PHOENIX
I trembled, tears of anguish racing down my face, leaving behind salty trails. The loud roar outside increased, wails and the sound of bones breaking resonating through the pristine walls. I wound my arms tighter around myself, my knees drawn up and my head resting on it.I shivered in fear, my tears wetting my thin flannel shirt. I wrapped my hands around my head, trying to drown out the sound but the wails, the screams, the sound of bones breaking pierced through my tight fists and rung through my traumatized ears. I breathed in deeply, my breathe catching in my throat as I stood up, making my way to the front door.I trembled. As soon as I stepped into the yard, my mouth hung open. I stood dazed, the view in front of me gory.It was my fault.It was all my fault. I stepped outside, weaving my way through fallen bodies, dead bodies, as I searched for him. My chest tightened painfully as I saw pack members being slaughtered gruesomely, body parts sent flying wildly. It was all my fault. My throat choked up as I saw Elaine, a young pup I had met at the community school. What broke my heart though was the fact that her usual smile and sparkling green eyes was no longer present, gone. In its place was a seven year old girl, mouth hanging open, eyes wide in shock, dread and something else present in it. Reproach I ran to her, crouching down and gathering her in my arms. Her body was cold, her green eyes still, lifeless. Looking down to where her heart was supposed to be, a large hole confronted my eyes and tears of anguish once more gathered in them. She was dead.And it was my fault. Gut wenching sobs rent the air, despair present in the voice as I looked around, looking for the source of such raw anguish. Water droplets fell on Elaine's still face and I looked up, wondering what mother nature was up to.The clear summer sky stared back at me. I raised my finger up to my face and that was when I realised that the water droplets were coming from my eyes, the gut wenching cries was from me. I craddled Elaine to my chest and let the sobs out, the tears cascading down my face in torrents. The sound of fur tearing, bones breaking and skin been ripped apart filled the air as more wolves fell. Few feet away from me, a black feral looking wolf tore into a brown wolf, its glowing yellow eyes looking merciless. The brown wolf, with a broken neck and lifeless blue eyes, fell down and convulsed and I watched with tears as he breathed his last, light leaving his eyes. A loud howl of pain and defeat rang out and I jumped up to my feet, refusing to believe my ears. I ran, my tears falling down my face in torrents as I navigated my way through fallen bodies and half dead wolves. I approached the training grounds and my eyes widened. He lay at an unnatural angle, his head completely severed from his body. His grey hair appeared white in the setting sun and his hazel eyes lacked life, still. The Alpha was dead. I screamed, my loud sobs getting even louder as I stood rooted to the ground. I hugged myself and cried for what was lost, what could not be, what was destroyed. I paused when a thought crossed my mind and I turned, taking off in the opposite direction. I ran, the hot and greasy summer air whipping through my hair. When I came in front of the pack house, my heart dropped even further, my puffy red eyes looking on. I pushed open the now destroyed gates and rushed in. I breezed past more fallen bodies, begging for it to not be true.Nothing was wrong with her.She was okay.She had to be okay. I ran for dear life but this time not for mine. When I rounded the corner after walking tearfully past winding hallways, I stopped. The sight in front of me was startling.Really startling. A figure sat crouched over something. The tensed back immediately let me know who it was and my heart beat picked up. I shuddered as I took steps forward, coming to stand in front of the bent shoulder. The figure shook, sniffing discreetly and I crouched down. I looked at the stiletto lying on the ground and I immediately recoiled back, the sight bringing fresh tears to my eyes. She lay, eyes wide. Her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Few metres from her feet, her organ for life lay, completely crushed.Her heart. I shook my head as I thought back to her usual smile, her cheerful bubbly attitude, her usual insistence that we had dinner as a family, her insistence that I call her by name.CelinaShe was gone.Our Luna was dead. Hot tears sprang to my eyes but I breathed in deeply. I had to be strong for him. I turned to him and placed my hands on his shoulder, despair rushing through me as I thought about all he had just lost. His shoulder immediately tensed beneath my quivering hands and he slowly turned to me.I shuddered. His hazel eyes looked red and puffy, trails of tears covering his pale, porcelain cheeks. What caught my attention though was his eyes. I had looked into those eyes numerous times to not know what I just saw in them.ReproachAngerPainBlame.Hatred All directed at me. Reality dawned on me as he turned away from me, too disgusted to keep staring at the face of his parents' murderer. I shrunk into myself when it all sunk in. Pack members had just lost their lives.His parents had just passed awayAnd it was all my fault.I was solely responsible.PHOENIXTWO YEARS LATER...I stood in front of the hospital ward, wriggling my fingers, my shot nerves present. My heart beat erratically, sounding like a mad drum under the hands of a drunk drummer. I trembled.I was beyond nervous. I bounced on my feet, my body convulsing with nerves as I breathed in deeply, trying to reign in my wandering thoughts. I began to count in my head, trying to calm my quivering nerves when a throat, clearing in the distance, snapped me out of my reverie. I turned to see sparkling sea blue eyes stare back at me.Dr. Ashley.She beamed at me, her eccentric deep blue eyes gleaming with undisguised ardor as she pulled me into her arms, her warm embrace. Her sumptuous strawberry fragrance enveloped me and I greedily breathed in deeply, putting an abrupt stop to my quivering nerves.She had that calming and soothing effect on people.'Phoenix! Good to see you. I take you are here to see Katerine' she said with a big smile on her face, the edges of her blue ey
PHOENIX The bell jingled as I stumbled into 'Nature's kitchen', my nerves picking up again. I gripped the edge of my graphic Tee, running the fabric through my quivering fingers to try steady my ever so wonky nerves. I bounced on my toes, my fingers wriggling in nervousness. My breath caught in my throat and I cleared my throat to steady my nerves. I began to count in my head, trying to focus on my breathing. I visibly sunk into myself as I looked around the almost full restaurant. I breathed in deeply and quickly gravitated towards the kitchen, my place of work. I had to quickly steady myself to avoid crashing face first on the ground when a pale leg shot out of nowhere, blocking my path. The culprit, Kyra.She stared at me, a perfectly trimmed eye brow raised.'You're late Phoenix' she drawled out, her rosy red lips quirked up in anger and I sunk further into myself. 'I..I had t-to see m-my mom' I murmured out, my ever so nervous stammer present. Kyra's cold blue eyes sparkl
PHOENIXTEN YEARS AGO... Eight year old me sat on the semi rusty swing, letting the cool spring breeze push me back and forth. I watched as other young pups bounced around the half full play ground while I chewed on my bottom lip, biting it in furious concentration. My fiery red hair was up in pigtails and I twisted the curls mercilessly in absolute nervousness. A hand grabbed mine, effectively stopping my muscular act and I raised my forest green eyes to see warm hazel ones looking down at me. I sunk into myself. The owner of the beautiful eyes sat down on a bench beside the swing and he turned to throw his dimpled smile at me.'I saw you sitting alone so I decided to keep you company' he muttered when I kept staring mercilessly at him. I shrugged.'I am Rain by the way' he continued when I didn't say a word. I shrugged again.He sighed deeply, running his chubby fingers through his coffee brown hair. I stared on. 'I am eleven' he pressed, wanting me to at least say something.
PHOENIX 'Nixy? Earth to Nixy!' someone whispered, sending cold shivers down my spine. I turned abruptly to see Caleb staring intently at me, his green eyes ablaze with worry.'Oh Caleb, I didn't see you there' I mused, subtly shaking my head to calm my racing thoughts.Caleb merely looked at me, his eyebrows sardonically raised.'scrubbing tables is not part of your job description' he mused, his raised brows daring me to deny it.'oh come on Caleb, I can handle it. Besides you have helped me more times than I can count. I owe it to you to help' I said trying to quickly finish up before he decided to grab the sponge off my soggy hands. Caleb merely gave a sigh of defeat, breathing in deeply.'okay then, do what you want. You can be stubborn when you want to be. I am heading out. Why don't we quickly grab dinner. It's my treat' he said. 'Sure Caleb. Let me just finish with this' It was past nine when I eventually arrived home. The shadows casted by the trees kept me company, oddly g
PHOENIX The mildly chilly spring breeze blew through the warm Californian air lighting up the evening sky in a beautiful array of colours. Birds chirped as the fragrance of different flowers assaulted the noses of passersby. Caleb and I on the other hand could barely appreciate this common beauty as we stood, nerves shot, anxiously preparing for the arrival of the rustless Alpha in all of the United states. I stood peering into the refrigerator, note pad in hand as I tried to organize the cuisine we would serve our short notice visitor. Beside me, Caleb stood bouncing on his feet, his nerves present. My own nerves picked up when the severity of the situation sunk in. I breathed in deeply, steadying my breathing before turning to Caleb and handing him the revised menu I just put together. He looked royally confused, his brows furrowing. I just shrugged. 'I made that keeping in mind the short time we have to fix everything up. We better get moving' I mused. Caleb nodded.* * *
PHOENIX'mate'The words kept reverberating through my head. Mate.Mate?Mate! It took me a moment to process what was really going on. I was beyond confused. I turned sharply to looked at Caleb, scared to let the truth sink in. Caleb turned to me, his green eyes narrowing slightly, silently imploring me to stay calm. He could tell I was on edge. My wolf was prancing and pacing around in my head, not helping at all, adding to my light headedness. My hands trembled, my stomach sinking with denial. I stumbled slightly and Caleb's pale hands quickly shot out to hold me, rubbing my back to soothe and calm me. I was getting really dizzy with fear and apprehension. The Alpha growled again. My heart rate picked up, dizzying beats resounding through my chest. Caleb squeezed my hands softly, knowing I was out of my mind with fear. I slowly started to back away, taking slow but purposeful steps backwards and before long, I was running towards the kitchen, making my quick get away.
JACKSON We had left my pack - the blood red pack- behind hours ago. My mom and sister were back at my pack but I wasn't the least bit worried. My third in command, my Gamma, was in charge till I came back and even though I wasn't sure when that would be, I knew I could trust him. I made sure I surrounded myself with only trusted people and I had prided myself in testing and proving their loyalty. I was currently in a car, travelling west to the 'Half crescent pack'. I had received invitations to negotiate business with them. The Alpha wanted us to form an alliance not just business wise but also in terms of defence so we could be able to conquer in war situations. Though it sounded really good, I know he would benefit from this much more than I would as my pack had well trained warriors. Who wouldn't want to work with my pack? My pack was basically invincible as no one would be brave enough to go against me, this reputation I earned after years of ruthlessness. I could ha
JACKSON'Mate' I looked up at my mate to see many emotions swirling in her eyes, prominent among them being fear.She was scared of me? She turned to look at Caleb and he looked back at her, shaking his head as if telling her to stay calm. She stumbled slightly and I rushed out of my seat. Caleb however walked up to her and held her hand, rubbing her back and my wolf lost it. I could feel my eyes change colour from their usual sea blue to yellow. My wolf was trying to take over and show everyone who my mate belonged to. I growled, this time louder. Caleb squeezed her hands and I could feel her heart beat pick up.Was she that scared of me?Was she aware of those rumours that named me ruthless? She slowly started to back away and my wolf became alert. Is she trying to leave me? My wolf whimpered at the thought. Before long, she ran back into the area she came from. I started to follow her when Caleb stood in front of me, blocking me. I growled at him but he didn't rele