Bound To The GoldVein Alpha

Chapter Two

As Kessari drove she looked out the window and at the sky. Despite what happened earlier, it was a beautiful night. The night was calm and unhurried, as if the world had taken a slow, gentle breath and decided to rest in it. Above, a full moon hung in the sky—round, luminous, and serene—spilling it's silver light across everything it touched.

Its glow softening the edges of the world, turning shadows into quiet companions rather than something to fear. There was something about a full moon, maybe it was the way it made an awful world feel like paradise just by looking at it, or how it felt like a symbol of perfection even on the roughest of days.

Regardless of what it was Kessari loved a full moon, and on this particular night after everything that had happened ,it just seemed fitting that she'd stare at it a little longer than she did on most nights, hoping that in it's mercy it would provide her a glimpse of the peace she seeked.

She glanced over at Magdha who had been sleeping for a while. Even in her rest she looked tired and worn out. She didn't look like this a year ago when she dropped her off at the mansion. Tears welled in Kessari's eyes

“What did they do to you?” She said softly as she continued to examine Magdha.

Magdalena was Kessari's world. She was the only stable force, the one constant thing Kessari was afraid to lose. There was not a time in Kessari's life that she could think back to that Magdha was not a part of, her first crush, her first real date, the first time she got bullied, the first time she learned to fight, the first time she got her heart broken, all those memories had one constant syllable and that was Magdha. Before her parents died and after, Magdha was always present.

To Kessari Magdha wasn't just her family, she was her guardian angel, one who always took her by the hand and led her along the way.

The road was almost empty when she turned onto the familiar stretch that led home, headlights carving a pale tunnel through the trees. Suddenly the once beautiful night felt unusually still, the kind of silence that pressed against the ears.

She eased her foot off the accelerator, already thinking about the warmth waiting beyond her front door just 10 minutes ahead.

Then it happened.

The car jolted violently—thud—something heavy and solid slamming into the front bumper. The steering wheel jerked in her hands and her heart leapt into her throat but only for a second, she immediately checked on Magdha who had started to wake from her sleep.

As she hit the brakes a thought crossed her mind, whatever she hit was huge, not a deer like you'd usually see around these parts, this was no deer. The engine hissed softly as the car rolled to a stop, her pulse surprisingly calm

“God…” she whispered, fingers trembling as she killed the engine.

For a moment, she just sat there, breath shallow, listening. No cry of pain. No scrambling hooves. Only the wind brushing through the trees.

She grabbed her phone, its weak light shaking as she stepped out of the car , gun in one pocket, knife in the other. The air was cold, sharp against her skin.

Crouching near the bumper, she searched the ground—expecting fur, blood, something. Instead, she found deep impressions in the dirt, clawed and uneven, far too large to belong to any animal she knew.

Then she heard it, A sudden rustle sounded from the treeline, whatever it was it sounded like it was moving at the speed of light.

Her head snapped up just in time to catch a glimpse of movement— silvery, massive, unnaturally fast—slipping between the trees. For a heartbeat, golden eyes reflected the light before vanishing into the woods as if the forest had swallowed it whole.

She stood frozen, feet planted firmly in the ground as shock enveloped her body suddenly, she had never seen anything like it, every instinct screaming at her to get back into the car.

But she didn't move, droùanother part of her that wanted to follow whatever she had hit into the woods, simply out of curiosity.

Whatever she had hit wasn’t injured.

And it definitely wasn’t normal.

She rushed over to check on Magdha who was wide awake now.

“Are you hurt? Are you okay?” She asked examining her quickly

“ I am good Sari, not hurt, just a little shaken that's all, what was that? Another deer ??”she asked

Kessari glanced over at the woods and then at Magdha. There was really no need for her to describe whatever she hit and saw to Magdha not because it would make her afraid, because it wouldn't, but because she didn't want her to worry. One thing was for certain, whatever she hit was not a deer and she hoped desperately that it would be okay.

“Yes, another deer, they seem to be coming this way a lot recently,” she said, walking over to the driver's seat and turning on the ignition. Regardless of how beautiful the night was it clearly had more in store for her and she was beginning to realise that. Little did she know that not very far from her home, a war was taking place and her life would be changed forever by it.