Born in Fire

Chapter Twenty-Five

*Kalama*

I awoke with a groan, white hot pain shot through my temples, making me wince as I rolled over. Jagged stones dug into my skin and my body ached, as I slowly lifted myself into a sitting position and looked around. The gloom of the Silver Moon cells met my gaze. I groaned again, putting a hand on my stomach. The pup inside me remained still. I swallowed the lump in my throat, hoping that the little one was just resting instead of being affected by the wolfbane I felt flowing through my veins. I could feel the flames still. I held a hand out, a ball of fire quickly followed. Good. Ash may be cut off from me with the wolfsbane in my system, but I still had my fire. Maybe Elliot thought cutting her off would also cut off the flames. Let’s keep it that way. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened before ending up here. I had parked outside the territory, and walked the near hundred miles it took to get to the main gate. The gate had been opened and unmanned. I hadn’t made it very far into the yard when I’d heard the boom and felt the pinch of a needle. Elliot wasn’t taking any chances it seemed. A sound across the hall caught my attention. I slowly got up, careful not to anger the pain in my head and went over to the bars. “Hello.” I said, careful to keep my voice down. After a moment a figure came to the bars of the cell across from me. A male wolf leaned on the bars of his cell. His face, dirty and thin. His thinning hair was streaked with white and his once confidant shoulders now sagged.

“Greg?” My father’s Beta looked at me with defeat in his eyes.

“Thank the Goddess. Kalama, how are you? When they brought you in all limp, I thought the worse.”

“I’ve been better. Greg, what happened?” He looked at the floor.

“They came three, maybe four days ago now. We tried to fight them off, but they outnumbered us. It was a bloodbath.”

“My parents?” He shook his head.

“I haven’t seen them. They must be holding them in a different part of the house. Alpha Phillip is hurt, bad. I can feel it, but they’re both still alive.” The ball in my chest shrunk, allowing me to breathe a bit more.

“What about a pup, two years old. Brown hair, dark eyes?” He shook his head again.

“The only pups I saw were ours.” A loud bang echoed through the room. “Someone’s coming.” he said, shrinking back into the shadows of his cell. I did the same, sitting down in a far corner. Metal hit metal as something rapped against the cell bars, causing the wolves in the cells to whimper in fear. A she-wolf stopped in front of mine. A growl bubbled into my throat as Delilah leaned against the bars, a smug grin on her lips. I swallowed the growl, meeting her eyes.

“Look who we have here. The great Luna of Green Grove. Bullshit.” I remained silent. “What was it you called yourself? Fire Luna?” she laughed. “Let’s see your fire now, Bitch.” I pulled my knees up to my chest, making myself as small as I could. She laughed again, holding up the knife she must have rapped on the cell bars with. She looked at it lovely. I could feel the silver from here. “You know, I’d like to come in there and gut you right now.”

“Come try.” I spat, giving her a grin of my own. She chuckled.

“As much pleasure that would give me, Alpha Elliot wants you alive.” She shrugged. “It’s all the same to me really. With you out of the way, Caspian will be mine. And don’t worry, he won’t be thinking of you or that abomination inside your womb, not with all the fucking we’ll be doing.” A growl bubbled up my throat. Without thinking, I rushed the bars. She cackled. “Did I hit a nerve?” 

“Remember Delilah. You don’t get a third chance, I promised you that.” I let the venom drip off each word. Her face sombering. “And the Fire Luna always keeps her promise.” She was quiet for a moment, her own bubbling up her throat. The knife came up. I jumped back just in time to avoid a slash across my face.

“You’re nothing, but a freak. No one wants you.” She looked at Greg's cell. “Even your own pack threw to the first wolf they could. They probably celebrated after you left.” I kept my face blank, not wanting her to know how much her words stung. It’s not true. I told myself. Caspian wants you. With those words, she left. I settled back into my corner. I needed a plan.

*Caspian*

  The Goddess seemed to be smiling down on us as I pushed the gas pedal to the floor, pushing the car to go faster than its top speed of a hundred and forty miles an hour and not a patrol in sight. It was a several hour drive to the Silver Moon territory from Green Grove. John, Julie, and I had jumped into the first available car. Ben and a full load of Warriors followed close behind. Neal led the rest of the Warriors through the trees in their wolf forms, with any hope they would arrive not long after us. A silver dot came into view a few yards up the road. I stepped on the brakes, the car skidding to a stop. I got out. The car was empty but Kalama’s scent was all over it. “They didn’t get her first did they.” Julie asked, worry on her face. John had wanted her to stay in Green Grove with Grace and the Omegas, but she wouldn’t have it. The fight had died before it really got anywhere, no way were we gonna step between Julie and her pup.

“No, they didn’t.” I inhaled, following the scent up the road a ways. “She must have gone on foot.” I looked at the trees. “And so are we.” I immediately called Bay. He answered without hesitation. I looked through his eyes at John’s large brown wolf and Julie’s tan wolf, Jade. Bay lifted his head and howled, telling his mate he was coming, before taking off at a full gallop through the trees.

*Kamala*

It had been hours since Delilah had come down to the cells. A few Omegas had been down to throw stale bread between the cell bars. It had taken a single sniff to realize that the bread had been soaked in wolfsbane. I’d crumbled it and thrown it around the cell, then I told Greg. He passed it to the others through the pack mind-link. I reached for Ash. She was there, but weak. The wolfsbane they had dosed me with earlier had been burned out, the flames that ran through me proving too much for the poison. Though it had still affected her. “It’s okay, Ash. Rest.” She had been the one to save me from Evan. It’d been her that had found the fire that rested deep inside me. It’d been her to unleash it that day, burning Black Creek to the ground, taking Evan with it. 

“You were so full of fear then.” Ash croaked. I hushed her, trying to get her to save her energy. “Fear of him. Fear of what you could do, what you were.”

“We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, huh?” She gave a small chuckle.

“That we have. And don’t worry about the pups.” She went quiet, leaving me with the question of pups. I pushed it to the back of my mind. It’d me who’d save us today, but first I needed to get out of here. I got up slowly, going to the bars and whispering, 

“Greg?” It took a moment, but he slowly made his way, leaning heavy on the bars of his cell. “What time do you think it is?” He shrugged.

“You missed the first two rounds of bread, so I would say around seven o’clock. Why?”

“How many guards do you think are outside the Cell door?” He shrugged again.

“I’ve only ever seen two. Do you have a plan?”

“Depends. You still have some fight left in you?” He puffed his chest out as an answer. I smiled. It was about to get very hot in here.

It took longer to melt the bars on the cells than I thought it would. Aside from Beta Greg, the other cells had held Omegas. I hoped they had enough fight in them. I swallowed as Greg and I got on either side of the door. I looked at him, he nodded the go ahead and I banged hard on the remaining cell bars. A voice on the other side of the door yelled. I continued. The yelling grew closer and then the click of the lock sounded and the door swung open. “I said keep…” The guard went quiet, his eyes landing on a small Omega. She stood in the middle of the aisle. Her small frame shrunk, fear and determination mixing in her eyes. “How did you get out.” he growled. He lunged for her, but Greg was quicker. He grabbed the guard by the throat. There was a sickening snap and the guard slumped to the floor, his head now at an unnatural angle. I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat and looked at everyone.

“When we get up there, all hell is going to break loose. Fight if you can, otherwise run for the trees. Shift if you can and run.”

“But what about you Luna?” an Omega male asked. The sound of my title coming from someone who had probably disrespected and humiliated me my whole childhood made me stop. I ignored the strange feeling, turning to him.

“I’m going to stop Elloit Haynes.”