Cold Flames

Exposed and Hurt.25.

.November.

The Pack members were worried, I was worried, Chloe was worried, and Miss Iris was worried. Everyone was worried.

No one really noticed me this time when we were ushered into the Pack House by some guards and I was thankful for that. There was a hushed silence in the hall where almost all one thousand members were and I hated the atmosphere and how tense everyone was. It reminded me so much of the base thirteen years ago except that day had been a hundred times worse than this.

Suddenly, amidst all the anxious whispers, a distraught scream pierced the air and people scrambled to the corner where a teenage girl was frantic, clutching at her chest. Tears were streaming down her face and Pack members were trying to calm her down but she was pushing everyone who got close away. I was honestly scared. I hadn't ever seen anyone behave this way before.

"Wh-what's going o-on?" I whispered to no one in particular.

Miss Iris was wiping at her tears with a handkerchief, "Bless that child. Her mate just died."

I gasped and suddenly, it all made sense. They had probably already marked each other so she could feel his pain. Their bond was broken. She had felt him die.

All this while, all I had been worrying about was how uncomfortable I was to be in this type of choking setting again. Sadly, Hunter hadn't crossed my mind once. I had been too busy with my own thoughts about myself but when I thought about it, I was more than worried for him. What if he came back without an arm? Worse, what if he didn't come back at all?!

I could feel my throat getting clogged up and I knew that if I wasn't careful, I could have a panic attack right then and there.

The girl at the end of the room was clawing at her neck now, screaming horrifically over the frantic crowd and a few bold ones were trying to restrain her but she was in too much pain to notice, large sobs racking through her body. She didn't look to be any more than fifteen years old.

Wails of mourning filled the air and a few tears slipped from my eyes in pity. Chloe was clutching tightly to my hand and when I looked down at her, I saw that tears were running down her face as well. She pressed herself to my side and I rubbed her back through her thick sweater to try and calm her down.

This was all too horrible. The familiarity of this to back then, a few minutes before my parents died was so shockingly similar, I couldn't help but hyperventilate. But I caught a hold of myself. I had to be strong for Chloe, Miss Iris and most importantly, Hunter.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

The girl and a few family members were escorted upstairs and the door shot open. Everyone in the hall, including myself pushed forward to see what was going on. The first person to come in was a warrior I didn't recognize. He looked fine, only a little bloody in a few places and he only had on pair of shorts.

A man at the back screamed out his name, "Wyatt!" and rushed at him. They must have been brothers. Behind him followed a man leaning on a fellow warrior and a few women rushed to their aid. That was how they filed in, cheers of celebration accompanied most and a few were escorted to the infirmary. My heart had settled a while ago and now I was just patiently waiting for Hunter to walk through the doors. And then the worst thing happened...the door was shut.

No! That couldn't be all. Where was he? And Jace and Cooper? I half wanted to look in the crowd for Gracie or Analaise for some sort of comfort but there were just too many people. The other half of me wanted to roll up in a ball and cry.

Chloe tugged at the sleeve of my jumper as though now noticing like me that Hunter wasn't present and I picked her up, wiping at her tears while she buried her face into my neck. We stood silent in the sea of celebrators and from the corner of my eye, I noticed the Wyatt man move towards us.