I started making my way down the mountain. I had to get back home and pray that I wasn’t too late. I had done the best I could with the time that I had on the mountain and I felt sure that the emotional chaos would never again threaten to put me back in that dark hole. I came down that mountain stronger, wiser, and more resilient. I was running so fast that I made it back to the Jeep as the sun started rising.I had tried five times to start the Jeep with no success and I flagged down a car that came driving down the highway. The man and woman helped me to start the Jeep and I thanked them. I plugged my phone in to charge as I let the Jeep idle.I waited for about fifteen minutes so that the engine could warm up and then I tried to turn my phone on but nothing happened. It must have been affected by the cold weather for the few days I was on the mountain. I wanted to call Malachi and warn him.I turned the Jeep around and drove the way I had come. There was no time to stop and phone h
Adrian Peters had returned to full duty after passing his medical evaluation two days earlier. He drove home and unlocked the front door and paused in the doorway. The house felt disturbed. There was a glass on the coffee table that he was sure he hadn’t left there.He stepped further into his living room and thought he heard a floorboard creak. It was the one at the end of the hall, near the bathroom. Adrian took out his gun and softly closed the front door behind him. He crept towards the hallway and almost fired his gun when he saw the man standing there in front of him.“Adrian! Nice house you have here.”Adrian stared at him in disbelief. “Uncle Igor? How did you get out?”Igor shrugged with just a hint of a smile on his lips and walked towards Adrian. “I slow my heart rate, I can’t be wolf, but I have certain traits they have. They think I’m dead, they take all prisoners to crematorium. One man, I knew him from long ago, we burn some assistant in my place. I come here. You have
“What is that?” Adrian asked him.“This is my inheritance, Adrian. Your father buried it exactly where I ask him.” Igor smiled. It was a good thing as the equipment that Igor had insisted on wasn’t easy to come by and that usually meant money. Lots of money.They drove out of Seward and stopped next to a black SUV along the side of the road. Igor got out and spoke to the man at the driver’s side. The man that got out was wearing a hoodie with dark sunglasses and a cap over his head. He was very nondescript and it was hard to describe someone so ordinary.They unloaded boxes and bags from the back of the SUV and Igor shouted for Adrian to open the back of his truck. Adrian wasn’t introduced to the ordinary man and he didn’t ask for an introduction either. They loaded everything into Adrian’s truck and the SUV sped off in the opposite direction.“Did you get everything you wanted?” Igor nodded and smiled contently. They drove back to Seward and pulled the truck into the garage. Under th
Malachi paced up and down in front of the sliding doors in his house. He had already sent all the pack members to the den. It was the safest place for them to be. Thirty minutes earlier his house had been bursting at the seams with activity. Everyone had gathered and they had held a quick meeting while everyone loaded up their cars and trucks with food, water and blankets.He had no idea how long they might have to stay in the den. Carl and Frank had refused to leave his side, as it was supposed to be. A Zeta would never leave his Alpha, even under the direst of circumstances. He had stood silently in the living room and had listened. It had been too noisy earlier and now he concentrated, sure the whispers from earlier hadn’t been his imagination.He heard faint whispering again and he concentrated harder. He heard Adrian and another man, they were in the woods, watching him. He took out his phone and continued pacing all the while listening to their plans. They intended to end the pa
“Don’t take it, Kiran. I need to feel this pain,” James said and I stopped easing his pain.“I’m so sorry, brother.” I had no other words of comfort to offer him. He stopped hugging me and looked up at Malachi.“I don’t care which wolf law says what, Adrian Peters is a dead man!” His voice held hatred and most of the members were nodding their agreement.Children were wailing and being taken away by the surviving women of the pack. Malachi had closed the hotel for repairs the week before and he told everyone to go there, we needed to be together if we were to survive this.We heard sirens in the distance as the fire brigade and police cars sped up towards the den. The warehouse explosion would go down in Seward history as one of the most tragic events to ever occur in this little town of ours.Robert Jones was one of the first officers to arrive and he pulled Malachi aside. “Malachi, what the hell?” Robert looked around at the carnage and I felt the horror that he felt.“You were righ
The police had come back to the hotel to question Malachi about the dead headless body in our house, never mind the fact that it was covered in bullet holes.“Officer, I’ve already told you. I wasn’t there, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Malachi’s face remained impassive and Carl and Frank had already written statements supporting Malachi’s story.“Why would anyone want to destroy your house?” Officer Michaels looked at Malachi through narrowed eyes and I could see the suspicion as he looked at us.“Probably for the same reason that they blew up the warehouse,” Malachi said and kept to his story, no matter how many times the officer tried to ask it differently.“Where were you, Kiran?” The officer turned his attention to me.“I was here at the hotel, getting extra blankets for our hiking trip,” I replied innocently. It wasn’t the truth but there was nothing else I could tell him. I could see that they weren’t entirely satisfied but that was as far as they would get into th
“Adara?” Malachi asked.“I’m here. I know you want me to return for the funeral ceremonies and I will come back to support James and Shoran, but I’m not sure that I want to see Kiran,” Adara said finally.“Why?” Malachi asked.“He’s been back for a week and he hasn’t called me. Shoran called me the day after the explosion and told me everything. She also told me that he came back. When are you doing the ceremonies?” Adara asked; her voice had a hint of anger in it.“In a week,” he replied.“I’ll book a flight for Thursday and be there on Saturday, in time for the ceremony on Sunday. I have to go now,” Adara said and hung up before Malachi could reply.I stood at the other end of his door and felt my heart grow heavy. I had pushed too far. She didn’t want to see me. I went to my bedroom and closed the door behind me quietly. I phoned James instead. He still didn’t answer and I waited for his voicemail.“James, I’m sorry that you feel betrayed. In that instant I felt that the pack neede
Depression. It’s a word that everybody knows, yet people rarely discuss it. The word depression is like leprosy. If you don’t have it, you have no idea what it feels like to be in that deep, dark hole.The best part of that deep, dark hole is the loneliness. You might find it odd that I say ‘the best part’ but it happens to be true. The loneliness is an escape in itself and that’s what makes it so dangerous.Getting yourself out of that hole is one of the hardest things you’ll probably ever have to do in your lifetime. It’s worse than losing a loved one. Yes, it is. You might wake up and feel fine, nothing happens and suddenly you’re there.That sinking feeling you can’t describe; nobody understands the extreme highs you feel and the extreme lows you sink to. It’s like a light switch. Nothing specific targets you, it’s just something that happens.Wanting to die is not a new feeling when you’re in that hole. Wanting to end your suffering and be done with everybody and everything; it’s