Chapter 30
Kayla stepped into the chamber, her eyes scanning the neat space.
Zayron was nowhere to be found.
A frown settled on her face as she strode toward the bathroom.
The place was dry, the towels untouched, the floor pristine.
Zayron hadn’t bathed before leaving.
Something was wrong and Kayla frowned.
She quickly lifted her phone that was on the table and dialed Axel.
The line connected almost instantly.
“Axel, has Zayron come to the Silver Mountain Pack?” she asked, wasting no time.
Axel’s response was immediate.
“No, he hasn’t. Is everything alright?”
Kayla exhaled sharply.
“If he comes, call me immediately.”
“Of course. But, Kayla, what’s going on?”
“I’m heading to see my aunt with Ana. If you want to see Ana, you can meet us there.”
Axel hesitated, then said, “I’ll go to Seraphina and wait for you. But are you sure everything is fine?”
“Everything is fine,” she lied, unwilling to stir panic.
She ended the call, but unease churned inside her.
Where had Zayron gone?
Then a thought struck her.
Seraphina.
Could he have gone after her?
She didn’t want to take any chances.
She called Axel back without hesitation.
“Take some warriors and hurry to Seraphina’s abode,” she ordered.
Axel’s voice sharpened.
“Why?”
“In case Zayron goes there.”
“I’ll handle it,” Axel said urgently.
Kayla cut the call and moved swiftly.
There was no time to waste.
Kayla stripped and took a hurried bath, her mind racing.
When she emerged, dressed and ready, she yanked the door open and stepped out.
The moment she did, she was met with a group of elders standing outside, their faces lined with concern.
“We need to see the alpha,” one of them said.
Kayla didn’t break stride as she responded, “He’s gone out.”
Beta Axel stepped forward, his face troubled.
“Do you know where he went?”
Kayla turned to him sharply.
“Do you?”
Axel hesitated.
“He sent me on an errand. Told me to go and retrieve a ledger from the archives. When I returned, he was already gone.”
Kayla’s stomach tightened.
Zayron had deliberately sent Axel away, ensuring no one would question his whereabouts.
Axel met her gaze, his voice dropping to a grim murmur.
“Even when he spoke to me, there was something in his eyes, something dangerous. Revenge. He was very, very unhappy.”
A chill ran through the gathered elders.
Kayla’s jaw clenched.
She knew Zayron’s mind was a battlefield.
But if he was consumed by vengeance, no one was safe.
“Make calls to every enemy pack,” she commanded. “Even the ones he has forgiven in the past. I need to know if he’s been seen anywhere.”
Some of the elders exchanged uneasy glances.
“Forgiven?” one of them echoed. “Do you think he’s”
“He’s undoing his forgiveness,” Kayla interrupted. “Taking it back.”
Her words sent a ripple of dread through the crowd.
Zayron wasn’t the kind of alpha that licked back his vomit, but this time, he was overturning his past decisions.
It meant blood would spill.
“Check the cells,” Kayla added. “Check where Cameron is being held. Zayron might have gone there to satisfy his hunger for revenge.”
Warriors immediately scattered, moving with urgency.
Kayla turned to Beta Axel.
“We have to stop him before he does something that can’t be undone.”
Axel nodded, already pulling out his phone to relay orders.
Kayla’s mind raced.
She had known Zayron to be ruthless when necessary, but this, this was something else.
He was unraveling, and if she didn’t save him soon, she feared the man she loved would be lost to vengeance forever.
Kayla could not allow that to happen.
“Move now!” she commanded, her voice carrying over the courtyard. “Find him before it’s too late.”
The warriors surged into action, scattering in all directions.
Kayla stood there for a brief moment, inhaling deeply.
Then she, too, set off.
She would not let Zayron drown in his fury.
Not on her watch.
“Axel, get your car key.”
“Are you going out?”
“Yes,” Kayla responded urgently.
Kayla and Ana stepped into Beta Axel’s car, the heavy silence between them thickening as the vehicle rumbled to life.
Kayla settled into the backseat, her arms crossed tightly, her mind racing ahead of the journey she would embark that night.
Ana, sitting beside Axel in the front, glanced back at her before turning to Axel.
Axel’s hands gripped the steering wheel firmly as he stole a glance at Kayla through the rearview mirror.
Her face was cold and her gaze locked onto the passing scenery as though the answers she sought were hidden in the blur of trees and distant mountains.
“Is everything okay?” Axel finally asked, his voice calm but filled with concern. “You look tense.”
Ana, seated in the front, turned slightly in her seat, her expression half-exasperated and half-worried.
“Of course, she’s tense, Axel,” she said, shaking her head. “She’s about to consult her aunt for a journey that’s practically a Requiem’s Path.”
Kayla remained silent, but Ana’s words rang true.
It was no mere death sentence.
This was a fate darker than death itself, a path that had claimed warriors stronger than her, legends whose names had been wiped from history.
Yet, she had already made her decision.
There was no turning back.
The car fell into silence again, save for the steady hum of the tires against the road.
Kayla’s mind raced, piecing together every step she needed to take.
Ana sighed heavily and crossed her arms.
“Kayla, if you were really desperate for a cure, why didn’t you just give Zayron the potion Alpha Remus got from the alchemist of Lythos? It came from Lythos, didn’t it?”
Kayla’s gaze didn’t shift from the window.
She didn’t acknowledge Ana’s words, didn’t even flinch at the question.
Ana frowned.
“I don’t understand why you refused to give it to him.”
Axel exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
“Because it was never from the alchemist of Lythos.”
Ana turned to him sharply.
“What?”
Axel tightened his grip on the wheel.
“I went behind Kayla’s back to collect the potion, just in case she was wrong to refuse it. But the moment I saw Alpha Remus speaking with Mia, I knew.”
“You knew what?” Ana asked.
“That Remus couldn’t be trusted.”
A heavy silence filled the car.
Ana turned fully in her seat, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Does that mean Mia is actually a traitor?”
Axel hesitated, then exhaled, as if saying it aloud solidified the truth he had long tried to ignore.
“Ever since Richard slept with Cassien, the she-wolf who came to Azure Moon last year claiming to be the Moon Goddess’ messenger, Mia hasn’t been herself. She changed. Stopped being the she-wolf we all knew and joined the wrong side.”
Ana’s lips parted slightly, absorbing the weight of his words.
“Cassien, the same she-wolf who claimed she restored the Supreme Mother’s blindness?”
Axel nodded grimly.
“That one.”
Ana inhaled sharply and turned to Kayla.
“Then, does that mean Remus’ potion was nothing but poison?”
Kayla didn’t say anything to Ana.
She didn’t for a single second regret ever driving Alpha Remus away.
Axel continued talking.
“Kayla was right to drive Alpha Remus out of the pack that night. If she hadn’t, Zayron might not have lived to see another sunrise.”
A heavy silence settled in the car.
The road stretched ahead, winding through the dense woods, leading them toward Seraphina’s abode.
Then Axel broke the silence with a question.
His voice was low, almost hesitant, as if even saying the words could summon something sinister.
“Kayla,” he said, his gaze flicking to her in the rearview mirror. “Has anyone ever told you the real truth about the Alchemist of Lythos?”
Kayla finally turned her gaze from the window and her brow furrowed.
“What do you mean?”
Axel hesitated before speaking again.
“They say the Alchemist of Lythos is not just a woman, but something far worse. Something that exists outside of time. Some believe she was never born, that she simply appeared one day, centuries ago, offering potions that could alter fate itself.”
Ana scoffed.
“Come on, Axel. That’s just a myth.”
“Is it? Then explain why every Alpha who has ever sought the Alchemist never returned the same or with the solution to their problems.”
Kayla’s fingers tightened around the seatbelt.
“What are you saying, Axel?”
Axel exhaled slowly.
“I spoke to an elder once, years ago. He told me that the Alchemist of Lythos doesn’t just trade in potions. He trades in something else. Something darker.”
He paused.
“Memories. Time. Pieces of your soul.”
Ana’s expression darkened.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Axel shook his head.
“Is it? Have you ever heard of anyone meeting the Alchemist twice? No one does. You go to him once, and if you survive, you never go back. Because the first time, he takes something from you. The second time, he takes everything.”
Kayla felt her heartbeat quicken.
She had heard whispers of such things before, but she had dismissed them as legends, cautionary tales meant to keep wolves from seeking power they shouldn’t have.
“What did he take from the others?” she asked quietly.
Axel’s voice was grim.
“Some forgot their mates. Some lost entire years of their lives, unable to remember what they had done. Others lost themselves entirely. Their bodies came back, but their minds, who they were, were gone.”
Ana shivered.
“So you’re saying if Kayla goes to the alchemist, she won’t just be risking her life, she’ll be risking everything.”
Kayla took a deep breath, steadying herself.
“I don’t care,” she said firmly. “If it means saving Zayron, I will pay the price.”
Axel looked at her through the mirror and shook his head.
Then, with a sigh, he turned his focus back to the road.
“I just hope you understand what you’re walking into. The Alchemist of Lythos doesn’t give without taking. And once she has her price, there’s no getting it back.”
Kayla didn’t respond.
She couldn’t wait to hear what her aunt would say about the journey to the Alchemist of Lythos.