Black Flames, page 4
We circle and punch, parry and jump, round and round. I faintly hear hoots and yells from others around me, but the noise barely registers as I focus on Zeke. It’s almost like a string keeps me tied to him, and we move almost in sync.
I go to punch Zeke on his right side when an odd emotion fills me. It’s almost as if I grabbed an electric fence. Sparks shoot through my body, and I stumble, which gives Zeke an advantage. In seconds, he has me pinned to the ground, knees straddling me, with his fist at my chin.
He pants, trying to catch his breath. “Got you.”
I stare up at him, stunned at what just happened and also confused. Where did those emotions come from? Was that my mate? What the hell?
Clapping pulls me from my thoughts, and Zeke slides off me. He offers me a hand to help me up, and once I stand, I look around at the group of guys around us.
Corey and Adam are beaming as they take me in, and I can’t help but wonder if maybe I let too much power out. I do an internal check and feel it still resting in my bones. I try to push it back, but it doesn’t budge. I sniff the air, trying to pick up if my scent has changed, but with all the sweaty males around, all I get is salt and wet dog.
I look over at Zeke, who frowns and shakes his head. “You’re fine. I have you covered,” he says softly for only me to hear.
“Well, that was a magnificent display of power, my dear,” a voice drawls, and I turn to find Alpha Gale behind me, standing next to Seth. “I guess she’s finally surfacing?”
I bow my head. “Yes, I think so.”
“Good. You all take a break. I need to speak with Seth. We have a mission for you that you’ll be briefed on this afternoon. Grab lunch and meet with us in the conference room at two p.m. Don’t be late,” Alpha says, and we all bow our heads in acknowledgment.
We keep our heads bowed as he turns with Seth, and they head back toward the rear of the pack house. I let out a sigh of relief but tense up when Adam’s hand lands on my shoulder.
“It’s about time, Ember. I knew you would push after that talk last night. Corey told me you two were good and that we’re clear to move forward,” Adam says, smiling at me.
I turn and glare at Corey for a second before refocusing on Adam. “I guess so. Things seem to be moving in the right direction.” I feel Zeke come up behind me, and I fight the urge to look at him.
A few of the other males smile at me and wave to the guys as they pass us. None of them get too close, though, knowing I’m supposed to be with Adam and that males can be territorial.
“I know this isn’t exactly what you want, Ember, but please try and make the best of it, for both of us. I think we could grow to care for each other like a truly mated pair if we aren’t,” Adam says quietly for only our small group to hear.
I feel Zeke place a hand on the small of my back, and a jolt shoots through me, similar to what I felt earlier. What the hell? Instead of turning to look at him, though, I hang my head and say, “I’ll try.”
“Good. We need to have a united front, like I said last night. I’ll see you after lunch,” Adam says and starts walking toward the house.
Corey pauses as if to add something but shakes his head instead. He has reminded me repeatedly that if it came to it, he would have to follow orders. Seeing it hurts worse than him telling me that things are over.
I fight the tears that threaten to flow as my heart breaks and turn to Zeke. “Let’s get out of here.” I grab his hand, and instead of pulling him in the direction that will take us back to my house, he swings me up into his arms and sprints us there.
“Thanks,” I say as he sets me down on the step. “I needed that.”
“Anytime, love. Now let’s get some refreshments. We have a busy afternoon ahead.” He smiles and pushes the front door open for me.
“Do you know anything about the mission Alpha mentioned?” I ask curiously, trying to distract myself from my aching heart.
“I don’t, but I’m sure it isn’t anything serious. He wouldn’t send us out if it were. I’m sure he has another team already trained for this.” He shrugs, and we make our way into the kitchen.
I walk to the fridge and grab sandwich stuff and a bag of blood for him. I toss it to him, and he catches it and quickly rips the corner of the bag. I plop my sandwich stuff down and throw my sandwich together.
Zeke’s blood-drinking habit quit bothering me years ago. “I hope you’re right. Did I do okay today?” I glance up at him as he pauses his drinking.
“You did amazing. Now eat.”
I roll my eyes as he goes back to drinking. “Fine, but I have questions for later.”
Zeke nods and takes his bag to the other room.
I take my sandwich and follow.
Chapter Four
That afternoon rain moves in, and my mood sours. Zeke has been avoiding me since lunch, and I don’t understand why. I want to ask him about the strange sensation that occurred during our fight.
I make my way back to the pack house with him at my side, but we remain silent. It’s not an uncomfortable silence, but something’s different. I can’t put my finger on it. Rain drips down our hoods, but we remain predominantly dry.
We leave our jackets hanging on hooks to the left of the front door and head to the main conference room once we reach the house. The air is humid and smells of lemon. Nevertheless, it’s pleasant and seems to lighten my mood.
Zeke and I pick seats at the back of the room in an attempt to remain low-key. A couple of the males glance at me curiously, but they don’t try to start a conversation. Corey and Adam take the two open seats next to me moments later, and Seth quiets us all to get our attention.
“Reports have come in that something has been lurking in the woods on the north side of town. The Sentinels found a scent similar to putrid fish lingering near a bush where something had discarded part of a rabbit carcass. We are assuming it’s a creature similar to what we saw at yesterday’s attack. This assignment, yet simple, will be your first task, trainees. You’ll go in groups to seek out and take down whatever it is. Per the Alpha’s orders, Adam, Corey, and Ember will be together while I will divide the rest of you. Zeke, you will not be part of this attack. We want to see how the groups do.”
Seth looks over us all as we nod, and I can’t fight the frown that comes to my face. “You’ll go from here to begin tracking the beast or beasts. Work as a pack and if you find nothing by midnight tonight, call it a night, and return to the task in the morning.”
We all nod again, and Seth continues to give us instructions. We are to pick up weapons from the weapons room and head out.
As he dismisses us, I turn to Zeke. “Will you be close?”
“I’ll do what I can. Stay focused and work as a pack.” He nods and slips out before I can ask anything else.
I stand from my chair, as do Corey and Adam beside me.
“Are you worried, Ember?” Adam asks curiously.
“You should be fine after how you trained today,” Corey says with a frown and perplexed expression.
“I’m nervous, that’s all. But I can do this.” I square my shoulders and smile, feigning confidence.
“Great. We’ll do well as a team. That’s what my father wants us to work as in the future, anyway. It’s about time we start doing this, am I right?” Adam looks to me and then Corey.
Corey nods. “Yes, we’ll be strong together. Let’s head to where the fight was yesterday and start from there.”
“Great idea. Ember, we’ll follow you in our wolf forms while we hunt for the beasts. We won’t be far from you. If you see something before us, though, don’t engage, we’ll take it down.” Adam grabs my hand and squeezes it.
“Okay,” I respond, pulling my hand from his.
We walk from the conference room and down the hall to the weapons room. I grab a couple of items before we head back to the front of the pack house, pausing on the front porch as the rain falls. Its light tempo makes me feel at peace, but I don’t miss the noises of the guys transitioning into their wolves.
Now more than ever, I can hear their bones crack and pop as they change forms. But, thanks to some shifter magic, they can maintain their clothes following a shift. The process is strange to me since I haven’t experienced it myself, but the pain from the first shift is excruciating from the stories I have heard from others. It’s supposed to be better with each change after, but I think each person finally adapts to the pain or maybe even compartmentalizes it.
I shake my head, clearing my thoughts as two wolves stare at me from the rain at the bottom of the porch. They are larger than a typical wolf, but thanks to our pack, and many others like us, people believe the red wolves are making a comeback in their former historic home in the US. It’s allowed our pack to grow and live safely here in eastern Oklahoma. The difference between the two is that Adam has streaks of silver in his hair while Corey has some darker, almost black fur added to his. Both have hints of the red coloring, typical to the old red wolf.
“I’m coming,” I mutter, and they huff at me, then take off at a trot. I roll my eyes and jog to keep up with them, thankful my new strength has also led to more stamina.
I follow the two wolves as we make our way into the woods. A path leads to the northern part of our territory that keeps us away from prying human eyes. We move along quickly and arrive at the burned remains of Amber’s family home. The sight of it breaks open the wound I have been trying to ignore since yesterday, and a lump forms in my throat.
As I fight from letting the tears roll down my cheeks, Corey’s voice floats into my mind, It’s okay to be sad, Ember. You can cry around Adam and me. Somehow, all our minds are linked when we are accepted into the pack, and they teach us at an early age how to block to keep from sharing with everyone all the time.
I’ll be fine. Do either of you smell anything? I ask and look at the two wolves who are watching me closely. They huff and begin sniffing the ground.
I have a faint trace of something, but it’s not anything like what Seth described. It smells more of burned hair. It leads off into the woods there, Adam says through my mind and points with his nose.
Let’s follow it and see where it leads us, Corey suggests, and I nod.
We move forward into the trees with Corey in front, nose to the ground, and Adam trailing behind me. I feel protected between them, but I can’t fight the unease that creeps in. Something tells me we are walking into a trap, but I don’t have anything to prove it.
We step into a clearing, and the smell of burned hair and spoiled milk hit me in the face. I fight the urge to gag as I hear Adam wretch behind me.
Shit, the smell is horrible, he says, and a loud crack fills the air.
A yelp draws my attention, and I watch as Corey is yanked into the air by a rope. It’s a snare that he walked right into. I pull out one of the hunting knives I grabbed earlier and begin to walk toward him to cut him down when a shriek fills the air.
Three black beasts with webbed wings similar to bats wings fly down from the tops of the trees. Their maws are opened wide and filled with razor-like teeth as they scream. I instinctively throw my knife at one, but it misses and embeds itself in the trunk of a tree behind it.
I duck and feel a slight breeze move over me and glance up to find Adam meeting them head-on. He grabs one with his jaws and brings it to the ground, causing the other two to scatter.
Get Corey down and hide. His voice is loud as it bangs around in my head, but I react and follow his orders.
I pull another knife out and run to Corey. I begin sawing at the rope as another of the beings flies toward me. I saw faster, my heart racing, and my newfound power responds. Without control, black flame lashes out at the rope, and Corey drops to the ground. He is on the beast within seconds, and I push back into the trunk of the tree where the trap originated.
I watch, utterly terrified, as Corey faces it head-on. I glance over at Adam and see he is faring pretty well, at least until I see the third creature above him with a giant branch.
“Adam! Look out!” I scream, but it’s too late. As he rips the throat out of the beast before him on the ground, the one above him swings the branch hard, knocking him in the head. Adam flies sideways and lands in a heap against a tree, and the beast turns its attention on me.
“What is that I smell mixed with fear? Could that be what I think it is? Who are you, little girl?” the beast coos, sending chills down my spine.
He flies toward me, and I push away from the tree, prepared to do what I can. I glance over at Corey, who has his hands tied with his beast and take a deep breath. My power pulses in my hands, and I spread my feet.
“I’m just a latent wolf, ugly creature,” I say, pulling a dagger from my side and attack.
The beast and I clash, and it drags its claws down my arm, trying to get me to release my weapon. I cry out but turn into it, hitting it with my opposite arm. The force causes it to stagger back, and it takes a minute to right itself.
As its wings speed up in an attempt to steady it, I launch myself at him with my arm extended. My new strength propels me forward at a speed I wasn’t prepared for, and my guard drops, causing black flames to erupt down my arm and across the blade.
The beast screams in pain as my dagger slices through its torso, followed by my flaming arm. It creates a hole the size of a softball, and I land on the ground atop the beast as it takes its final breath. I pull my arm back and stare, bewildered at what just happened. I sit back on my heels and startle as a hand lands on my shoulder.
I turn and stare up into Corey’s eyes, now in his human form, as he asks, “What the hell was that, Ember?”
I continue to look at him and turn back to the beast lying on the ground. “What do you mean?”
“You just burned a hole through that thing.”
“I guess I did.” I keep my gaze down, refusing to look at him. “We need to check on Adam.”
“I already did. Now, care to tell me what the hell just happened? Seriously, did this come as a result of yesterday? You have strength, speed, and powers that were not there twenty-four hours ago. I should know. So look me in the eye and tell me,” Corey demands.
I turn to face him and push myself up from the ground. “You don’t have the right to demand things from me. We ended things this morning, remember? I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Now, alert the others, and let’s finish this.”
“Fine, but we will talk about this. You’re not getting out of it that easily.”
“Fine,” I say, crossing my arms and watching him shift back into his wolf. I can almost feel his anger toward me, but I ignore it. Now’s not the time to deal with this.
Corey’s howl echoes around me, and I hear Adam grunt as he comes to in his wolf form. I turn and meet his concerned gaze as he moves toward me. I rest a hand on his head. I’m fine. Are you okay?
My head hurts, but I’ll get over it. Why is Corey pissed? he asks, and I turn to look at Corey as he watches us. I shrug and remain silent.
Minutes later, more wolves appear around us, with Seth and Alpha Gale behind them. I remain quiet as Corey relays what happened telepathically.
No one questions Corey when he covers for me, saying that my dagger burst into flames when it met the demon’s flesh. I don’t offer anything to say otherwise and make a mental note of what he did. I need to talk to Zeke about this before I share anything with Corey.
After another two hours, trucks are brought in, and we load the demon carcasses up to take back with us. Alpha Gale wants to look them over and run tests to see if someone can create a weapon to take them out. The thought of such tests creeps me out, and I walk back to the pack house with Corey and Adam in silence.
We’re dismissed and told to be ready for training at the same time again tomorrow, and I head home. I don’t say anything to my family as I walk in the front door and find them all gathered on the couch watching television. Instead, I offer them a smile and murmur something about needing to shower.
I head up the stairs and quickly peel my soaked and bloody clothes off of me. I smell something awful after fighting those things, and I crank my shower on. I give it a moment to heat up before stepping in. As the spray lands on me, my muscles relax, and I let my tears fall. The shock of everything that happened both yesterday and today washes through me.
As I let it all out, I force myself to grab the bar of soap and start scrubbing the blood off my arms. I take extra care around the gashes that are beginning to heal. My tears finally stop as the last bit of blood washes down the drain.
I step out to grab a towel and stumble as I spy Zeke sitting cross-legged on the counter by the sink.
“What in the hell are you doing in here? You couldn’t have waited until I was out?” I ask, but not loud enough where my parents can pick it up with their heightened hearing.
“I was worried about you. Corey hunted me down and asked about your black-flaming hand trick, so I sought you out. What happened?”
“My control slipped in the fight. I didn’t have any other choice but to let it happen. This new magic saved my life,” I seethe and pull my hands through my hair.
He grabs my hands and pulls me into his chest. I put my forehead against him, and he wraps me in his arms, sending tiny tingles down my spine.
“It’s okay. We’ll work on it. This is new territory for everyone. We’ll figure it out together.”
“Thanks, Zeke. Now, can I ask you something?” I pull back and look up at him.
“You just did, didn’t you?” he says with a smirk, lightening the mood.
“Yes, but something else. What are these electrical tingles I feel when I touch you now and what was that during our sparring today?” My words rush out, and I wrap my arms around him and hold tight. I need to know what this means.
He looks at me, and I hold my breath. “I think it’s because we have similarities. I’m not sure, but that would make sense, especially now that your powers are surfacing.”
