Slain

Hopeless time to roam

The distance to your home

Fades away to nowhere

How much are you worth?

You can’t come down to earth

You’re swelling up

You’re unstoppable

’Cause you’ve seen

Seen too much

And too young, young

Soulless is everywhere

-New Born, Muse

“Do you smell that?” Fluffy asks, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath.

“What? It smells like fire,” I shrug. There’s nothing unusual about fire.

He shakes his head, speeding his walk. “No, there’s something else.”

I take a deeper breath as I try to keep up with his long stride. Beneath the overwhelming smell of smoke, I catch a hint of seared flesh. Now that I’ve noticed it, I can’t ignore it.

“Maybe they’re just cooking a big meal,” I say, though I doubt it. That doesn’t smell like any regular dinner roast. There’s a break in the trees, finally allowing us to catch a glimpse of the huge cloud of smoke funneling into the sky.

We break into a run. The closer we get, the stronger the scent of burning flesh gets until it’s nearly unbearable. Through the trees the smoke grows thick. I pull my shirt up over my nose in an attempt to block the stench, but it’s overwhelming now.

Finally, we break through the tree line. Just feet from us is what I knew to be Damon’s pack, now reduced to ashes. Flames still scatter the grounds and off in the distance, the enormous arena crumbles, nearly engulfed in flames.

“Ancestors…” I breath in astonishment. “What happened here?”

Fluffy curses under his breath as he takes in the burning pack. “Look for survivors,” he instructs. The wolves dart into the smoke before he’s finished speaking, leaving Fluffy and I alone. He turns to me, his expression unreadable. “What happened when you escaped?”

“Nothing! I never even saw any wolves.”

“So, you don’t know who would have done this?” His voice is even and calm, not a hint of emotion, though I can see anger in his eyes.

I shake my head no. “Damon’s crazy enough that I wouldn’t put it past him to burn down his own pack.”

Fluffy moves through the flames, searching for something.

The small huts that ringed the outside of the pack now lay in smoldering ash piles. I notice bits of metal-ware poking through the ruins, but not much else survived the fire. As we move farther into the pack, I notice something odd. “Where are the bodies? I haven’t seen any, but I can smell them.”

“I don’t know. This whole thing is suspicious.”

Wolves pick their way through the pack in search of survivors as we make our way to the crumbling arena. The nearer we get, the more I begin to feel sick. He didn’t…

“I’m gonna go in and check it out, wait here,” Fluffy demands.

“I’m going too.” It’s not a request and Fluffy seems to pick up on that. I need to see it. With a sigh he nods and steps under the archway. I gag at the stench; the smell of burning bodies is so strong in the tunnel that I want to vomit. The end of the tunnel is in view and I’m able to see into the center of the arena. I stop. Stone has fallen from the crumbling walls, littering the ground. Bodies, burned to unrecognition, lay in piles. Flames lick at their seared limbs and crumbled bits of the arena lay around and even on top of some, crushing them.

I turn and rush from the arena, barely making it outside before I spew the contents of my stomach all over the ground. When the heaving stops, I stumble away from the arena. I can hear Fluffy behind me saying something, but I can’t make out the words. The blood rushes in my ears and my vision swims before me.

Is this my fault? Did he kill his pack because of me?

The image of the bodies, burned and crushed, flashed in my mind. My stomach lurches again and I double over, splattering the ash covered ground with the last of what’s in my stomach.

I need to get out of here.

My feet move before I realize what I’m doing. I run through the ruins, my heart pounding in my chest and my breathing ragged. The smell of death is everywhere.

A warm hand grabs my arm, jerking me to a stop and spinning me around. Panic begins to build in my chest. I fight against Fluffy’s grip, but he holds tight, pulling me into him and wrapping his arms around me. I only fight for a few moments before tears begin to roll down my face and I seem to lose my strength. My hands grasp at his back as I lean my forehead against his chest, now sobbing.

He holds me to him, stroking my hair until I’ve calmed down. I get control of myself again but make no move to push Fluffy away. I’d never admit it to him, but I feel safe with him. I allow myself the comfort of being so close to him a little longer.

“Beta,” Akira says from behind me. I drop my arms, stepping away from Fluffy quickly in embarrassment, letting my hair fall into my face to cover my reddening cheeks. “We found a survivor.”

I can feel Fluffy’s eyes on me, but I keep mine on the ground. “Take me too them.” He follows Akira and I trail behind them, curious but also afraid.

Who is it? What will they say? Will they blame me?

A group of wolves stand in a cluster around someone near the tree line. When we approach, they make a path for us, revealing a man lying in the dirt and ashes. His entire right side is scorched black. The burns crawl across his chest and up his neck. Half of his face droops, the burns melting his muscles.

Fluffy kneels beside the man. I stand back, afraid to get closer for fear he’ll recognize me.

“What happened here?” Fluffy asks gently.

The man takes in a rattling breath. “Damon…” His voice is hoarse, and he chokes on the dry air. A wolf kneels, feeding him a sip of water before he continues. “He forced all but…his most loyal…into the stadium.” The man is cut off by a coughing fit. Blood spews from his mouth, wetting his lips and dripping onto his burned chest, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “He said…” he continues. “He said he needed us out of the way.”

“Why?” I ask, kneeling beside Fluffy.

The wolf glances at me, taking me in for the first him. I see recognition spark in his good eye. “You. It has something to do with you.”

“Is he coming after me?”

He tries to shake his head, but winces at the pain. “No,” he grunts. “He doesn’t need to.”

“What do you mean?” I lean closer, my heart pounding.

The wolf is hit with another coughing fit, this time it takes him much longer to regain his composure and his breathing becomes shallow and short. He’s going to die.

“Damon has a…sorcerer…” he gasps out. “And they have your blood.”

“What are they going to do with it?” I demand, but the man’s eyes drift close. “Wait!”

“They…they’ll use it…” he whispers as he breaths his last breath.

I stare down at the wolf, confused, disgusted, afraid, but most of all, angry. Damon isn’t going to get away with this, I won’t let him.

“Damon has your blood?” Fluffy asks me. I meet his gaze, uneasy by his urgent tone.

“Yeah.” I know that a few sorcerers use blood magic, but it’s difficult. It requires a lot of power and perfect timing. Surely, he can’t do anything too bad with his one sorcerer.

“Why didn’t you mention that before?” Fluffy snaps, getting to his feet. “How much does he have?”

I hesitate. I also know that quantity matters in blood magic and Damon definitely got enough to do a decent spell. “A couple pints maybe…” I mutter as I stand.

“A couple- a couple pints?!” Fluffy sputters. “Why the helldidn’t you mention that?”

I shrug sheepishly. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

Fluffy opens his mouth like he’s gonna say something but shuts it again before letting out a frustrated growl. He spins on his heel. “Let’s go.”

<><><>

The tension among us grows as we near the Roya pack territory. We haven’t spoken since we left Damon’s destroyed pack and I can’t help but think that it’s because Fluffy is angry with me. Why I care, I’m not sure, and that bothers me almost as much as the silence.

“Are you going to talk to Slate and Dehlia?” I ask tentatively, unable to keep my mouth shut any longer.

Fluffy sighs in irritation. “I’m going to have to. I need to explain to them our situation and I need you to be careful with what you say.” His last comment hurt a bit, but I push it aside. He’s right after all, I’ve done nothing but cause trouble lately.

“I can do that.”

He glances down at me, surprised by the lack of argument. “Then we need to figure out what to do about the alphas. We’ll need hard proof to convince them.”

“Well, what about the bonding ceremony?”

He keeps his eyes trained on the trees ahead. “The bonding ceremony is a magically binding, lifelong commitment. Are you really ready for that?”

I stay silent. I’m not ready for that. Actually, the whole idea of mates and the bonding ceremony freaks me out. I’m definitely not ready to decide to be with someone for the rest of my life.

A large black wolf steps out from behind a tree. “We’re back in pack Roya,” Fluffy mutters.

We follow the wolf to the pack house. As we walk through the large front doors, the wolves that accompanied us disperse, going their separate ways. Akira and the few wolves from Fluffy’s pack remain behind us.

“The alpha and luna are in their office,” one of the wolves tells us as he leaves.

Fluffy turns down the hall to our left. “Akira take the others and wait for us in the dining hall,” he says over his shoulder.

“With all due respect Beta, we would like to stay with you.” I lift my eyebrows in surprise, looking to see Fluffy’s reaction. That’s the first time I’ve heard Akira tell him no.

I can tell Fluffy doesn’t like it, but he nods and continues on.

The office door stands before us, cracked open so we can hear soft voices speaking from within. Fluffy looks back to his wolves. “Wait here.” No one argues. Instead, they take up positions on either side of the door and down the hall. Fluffy knocks twice before pushing the door open.

Slate sits at his desk with Dehlia perched on the edge. When we step in, they both get to their feet. “You’re back!” Slate says with a big grin. Does he not know yet?

He steps around his desk, taking in our solemn faces and his grin drops. “What happened?”

“Let’s have a seat,” Fluffy say, gesturing to the chairs. I’m the first to sit, not interested in playing dominance games. Surprisingly, Fluffy is the second. After we’ve both sat, Slate and Dehlia follow suit.

“Is everything alright?” Dehlia asks, her brows pinched together in concern.

“We’ve been lying to you,” Fluffy starts. I watch Slate and Dehlia, trying to gauge their reactions. “Jack is a slayer. We thought it best to keep it to ourselves, but she’s been found out. I wanted you to hear it from us.” My heart is in my throat as I watch them process the information.

“You’re a slayer,” Slate says, looking me over. “Like, a real female slayer. You have the mark?”

I glance at Fluffy as I nod.

“But we aremates,” Fluffy says firmly.

“How can that be?” Dehlia seems uneasy. She looks at me differently now, as if I might attack her at any moment.

Slate grabs her hand in an effort to soothe her. “Are you sure?”

Fluffy nods. “As sure as you are about Dehlia.” They glance at each other, seeming to discuss amongst themselves without opening their mouths.

Slate turns back to us. “You know we have to tell the other alphas.”

Fluffy nods. “I expected you to.” I clench my fists in my lap, nerves twisting painfully in my stomach.

“My wolves will escort you back to your pack before I inform the alphas.” Fluffy nods gratefully.

“Thank you. We’ll leave immediately.” They all stand, moving toward the door. I scramble to follow. Fluffy grabs my hand when I’m within reach and I allow him to lace our fingers together, thinking it might help sell the whole “mate” thing.

We follow Slate and Dehlia through the stone hallways and out of the pack house, Fluffy’s wolves close behind us. Almost as soon as we step out of the pack house, something slams into my side and we go tumbling to the ground, rolling limb over limb.

I scramble into a crouched position, pulling out the blade I had stuck in my waistband earlier and holding it out as a warning. The wolf who tackled me jumps to his feet as well, snarling at me.

“Stand down!” Slate barks at the wolf, but he ignores his alpha and begins to circle me. I copy his movements, making sure to keep him in my line of sight at all times. A low growl rumbles from my left, but I somehow know it’s just Fluffy. The wolf only takes his eyes off of me when Fluffy steps in front of me, blocking me from sight.

“That’s enough,” Slate snarls. His usually light and casual demeanor has vanished, replaced with the cold and harsh demeanor of an alpha. “Shift.”

Seconds after his command, I hear the sound of bones cracking and groaning. “We can take care of her here and now, alpha,” a deep voice snaps. I can just barely see the man’s face over Fluffy’s shoulder.

“No, we will inform the other alphas and they will get a trial.” Slate’s tone is hard and unmoving, but the wolf continues.

“We had a deal with the Leonae!” He shouts, stepping closer to Fluffy and I. Fluffy let’s out a warning growl. “She shouldn’t be alive,” he sneers, pointing an accusing finger at me.

Slate closes in on his wolf. “I said enough.” The wolf falls to his knees and bows his head at the command in Slates voice. “Get out of my sight.” The wolf stands and casts one more glare at me before marching out of the group of wolves.

It’s then that I notice the divide between the crowd. Fluffy’s wolves have all taken defensive positions behind us while Slates wolves do the same behind him. They’re ready for battle.

“I apologize,” Slate says, looking at me. I’m shocked that he’s apologizing to me directly.

Slipping the blade back into my waistband, I mutter, “it’s fine.”

Fluffy eyes Slates wolves coldly. “We’ll be on our way.” He nudges me backward through his wolves and into Slates pack. Akira and three other wolves lead the way out of the pack and to the trees, the rest of Fluffy’s wolves stay to my back and sides; all of them alert and on edge. No one relaxes until we’re a good distance away from Slates pack and even then, the atmosphere is tense.

“Why risk everything?” I blurt.

His dark eyes meet mine.

I hadn’t realized the question was nagging at me until I said it, but now that it’s out, I realize how desperately I need his answer. Why would he risk his life, his family, his position in his pack for me? I know he believes I’m his mate, but is it really worth everything? I don’t even act like I like him.

“You already know the answer to that.”

“No, I want a real answer,” I huff. I’m tired of hearing the same mate crap. “You barely know me. All I’ve done so far is cause you trouble and yet you still insist on risking everything for me. I don’t get it.”

He lets out a soft laugh, his eyes roaming over the forest absentmindedly. “You have caused me a lot of trouble,” he mutters. “It would be easier just to ditch you somewhere.” He gives me a sideways glance, a small smirk turning up the edges of his mouth.

I don’t know how or why he’s in such a good mood now after everything that just happened. It’s making me re-consider my original insanity theory.

“I trust in mother moon,” he says finally.

I snort. “You wolves and your moon goddess.”

“I forget, slayers worship their deceased.” His tone is thoughtful, but I take offense at the comment.

“We do not worship our deceased,” I snap. “We just ask our ancestors for guidance; there’s a difference. We don’t worship anything.”

“Oh…” He hums. I glance up at him in confusion. He’s always been so confident and cold, but something about his demeanor all of a sudden feels warm and curious. His interest in my race is actually kind of cute.

“So, you just trust that the moon goddess has everything under control?” I ask, trying to shake my strange thoughts.

“The seer helped,” he shrugs.

I shake my head, his strange behavior now too much to ignore. “I thought you were mad at me. What happened?”

He stops, his eyebrows pinched together in worry. “I was never angry at you.”

“I disagree,” I say, folding my arms over my chest.

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t angry with you. I was frustrated and I didn’t know how we were going to get around this situation, but I think we have a chance now.”

“What has happened in the last twelve hours that could possibly give you hope?” I ask, baffled.

“Well, for starters, there’s the pack law that ensures your safety until proven otherwise. That means that they can’t harm you, even because of your race.” He seems to genuinely believe that, and I don’t have it in me to crush his dreams. The wolves that I know don’t show mercy to Slayers, especially if I’m not supposed to be alive; they’ve already shown me more mercy than I ever expected. I think their mercy is about to run out for me.

“Then there’s the fact that twenty other wolves saw and heard the seer’s conversation with you. They can’t deny that.” He seems relieved by this and I’ll admit, the seer bit gives me a little hope, but I still can’t shake the feeling that the wolves are going to fight for my death.

“Let’s hope so,” I mutter, wishing I could find comfort as well.