The Alpha's Blind Fate
Chapter 263: Very Close & Very Strong

Chapter 263: Very Close & Very Strong

DAEMON

"Who and what we will hunt?" Kairos repeated slowly, "I was of the mind that we were only hunting a being for you, and not a thing."

Daemon chuckled sardonically. While it was true that the current case had proved to be a bit of a dilemma on his own part, it was however hardly enough for him to seek outside help.

He wasn’t just hunting the man that seemed hell bent on taking Zina with him, he was also hunting the money that he stole together with his identity.

Ever since the word ’Screamer’ had been carved on the tongue delivered to him, Daemon had thought about it a lot. Whenever he shut his eyes and his thoughts wandered, and when he was engrossed in one book or a report submitted by his councilmen, Daemon found himself mulling over the intended meaning behind the unknown man’s action.

For some reason, the act of engraving the forbidden name of an executed pack hinted at a far more mysterious motive than what he had initially contemplated. But he was no god so of course thinking about it alone was far from enough to reveal whatever hidden secrets attached to it. He had to also take practicable steps to bring everything out into the light.

"Considering how much I am giving to you, surely it’s not too much to ask." Daemon said. Kairos lack of response was all the response he needed as he explained without further ado.

"There’s a man you must hunt down for me. I do not know his name, nor do I know his origins. However, I do know that he has taken the bold step of threatening me these past week."

Kairos chuckled. "Someone is threatening you?" He asked with a voice tinged with disbelief. Daemon was almost offended, but he shrugged it off while Kairos’ expression turned quite serious at the knowledge of the fact that Daemon was hardly joking.

"Not only has he threatened me," Daemon said while walking towards the Wolf Chess Marble table in his room. "But he has stolen from me too... if I am to be specific though, I would say he has stolen from my younger brother, Garuk."

"And what is this thing the man threatens you for?" Melwyn asked carefully as though she was traipsing forbidden grounds, "and what has he also stolen from you?"

The pieces on the wolf chess board were at their Initial Position, none of them having been moved. Daemon took the pleasure of moving the Black Alpha on the board first. The very act was quite the admission on his part, an acknowledgment to the fact that the man he was dealing with was no ordinary shifter.

"Not a thing, Melwyn," Daemon drawled, his back to his guests, "it’s the Theta."

The air in the room was sucked away as none of the two spoke.

"As for what he stole from me... it’s the Ten Million Grams of Gold." He responded as he moved one of the white Lycian Shifters in response.

How to combat might with might? That seemed to be the question the current position in the board posed, but the answer was one that was evident to Daemon. To combat might with might,’one simply needed a better might.

He faced his guests, and as expected, the look of determination etched on their faces stared back at him. Melwyn, was in fact, smiling like she once thought the mission would be far from challenging and was glad to know that it was one that would be challenging at the very least.

"If he has threatened you, then he must have left something. A letter... or some more item."

Daemon produced the small box with the tongue from an ice chest in his room and handed it to Melwyn impassively. The woman on opening the box pretended to gag.

And then she proceeded to drawl in a soft, almost seductive voice. "So violent... don’t I like it."

Kairos peeked into the box, while observing the words engraved on the tongue. "Screamers. Does it refer to the Screamers Pack declared as the damned by the Iron Coast?"

Daemon was of course not going to answer that question, so instead he said rhetorically, "What do you think?"

Kairos narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him; otherwise, he said nothing in that regard anymore. Instead he asked, "Who does the tongue belong to?"

"Some random man who was participating in the contest. I shall give you leave to investigate the matter if that would help."

Turning to Melwyn, be asked. "Is this enough for you to work your magic?"

The woman smiled shrewdly. "As long as the man we search for has touched it, even better, if he is the one who cut off the tongue, then this would be enough."

"Very well. However I must ask you to perform the tracking spell right now."

"Why?" Melwyn asked with a frown, "you know it that I can’t fully perform sorcery well if I am indoors."

"I only ask that you detect how far and close our suspect currently is. And also, if his traces in the castle are prominent or faint."

"You want to know if he has been here recently?"

"Indeed. Preferably within the last two days."

Daemon had taken measures to secure the castle two days ago. Combined with the guards that he had put in place for Zina, the man wasn’t supposed to have been able to get so close to Zina, or himself for that matter. But now, he would find out just how determined a person he was dealing with, or not.

Melwyn shut her eyes, muttering strange words while her fingers hovered over the box. The words poured out of her lips incessantly as though she was on another plane, and then her eyes flew open abruptly, glowing a light hue reminiscent of the murky white colour of her eyes.

The same light swirled around the box as if enchanting it, then it died out entirely although the light in Melwyn’s eyes remained glowing.

"His trails... I can still feel them, your majesty."

Daemon walked towards Melwyn. "How close? How strong?"

"Very close, and very strong."

Something became apparent to him at that revelation, and he didn’t know what to do or not.

At first, he had played with a theory. No shifter in the world, not even a hunter, could move in and out of his castle unnoticed especially after the measures he put in the castle two days ago; not unless said Shifter was a true blood of the deceased Screamers Pack that possessed a certain kind of stealth power that flowed from the ruins of the pack.

Remembering when Zina slightly mentioned her mother, Daemon said. "It might not be a ’he’. Have your eyes out for the possibility that the person is a woman."

Kairos grinned darkly. "Whoever it is, I shall have them delivered to you."

It would seem to Daemon that it was about time the second stage of the tournament started.