Flames of Fury

Bastian

I wake with a jolt Gods only know how much later. It takes me a moment to realize I’m not in Drow Hollow, but rather in a comfortable hospital bed. I’m hooked up to an I.V. and I can feel the effects of whatever medicine they have running through the tubes slowly bringing me back to life.

I lay back down to rest some more when I hear the door slide open and footsteps sure and heavy enter the room. I’m still so tired I don’t bother trying to open my eyes.

The door slides open again and more footsteps approach.

“Incandis, join us. I think we could all let off a little steam, literally.” I hear a voice say.

Forget about being tired, my eyes fly open at the mention of my son’s name. It doesn’t make any sense though, we’re not in the grove, why would Incandis be here.

No. I must have heard them wrong. Right?

Only one way to find out.

“Excuse me,” I manage to croak out. “Did you say Incandis?”

There’s a momentary pause before I hear his voice. “Dad?”

My heart swells, the emotion I have been holding in breaks through the floodgates and I choke out a sob as hot tears roll down the side of my face.

Incandis rushes over to the side of my bed. We wrap our arms around one another in a bear hug, afraid that the other will slip through our fingers if we let go.

“Oh Gods is it good to see you, dad.” Incandis says.

I sit up in the bed while Incandis sits on the edge.

“My boy, you have no idea.” I say with a laugh. “Where’s your sister? Where’s Mags?”

Those two have always been close. I’m counting on her being here with him, or better yet back home in the safety of the Grove.

Incandis’ facial expression plummets to the floor, taking my heart with it. He looks towards the two men at the door and then back at me but doesn’t meet my eye.

“We’re pretty sure she took off for Drow Hollow. Alone.” His skin begins to heat with anger. “If you’re here… we think she may have traded herself for your freedom.”

I shake my head as I begin to piece together what he’s saying. “No, no that can’t be. A guard got us out. He risked his life to save us. They were barricading all the entrances. We barely made it out.”

The two men that accompanied Incandis had been silent up until this point. But now a deep, hair-raising growl bounces off the walls. The men shift into two huge wolves right there in the room before running off.

“Fuck!” Incandis curses. “Dad I’m sorry I gotta go after them. I’ll be back.”

With a final squeeze of my hand Incandis takes off running out of the room after the wolves.

— — —

Incandis

It doesn’t take me long to catch up to Ro and Varian, their loud growls were easy to follow. I’m doing my best to fly between the branches and bushes of the forest, but it’s really more of a half sprint, half glide.

The Alphas head straight for the cave we entered when we were ambushed a few weeks ago. I fly up on my own to the ledge to see if what my father said was true. Not that I don’t trust him, but I’m hoping the guard was lying to my father in an attempt to prevent him from coming back.

I don’t even have to enter the mouth of the cave to see that the tunnel has been caved in, there’s absolutely no getting through the rock and rubble blocking the path. I drop back down to the ground where the wolves are pacing.

“It’s blocked.”

They growl and take off around the base of the mountain and again I fly after them. The next cave we come across is blocked too. The Alphas rage against the rocky wall and take off again. Cave after cave we search only to find the same rock wall blocking our entrance. We’ve been searching for so long the sun has nearly set.

“Ro, Varian, we should head back…we’re not getting in tonight.”

Their claws dig into the earth beneath them, their lips curled in a tight snarl, growling loudly through the dusk. That’s when I feel it, the ever mounting heat.

They’re going to burn.

Sure enough, the two wolves ignite into a raging fire. A ring of flames pulses along the ground, radiating out from their feet like a ripple through water, consuming every tree, bush, and plant in its path.

For the first time I realize just how similar they are to Mags. They’re all natural leaders, stubborn with the same penchant for burning off their anger. They work, play, and love hard; all in or nothing at all. But for as much as they are similar, they have their differences too.

Mags is solution based. If there’s a problem, she’s going to fix it. Now. She’s quick to action, sometimes too quick. I’m sure if the twins had been there when she found that photo they would have talked through a plan of attack, a strategy. They want the same outcome, but Mags isn’t as patient.

My chest cinches at the memory of her and the prospect that she may have sacrificed herself to save our family. But that’s par for the course with her too, she’s always been self-sacrificing to a fault. This time, though, she’s gone too far.

Looking at the Alphas now I worry that they, too, recognize this about Mags and that their patience may be running dangerously thin.

“Guys, we have to go back. Giving in to the flames – the fury – is easy. But it’s not a solution.” I hold their stares, not letting their snarls dissuade me. “I know that my sister can be impulsive, impatient, and self imperiling, but she’s also smarter and stronger than I’ve ever given her credit for and I’m done underestimating her.”

Their flames slowly recede from the trees and foliage around us. Well, that’s a start.

“We can’t break into the caves right now. But we can go back, lay out the facts, and make our next plan.”

They lower their heads by a fraction, nodding their agreement. Varian is the first to move, taking the lead on our trek back home. Ro pauses in front of me, his eyes focusing on me intently, before deliberately brushing his shoulder against mine as he passes by me. The gesture speaks volumes, indicating to me that they know we’re in this together and that we will bring her home.

It’s a slow walk back to the pack house. Both of them are still ablaze as they walk, illuminating the path ahead in the darkness that has swallowed the land now that the sun has set.

The Alphas stop at the edge of the woods that border the pack’s clearing and shift back into human form. It’s moments like these that I’m glad they’re wearing clothes from the grove, ones that don’t get ruined when we shift.

“Fuck.” Ro mutters. “I forgot about the pack dinner.”

Looking past the pack house towards the gardens it seems like the entire pack has gathered for the dinner that was meant to announce Mags as their mate and Luna.

I can hear the carefree laughter of the wolves and children running through the crowd happy to be up past their bedtimes.

“Do you think your father would be up for answering a few questions, Incandis?” Varian asks me.

“Absolutely. He’ll want her home, whatever it takes.” I say resolutely.

“Will he forgive us?” Ro buries his hands in his jean pockets and kicks at the dirt on the ground, uncharacteristically worried.

“For what? Being her mates?” I ask sincerely.

Silence stretches between us creating a tension that grows thicker with every heartbeat.

Finally he shakes his head. “For failing to keep her safe.”

The twins lead us across the front yard. They don’t return any of the greetings from pack members who approach them on our way to my father. The cellar is off the path to the left but the twins turn right instead.

“Where are you going? I thought we were going to talk to my dad?” I gesture towards the cellar.

“We had them moved to the infirmary, we thought they’d be more comfortable there.”

I’m taken aback by their consideration for my dad and uncle’s comfort and I think for the first time that I really appreciate them. Of course I appreciated them helping us before on our search for my family, but that felt more like a business transaction; they helped us, and we helped them.

There was little appreciation on my part for the way they lusted after my sister. Truth be told, I’m still coming to terms with their relationship. Mags has always been a free spirit so for her to have let them claim her and for her to mark them in return is more than a big deal.

“Hey, D!” Kat spies us walking past the pack house and rushes up to us.

She throws her arms around my neck, palms the back of my head and presses her soft, pouty lips to mine. I melt into her, pulling her tighter against me, swiping my tongue against the seam of her lips which open easily at my request. I kiss her like it’s the last taste I’ll have of her, like she’s the one that’s been missing and not my sister.

There’s a low rumble from beside us. The twins eye us with an expression I haven’t seen on them before. Rather than the anger I expect, there’s a sadness to their stare and it’s tinged with envy — with longing and heartbreak.

Fuck. They’ve just lost the love of their life and here I am making out with their sister.

I pull her arms down from around my neck, allowing her to rest her hands on my chest.

“Where have you guys been? Dinner started an hour ago.” She asks softly.

When none of us speaks she moves towards her brothers. “Guys? What’s wrong?”

“Not here.” Ro responds gruffly and heads towards the infirmary.

Kat slips her hand inside mine and laces our fingers together. We all walk in silence to the infirmary where I’m hoping my dad is doing better now that he’s getting medical attention.

It’s my uncle that eyes me first when we enter their suite. He’s showered and changed into new clothes, but could do with a haircut and a shave.

“Hey uncle Dex, how are you feeling?”

“Better than I look, I’m sure. Did you find Maggie?”

All the wolves turn and arch an eyebrow at the nickname. Little do they know how much she loathes being called that name, but uncle Dex is the only one who can call her that and get away unscathed.

“What do you mean find her? Where’s Mags?” Kat asks, trying but failing to hide the panic in her voice.

“Mags is missing. They goaded her and she flew off to Drow Hollow alone.” I begin to explain.

Kat’s hands fly up over her mouth barely muting the audible gasp that escapes her.

“It’s like my dad said, all the entrances have been blocked off or caved in. There’s no getting in — or out.”

“Did the guard who helped you escape tell you why they were barricading the entrances? Did you see Mags at all?” Varian directs his question towards my dad and uncle.

“No on both counts.” My dad responds. “I watched as the guards all ran past our cell in a frenzy. That’s when the guard who helped us escape came for us. I tried teleporting the second I had a foot out of the gate but I couldn’t do it. Not even outside in the woods, I didn’t have the energy. So we ran North like he told us, he said we’d find allies in that direction. That’s when your guards found us and brought us to that other room.”

The twins nod thoughtfully at my father’s words, but I can see the gears turning in their minds just like mine are, trying to puzzle out anything that will give us an edge on how to get in there to get Mags.

“Guys, why don’t we take this up first thing in the morning? It’s late, I’m sure our guests will feel better after a decent night’s sleep.” Kat suggests softly to the group.

Her eyes cloud over so I know she’s speaking privately to her brothers, but whatever she said to them seems to have done the trick because they bid us all good night and exit ahead of us.