Extinguishing Wildfire
Chapter 19: Taken

Noah

"Guys, I know you're excited, but stay close," I called out to my brothers as they ran out to the festival grounds.

"It's nice to see them so happy. How's it really going with them?" Gema laced our fingers together as we followed the twins.

"They really miss our parents. It's hard not knowing anything about them. Cosmo can still feel the connection with them, even if it is faint, so at least I know they're still alive."

"That's how Amora feels, too. I know I at least got to see my parents while I was over there, but I'm scared they'll hurt them now that they think I'm dead."

"We'll get that bastard, Gem. We have to keep believing that." She just nodded at me silently, but I could see that her eyes were glistening as she held back her tears.

"Can we get popcorn? And cotton candy? And funnel cake?" My brothers shouted at us from the direction of the food truck.

"Hold on guys, one thing at a time." I had been spending as much time as possible with them, helping with homework, having dinner, tucking them in each night, and sitting in on all of their training sessions. I didn't want them to miss our parents any more than they already did. I had also promised them today would be all about them, and Gema was doing her best to support me in taking care of the boys. I pulled her into me as we stood in line to get the snacks.

"Are you excited for our run tonight?"

"Yes, our first full moon together. We'll run, and then we can do the bonfire for a bit," She lowered her voice so no one would hear, "Then I'm taking you back to our room and having my way with you for the rest of the night."

"I like the sound of that." I leaned in for a kiss, but we were jolted apart by the sound of the alarm blaring out.

"Fuck! Get the boys to the safe room. I'll go replace Cristian and Jordan." Thankfully, she grabbed the twins and ran. I knew she was a great fighter, but I wanted her safe behind closed doors. There was no way I would risk her getting taken again.

"There you are, where's Gema?" Cristian quickly found me.

"She's with the boys, heading to the safe room." There was chaos around us as everyone hurriedly gathered the children and headed to the safe rooms just as we'd practiced two days ago.

The warriors stood at the ready, and Cristian and I joined their ranks as we heard the first growl. We expected the wolves to attack, but there was no movement. Gamma Isaiah had us keep the line steady, but as he approached the tree line, a canister was thrown in his direction. It exploded once it hit the ground, and two more canisters followed in different directions. The explosions made it hard to see as smoke rose into the air. Gamma Isaiah was still standing but looked down at his chest and pulled out what looked like a shard of copper. The air smelled almost minty and herbal.

"What the fuck, is that catnip?" Cristian sniffed the air, and I noticed that the few cats that were at the front line were on the ground. "Those bastards bombed us with copper and fucking catnip. They specifically targeted the cats, they must know the cats are helping us." Cristian clenched his fists in anger. A few warriors started moving the injured cats out of the way and directing the medical staff their way.

The smoke made it hard to see clearly, but more growls were heard, and I saw as the Frontline started shifting under the Gamma's orders. The first clash rang out with a mixture of yells, growls, and roars.

I tried contacting Jordan, but his link was shut off.

"Where's Jordan?"

Cristian shook his head, "His link's off, you think he's okay?"

I was about to answer when a tan wolf came our way. Cristian and I quickly shifted, not worrying about our clothes. We stood back to back and fought together. We stayed close, but I couldn't help the gnawing feeling that we needed to look for Jordan. I was distracted for a beat, and a brown wolf charged at me and knocked my side with its claws. Cristian quickly pulled them off me, clamping down on their neck and flinging them across from us where they landed unconscious.

As quickly as they arrived, the Wildfire wolves started to retreat. Harvest Moon warriors were left standing amidst a scattered sea of fallen and injured wolves.

We looked around, unsure of what we should do.

'Why did they leave?' Cristian looked around, and even in his wolf form, concern was evident on his face.

'I hate to say it, but they must have gotten what they came for.'

'Fuck! We need to replace Jordan.'

We ran, letting our wolves sniff out their Alpha. It was difficult to block out all of the extra sights and smells, but Cosmo pushed forward even more and we used all of our tracker skills.

'This way!' Cosmo led Ax west of the festival grounds, and I saw Ethan and Emma's wolves running that way as well. We followed them and came to a clearing where I saw an unconscious Jordan, bleeding out of his leg.

Cristian and I shifted almost immediately, not caring about our state of undress as we crouched down to check on our friend. "His pulse is weak, we need to get him to a doctor."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Emma and Ethan had also shifted, and Emma was shouting as she picked up a candy apple. Ethan came by and tossed us some clothes.

"They took Aaliyah. She and Jordan asked for a few minutes of privacy, and we didn't see the harm in it, but they took her. I already mind-linked a doctor for Jordan, and Alpha's on his way. We'll get those scratches looked at too."

"Thanks, man," We put on the shorts but used one of the shirts to try to stop the bleeding on Jordan's leg. My own scratches had already started healing.

Jordan was out cold, but he didn't seem to have hurt his head. After what seemed an eternity, Alpha came by with the doctor, and we were able to move Jordan to the clinic.

Alpha Kedrick

They took her, they took my sister. Marek was one step ahead of us and everything I tried to prevent this week was for nothing. It had taken all afternoon to clear the aftermath of the battle. We had plenty of injuries but somehow didn't lose any lives. The few dead wolves all belonged to Wildfire. Such a waste of young, healthy wolves.

Once the safe houses were cleared, Ellis joined me at the clinic to make sure everyone was cared for. Nora was kind enough to stay with Oren as there was a lot that needed to be done here. Five cats got it the worst as they were at the front. Wildfire attacked with copper, one of the cat shifters' weaknesses. They somehow knew the cats were working with us. That would be a matter for another time, though. I needed to see about Aaliyah first.

"Where's Alpha Jordan?" I stopped one of the nurses as she rushed by.

"Room 102, Alpha." I quickly made my way to him. Noah and Cristian were with him already, not having left his side since they found him unconscious.

"How is he?"

"Not good, he was injected with silver and wolfsbane, so he's not healing on his own. The doctor said his body is fighting it, and he should be clear of it in a few hours, but that still leaves him needing to heal from the wound on his leg."

"Why were he and Aaliyah by themselves? I told her to be careful!" I knew my anger was misplaced at Jordan, but I needed something to help me feel less agitated. The two of them looked at each other as if not wanting to say anything. "I already know the two of them have been hooking up, but they shouldn't have risked it." I slammed my hand on the wall.

"Kedrick" Ellis appeared in the doorway, "How about you and I make our rounds to some of the other patients? It'll help you calm down before you talk to Jordan." I couldn't deny she was right, so I let her lead me away from Jordan's room.

"How could they be so careless?"

"I know this is terrible, but you remember what it was like to be young. Go easy on him, once he wakes up and realizes she was taken, he'll be beating himself up more than you ever could." She rested her hand on my cheek, calming me with her touch. "Let's make our rounds and call your parents, then we'll make our way back."

We took the next few hours to check on everyone, even the Wildfire pack members. Three were left for dead, and two were alive but too injured to leave. We'd give them medical attention and then try to get more information from them once they woke up. I also went over to see my parents. I didn't want to hurt them, but I also couldn't keep the news of Aaliyah's kidnapping from them. My mother was distraught, but my dad went into Alpha mode and immediately wanted to help, which I agreed to as I was falling behind on regular pack matters because of this war.

We had canceled the pack run tonight and were now heading back to see Jordan. I was glad Ellis stopped me earlier as it gave me time to get my head on straight.

"You have to let me go! I have to replace her!" We heard the yelling from the hallway.

"Sounds like Jordan's awake." Ellis's eyes widened as she looked my way.

"Don't tell me to calm down! They took my mate! You'd act the same way if it were your mate who was kidnapped."

Did he just say his mate?

We opened the door to replace Cristian and Noah trying to keep Jordan on the bed as he yelled at them. His sisters were standing at the foot of his bed. The five of them froze as they sensed my presence.

"What did you just say?"

"No…nothing. I just need to help get Aaliyah back."

The anger that I had worked so hard to tamper down was coming back up again. "Let me try again. Why did you call my sister your mate?"

Jordan took a deep breath and looked away. He ran a hand through his hair before speaking again. "Aaliyah's my mate, my fated mate."

I moved over into the chair beside his bed, and I felt Ellis's hand on my shoulder. "Second chance…or...?"

His friends moved closer to him for moral support. "No, she's my first and only mate."

"Well, shit." I covered my mouth in surprise as everything clicked into place. My little sister was the mate who rejected Jordan.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ellis asked the question I couldn't as I was left speechless. "And are you together now?"

"I didn't want you to think poorly of her, and it was between us. We've been trying to work on things since she returned. We weren't meaning to lie or hurt anyone. There was just a lot to figure out."

"And now she's been taken. If she had just accepted you, she'd be marked and she wouldn't have been taken." Rainer was on emotional overload. He wanted to run straight to Wildfire and challenge the asshole who took Aaliyah.

The door suddenly burst open to reveal a breathless Isaiah. "I heard Jordan was awake. I got here as fast as I could." He paused to look around, "Alright guys, I know we're dealing with a lot, but why do you all look like your dog just died?"

"Oh, boy. Come on Gamma, you might want to sit for this." Jasmine, of all of us, pulled up a chair next to mine and patted it for my brother to sit on." He looked around confused but shuffled into the chair.

"What did I miss?" He eyed us all wearily, and we all looked at Jordan for him to explain.

"Aaliyah's my mate."

"What?....oh…that makes…wow…yeah, that checks out." He nodded his head slowly as everything sunk in.

"How are you so calm right now?" I turned to my brother, questioning his sanity.

"It's Aaliyah, she's always tried to do her own thing. It makes sense. There's no point in being mad at Jordan as he's the one who got screwed over, and Aaliyah's not here for me to be mad at." He shrugged and I sighed loudly.

"You're right." I rubbed at my face.

"So, how are we getting our girl back?" He crossed his arms and settled into his chair. It looks like we have a long night ahead of us.