Flames of Fury
Chapter 8

Runidar

“That’s the third one this week, Rune.” Ash whispers solemnly to me as he sets the tracker’s body down in front of me.

It’s been ten days since Mags took off, but it’s felt like a hundred. The Alphas become a little more unstable everyday, a little more uncontrolled and irrational, a little more violent.

Ro, especially, has been giving his wolf, Aedan, most of the control, allowing him to try to guide them to their mate, to pick up a scent, a mindlink, a heartbeat — anything.

The Alphas’ sole focus has been breaking into the caves that will lead us to Drow Hollow and to Mags. They’ve got warriors and trackers working around the clock in an attempt to excavate the entrances to the caves around the mountain.

The first warrior to die had questioned the Alphas on why we cared what happened to “some random chick.” Rohanor responded by pulling the warrior’s spine out through his mouth.

A few days later, Varian overheard another warrior telling his friend that it’s a shame ‘Syble’ went missing because he liked having her around to train with them. Varian boiled the water the warrior was drinking as it went down his throat and into his stomach.

Which brings us to today and the dead tracker laying at my feet. “What happened with this one?” I ask Ash, our delta.

“The Alphas overheard him saying to someone else that he didn’t have a good feeling about the situation.”

None of us have a good feeling about this. The day after the Alphas claimed Mags, we brought all the ranked wolves up to speed. Our delta, gamma, lead warrior, and head tracker all know now that Mags is the Alphas’ fated mate and our Luna.

So Ash knows just as well as I do that our dead tracker here paid an unfair price for speaking the truth.

“Where are the Alphas now?” I ask.

“I think they’re meeting with Incandis and Bastian.”

That’s a relief. Ro and Varian won’t kill them. I’m hoping they’re back with good news, or any news that will help us get our Luna back. Mates aren’t meant to be apart for long, and it’s especially hard when we don’t know where she is or how long it’ll take us to replace her.

The Alphas are quickly deteriorating, rapidly succumbing to the heartbreak. They’ll be lost completely before long if something doesn’t change. The way they’re killing pack members over the smallest comments is proof that they won’t survive much longer without their mate.

“Alright, bury him with the others and notify the family. I’m going to go catch up with them and Incandis.”

Before my back is fully turned Ash grips my arm. “Rune, what will happen if they can’t replace her?”

I look at him in earnest, “nothing good.”

— — —

Incandis

Ro and Varian look like shit, like they haven’t slept or had a hot meal in weeks. They’re currently pacing their office with a crazed look in their eyes. There’s a thin coating of flames that blanket their skin, a fury fire, fueled by their ever increasing rage and heartbreak.

I haven’t seen it happen to anyone in the grove in a long time, but when Xander heard about Mags lying to him and using him to bring her here and then how she took off, well…it took him almost 3 days to get his fire back under control.

Mom took longer.

I’ve never seen her lose her cool, she’s the embodiment of grace, elegance, and poise. That all fractured and shattered when dad finally teleported home 2 days after he first got to shadowmoon. I think even her tears were flames.

She raged and cried hysterically against him to the point of exhaustion, and he was there to pick her up and support her so she could turn around and rage again the next day. She was overjoyed to have him home, livid that he left in the first place, and distraught that her daughter had taken his place as prisoner. That kind of fury can’t be doused in a day.

Looking at her now I can tell she’s still burning, she’s not thrilled that we’ve left the safety of the grove. It took an impressive amount of effort to convince her that we needed to continue to travel back and forth between the grove and shadowmoon to work together on bringing Mags home.

Dad asked the empaths in our colony to help keep everyone’s nerves from fraying. We have a fragile stability at the moment; mom has been able to talk to the colony and explain the situation, my dad’s and uncle’s return helped people feel like there was also hope for our young Queen.

Our matriarch is the lifeblood of our colony, the oxygen we breathe. As long as we’re still breathing, then we know that Mags is still alive.

Though technically my mom is still Queen, the colony was ready for Mags to take over, they’ve felt the shift in their hearts. She’s been beloved by all since the day she was born, I’m certain that she will be the most adored Queen our grove has ever had.

“Are they always this tense?” My father leans over and whispers to me. “They’re like the male version of Mags.”

Xander snorts and quickly attempts to stifle his laughter.

I can’t help the smile that tugs at the corner of my lips. “They’re not usually this tense, and they have better hearing than you think.”

When the Alphas turn towards us I expect to have to calm them down, but instead they look past me, my dad, and Xander and look towards the door which opens a second later to their parents and Runidar.

Accalia sweeps through the room and sits next to my mom on one of their sofas, her hands covering my mother’s which she’s been wringing together in her lap.

“What’s the latest?” Raine asks, not bothering with pleasantries.

“We’ve sent a formal notification to the Elder Council indicating our intentions to declare war on Drow Hollow. The issue is that for war to be actionable, the offending party must be notified of our grievances and given an opportunity to rectify or come to a compromise with the aggrieved party. They’ve sealed their entrances shut, so communication with them is impossible.” My father explains carefully.

“Fuck your council, my mate is a hostage! They tortured you for days, you were a walking skeleton just over a week ago. Imagine what they’ll do to her?” Ro growls out.

The thought has crossed all of our minds, but we’ve been careful not to voice that fear aloud.

“Watch it, pup. She is first and foremost my daughter.”

Ro grunts through his nose but doesn’t respond.

My father continues, “Mags has trained for situations like this her entire life. Her gifts are well suited for survival. She’s never not come back from an assignment.”

“What was the longest time it’s ever taken her to get back from an assignment?” Varian asks with thinly schooled control.

My father’s lips purse in recollection of one of the toughest trips Mags and I ever took to Italy. We got swept up in a colony’s civil war there and couldn’t get out for months.

“Six months.”

Flames flare around Varian’s fingers as he runs them through his hair. He laces his hands behind his head and stares off into the woods once more.

My father may have been joking before about them being tense, but it’s troubling to see them like this. They’ve always been in control of their fire and their anger. They’re just as furious and out of control now as they were the night she took off, perhaps even moreso.

If Mags and I learned anything from our training it’s that recklessness and losing control of your emotions will get you killed faster than any blade. Ro and Varian need to get themselves under control or they’re going to be consumed by their flames and their fury.

“We await the council’s decision.” My father says at last, breaking the tense silence. “We’ve got scouts sweeping the mountain every hour. Our alchemists are stockpiling supplies for poisons known to work on the Drow. And our smiths are crafting weapons of all kinds to outfit our warriors and yours when the time comes.”

“So, you’re saying we just wait? Do nothing and hope she comes home in the next six months?” Ro is shouting by the end of his sentence.

“I didn’t say do nothing. Train your wolves, make sure they’re as comfortable with a blade as they are with their claws. And trust that Mags has the skills to make it back.”

With that my father places a hand on my mother’s shoulder, preparing to teleport them home. Before they can slip into the void, however, Accalia clears her throat and gives my mother an expectant look.

“Right,” my mother says softly, “Ro, Varian, if it’s alright with you, Xander had something he needed to talk to you about.”

“Ma’am?” Xander asks.

Accalia’s grip tightens on my mother’s hands as my mother shoots him a warning look.

“Right, yes, thank you for reminding me. Alphas, please. It won’t take but a minute.”

Ro’s fists clench and release several times before he grits out the word “fine” through his teeth.

“Thank you Ianthe. We’ll see you soon.” Accalia hugs my mom and walks out with Raine and Runidar.

While they make their exit I pull Xander to the side of the room and drop my voice as low as possible. “Do you — do you think you could talk to Kat too?”

Xander rests a hand on my shoulder and reflects my earnest stare. He gives me a tight smile and a single nod before letting go of me. I exit through the door as my parents teleport home, leaving Xander and the Alphas alone to talk.

Before I head back to the grove I need to replace Kat and explain. She was upset that she wasn’t included in today’s meeting, but it wasn’t my decision. Her parents didn’t want her brothers to lose control at the sight of Kat and me together when their mate is missing, and I agreed with them. Kat doesn’t have any resistance to fire and with the Alphas teetering on the edge of control as it is, we didn’t want Kat to be in a situation where she could have gotten hurt.

She opens the door for me before I can even knock, and when I take in the sight of her my jaw drops to the floor.

“Hey, I’ve been waiting for you. How’d the meeting go?”

Kat saunters towards her closet in naught but her skin – her delicious, soft, creamy skin. My dick springs to life beneath my pants, hardening at the sight of her bare ass taunting me from across the room. I accidentally slam the door shut so hard that the door frame cracks.

Like a siren she beckons me towards her, she turns around inside her closet to face me and I’m powerless to do anything but eye her with lascivious hunger. It’s fucking painful how much I want her, and it’s even more painful denying myself of her. But I have to, just for a little longer.

“Kat, I have to talk to you and if you keep standing there looking as perfect and as beautiful as you do I’m afraid I won’t be able to say what I need to say.”

“Is this better?” She hops up onto one of the dressers and puts her hands just behind her, leaning back onto them pushing her perky breasts out for me to salivate over.

“Kat.” I warn her through gritted teeth.

“What? You said I shouldn’t stand there like I was, now I’m not standing.” She smiles at me sweetly, tauntingly.

This fucking woman is going to be the death of me. I groan as I approach her and place my hands on either side of hers. I kiss and suck at her neck, working my way up to her jaw before capturing her mouth with mine. “You know that’s not what I meant.” I growl against her lips. My hands move of their own volition to her hips, gripping them tightly and pulling her towards me so I can rut against her heat.

Kat whimpers loudly, snapping me out of my lust filled fog. I lift my hands off of her and back away, noticing the bruises that are already forming on her hips from where I had grabbed her.

“Fuck, Kat I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”

Kat’s expression falls and she attempts to cover herself up with her arms and hands. I grab a flowy, yellow dress that I’ve seen her wear before off the rack and hand it to her to put on.

She slips it on but doesn’t get down from the dresser, she just sits there with her head down, fussing nervously with her hands in her lap.

I walk back towards her and take both her hands in one of mine, using my other hand to tip her chin up so she has to look me in the eye. Kat’s eyes hide nothing. I see the hurt and the pain, and what’s worse is that I’m the cause.

I sigh deeply, pressing my lips to hers as tenderly as I can, hoping she knows how much I love her and want her to be safe and happy.

“Kat,” I begin softly, “if I had to go away, just for a little while, would you wait for me?”

Her brows pull together in confusion. “What are you talking about? What happened in the meeting?”

“Nothing, just some issues with the Elder Council. My father intends to formally declare war on Drow Hollow but there’s some red tape we have to cut through first.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. Xander is going to come talk to you, he’ll be able to explain everything. I won’t be gone long, Kat, I promise.”

I rest my forehead against hers and close my eyes, breathing in her scent. “Will you be here when I come back?” My voice is impossibly small.

“Yes, of course I’ll be here.” A single tear slips from her eye and blazes a trail down her cheek.

“Incandis, you’re scaring me. It sounds like you’re saying goodbye.” She whispers softly.

Her honesty hits me like a knife in the heart. I forget sometimes how young she really is, how little of the world she has seen and experienced. I cup her cheeks in my hands and look at her intently, “I will be back. I won’t be gone long, okay? Trust me?”

She nods and looks at me with wide, doe eyes. “Good. Xander will be by soon to explain.”

I place one final kiss on her soft lips, savoring the feel and taste of her lips, and hoping beyond all hope that it won’t be long before I’m back here kissing her like this again.