Until Elliot-Marie

Chapter 4

"Dominic, hey dude," Torin tried to get my attention, "you okay?"

I nodded but didn't say a word. In my hands was the ring I had in memory of her.

It went everywhere with me and stayed around my right ring finger. It wasn't very elaborately designed, just a simple silver band with Elliot's name engraved on the inside, but it meant the world to me.

"What is the first thing you would do if you could go back in time?" I asked anyone who could hear me.

Torin looked surprised but covered it up immediately. "I would try and find one of my past lives and figure out what my mate looks like so I could save her before she was killed. What about you?"

"I would go back in time and tell my 14 year old self to find her body or look for her. It is all my fault what happened to her. I just couldn't even believe how anyone would manage to get off the third floor."

I sat in the front row by myself. All of my family's close friends sat behind me along with the entire pack. Including the Alpha King.

Any day but today I would feel special and honored to sit in front of the great Alpha King Torin Black. Today it just felt like pity.

Today I was a 14 year old sisterless orphan with no family to go to mourning the death of the family I once had. And I was put front and center because I was the only Clarke left.

"This week has been a sad week for everyone who has ever known the Clarke family. Oliver Clarke had been born into a family of poorness and had built a company up from nothing. Oliver met Jennifer McCanter on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. They just happened to be mates. Fast forward 5 years of constant love and they became parents together. Oliver pledged six million dollars to local food banks and homeless shelters in honor of his first born son. Dominic, who lives before us today, is the heir to a fortune that has been half given away to those same charities. After eight years of not being able to conceive another child, Oliver and Jenny were giving up with their dream of a big family. They, however, had their second child on April 13, six years ago. Elliot-Marie Diana Clarke. She was born premature after Jenny was pushed down a flight of stairs before a major company meeting." The newscaster read. It was the only thing on TV and I found it relaxing to correct them on everything about it.

"The two Clark siblings spent every hour of everyday together except for on the dreadful day of April 11. Neighbors report hearing Dominic and Elliot playing outside like they normally did on nice days. Because Elliot lost her wolf after nearly drowning at age two, she was sensitive to the cold. She would often go inside to grab a blanket to keep her warm. On April 11 around 1:25, the six year old went back inside to grab a blanket. At 1:28, a 911 call was made by neighbor Alexis Hearter saying "it's in flames and the family's inside." Hearter later states that she heard the screams of Elliot as she became trapped inside her bedroom. Firemen report the entire 3rd floor staircase had caved in and it was impossible to go up any higher. At 1:47, 14 year old Dominic declares his family gone. 1:52 all firefighters and both deceased parents are out of the house when the 4 story mansion caves in. Elliot's body is never recovered." They finish the depressing timeline and turn to a panel of people.

"It has to be heartbreaking to feel your entire family burn to death." One of them say.

"Especially with how close the two kids were. We approached the Clarke's pack and they could feel the parents pain but not Elliot's. Dominic was the only one to feel it because she was not an official pack member."

"Here we have a clip from the funeral showing a special guest appearance by none other than Alpha King Torin Black himself. He had become a friend of the family after the 1990 New Year's celebration."

"That was the party Oliver announced an entire 8 million towards the Jackson fondation which was very heavily supported by the king himself."

"Going back to the fire, is there any reports on how it started?"

"A gasoline can and a lighter was found in a trashcan at the end of the Clarke's driveway. Someone wanted the Clarkes dead. Oliver had filed a few reports of threatening notes but he had hired some security that it wasn't an issue."

I finally decided to shut the TV off and just lay in my new bed. After the funeral last week, I was approached by King Torin's Gamma. He offered me a room until I was able to live on my own. I couldn't not accept it so I was now living in the Blackwood Castle.
.

The doctor told us she was awake and I lead Dominic into the room.

We walked in and a nurse was trying to get Elliot's attention. Our footsteps, however, scared her and she jumped.

Her eyes met Dominic and the entire world froze. "Elly? Do you remember me? I know you were only six." He crouched down beside her and I let them talk for a little bit.

Elliot's responses were silent and even I could barely hear them.

Dominic

There she was. In front of me is the one family member I have left. She was still a lot shorter than I am and still curled up as much as she could in a ball like she used to do when she slept.

"Elly?" Her head shot up at the sound of her name with a shocked expression. "Do you remember me? I know you were only six."

...