Extinguishing Wildfire

Aaliyah

Monday rolled around, and I hated how nervous I was about my upcoming talk with Jordan this afternoon. After my talk with my mom, I was so ready to hash things out with him and see what he actually thought about school and us being mates, but now I just wanted to run the opposite direction and forget yesterday happened.

‘There’s no way we’re forgetting Saturday night.’ Hope flashed me memories of my night with Jordan, and it was enough to drive me crazy just picturing his muscular body as he drove into me.

‘I know, Hope, it's wishful thinking that I could forget. It would just make things easier.’

‘You mean it would keep you from having to apologize to Jordan?’

‘Something like that.’ I internally cringed. Why couldn’t I just go back in time and not have immediately pushed Jordan away?

‘At least you had enough sense to not formally reject him.’

‘Thanks, Hope, you always know exactly how to make a girl feel better.’

‘Of course I do. You might have the 4.0, but we both know I’m the smart one here.’

My sarcastic wolf and I were a perfect match, but sometimes I wonder why Moon Goddess paired us together.

I rolled out of bed, changed, and headed to training. Cristian still handled my group, so I wouldn’t see Jordan until lunch. This only served to make me more nervous. I couldn’t even concentrate enough to get a proper workout as I kept messing up. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when class ended.

“Hey, are you doing okay? You seem a bit off.” Clarissa always sensed when I wasn’t myself.

“No, I’m not okay, not even a little.”

“You gonna tell me why or do I need to ask?”

I groaned, “So...I kind of...slept with Jordan.”

“What!?” She gasped with wide eyes before realizing what I said and squealing instead. “Oh my Goddess! Tell me everything. How was it?”

“It was good, really great actually. He even had me shower and spend the night with him.”

“Does this mean you’re together now? Tell me you accepted him.”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, still wrapping my mind around everything. “We’re supposed to talk things over at lunch, but I haven’t made a clear decision yet. I have so many questions, and I already rejected him. What if he doesn’t want me?”

“He let you sleep in his bed. That sounds to me like he wants you...unless he kicked you out the next morning? He didn’t, right?” She lifted her left brow in the question.

“No...he was actually kind of sweet.” My thoughts gravitated to his arms around me while we lay in bed together, and the blush rose to my face before I could think. Thank Goddess my skin tone saved me from Carissa noticing.

“I can’t wait until I meet my mate. I’m so ready for him.” Carissa sighed wistfully as she picked up her bag for us to head out. “I’m calling dibs on dinner with you tonight. I need to hear all the dirt on your conversation with Jordan.”

I laughed and shoved her playfully, “Whatever, dinner it is.”

We went our separate ways, and I ran to my room to get cleaned up. I spent longer than expected in the shower because I wanted to look nice for Jordan. My midnight blue sundress looked perfect with my gold sandals. I finished the look off with a thin layer of gloss before heading out.

My palms were starting to sweat, and I grew more nervous the closer I got to the dining hall. We hadn’t discussed where exactly we’d meet, so I just walked in and started looking for him.

He noticed me immediately from his spot beside his friends. We locked eyes from across the room, and he seemed happy to see me.

‘Aaliyah!’ Kedrick’s voice cut into my thoughts. ‘Aaliyah, I need you at Mom and Dad’s, get here quick.’

‘K, what’s wrong?’ The alarm in his voice caught me off guard. Something must be very wrong for him to sound that way.

‘No time to explain over mind link, just get here fast…and if you’re with Jordan, bring him.’

I had been so engrossed in my brother’s words that I hadn’t noticed Jordan had come my way. “You’re here. Are you ready to talk?” His eyes looked so hopeful as they searched my face for answers, and for once, I hated to disappoint him.

“I’m so sorry, but I just got a mind link from Kedrick, he needs me at my parents’ house. Well, both of us actually. He asked me to bring you.”

“I’m meeting your parents? Already? Should I be flattered?” He gave me a mischievous grin, and while I wanted to melt into his smile, my brother needed me.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t a social visit. He sounded alarmed over the link, something’s wrong.”

My words put him in Alpha mode, and he quickly wiped the smile off of his face. “Fuck, let’s go then. Lead the way.”

Luckily, we could easily reach my parents house on foot from the packhouse, so we ran together in human form. I didn’t wait for anyone to answer the door and instead barged into the front door unannounced.

“Thank Goddess you’re here.” Ellis was the first to greet us.

“Where’s K? What’s going on?”

Kedrick showed up from the living room just as Isaiah showed up out of breath at the door.

“Sorry, it took so long, I was checking out some stuff at the border. What’s going on?” Isaiah looked at us for answers, and I turned to Kedrick.

He breathed out a loud sigh, “There was an attack early this morning.”

“An attack? What do you mean?” I asked for clarification hoping he didn’t mean what I feared.

“Wildfire. They attacked another pack.”

“Damn,” Isaiah swiped a hand over his face, “Which pack?”

“Sunset Ridge…there were no survivors.”

The three of us looked at each other grimly without saying another word. Sunset Ridge was my mother’s birth pack. They were a smaller pack in California with only about 50 or so members, but we still had family in the pack.

“Are you sure? No survivors?” My hands covered my mouth as I tried not to cry, but it was useless as I felt the warm tears trail down my cheeks.

My brother slowly shook his head, “I’m sure. As you can imagine, Mom’s not doing too well. Dad is with her upstairs. Grandpa called about an hour ago to give her the news. He’s the next living relative to the Alpha, so the Shifter Council contacted him first.”

My grandparents had chosen to travel after retirement, so they were rarely at their pack, which turned out great for them, for all of us really, as we didn’t suffer their loss today. Unfortunately, my mother’s first cousin, Silas Johnson, had been the Alpha of Sunset Ridge. My grandfather was the second son of an Alpha, and my mother had been planning to serve as her cousin’s pack doctor before meeting my dad.

“I’m glad you’re here guys.” My dad’s voice sounded tired as he came down the stairs.

“How’s Mom?”

“As you’d imagine. She just got off the phone with your Aunt Maya, which helped, but I’m sure she’ll be in tears for most of the day. It should cheer her up to see you all here.”

Ellis, who had snuck off into the kitchen, returned. “I’ve made sandwiches, if anyone wants to eat. I know your appetites may be gone, but we interrupted lunch, and we’ll need to eat to keep our energy up.” Ellis, ever the Luna, always took care of the details. I was starving, so I was definitely taking her up on her offer. I gestured for Jordan to join me in the kitchen, and he quietly followed. I had him take a seat at the bar while I got us plates.

“I feel like I’m missing something. How is your family related to Alpha Silas?”

“He is…was…my mom’s first cousin. My mom’s grandfather was Alpha of Sunset Ridge.”

Jordan nodded in understanding, “I’m sorry, were you close to them?”

“We visited a lot as kids because my grandparents lived there, but we hadn’t been for a few years. My mom grew up there, though, so I’m sure she’s really hurting.”

“Yeah, I bet she is.” He looked down, and I noticed his fists were clenched on the counter. This probably reminds him of his parents and pack. Without hesitating, I reached out and placed a hand over his. He looked up confused, but then settled into my touch and set his other hand on top of mine.

Someone loudly cleared their throat as the rest of my family walked into the kitchen.

Kedrick walked up beside me and whispered, “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

I stayed quiet as he gave me a pointed look before grabbing a sandwich and heading to the breakfast table. Ellis served us drinks, and we all ate in silence. Every so often Jordan would sneak looks my way, but I did my best to ignore him as I didn’t want my dad and brothers to notice.

“What does this attack mean for the war?” Jordan was the first to break the silence.

“Nothing really, everything is still on as planned. They’ve made things personal now, which just makes me angry.”

“Just now made things personal? It’s been personal,” Isaiah shook his head at Kedrick.

“I guess it has been…it’s just more so now. I’m sure the Shifter Council won’t do shit about this, though. Wildfire could kill off all other wolf packs, and the Council still wouldn’t act. What’s it going to take for them to get their heads out of their asses?”

“Don’t worry too much about them, Son. Once you’re officially on the Council, you can change things.” Dad tried to stay positive, but I was relating to Kedrick’s anger more than to my dad’s calm demeanor.

We finished our meal without another word, but the tension was thick in the room. Not with each other but because everyone was dealing with their own pain. Jordan for his parents, Isaiah for his mate, Kedrick and Dad for our mother...and me...I don't even know what for anymore.

“I’m sorry to run, but I have another class to head up this afternoon. I don't want to miss as it seems we have less time than we thought.” Jordan stood up to clear his plate.

“Let me take that from you. I can walk you out.” No one protested, so the two of us continued to the door. “I’m sorry about lunch. We were supposed to talk, but we can find another time to talk.”

“Yeah, it seems it’s going to be a long day.”

“I’ll come find you when I’m back at the packhouse.” I followed him to the porch, and without thinking, I leaned up and brushed my lips against his. He looked down and gave me the biggest smile. It was my first time seeing his smile this brightly, and even I could admit that it was the best thing ever. He pulled me close and gave me another kiss. When he pulled back, he softly ran his knuckles against my cheek, and I gave him my best smile back. We reluctantly pulled apart, and I waved at him before heading back inside.

The smile was still plastered on my face when I got back to the kitchen, and I found four pairs of eyes staring right at me.

“Jordan’s a nice boy.”

“He is.” I nodded once. Ellis smiled and my dad’s face was neutral, but my brother’s wore a matching scowl.

“I know you’ve dated a few boys in the past, but I thought you were waiting to finish school before getting into another relationship, or at least until you found your mate.” My father always spoke his mind, never beating around the bush.

“We’re not anything…like you said, he’s nice, that’s all.”

“Well, your words might say one thing, but our Alpha noses can smell that boy all over you. We could yesterday, too.” He raised an eyebrow at me, waiting to see how I responded. The mortification was about to eat me alive, and I wasn’t sure if I was more embarrassed that they knew what I was doing with Jordan or that they didn’t know he was my mate. In perfect Aaliyah fashion, I ignored the comment. “I’m going upstairs to check on Mom.” My three favorite men shook their heads at me, and I couldn’t say I blamed them as my own indecisiveness was giving me a headache.