Extinguishing Wildfire
Chapter 21: At Wildfire

Aaliyah

I woke to the smell of food, but I was unable to open my eyes as it felt too bright around me. I called out to Hope but was met with silence and a feeling of emptiness.

“I’ve brought you something to eat. The doctor said you should be waking up soon,” something cool was swiped across my forehead startling me. My eyes popped open, and I winced at the light. It was still daytime, but it looked to be later in the day.

“You’re awake.” A blonde girl sat next to me, holding a wet washcloth. I looked around me, not recognizing the room.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me. I’m Rory. Are you hungry? I’ve brought you some soup.” She walked over to a table and picked up a tray. I sat myself up, and let her set the food next to me.

“I know you must be confused, I’ll answer any questions you have.” The girl seemed nice, but a part of me was apprehensive about trusting her.

“Where am I?”

She sighed deeply and sat back down before speaking, “You’re in the Wildfire pack. My father attacked your pack and had you brought here to our pack.

Fuck! My mind swirled with questions. Alpha Marek got to us. Wait, did she say her father?

“Who is your father?”

“He’s Alpha Marek Novak. He brought you here so that you could be my brother’s mate.”

“That won’t be happening. I won’t mate with some stranger, besides I already have a mate.” I attempted to move out of bed but she helped catch me as I stumbled. Jordan, I needed to get back to him. I had finally decided to accept him and now we’re pulled apart. Did they have to hurt him to get to me?

“You’re still weak. Let me finish explaining everything while you eat something.” She helped me sit up and pushed the food closer to me. It smelled wonderful and my stomach growled, so I picked up the spoon and started to eat.

“My father is the one who wants you to mate with my brother. He believes a strong mate will produce strong pups, but my brother has already found his fated mate and he wants to be with her. My father doesn’t like my brother’s mate as she was an omega here before she escaped to your pack.”

“Nora?”

“Yes, Nora. We disagree with my father’s plans, and we will do everything to keep you safe. My brother is off-pack for a few hours, but as soon as he returns, we’ll contact your brother. Please believe me that we are on your side.”

“My brother isn’t hurt?” Wildfire decimated every pack they attacked. Did they really leave Harvest Moon standing?

“No, for the most part, your pack is fine. Wildfire launched an attack but pulled back as soon as they had you. My father must think your pack is too strong to take on completely, at least for now.”

I continued to eat silently as she spoke. I tried calling out to Hope again but got nothing.

“What did you do to my wolf?”

“Your wolf? Is she not with you?”

I shouldn’t have said anything, now she’d know I was vulnerable without my wolf.

“You were injected with wolfsbane, you must still have some in your system.”

“How long have I been here?”

“It’s been a little over a day. You were unconscious, so they brought you here to my brother’s room. I’m meant to stay here and let them know when you wake up. They also have a guard posted outside.”

“Are you a prisoner too then?” Sarcasm dripped from my words, but she looked down at her hands and just lightly shrugged her shoulders. We didn’t get to say more as the door suddenly opened to reveal a man. He was tall with the same blonde hair as Rory. This must be her brother.

“You’re back!” She stood and greeted him with a hug. The man turned to me with a forced smile. “I’m Larkin, you must be Aaliyah.” He held out a hand for me to shake, which I hesitantly accepted.

A sharp pain pierced my head, and I grabbed at my forehead. A flash of Hope’s light brown fur went through my mind, it was like she was trying to communicate with me but couldn’t quite get there.

“Are you alright?” Rory came and sat by me again. “Is it your wolf? Our doctor said it might hurt as your wolf woke back up from the wolfsbane.” I simply nodded, not wanting to use my voice.

“Did my sister explain everything to you?” I nodded slowly, “Good, as soon as James gets here, we’ll call your brother. He’s the next guard on rotation so it’ll be the perfect time. It’s not likely anyone can hear through the door, but we don’t want to risk it.

I finished eating my meal as Rory continued to sit next to me and Larkin paced the room.

“Do you know Nora?” He looked at me with hopeful eyes.

“A little, we haven’t really talked much, but she’s close with my nephew and sister-in-law.”

“Is she doing okay?” While his voice was clear and strong, his eyes betrayed his emotions and right now, his eyes looked sad.

“My sister-in-law has taken her under her wing. She’s teaching her everything about being a Luna, and they’ve gotten really close. She’s also started training, doing one-on-one work with Ellis.”

This time, his eyes lit up with wonder. He hadn’t said it, but I could see the love he had for Nora clearly reflected in his smile. “She’s doing well, then. I can’t thank your brother enough for taking her in and helping her get out of here.” For the first time since I got here, I felt safe to let my guard down. His expression said it all, and I felt certain these two people wouldn’t hurt me and weren’t part of the problem.

After a short while, Larkin resumed his pacing. “My father is going to want to see you as soon as you wake up…or as soon as we tell him you’ve woken up. The best thing you can do is play along with what he wants. He’ll want us to mate at the next full moon but don’t worry, we won’t let that happen.” He sighed so deeply that it sounded like he had been tired for ages. Looking at his slumped shoulders, I realized that he probably had been tired for a long time now. It made me grateful for my own parents and family. What had these two experienced while living with Alpha Marek?

A knock at the front door sounded out, and Larkin left to open it. I heard another male voice before I saw a new man come into the room. The man next to Larkin was just as tall as him but had brown hair.

“This is James,” Larkin pointed to the brown-haired man, “He’ll be standing guard outside for the next few hours. James extended his hand for me to shake and smiled at me.

“Alright, here’s my phone, I’ll be right outside. I’ll knock if anyone approaches.” James walked out, leaving us with his phone. Larkin must have seen my confused expression as he turned to me, “Our father tracks our calls, so we have to use James’s phone.” I nodded in understanding. Now I know why Rory didn’t say anything when I asked if she was also a prisoner here. It seems that Rory and Larkin are both prisoners in their own home.

“I’ll go to the living room, that way I can hear if James knocks.” Rory stepped out leaving me and Larkin alone to make the call. The line rang twice with no answer and I started getting nervous that Kedrick wouldn’t pick up. A third and fourth ring passed, and still no answer. Finally, at the start of the fifth ring, the line clicked on.

“Hello,” The frantic sound of my brother’s voice sounded out, and relief washed over me.

“Alpha Kedrick, it’s me, Larkin.”

“Thank Goddess, I’ve been waiting for you to call. How’s my sister?”

“She’s good, Alpha...safe.”

“Not sure how safe anyone can be in your pack, but I’ll take her being uninjured for now.”

“She was given wolfsbane and woke up only an hour or so ago. There are no injuries but we’re waiting for her wolf to wake up. My father will want to see her soon. Right now we’re stalling as we haven’t let him know she’s awake yet.”

“Do you know what his plans for her are yet?”

“He hasn’t said anything to me, but I’m sure he’ll want us mated by the next full moon.”

“That doesn’t give us much time then. I need to speak with Olivia, but I’m certain we’ll need to move up the attack. Your father didn’t completely destroy our pack, that only tells me he’ll likely return to finish the job soon. We’ve also discovered that a traitor is working against us. Do you know of anyone who might be working with your father? At this point, it could be a fox, bear, or wolf. I suspect it’s someone on the Council or someone close to someone on the Council.”

“I’m not privy to all of my father’s business, but I can give you the pack numbers, his office, cell phone, and Beta’s cell phone. Are you able to get any information with that?”

“That would be helpful. I don’t know if we’ll get anything out of it, but I can have my tech crew look into it.”

“Will you let me know if they replace anything?”

“Of course. Would you mind if I spoke with my sister for a few minutes?”

Larkin passed the phone my way as he looked through his phone for the phone numbers.

“K,” I didn’t mean to start crying, but tears rolled down my cheeks as soon as I spoke into the phone.

“Liyah, don’t worry baby sis, we’re working to get you back home. We’ll move the attack up if need be, but we’ll get you back safe. That bastard can’t force you into mating with anyone. We’ll have you back to your mate in no time.”

“Alright, I trust you, K. I’m safe for now, so don’t worry too much about me, and…wait, did you say have me back to my mate?”

“Yeah, to Jordan. We all know he’s your mate now. I overheard him, so don’t think he told everyone your secret. I have a few things to say about that but now’s not the right time. For now, just know that Jordan will move heaven and earth to get you back.”

“How is he?”

Kedrick sighed on his end of the line, “He’s good, those bastards injected him with silver, and one bit his leg, but he’s healing. He mostly just misses you.” I felt another twinge in my head and saw another flash of Hope at those words.

“Tell Jordan I miss him, too.”

“I will. Stay safe over there. Gema says you need to play along with Alpha Marek and stay away from the Beta. Please don’t be stubborn about this Liyah. We’re trying to get you out safely, but you have to work with us.” I could hear the desperation in my brother’s voice.

“That’s what they told me to do here, too. I’ll play along with whatever he wants, K.”

“Thank you. I have to go now, but pass me back to Alpha Larkin so that I can get those numbers.”

I said my goodbyes and passed back the phone. As much as I hated being here, I still felt a weird giddy feeling at knowing that Jordan missed me.

‘Liyah’ Hope’s voice sounded out in my head, she sounded weak and tired.

‘Hope, you’re back! Are you okay?’

‘It was just really dark and then I got flashes of you, but I couldn’t reach you until now.’

‘They gave us wolfsbane.’

‘That makes sense. I can’t sense Neo. Do you know if he’s okay?’

‘He’s okay, they’ll get us back home, Hope.’

“Hey,” Larkin cut into my thoughts, “We’ll call your brother again next time we’re able to. For now, just try to get some rest. I won’t let my father know you’re awake until morning, but I can’t stall him any more than that. I’ll send my sister back in to stay with you until you get tired. She usually sleeps in here, and I stay on the couch but we’ll both bunk out in the living room for the time being.” With that, he left, and I settled back down to rest for the evening.