Extinguishing Wildfire

Nora

10 weeks…in a few days, that’s how long I will have been at Harvest Moon. 10 weeks without fear, without abuse, without being on guard every second…but also 10 weeks without Larkin.

‘I miss Mate.’ My wolf, Lily, whined.

‘I miss him, too, but we’re safe here and it won’t be long before we’re back together again.’ Lily was having a hard time being away from Flint. Larkin and I had accepted each other as mates from the start. We didn’t mark each other only because Larkin feared what his father might do to me once he found out about us. He was a sick man who took pleasure in treating omegas like trash.

My parents died when I was ten, during one of Alpha Marek’s many battles. My grandfathers on both sides were Gammas, but neither one of my parents was the oldest sibling, so they didn’t become Gamma of their pack. My dad’s older brother inherited the role and served as Alpha Marek’s Gamma for a short while. I never got to meet him as he died before I was born. He didn’t like how Alpha Marek ran the pack and voiced his concerns, so Alpha Marek killed him. It’s a miracle my own parents were allowed to live, but Alpha needed numbers for his war, and in the end, that’s all my parents were to him, a number.

After they died, I was moved to the pack house as an omega. When I was little, I dreamed of becoming a warrior like my parents, but those dreams quickly diminished. My new dream after moving to the packhouse was to meet my mate and have him take me far away from Wildfire. I didn’t expect Larkin, though. He loves me for me, and other than his father, he’s perfect.

“Hey, where’d you go? I lost you there for a minute. Are you ready to get started?” Ellis set her water bottle down and walked over to me. She had been training me one-on-one since I got here, and I’d come a long way in learning to fight. It helped that my parents had taught me a few things before they died, and I hadn’t completely forgotten everything.

“I thought we could try some sparring today, you think you’re up for it?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Ellis, it still felt weird calling her that instead of Luna, but Ellis had taken me under her wing. She insisted I call her just Ellis as we are both rightful Lunas. At first, I objected, but even Lily insisted. She said it was our birthright and that I was born to lead. A big part of me still doubted her, but every day I grew stronger and more confident.

“Alright, take the offense, come at me.” She motioned for me to start, and I lunged at her with all my might. She dogged me, but I doubled back and got in a punch. Ellis stumbled back, but quickly recuperated and swung at me. I blocked and we continued our back-and-forth dance for the next few minutes. I got in a few more punches and even managed to almost trip her. All my pent-up aggression came out, and I felt my emotions surge within me as my body moved. My fist moved towards Ellis, and I let out a guttural yell, putting my full force into my punch. Ellis just barely dodged my attack but placed her hand on my forearm.

“Let’s take a break.” She motioned with her head over to the bleachers, “I’m sensing a lot of rage from you right now…you want to talk about anything?”

We sat down together, but I stayed quiet. I was still breathing hard from the exertion.

“Is it about your mate? Do you miss him?”

“I always miss him.” I looked down and picked at an imaginary thread on my leggings. “I just…I hate that I can’t be with him. I’m just as good as anyone else. I’m his actual mate, doesn’t that make me better than just anyone?” My voice was laced with frustration.

“This is about Aaliyah then?”

“No!” My defensiveness came out, and I quickly sighed, realizing how I sounded. “Maybe…yes…it’s just hard. What does she have that I don’t?”

“I have to ask, but are you worried Larkin will fall for her?”

“No, I trust him completely. We love each other.” If I knew anything for certain, it was that Larkin loved me. “I sometimes just wonder why things are so hard for me. Why can’t Moon Goddess just give me a break already?”

Ellis looked at me with kind eyes, “You’re one of the strongest people I know. Women like me and Aaliyah, yeah, life is easy for us, but we don’t grow in the same ways that you have grown.”

“Like you and Aaliyah?” What did she mean by that?

“Yes, Aaliyah and I didn’t grow up all that differently. Pack princess, loving parents, no real worries…and I suppose I can add a kind mate to that list. When what you want comes easily, it’s not hard to take things for granted. Getting to know you and the Cobalt Falls guys the past few months...it puts things into a different perspective for me.”

“Do you think Aaliyah took Jordan for granted?” The question was out of my mouth before I could stop myself, but I can’t say I entirely regretted asking. If Ellis was surprised by my words, her expression didn’t betray her.

“I do think so, yes. As far as Alphas go, Jordan is one of the nicest and sweetest guys I’ve met. I was a little spoiled before meeting Kedrick, but being with him has made me a better person, and I think Jordan has the potential to do the same for Aaliyah.”

“Larkin makes me want to be a better person. He makes me braver.” I smiled as I spoke those words because I understood exactly what Ellis was talking about. Being with Larkin didn’t change who I was, but it made me the best possible version of myself or at least made me try to be the best version.

“I’m sure he’d say the same about you, that he’s braver with you. Larkin didn’t help Gema escape Wildfire because of her but because of you…because he wants to be with you.”

Tears welled up in my eyes at her words and at the realization of how much Larkin was sacrificing for me. He could have easily gone along with what his father wanted, it’s all he’s ever known, but he’s fighting for me, for us.

“Oh, now, you’re going to make me cry.” Ellis wiped her eyes. “Once you’re back with Larkin, this will all just be a bad memory. Now come here, you look like you need a hug.” She pulled me close, and we hugged it out while sniffling back our tears. She was right, things could only go up from here. I had to believe I’d be back with Larkin soon, and I’d fight Alpha Marek myself to get there.

Alpha Kedrick

“Come in,” The knock at the door startled me. Isaiah and I had been going over different battle strategies, and I felt we weren’t getting anywhere. There were too many factors involved with four different shifter types working together. I needed to meet with the Alphas soon to learn more about the bears and foxes.

“K, we think we found something,” Gabriel walked in with Cristian and Michael, the head of our tech crew. The guy was one of the best hackers I know, not that I know many, but he’s been able to keep all of our pack safe from the outside world while still keeping us connected.

“Have a seat guys, show me what you found.”

“Alright, so I ran the five numbers you gave me and was able to get the last couple months of phone records.” He flipped through his stacks of paper and slid the first over to me. “That James guy is pretty clean. We didn’t find anything shady. Other than us, he only calls three other numbers if at all, but they’re all in California. We looked those numbers up, and they’re all registered to the name David Anderson, which is James's last name, so we’re guessing it’s all his family.”

I flipped those pages as he started on the next document.

“The next line is likely the pack house number. It was mostly calls to local businesses and individuals. Nothing seemed off there. The third number…well, I’m guessing it’s the Beta.” Michael pursed his lips and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearing his throat before talking again, “He doesn’t make a lot of phone calls, but he sends a lot of texts…” He trailed off as he passed me the paperwork. Isaiah shifted to look over my shoulder as I opened the packet.

“Oh man, are those dick pics! Warn a guy next time, I did not need to see that. My poor eyes,” Isaiah scooted back and covered his eyes. Meanwhile, I had a good laugh at his expense.

“He seems to enjoy certain extracurricular activities.” Michael clarified.

“Is that what we’re calling online dating and booty calls now?” Isaiah responded, still wiping at his eyes.

I pushed that packet away not needing to see more. “What about the other two lines?”

“Those both had a few numbers to places outside Cali. The office line to Nevada and Oregon, but we traced those numbers to a few businesses, furniture, weapons, and food. His cell, though, had several calls to one specific number in Colorado.”

Michael saved his big discovery for last. He looked proud of his find, but as soon as he said Colorado, I had a feeling I knew whose name was going to come out of his mouth.

“The number is registered to Shadowpaw.”

“Fucking hell.” Isaiah seemed to be the only one surprised as the other three already knew and I already suspected who he was talking about.

“Alpha Keenan. It all makes sense now, that bastard has been trying to keep us from attacking Wildfire from the start. He’s working with Marek.” I shook my head and ran my hands through my hair before smashing my fist on the table and getting up to pace the room.

"I want you to run the numbers for everyone in the Council. They can’t be trusted, we don’t know who’s working with Keenan or not.”

“Do you think Alpha Tate’s in on it?”

“No, of that I’m sure. He’s been affected by Keenan more than anyone else. That’s why that bastard bear tried to stop Tate from taking his spot on the Council.”

I stretched my arms over my head, still pacing the room.

“Alpha, can we run a full check on Alpha Keenan and Shadowpaw? He has to be hiding something to be working with Wildfire.” Cristian looked to me for permission. The guy was good with computers, almost as good as Michael, so between the two of them, I had no doubt we’d get more answers.

“Do it, report back as soon as you find anything.” Michael, Cristian, and Gabriel headed back out to get started on their search.

“You okay?”

“Just another thing on my plate. I need to make a phone call, so we’ll finish up with what we were doing tomorrow.” With that, Isaiah left me alone in my office. I immediately picked up my phone and dialed my friend.

“Kedrick”

“Tate”

“I can hear from your tone this isn’t a social call, so just come out with it.”

“We found the leak.”

“You’re calling me, so I must know the bastard. Tell me it’s not who I suspect?”

“I don’t think I can do that…unless you think it’s someone other than Keenan?”

“Shit! That fucker...I knew something was off with him. Who just backs out of retiring like that? No wonder he’s fought so much for the Bears and Council to stay out of things. He’s sold his soul to the devil himself.” The exasperation was evident in Tate’s voice. “Are you going to tell the Council?”

“Not immediately. I want to check everyone else out, make sure no one else is in on it before we tell them.”

“That’s good...anything you need, let me know.”

“Thanks, man, you’re a good friend. I have to figure out a few things, but we need to look at logistics with everyone. I’ll be in touch about getting a meeting with the other packs to get the training more organized with the foxes and other bears.”

“Sounds good, I’ll wait to hear back from you.” With that, we hung up, and I started looking at my calendar to set up more meetings. It looked like we had some bears to deal with in addition to the wolves.