Escaping Wildfire

Noah

The rest of the day passed by slowly as we waited for Cristian, but he didn’t show up for lunch or dinner. I tried mind-linking him before bed, but he had closed off his link.

I woke up the next morning to thoughts of Gema, and Cosmo kept asking me what I thought Amora would be like. He was already smitten with her, and we hadn’t even confirmed the mate bond, but maybe Cosmo’s reaction was all the confirmation I needed. Either way, I knew I wanted Gem with or without the mate bond.

′You up yet?′ Jordan’s voice came over the link.

‘Yeah, what’s up?’

‘You up for a run with me?’

‘Let’s go, I’ll throw on some clothes and head out.’

I got dressed and stepped out just as Jordan was leaving his room. We both froze as we saw Cristian’s door open at the same time, and none other than Evie came waltzing out. She smiled and gave us a little wave “Good morning, boys.” She waltzed up to me with a swing in her hips before raking her finger down my chest. “Looks like you missed your chance with me.” She shrugged and winked at me before sauntering down the hall and making her exit.

“That had to be the most shameless walk of shame I’ve ever seen.” I shook my head and glanced over at Jordan.

“Fucking hell, so much for not having touched her.” He marched over to Cristian’s door and didn’t bother knocking before swinging the door wide open and letting it hit the wall.

The room stank of alcohol and sex, and Cristian was still in bed, staring up at the ceiling when we barged in.

“I was wondering when you two would attempt an intervention. I’ve gotta say it’s a little earlier than I expected. I was sure you’d give me at least until the end of the week.” He threw off his covers, luckily he was wearing sweats so we didn’t have to bear witness to his naked ass, and made his way to the bathroom before we could say anything.

I sat down in the armchair to wait for him as Jordan opened up the balcony door to air out the room. Cristian had always been close to his dad and looked up to him, so I knew he must be really hurting because of what Gema told us.

After what seemed like forever, Cristian finally emerged from the bathroom and paced the room. “So, are you guys here to tell me I made a mistake with Evie or that I shouldn’t drink my sorrows away? Better yet, are you here to talk about how much you hate my dad?... because if that’s the case, then take a number. My dad sold my sister off to that…that bastard, and he what? Just expects Gema to go along with it to save his ass. As far as I’m concerned, making deals with that asshat Marek makes him a fucking traitor. I’m the son of a traitor now, and who’s gonna want that as their pack Beta?” He stretched out his hands to the side, clearly angry at the entire situation. Jordan and I stayed silent and continued to let him rant. “I guess it’s a good thing I no longer have a pack to go back to, can’t be a Beta with no pack, right?” The bitterness in his voice was obvious, but so was the hurt behind his words.

“Shut the hell up, man.” Jordan lightly shoved Cristian who fell back onto his bed. For a moment, I saw the same fire in Jordan that Luna Christina had when she was about to tell it like it is, he really was his mother’s son. “As far as I’m concerned, the three of us are brothers. We grew up together through thick and thin, and right now things are more thick than anything, but we’re all still here together, making it through. Yeah, your dad did something shitty, but that’s not on you. When we get our pack back, you are the only Beta I trust to stand by my side…and I bet our Gamma here thinks the same.” Jordan looked back at me to continue.

“Jordan’s right, it’s the three of us together or no one…just don’t get any ideas about making Evie our Beta female.” I couldn’t help but poke fun at him even in this serious moment.”

“Fuck,” He hung his head in shame and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I was so drunk last night. To be completely honest, I don’t even remember what all happened, just that she was here this morning…I thought it would make me feel better, but waking up to a hangover and Evie is not how I want to start my day.”

“Let’s give you a redo then. Noah and I were going on a run, come with us.”

Cristian didn’t say anything but gave us a small smile before he stood up and grabbed his shoes.

“Let’s go then.”

The rest of the week passed by without another call from Gema. I had sent a text just letting her know I was thinking of her, but it didn't look like she had even seen it.

Jordan and Cristian fluctuated between looking like they were okay to trying to keep their wolf calm to withdrawing from the world. It was a rollercoaster ride I was ready to get off of, but I suppose that’s how grief goes. Alpha Kedrick continued to help us out as much as possible, but short of getting us therapy, I wasn’t sure what else could be done.

Today was one of the okay days, the three of us showed up for afternoon training, worked hard, and then headed upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner. Everyone was in good spirits as today was the day we would have our meeting with the cat shifters. One of Ms. Castillo’s people contacted the Alpha last night to let us know she would be arriving this evening. We wanted to make a good impression, so Luna Ellis set up a nice dinner for us in the Alpha residence.

Alpha Kedrick had asked us to be on our best behavior as we didn’t know what to expect from Ms. Castillo or her entourage. We were told it would be her and two others arriving with her. Their car had pulled into the pack border about 30 minutes ago, so they should be arriving any minute now.

‘Hey guys, the car is here, head up to the dining room with Luna Ellis, and Beta Gabriel and I'll meet you there.’ Alpha Kedrick had taken to being less formal around us when referring to his ranked members, but for today, he was all business again.

We headed upstairs where Luna and Oren were already waiting.

“Guys! You’re here! Mom made chicken for dinner with spaghetti.” Oren ran up to us excitedly. The kid loved his pasta. He was dressed similarly to us in khaki pants and a button-down shirt. We all wanted to look nice but not overly dressed up. We heard the door open, and Alpha ushered in a tall woman with golden brown hair who looked around his age. I had pictured someone older with how she had spoken on the phone. She was holding the hand of a little boy about Oren’s age, and a woman who looked to be in her early twenties followed them.

“Ms. Castillo, please allow me to introduce you to my family. My mate Ellis, and our son Oren. He’s also five like your son. Oren say hello to Jeremiah."

“Can I show him my toys?”

“How about you do that after dinner?” Luna Ellis guided us along.

“Ms. Castillo, let me introduce you to these three young men, originally from Cobalt Falls.”

“Cobalt Falls? That’s Wildfire’s latest conquest, is it not?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jordan answered for us.

“Ma’am? I’m not that old, please, call me Olivia.” We each shook her hand in turn. “I thought you brought me here to discuss Harvest Moon, but seeing as these young men are also here, I’m intrigued as to what you have to discuss with me.”

“Well, if you’d like, we can go ahead and get started.” Alpha guided us to the table, and we sat as Luna Ellis started bringing out the food. We served our food before getting started.

“As you know, Cobalt Falls was attacked. The boys were here at Harvest Moon when it happened, so they lost their pack bond and are now members of Harvest Moon, at least for the time being. We took the issue to the Shifter Council, but they voted against helping, saying it was strictly a wolf issue, and there was no need for the bears and foxes to involve themselves in the matter.”

“Of course they did.” Olivia scoffed under her breath.

“Most of the wolf packs have agreed to work together, but it’s not enough. We asked you here, to see if you’d be willing to help, more specifically to see if the cat shifters would be willing to help us in the fight against Wildfire.”

“You plan to attack Wildfire?”

“Yes.” Alpha kept his cool throughout the conversation. He was taking a big risk by giving away a part of our plan, and we weren’t yet one hundred percent certain the cats were on our side.

Olivia looked at her assistant, whose name I didn’t catch, and then looked over at her son, and placed her hand over his. “What makes you think we’d be willing to help?”

“We know the Wildfire attacks have led to destruction in some of your territories and that there has been some loss of lives for your people.”

Olivia swallowed hard but continued listening to his words.

“If we help each other, we believe we have a better chance of stopping Wildfire and getting these young men their pack and family back.”

“I think…” Olivia paused, seeming to think about what she wanted to say. “I think you make a good point about needing to work together…I went to the Council a few years ago regarding the attacks and destruction of our territories, but they would not intervene because, as they put it, cat matters did not involve the Shifter Council.”

“It seems we’ve encountered similar roadblocks with the Council.”

“Jeremiah, why don’t you see if Oren can show you some of his toys now?”

“Yes! Let’s go.” The little boys pumped their fists up in excitement, leaving their plates of uneaten food to rush off and play.

“I’m sorry, but I’d rather my son not hear this next part…” We all nodded in acknowledgment and waited for her to continue. “Three years ago, my mate was visiting some of our more secluded shifters in the west. We make sure everyone is accounted for at least once a year. Wildfire decided to attack a nearby wolf territory. When they were finished, they set fire to everything. The fire traveled through the neighboring forest and into cat territory. My mate and the two shifters he was with were surrounded by the flames, but they didn’t make it out.” She paused as her voice hitched. “I was back home with our son, but I felt the pain of every flame that engulfed my mate. We lost a total of six cats that day. My mate and the mate couple with him, and three other men, two of which were a father and his adult son. The three other women who lost their mates that day and I tried to appeal to the Council for help, but they wouldn’t even give us an audience as we had no representative on the Council…we lost several others to a similar attack last year. To top it all off, they’ve contacted me twice this year attempting to bring a cat shifter onto the Council…” Her eyes lit up with fury. “As far as I’m concerned, the Council can go fuck themselves.”

We all stayed quiet at her revelation, uncertain of how to respond.

Jordan cleared his throat. “I lost both of my parents to Wildfire’s last attack. While I can’t imagine the pain you endured losing your mate, I know it must have been incredibly difficult for you. The Council has also failed me, but Alpha Kedrick has taken me and my pack brothers under his wing so that we can fight against Wildfire and get our home back. Alpha Marek has taken our siblings captive, and Harvest Moon is doing everything they can to help us get them back, but we believe we’ll be able to do more with your help.”

“He’s taken your siblings captive?” She asked.

“My two sisters, they’re 13 and 16.”

“And my twin brothers, they’re ten.” I prodded Cristian to continue.

“My sister, she just turned 18. We missed her first shift…and now Alpha Marek wants to marry her off to his son against her will.”

Olivia’s face didn’t reveal her emotions, but she calmly looked at us before speaking. “I’m assuming you have a plan already? How can we help?”