Chapter 427: The Truth Behind the Beast

Kairen swallowed hard as he stared at Orion. The alpha’s gaze was steady, unflinching, and impossibly heavy. Kairen was on alert at Orion’s presence.

Kairen opened his mouth to speak when Orion spoke up. He leaned forward slightly, his voice low but commanding. "You’d better choose your words carefully, Kairen. Every syllable you utter from your mouth better be the truth. If not... I can’t promise you won’t end up like your comrades."

The words sent a shiver down Kairen’s spine. He nodded nervously, fidgeting under Orion’s unyielding gaze.

Orion gave a small smile. "I’m glad you understand. Now let’s go back to what we were discussing. What are you doing here?" Orion asked him.

Kairen hesitated; he didn’t want to answer, but Orion looked like someone who would follow through on his promise. He looked even more intimidating than Victoria.

"V...Victoria sent us," Kairen admitted finally, his voice trembling.

Orion’s eyes narrowed, but his tone remained measured. "I already know who sent you. I don’t need to hear who sent you. What I need to know... is why. Why did she send you guys here?"

Kairen’s hands trembled beneath the restraint as he tried to form the words. "I—I don’t know everything," he said, swallowing again, "but I know she sent us to get the priest."

Orion frowned, confusion etched on his features. He exchanged a look with Sam, who shook her head. She was as confused as he was.

"The priest?" Orion asked.

Kairen nodded.

"What priest?" Orion pressed.

"The priest," Kairen told him.

Orion just gave him a look, then sighed. "Okay... this priest. Did you find him?" he asked Kairen.

Kairen visibly shuddered immediately at those words, his eyes widening in fear. "No... n-no. Not the beast. The beast is the priest. The beast in the cave... he killed my comrades. Lysandra... Morven... they were killed by the beast Victoria sent us for." His voice broke, then steadied again, raw with guilt and disbelief. "It shouldn’t make sense. We shouldn’t have even gone into the cave. I knew from the beginning he was dangerous... vicious. But we were afraid of what Victoria would do if we didn’t comply. She... she doesn’t forgive disobedience. She doesn’t care if we fail or the circumstances leading to failure. She only cares about results."

Orion leaned back slightly, letting the words hang in the cold air between them. Kairen swallowed again, his gaze fixed on the frozen ground. "Lysandra... she said we could handle the beast. But... she was wrong. She was wrong, and now... she’s dead. Morven is dead too. Everyone is gone."

Suddenly, Kairen raised his head and looked directly into Orion’s eyes. "You need to get your people away from here. The beast... the beast in the cave is vicious. It’s the one calling the others. You need to go."

"Really?" Orion asked Kairen with a raised eyebrow.

Kairen’s eyes widened, frantically searching Orion’s face. "B-but... you don’t understand. The beast... it’s vicious. It kills people. It is dangerous..."

Orion interrupted, calm and unshaken. "The beast is dead."

Kairen froze mid-sentence. His mouth opened slightly, and then closed again. He blinked, unsure if he had heard correctly. "W-what do you mean, dead?" he asked cautiously.

Orion’s gaze didn’t waver. "I mean exactly what I said. The beast is dead. I killed it."

Kairen’s jaw dropped. "H-how... how did you—"

Orion shrugged, casual in his stance but utterly controlled. "I used my sword. Cut his head off his body."

Kairen blinked several times, trying to process the information. "Are... are you sure it was the same beast we were sent for? The priest?"

Orion’s lips pressed together as he studied Kairen. "You’re certain the beast is the priest you guys were sent for?" Orion asked.

Kairen swallowed again, nodding. "We... we were sure. It was the one Victoria sent us to capture."

Orion’s brows knit, curiosity and disbelief mingling in his expression. "How... how could a beast like that be a priest? It didn’t even look human. It looked like... like a cross between a rock, a beast, and some ugly human."

Kairen’s throat tightened. "It’s true... he didn’t look human. But... you need to understand something. That... that beast... he was the first priest to ever practice black magic." His voice trembled with awe and fear. "And it’s no new fact that those who practice black magic lose themselves at some point."

Orion let the words sink in. Everything Kairen spoke was the truth. And yes, it was known that anyone who practiced black magic tended to lose their humanity at some point. Orion’s mind lingered on that for a moment—he wondered if it was a coincidence that the priest practiced black magic and that Sophia had shown signs of it when she first arrived at the pack.

Meanwhile, Ronan had moved to the group of strange people who had been caught in the attack. The young girl clung tightly to the man’s sleeve, her small frame trembling but determined. "Can we... can we go find my brother now?" she asked softly, her voice carrying more hope than fear despite the chaos that had surrounded them.

The man—her protector, her guardian—nodded, though his breathing was labored, each movement heavy with exhaustion. Ronan’s gaze narrowed slightly. "How do you expect to find anyone else when you’re bleeding like this?" he asked, his tone gentle but firm.

The man swallowed, a bead of blood sliding down the side of his temple. He straightened as best he could, trying to draw himself up in front of Ronan, who studied him with piercing eyes. "I... I’ll manage," the man said, voice low but unwavering.

Ronan crossed his arms, his expression a mixture of scrutiny and patience. "Start by telling me who you are, and who these people with you are. Speak clearly."

The man cleared his throat, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "My name is Jarek," he said, his voice steadying slightly as he felt the weight of Ronan’s authority. He glanced down at the girl holding onto him and added, "And this is Maya."