so it’s on me.”
I took a deep breath, “I knew it. No one in this mansion dares defy me except you. Why?”
Valeria turned to Anna. “You go, I’ll handle it from here.”
Anna closed the door on her way out and Valeria looked at me. “First, promise me you are not going to do anything to Anna’s she’s innocent.”
I had no intention of doing anything to Anna, but I wanted to know the truth and I also wanted to keep my vicious image intact so I lied. “I’ll decide that later.”
Valeria sighed, “I wanted to go out. She wasn’t willing to do it at first, but I convinced her so she helped me.”
“The reason, Valeria.”
“It’s a long story, sit down.”
I remained where I was, “Now.”
Valeria took a deep breath, “Alright, I didn’t want to tell you because you already had so much going on in your life to deal with. Last night Lucien filed a case against me and Dad.”
Valeria looked at me as if she was expecting some reaction from me but I stood still and raised my brows. Valeria continued, “The council called me and Dad today to defend ourselves.”
My blood boiled when she told me about what had happened in the council and how she and her dad handled the case and got it dismissed. The moment she finished I asked. “So what if a werewolf gets married to a human?”
Valeria nodded, “It’s the biggest crime in our community because our existence has only ever been a myth to humans. Dad worked hard to pass a resolution in which the punishment is death for anyone who reveals himself to the human world.”
I didn’t understand, but when she explained it to meI got why Jake had taken these measures. They couldn’t reveal my identity for the same reason, it’s human nature to experiment on everything. They saved me and my brother from becoming lab rats.
I held her arms, “You shouldn’t hide these things from me.”
Valeria shrugged, “Tonight is a full moon and it was a hectic day for all of us.”
Valeria reminded me of the time. I had half an hour before I had to restrain myself in the basement. I dialed Eli and the door of my mansion flung open. Eli’s phone started to ring beside me, “What the fuck are you doing up here?”
I put my phone on the table, “I was calling you, idiot.”
Eli gestured to me with his hand, “Come on, it’s time.”
I clenched my jaw, “I know the way.”
Valeria giggled and started to follow me. I stopped her. “Where are you going?”
“I am going with you.”
Before I responded Eli laughed. “He doesn't allow anyone in the basement except his dear brother,” he pointed at himself.
I nodded, “Yes, you stay up here and we’ll meet tomorrow morning.”
Valeria asked. “But why is Eli allowed to go with you but not me?”
“Because it wouldn’t be a big loss if my wolf ate his head.”
Eli grunted and walked to the basement.
I laughed and Valeria squinted quizically, “Are you being serious?”
I shook my head. “Of course not, but I didn’t want to lose the chance to tell him how useless he is. In reality, the only reason is if my wolf comes out in his presence Eli is the only one who can shift quickly enough and fight back.”
I was about to go into the basement when Valeria’s family walked into the mansion. I looked at them, “What happened?”
Luke responded excitedly. “We all wanted to see if your curse had been broken or not?”
“I told Valeria and she will tell you all. But stay up here. There is no need to go down with me.”
Luke’s excitement faded, “What? We are not going to watch you?”
Emmett swatted his head, “This is not some kind of movie.”
Luke rubbed his head, “Last night I let you eat my pizza and you are hitting me?”
Lyra intervened. “Ignore them, Kai. We were all worried about you and Valeria so we couldn’t just stay at home and wait.”
I nodded and waved my hand then headed to the basement where Eli was standing holding the shackles in his hands. “What took you so long, your highness?”
I shook my head, “Nothing Valeria’s family came so I told them to stay upstairs.”
I stood between the two heavy poles and Eli started to restrain me. “If you want, I can take them to a screen where they can watch you.”
I nodded. Eli asked, “Do you feel anything yet?”
I shook my head, “No, it hasn’t started yet.”
“Try harder.”
I closed my eyes, but still, there was no stretching in my bones. “Still nothing.”
Eli responded after fully restraining me, “Then I am not leaving you.”
I sighed, “No, you should go. If you stay here until sunrise they will go mad with suspense.”
Eli raised his brow, “I don’t care about them; I am not leaving you alone down here. What if something goes wrong? What if you can’t do anything due to these fucking shackles?”
I knew no one could move Eli from the basement, so I nodded. The night started and still, my vicious wolf didn’t come out. Eli told me to close my eyes and try to communicate with my wolf. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Do you feel anything? I asked.
Not yet. My wolf responded.
Do you think the curse has been broken? I asked.
Even though I dislike your shackles, I don't want you to put yourself or anybody else in danger, therefore even though I'm not sure, I don't want you to break free from them. My wolf responded.
Eli asked, “What is he saying?”
My wolf responded, Tell Elli I will eat him, curse or no curse.
I smiled and closed my eyes. Eli poked my chest. “He isn’t feeling anything, but still doesn’t want me to get out of these shackles,”
“And what is it that you are not telling me?” Eli asked.
“Don’t you dare lie. You were smiling and as far as I know your wolf was telling you how he is going to eat me? Right?”
I controlled my chortle and looked at him, “I think you should go and check on Anna and the kids. She must be worried about you.”
Elli nodded, “Yeah, I will go and tell her that curse has not kicked in yet.”
When Eli was leaving I told him, “Also take Valeria and her family…”
Eli turned around and cut me off, “Do you think I fell for your trick and didn’t understand? I am going because I know you are worried for Valeria,” and then he left.
It was a very long night and with every passing minute, it was a mix of feelings. When finally I saw the daylight coming from the stairs I laughed and asked my wolf, Did you control him the whole night or is the curse gone?”
I have no strength to control a curse. The curse must be broken, My wolf responded.
Eli ran towards me and unrestrained me. We laughed and hugged each other.
“Jake was right,” Eli said.
“I think we should go upstairs.”
Eli smiled, “Now I hope we find a way to go back to Eldaria soon.”
When we rushed upstairs Jake was standing proud of his judgment, “I told you.”
I shook hands with him. “Yes, you were right. Valeria turned out to be my curse breaker.”
Lyra responded, “Her Halo lineage and fate keeper background make her special.”
Elliot added, “I think the combo of Halo and fatekeeper’s background makes all four of us able to survive in Eldaria now that it has been established that Kai’s curse has been broken.”
I looked at Lyra, “Do you know where the portal is and how we can open it?”
Eli added, “Yeah, we forgot to ask that night.”
Lyra sighed, “I don’t know where the portal is because I don't remember where I fell and I don’t know where that key went.”
“What do you mean the key is gone? You told us that night you had the key when you landed here.”
Lyra nodded, “Yeah I had the key but after all these years I don’t know where I kept it.”
“Maybe if we go to the portal it will open by itself,” Eli asked.
Lyra shook her head. “It's important to have the key because the key will guide you to the portal.”
Jake intervened, “I think I know something about the key.”
We all turned to Jake and he added, “Come to our house tonight.”
“Do you have the key?”
Jake looked at me. “When I met Lyra she was holding something and I didn’t know what it was so I tossed it in my garage.”
I stood up. “Then we can go to your place now.”
Emmet responded, “But last year we rebuilt our garage.”
Jake pointed at Emmett. “That is the reason I asked you to come tonight.”
I sighed, “Alright, then we’ll see you all tonight.”
Lyra stood up and clapped in excitement, “You all are invited to dinner at our place.”
After that, they left. I did not go to my office because I had a lot going on in my head at the time. While Valeria went to sleep since she was feeling exhausted, Eli and I spent the entire day pacing in the foyer. The twins would make their first trip outside the basement tonight, and Anna could not control her excitement.
When we arrived at Jake’s place his pack had already filled his place. Lucien and Morgana were standing inside with their heads down. Jake pointed a finger at a man. “How could you not know about your son’s shenanigans?”
The man responded respectfully. "Trust me, Alpha Jake." I knew nothing about it. We've known each other for years, and if I had any doubts about you, I'd come to you. I'd never go behind your back."
Jake looked at Lucien, “I don’t want to see your face in my pack.”
Lucien looked at Jake and then at his dad, “How many times do I have to apologize?”
Jake raised his hand, “You should have known the consequences when you raised the issue to the council. You have broken my trust and there is no apology that can mend that.”
When Luke called Valeria the whole pack looked at us and then at Jake with questions in their eyes. Jake looked at us, “You guys can go inside, Lyra is waiting for you all.”
Jake turned to his pack and I headed inside but I was listening outside. “My guests have arrived so I have to dismiss this meeting.”
One of the pack members asked, “Alpha, they are all humans and it's not safe to be friends with them.”
Jake responded, “Kai Parker is a very influential and powerful human. I am planning to collaborate with him on my future endeavors, nothing else.”
Jake turned to Lucien and Morgana, “I don’t want to see either of you in my territory. If anyone sees you, by law, that pack member is obliged to kill you.”
Lucien and Morgana kept begging their families but everyone agreed with their alpha. When Jake came inside, Lyra asked everyone to start dinner. Alex was with the kids in the foyer and we all were sitting in a dining area. While having dinner I asked, “Do you think Lucien and Morgana will be a problem?”
Jake shook his head, “I cast them out, they won’t be a problem anymore.”
Lyra gasped when she heard, “What about their families?”
Jake shook his head, “You have to make bitter and bold decisions to keep the pack intact.”
“I don’t know, to pluck someone out of his family and throw him away is not a decision I can support.”
Valeria intervened, “Dad, when will we start looking for the key?”
“After dinner, we’ll start the digging.”
“Excuse me, we’ll start what?” I asked.
Elliot responded, “We have searched every corner of the garage and then we put everything aside to prepare to dig.”
Luke swallowed his last bite, “Dad thinks the key must have been buried in the ground when we rebuilt the garage.”
“One thing is sure, I never threw out that key as it was in Lyra’s hand so I always knew it was important,” Jake added.
Jake had meticulously put everything up in the garage, so, we all gathered in the garage after dinner. Jake split us up into three groups. Elliot teamed up with Emmet, Luke with Valeria, and Jake paired with me. Others stayed inside the house to monitor the neighborhood and make sure that our actions would not draw unwelcome attention.
We took out our tools and made our way to our allocated spots. The chilly air helped to relieve some of the anxiety that was engulfing us all during the peaceful night. Each team moved with quiet efficiency, communicating in hushed tones to avoid drawing any attention.
Jake and I started at the far end of the garage when Valeria's voice cut through the silence, "You're doing it wrong. We need to dig deeper on this side."
Luke resisted, "Valeria, I know what I'm doing. Give up micromanaging me."
"Micromanaging? All I'm trying to do is to complete this." She shot back.
Their voices increased as the dispute swiftly became more heated. They stood facing each other, forgetting to dig.
Luke got angry, "I'm done with this. Go ahead and do it better if you think you can. I'll find another spot."
Valeria shot back, “Fine. Maybe I'll actually get something done without you holding me back."
Finally, we started to dig in peace, but after about fifteen minutes...
"Valeria, truce?" Luke yelled at her.
She stopped digging and looked up. "What?"
"Truce," he said once again as he approached her. "I've got a plan. Let's start digging from the back side of the garage. Maybe we'll have better luck there."
Valeria nodded, "All right. But we're returning to my spot if this doesn't work out."
Luke said, "Deal," and held out his hand. With a weary smile tugging at her lips, she accepted it.
They moved to the back side of the garage, Elliot asked. "Dad, what does the key look like?"
Jake exhaled, "It has some ancient signs over it."
Elliot asked, "Did you find anything readable?"
Jake shook his head, "I tried to decipher the language, but failed."
Emmet asked, "Why did you never throw it away? Did you know Mom was from another world?"
Jake stopped and took a break for a few minutes. "No, that option never crossed my mind, but I kept it because I knew the key must hold great importance so I put the key in a box and kept it here.”
Luke and Valeria stopped digging because their shovels were not hitting the ground and all of a sudden we heard them laughing. Elliot sighed, “They are never serious.”
Luke ran inside and screamed, “We found a box outside the garage.”
We all threw our shovels down on the spot and headed out, but when he got outside there was no sign of Valeria or the box. Luke took a deep breath and called her name. “Valeria, this is not the time to play games.”
No response from Valeria. Luke called her name again, “Valeria? Come on stop playing at this nonsense and give the box to Kai.”
My eyes landed on the scarf that Valeria was wearing a few minutes ago when she rushed out with Luke. The scarf was lying on the ground and when I picked it up I realized Valeria was nowhere nearby.
She had been taken along with the key.