Chapter 51
While Kayla was still lost in her thoughts, her hands resting on her lap and her gaze fixed somewhere far beyond the walls of the strange hall, Ysolde's voice pierced through the silence again.
The Alchemist hadn’t moved from where she sat, yet her voice carried as though it had been waiting for Kayla to slip into that stillness before intruding.
"I would have loved to tell you where to find the boy with the silver hair," Ysolde said in a tone that was oddly light.
"But not long ago, you warned me not to talk about your unborn child again. So now, I must respect your boundaries."
Kayla’s head turned sharply. Her expression, already tense, tightened even more. Her voice came out fast, laced with suspicion.
"Is it Lucien? Is he the one with the silver hair?"
Ysolde didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and let out a soft, amused laugh.
Her hair shifted over her shoulder as she shook her head slowly, as though she’d just been asked something by a child.
Kayla’s eyes narrowed.
"So it’s not him," she muttered and looked away, frustration tightening the corners of her lips.
Ysolde spoke again, her voice still carrying that tone of playfulness that had started to irritate Kayla.
"I’ll say it again. I would have loved to show you where to find the silver hair, but you asked me not to talk about your child. And I respect that. So I won’t speak of it anymore."
Kayla inhaled deeply and clenched her jaw before asking again, this time slowly, carefully choosing her words.
"I’m asking one last time. Is Lucien the one with the silver hair?"
Ysolde didn’t answer the question directly. She lifted her shoulders in a small shrug and replied, "There is a way I wanted you to ask that question. A specific way. But you are not doing it."
Kayla’s brows drew together. "What way?"
Ysolde smiled and stepped away from the chair, her hands now clasped behind her back as she strolled slowly across the room.
"Well," she said, her voice light again, "go and find the silver hair. When you do, bring it to me. Once I lay my hands on it, your mate will be fine. He’ll return to normal. Everything between the two of you will be as it should."
Kayla ignored her words and leaned forward slightly. "How do you want me to ask the question?" she asked. "Tell me."
Ysolde didn’t respond. She only laughed again, a little louder this time, and lifted her chin proudly.
Her laughter echoed through the strange hall, bouncing off the stone walls like a sound that didn’t belong to this world.
Kayla tried asking the question in different ways. "Is the silver hair from someone I know?" Ysolde didn’t answer.
"Is it someone Zayron knows? Someone from our past? From mine?"
Still, Ysolde only laughed.
Kayla’s voice dropped lower, frustration now rising in her chest. "Is it someone close to me? Is it someone in my pack? Is it someone who’s not born yet? Someone who shouldn’t exist?"
Ysolde chuckled again. It was getting harder to tell if she was laughing because she found the questions amusing or because she was simply trying to torment her.
Finally, she stood upright and brushed her palms together as though she’d finished some sort of task.
"Go home and rest, Kayla," she said, turning slightly toward the hallway.
"You’ve stressed Lucien too much already."
Kayla stiffened. Her eyes darted toward Ysolde sharply. That name again, Lucien. The way she said it.
But Ysolde didn’t say more. She walked back to her chair and picked up a small vial of blue liquid, examining it in the light as if she hadn’t just unsettled Kayla.
Kayla didn’t move. Her heart was pounding again.
She didn’t like games. She never had. And right now, she felt like every answer she needed was buried beneath Ysolde’s laughter.
Still, she rose from her seat, her hands pressed against her gown to smooth it down. There was no point in arguing with the Alchemist.
She would find the silver hair. She had to.
As Kayla turned to head towards the stairs, Ysolde's voice stopped her in her tracks. Her tone was calm, but something in it made Kayla’s stomach tighten.
"It seems you've made up your mind," Ysolde said. "You want to find the boy with the silver hair by yourself. That is brave. But let me warn you, Kayla."
She paused and stood up slowly, her eyes darker than they had been before.
"You must find him before the end of March. If not, your mate will never be whole again. Not even the Moon Goddess will be able to help him."
Kayla's heart missed a beat. She turned back to face the Alchemist, her face pale and lips slightly trembling.
Her throat tightened with fear. She walked back to Ysolde, her footsteps quiet, controlled, but inside her, panic had started to rise.
"Please," Kayla said, her voice shaking just a little.
"Just tell me where to find him. I beg you. If there is any kindness in you, show me the way."
Ysolde did not respond. She only gave Kayla a long, unreadable look, then turned her back and started collecting some of the dried herbs on the table.
Kayla’s voice rose again. "Please, Ysolde. I'm not asking for anything else. Just that. I’ll do the rest on my own. You know I would. I wouldn't mind paying with my blood!”
Ysolde chuckled quietly, not looking at her. "You really think everything is about your blood, don’t you?"
She turned then, facing Kayla with something like pity on her face.
"Everything is not about your blood, Kayla. You are powerful, yes. But not everything in this world revolves around you or what runs in your veins."
“You once wanted my blood, didn't you? You told my aunt to bring me. Well, here I am. Take the blood and tell me where I can find the silver hair.”
Ysolde sat back down, resting her elbows on the table. "The day Seraphina came here asking for revenge, I told her to bring you. Not because I needed your blood.
But she thought I needed your blood.
She thought that I was going to use you for some ritual or to feed my cursed herbs or whatever foolish things people think about me."
Kayla’s brows drew together. "Isn’t that why you told her to bring me? Because of my blood?"
Ysolde snorted. "I saw you in a cell! I only needed you to meet Zayron at the exact moment. So that Lucien’s soul would take the powerful body he wanted.
Deliver him quickly. He is stronger than you! He is stronger than his father. As long as he lives, no werewolf will ever take the title of the strongest alpha from him.
He will be loved by all."
There was a short silence. Kayla was a bit scared, but she remained calm.
Ysolde’s eyes widened slightly as she realized what she’d said. She quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth.
"Oh. That. I forgot. You told me not to talk about your unborn child anymore."
Kayla stood still, her body cold and her thoughts tangled. For the first time, she didn’t care that the conversation had drifted back to her child.
She didn’t mind anymore. If that was what it would take to get the clue she needed, then so be it.
She stepped closer. "You can talk about him. If it will help me save Zayron, then talk. Just give me something to go on."
But Ysolde only smiled in that secretive way of hers and turned away again.
Kayla clenched her fists.
When Kayla noticed that Ysolde was not going to tell her where to find the boy with the silver hair, she turned again and headed to the stairs, tired and restless.
Her chest rose and fell gently, not out of fear, but confusion. Nothing was making sense anymore.
Just as she was about to descend, she remembered something, something she had completely forgotten in the heat of her argument with Ysolde.
The Silvershots were still waiting for her in the Hall of Bargain. And Ana was with them. Kayla halted mid-step.
“Is it the Silvershots?” Ysolde asked from behind her, her voice as calm as ever. “Wait. Let me dismiss them.”
Kayla turned to look at her.
Ysolde continued, “They’re going to take your talkative friend. I won’t save her. I saw her deliver the silver hair, the one you suffered to find, the one that cost you so many hard decisions to sever.
I saw her place it in Alpha Zayron’s hand instead of mine, and everything was ruined the moment she did. She needs to be kept away for at least one month.”
Kayla didn’t say anything, and Ysolde kept talking.
“Besides, why should I save her? She’s not carrying Lucien. You are. That’s why I’m protecting you. That’s why I helped drive off the wild wolves when you were climbing the cliff. That’s why I’ll guide you home too. For Lucien’s sake.”
Kayla stood still. She didn’t speak. She didn’t argue. She didn’t question.
What Ysolde said made her remember her aunt’s vision again. Her aunt had said a strange hand took the hair and delivered it into Zayron’s hand.
Now, Ysolde had just confirmed it. It was Ana who placed the silver hair in Zayron’s hand.
Kayla glanced at Ysolde, wondering how she would dismiss the Silvershots. But Ysolde wasn’t one to explain her ways.
Ysolde turned her head slightly and signaled to someone in the hall below.
“Allen, dismiss them!”
A tall man, cloaked in grey and standing near the entrance of the hall, responded. He stepped forward and removed his cloak.
His eyes caught Kayla’s briefly. He moved closer, dipped his hand in Kayla's bag. He took out the ember her aunt had given her, the one responsible for dispersing her scent, then threw it through the window.
Locking eyes with Kayla, he began to shift into a female form. Kayla gasped softly.
The shift was swift and clean. But when the transformation completed, Kayla’s heart missed a beat.
The he-wolf looked just like her. Not similar, identical.
He turned and began to walk down the stairs.
Kayla moved closer to the stair rail and peered down. Ana was standing near the Silvershots, her hands loosely bound with a chain that glowed slightly.
She looked up and caught sight of Kayla.
Ana’s brows pulled together in confusion as she looked between Kayla and the he-wolf who now resembled her.
Kayla raised her hand and waved slowly, signaling her to go with them.
It was a silent promise, one she hoped Ana would understand. That she would come for her later. That she wasn’t abandoning her.
The Silvershots, satisfied that they had who they believed to be Kayla, didn’t question it.
They bound both Ana and the wolf in disguise and turned to leave through the long corridor that led out of the hall.
Kayla watched them until they disappeared from view.
“You can now go home,” Ysolde said behind her, stepping closer to the stair rail.
Kayla turned slightly to face her.
“Remember what I told you,” Ysolde added. “March must not end before you find the silver hair.
If March ends, nothing can be done. Not even the Moon Goddess will be able to help your mate.”
Kayla nodded slowly. She didn’t thank her. She didn’t ask another question. Her mind was already too full.
She turned back to the stairs and began to descend quietly, the silence between them as heavy as stone.
She needed to find the boy with the silver hair. And she needed to find him fast.