Bridge Of Secrecy

Chapter - 2

The grandfather clock ticked in sync with my heartbeat. I blankly stared at the portraits of my ancestors, waiting for the summon to come.

I've been patiently waiting for three hours outside my father's office for him to summon me inside so that I can submit to him the review of the packs I had visited. As soon as we had entered the gates of the palace, a messenger had come rushing to let me know that my father had demanded my presence immediately.

I wasn't sure if by immediately they meant hours, it seemed my father had not yet grown out of his sadistic behavior. I sometimes wonder if I have inherited any of his sadism.

"His Majesty has summoned," a male voice came through the intercom breaking my trance.

"Let the show begin," Pushing open the mahogany doors I entered the wolf's den.

"The killings are very...."

The discussion was cut short immediately as my presence was known. All four men turned to look at me as if I had grown two heads. Seated at the head of the large sandalwood desk was my father, distress masking his face, to his right stood his trusted Beta — Alan Grey. Opposite to my father, sat two middle-aged men — one whom I recognized to be someone from the council, and the other was the head of our werewolf intelligence.

"Gentlemen, let's continue this later. I would like to talk to my son." my father said with a smile.

I watched as the three men left the room, closing the doors behind them. My father's smile instantly fell as his face turned stone cold.

"What's the status?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Well, it's good to see you too beloved father," I said, taking a seat on the sofa I watched my father's nerve tick in anger. If there is one thing that he hated the most in this whole world then it was my dark humor.

"Now to answer your question, your kingdom is in very bad shape. The packs need a proper training routine." I answered.

As much as I took delight in irritating my father, I felt equally irritated with the thought of being in his presence for long.

A thoughtful look crossed my father's face as he said his next words, "The werewolf kingdom is at stake, there have been numerous mysterious deaths of the pack patrols going around. The council is worried about our people's safety and so am I."

"What kind of deaths?" I asked because the last time an incident like this happened was when my great-grandfather was the Alpha King.

"We're yet to find out," He replied.

"Did the council think of a way to fight this impending doom?" I asked,

"The enemy is unknown, and we cannot fight against the unknown." My father replied,

Unbeknownst to the future events, I uttered my next words — the words that sealed my fate.

"I am ready to fight anything."

The meeting with my father had settled a fear in the pit of my stomach, the uncertainty of the future made me restless, as the thought of someone losing their lives highly disturbed me. Memories of the cursed day flashed in my head, making the anxiety crawl through my skin.

Threading my way through the cobblestone path, letting my mind lead me to wherever. I ended up walking to the royal graveyard, and I was greeted by an eerie silence and a marble headstone that read —

Alpha Queen Althea Lloyd

(1980 - 2005)

Beloved Queen, dutiful Luna, and a loving mother

"Hi Mumma, missed me?" I asked, chuckling at my own statement I sat on the green grass and placed a light kiss on the marble.

I lay down beside the gravestone, reminiscing the few memories I had of my mother. Her smile, the way she caressed my hair, and also the dreadful day she left me to fight against this cruel world alone.

The starry sky greeted me as I opened my eyes, my body felt heavy and limp from lying on the ground for Goddess knows how long. I decided to lie down a while longer and enjoy the silence, but the Moon Goddess had other plans.

"KEIRAN!" Two distinct voices were calling out, disrupting whatever peace I had left.

The voices came closer as two silhouettes appeared against the dim light, and soon enough I saw the two most annoying people in my life standing in front of me with matching looks of concern.

"You alright?" Frederick asked, taking his place beside me.

"We were worried when you did not come back," Elliot said, sitting opposite me.

"You know how it goes with father," I replied, picking the grass to avoid their eyes. I caught Frederick signalling Elliot to leave, from my periphery vision.

"Well, I need to go meet Suzane so ciao fellas," Elliot bid farewell and jogged his way out of the graveyard.

"So? What did Dad say?" Frederick asked, getting straight to the point. He indeed inherited our father's no-bullshit nature.

"Surprisingly, he did not even say anything related to me this time. It's more like what he reminded me." I replied. Despite me being the elder sibling, Frederick was the one that was always the responsible one. He made sure that I was always okay and did not fall down the rabbit hole of self-lamentation.

"You need to remember her with a smile, not with tears," Frederick said, he stared up at the moon his expression distant.

"I try to, but it's not easy," I said.

"Not easy? Kei you remember Mom, you have memories of her with you. But me? I never even knew her. She is like a faded picture for me." Frederick's voice grew an octave, as his eyes bore into the side of my face.

I kept quiet at a loss of words, he was somewhat right but he was unaware of the whole truth.

"If you can't treasure those memories and be happy I don't think you have the right to keep them." He added,

His anger was justified, he never knew Mom in the way I did. He was just a baby when mom died. I could never relate to the pain he goes through likewise he cannot relate to the regret I go through on a daily basis. We sat there in silence each lost in their own thoughts.

"C'mon let's go, it's getting late," I said, getting up after a while and dusting my pants.

Frederick just hummed in response and joined me. We made our way back to the palace in silence. Reaching the palace gates, Frederick excused himself to go meet Father, leaving me alone in the shadows.

I gave out a sad smile watching his fading figure. I knew he was not going to see Father, but used him as an excuse to leave.

"Be safe," I said through the mindlink, before climbing up the stairs to my room.

The corridors were eerie silent as the moon peeked through the curtains. I felt a presence looming behind me and swiftly turned to catch the culprit to only find the empty space staring at me. Blaming my exhaustion I entered my room and plumped myself onto the bed.

I tried to welcome sleep with open arms but I was embraced by a restless night.