Extinguishing Wildfire
Chapter 29: One Week

Alpha Kedrick

I had been trying to catch up on paperwork the entire morning. Gabriel had taken over a lot of that as this war got closer and I got busier with other duties, but there were still some things I had to do on my own. My head was starting to hurt, and I hadn’t slept well the previous night. There was just a lot to do before we headed to Wildfire.

My phone rang, catching me off guard as I was hyper-focused on my current task. “Hello.”

“Alpha Kedrick, it’s me, Larkin,” I answered without even checking the caller ID, so I perked up as soon as he said who he was. He sounded almost breathless like he was in a rush.

“How’s my sister doing?”

“She’s still okay, but I’m actually calling about something else…something involving my sister.”

“Sure, how can I be of service to you?”

“I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll get right to it. My father is intent on marrying off my sister. He has arranged for two suitors to come next week and told my sister she will be leaving with one of them regardless of how things go. I can’t let that happen. I’ll be issuing a challenge against my father before the suitors arrive. I’d rather do it with the support of the other packs behind me, but I understand if that’s not possible. It’s the only way to help my sister.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear as I sighed deeply. I had a feeling things would come to this, but I thought we’d have at least until the end of the month. We had just started training with all the species together and were making good progress, but getting everyone battle-ready wasn’t going to happen overnight. I understood his dilemma though. This would just mean that we’d have to move up the battle.

“We had plans to start heading to California, but we’re still trying to figure out how to breach your borders. We were able to do it with just one, but I don’t know how we’ll do it with so many of us. If you can help get us in, I can get my people there by next week.” I was making a promise I was sure I could keep, but were we really ready for this?

“Done, I’ll call you back in a couple of days. I’ll have something for you.” He sounded more sure of himself than the last time we had spoken. He’s either gained confidence or finally realized he has something worth fighting for.

“Hey,” I had just set my phone down when Ellis walked in.

“Did I let my walls down again?” I had been really anxious lately, so I had been keeping my walls up to avoid having Ellis deal with my emotions with me. I didn’t want to worry her with all of my stress. It seems I forgot to keep my walls up just now, though, as she was here now checking up on me. She came up behind me and started running her fingers through my hair, rubbing at my scalp. I’d always found this soothing, and she seemed to know exactly what I was needing right now.

“You have done an amazing job bringing all of these packs and shifters together. I’m so proud of you. I know everything hasn’t worked out as expected, but we’ll get Aaliyah back safely and then everything will be better without Wildfire in the picture.”

“Come here,” I grabbed her hand and led her around my chair and into my lap. “How is it that you always know exactly what I need to hear?”

“That would be the mate bond.” She laughed and leaned her forehead against mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist, taking all the comfort she could give.

“I just got a call from Alpha Larkin. We need this battle to happen within the week.” Ellis stiffened just enough for me to notice, but she recovered quickly.

“We’ll be ready…you’ll be ready, Alpha.” Her confidence in me was the morale boost I needed… as she said, I’d be ready.

Jordan

Unlike the last few days, we had a good training session today. It seems everyone is finally starting to get what we’re doing here, either that or it’s finally sinking in that this battle is only a few days away from happening.

The atmosphere around the pack house has gone from tense with the bear fox drama to anxious with us actually going to war soon. In other words, shit’s getting real and we all feel the pressure.

“Hey guys, before you head up to bed, can you meet me in my office for a few minutes?” Alpha stopped by our table as we were finishing up dinner, so we let our siblings head up to start preparing for bed and headed to talk to him.

Considering everything going on, our siblings had been doing great. School was still on for the kids as we were trying to keep things as normal as possible, but I could see my sisters struggling to stay on task. I really needed to talk to them before we left for Wildfire, make sure they were okay with all of this.

“Thanks for coming guys, I just wanted to catch you up. We finally heard back from Alpha Dawson. Yugen Vale will house us and help us head North, while Mistwood takes care of the Northern packs. Frost Fang and Riversong have already made plans to head out tomorrow. Luna Beatrix said she wants to start training with Alpha Dawson’s pack. Frost Fang, on the other hand, will take a few days to get there from Minnesota. They aren’t sending many wolves, but they are sending some of their strongest. Olivia has also informed her cats to make their way to Wildfire. They’ll start scouting the area, and Alpha Larkin will call me soon with some intel on how we can infiltrate the pack.”

“What about us?” I was curious to replace out when we’d head out. I knew this had to happen, but I was starting to get nervous about leaving my sisters.

“Alpha Tate and his guys arrive tomorrow along with some wolves from the Sandstone pack in New Mexico. Once they arrive, we’ll start heading out in waves.” We were quiet for a moment, and I could see Cristian and Noah were both deep in thought.

“Which ranked members are staying behind?”

“Beta Gabriel, Clara, and Ellis will be staying. Ellis wanted to go, but we both agreed someone needed to stay with Oren. I had also thought maybe Nora would stay, but she wants to be there for her mate. Her fighting has improved, but she’s still not battle-ready, so she’s agreed to stay back with the medical crew.” Alpha kept pausing between his words like he was expecting us to say something, but the three of us just took in his words. There really wasn’t much to say, and it all felt like a heavy weight on my shoulders.

“We’ll attack no later than a week from today.”

A week…in a week things would be different again. I could only hope they’d be a good different, with me back in my pack with my mate by my side.

“Keep up the good work, I’ll let you guys know more about our travel schedule tomorrow.”

“Alright, thanks Alpha.”

We headed out and Noah went upstairs to talk to Gema. Cristian also followed upstairs, most likely to go hook up with Evie. I decided to let Neo out for a run. He was agitated and needed to run, so I gave him full control. He went all the way to the pack border and back at top speed. His usually calm demeanor was taken over by a mixture of sadness and rage. He wasn’t talking, but I could feel every emotion.

‘We’ll get our girl back. One week and she’ll be back in our arms.’ He only whines in response, but I know he’s ready for this battle.

As I walked back into the packhouse, I saw Jade waving to that little cat punk, Alejandro, as she headed upstairs. They had still been hanging out a lot and seemed to have gotten really close.

“Hey,” I called out to Alex as he started to head out.

“Alpha Jordan,” His eyes widened and I heard his heart rate speed up.

“Do you have a sec?”

“Umm…sure.” He put his hands in his pockets, looking unsure of himself.

“Let’s sit,” I led him over to one of the couches in the main common area. Most people were already in their rooms for bed, so it was quiet. “You and Jade have gotten really close, and while I don’t like you kissing up on my baby sister, I’m glad she’s made a friend.” He swallowed hard, waiting to see what else I’d say, “We’ll be heading out for war in the next few days, so Jade may need a friend more than usual while I’m gone. She tends to push her feelings and needs aside for others, especially Jasmine. Can you be there for her if she needs someone?”

“Yeah…yeah, I can do that. She’s my best friend. I’ll be there for her, always.” His nerves vanished as soon as he realized I wasn’t out to get him. I stood up, indicating this conversation was over.

“Thanks…I know she cares about you, too…so don’t ever hurt her.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” With that, I nodded at the kid, and we went our separate ways. He was a good kid, he just made my big brother instinct kick in.

Cristian

I headed upstairs wanting to be alone for now. One week, I had one week before I’d see my parents again. I missed my mom, but I wasn’t sure what I felt about my dad. He betrayed us, leaving Gema to Wildfire, and I wasn’t sure how to get over that. Ax felt nothing but hot rage whenever he thought about our father, and I could feel those feelings slowly taking over. Even letting him out for runs wasn’t helping anymore. The only time he seemed to quiet down was when I was with Evie, but that was because he didn’t like that I messed around with her, so he’d retreat to the back of my mind whenever she came.

I was tired of her, but I also liked the break from the frustration and anger that I got when she was around. I had to admit that the sex wasn’t really all that great though. There were no feelings involved whatsoever, no passion. It was just rutting for the sake of rutting, and if Evie thought what we had was good, then she must have been with some shitty guys before me.

She’d made it clear a few times that she wanted more from me, an actual relationship. At first, I made it clear that what we had was just sex, but lately, I hadn’t been saying much of anything when she’d bring up us being a couple. I didn’t have the energy to push her away anymore, but I also didn’t have the energy to be anyone's boyfriend.

I play a tough game, but I still want my mate. My parents were good to each other, and Noah and Jordan’s parents were as well, so I grew up seeing happy mated couples. I’d be crazy not to want the same, a beautiful mate with a couple of kids. That’s always been my dream, but maybe I’m too messed up to deserve that right now.

I was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling when the knock came. I got up and let Evie in, knowing I’d regret it all again in the morning, but also knowing she was my only form of comfort for now.