005

Kiran had shaved, waxed even, and although he looked like a different person, he also looked like the Dravemont she had once fought on the battlefield.

His hair had been cut as well, trimmed neatly to frame his face.

She watched as he dropped the scissors onto the table and picked up the bowl of soup. The scent of herbs and slow-cooked meat filling the modest room.

Niva had finished her own bath earlier. Her damp hair, now free of the rain and grime, was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. She sat at the edge of the mattress, a tray containing a bowl of steaming soup and large chunks of beef in a bowl.

He sat on the chair and dug into his bowl. A groan escaping his lips as he pleasurably licked at the spoon.

Was his tongue always that long?.

And did he always make such loud slurping noises.

"You might be a beast, but atleast try not to eat like one." She remarked under her breath as she poked at the chunks of beef in her bowl akwardly. They looked overcooked, how was she even supposed to eat this.

"I don't think I can eat this."

Kiran looked up and pointed at his bowl.

"Nobody is forcing you to. Infact, it wouldn't hurt if you poured it in right....here."

She scoffed.

"You seem to like the meal, something you're familiar with?"

He paused thoughtfully and nodded, a smile creeping to the corner of his lips. A genuine looking one.

It was brief, but she had seen it.

"There was this young girl that took refuge in our pack. She was our chef's daughter, making incredible dishes just like her father. This, was her signature piece?"

"This.....brown liquid with chunky overcooked meat was a dish you took delight in?"

"Maybe you could pause ranting and actually I don't know.....taste the food?"

"This looks too bland for me to eat."

He leaned backwards against the wooden chair.

"I won't force you to eat. You're a grown adult, if your body decides it needs food which I know it does, you will eat. Till then, don't judge a meal by it's presentation alone."

She took the spoon. There was no way something that smelt so off and looked so bland would taste-

As soon as the spoon hit her taste buds Niva had to fight back a moan. Kiran threw his head back, his thick neck mirroring the vibrant movement of his Adam's apple.

"You Everleighs are just one of the same..." He shook his head disdainfully. "Stereotypical, prejudicial, picky and selective."

She ignored him and continued sipping the broth in peace. Hating herself for realizing that the chunks just had a little char and were infact, perfectly cooked. But he didn't get to pin this on her, her family was none of those things she mentioned.

"If you're done talking, then maybe we could eat in silence." She remarked sarcastically.

He blew on the broth and took another spoonful.

"So you don't want to talk about the wraith then?"

She almost accidentally dropped the tray.

"Ofcourse I do. I want to know everything about what this wraith is."

"I'll tell you. But I'm taking the bed tonight."

She chuckled, flicking the edge of her tongue between her lips to catch broth residue.

"And what, you expect me to sleep on the floor?"

"Yes. Yes I very much do expect you to sleep on the floor."

If the ball was in her court, Niva would've vehemently refused. But he was the one with the knowledge she needed.

"Fine, take the bed, I don't care. Just tell me more about what this thing is and how we can stop it."

"Not what. Who?." Her lip parted slightly and he furthered in explanation.

"Wraiths are paranormal entities, but before the time of transition into death they were living people. Fueled by nothing but vengeance." He smacked his lips amusingly.

"So you guys must've really pissed it off."

"So we have a ghost hunting us?"

"I wouldn't really use the word ghost. This is far superior to that, trust me."

Niva's brain automatically tried to make a list of all her pack's allies and enemies. But nothing really came to mind as to who they could've possibly wronged.

"Can a wraith still exact vengeance if it wasn't wronged. Because I don't think we have anyone that we possibly did so much wrong to. Except Dravemonts."

He shook his head.

The main point of revenge is to avenge a wrong doing.

"When it first came for us. It started killing our livestock before I got knowledge about it. I wonder why the killing pattern starts from livestock."

Niva also wondered about that too.

"Tell me, how did you defeat this wraith and do you think it's the same one.?"

"You know......" He paused thoughtfully. "It could be, based on the description. The same wraith that I dealt with had a bright red circle on its head."

"This one has half a circle on it's head."

"You've seen it live?" Kiran shuffled forward in his seat.

"Yes, earlier before I came to the dungeon to negotiate with you against my father's will, I had previously gone to the town's square to see things for myself." She shook her head trying to find the right word to describe the feeling. "I know this might sound stupid. But I swear I could hear it whisper my pack's name. I don't know....I was already messed up in my mind from seeing the death rates. Maybe I didn't hear properly."

"You did hear properly." He stood up with the empty bowl and placed it on the center table.

"It whispers the name of it's target. It did with me too. And when I put my claw through it's dark mist. It whispered my name even as if dispersed."

"So it didn't die?"

"Wraiths cannot be killed. It's a huge form of shadow taking a physical gait. It has no flesh or blood whatsoever. The best you can do is make it vanish."

She stood up from the bed's edge, pacing around the room.

"So how, how can we make it vanish?."

"The three T's."

"The three what?"

He walked towards her and kept his arms on her sides. Trapping her between his arms. His grey eyes looking brighter from up close. Like a thunderstorm.

"Track. Trap. Terminate."