Book 2 of the Spark series
Caius Volturi and Adolpha Blackwood knew pain, and now they would fight to finally find some Love- if only a rival wolf pack didn't get it the way and ruin it all first.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Adolpha Blackwood laughed as she sat beside her brother at the table in the bar, they were going on something of a drinking spree of Volterra- making their way through each of the bars. There were only five of them, nothing near their usual party sizes but they were perhaps having more fun than usual. After a talking to from Aro, they had been allowed to go unaccompanied and they were now grinning and chugging their drinks.
"Pace yourself, Kids." Kurt laughed, arriving with a black tray to place on the table calmly. "The night is still young." and they each took a glass. For Adolpha, even though they had done nothing extravagant- it had been the best birthday she'd ever had. The day with Caius had been better than she had ever expected, and all they did was walk around town together. It gave her the confidence to believe that their relationship was going to be incredible- once it officially started.
"You in, Dol?" Conri questioned and his little sister turned around to see him stood beside the pool table with a big grin split across his cheeks. She was quick to join his side- the two of them content in each others company as they played the game that she knew he would win for certain. He had a certain skill for it. "How was your day with the sparkly king?"
"It was... So much better than I thought. We just... talked and it felt so normal" she frowned as she watched him pot two balls in a row easily.
"I'm so happy for you, Dolpha. You know that, don't you? This is all I have ever wanted for you, for you to be as happy as possible." he smiled, a bright flashing grin that couldn't fail to make her return one, incredibly happy as she took her turn.
"I know, Con. I'm really happy for you and Lou too. I love you, you know that." she pestered and he chuckled, playfully nudging her into a hug and she rolled her eyes as she patted his back.
"Love you too, baby sister. But don't think for a second that that is going to make me go easy on you. I am the pool king" he winked as his turn came around as she laughed as she paced the table, assessing the scattering of multicoloured balls that spread across the felt.
It had undoubtedly been one of her best days ever; the warmth of the Italian air, even in its winter, the bright elation of the pack despite the prospect of war with the Crescents. It was brilliant, familiar warmth that brought the shimmering grin to her lips as she unexpectedly potted her first ball and laughed to herself in slight excitement at the sight. It had definitely just been a happy accident but she was overjoyed with it as she looked up into the eyes of Conri who laughed at her own excitement.
And then the happiness was sliced with a knife.
Or rather, a bullet. The sound was shuddering and startling, bullets slapping through the air viciously and the screeches of the general public that followed afterwards. Everything seemed to crumble down around her ears and the bar, which to Adolpha had once been a warm excited glow, was now an eery dark. All sound seemed heard through water to her for a long startling moment and tight warm arms were around her suffocatingly, dragging her down quickly.
It was when the initial shock of it all had simmered away, her wolf instincts kicking in that she could finally pay attention to the world around her. Though the newfound acknowledgement would bring no peace. Conri had performed an Olympic worthy long jump and dragged Lou down behind the bar, Kurt retreating with him. And the suffocating arms belonged to Chann who was watching her with a scattered, terrified expression from their very unsafe position crouched behind the pool table.
"It's the fucking Crescents" Chann hollered to their Alpha as the bullets continued to ring out and Adolpha realised with a strange absentminded calm that the public had swiftly evacuated; effortlessly passing the gunmen who had eyes for only five people. It was in that moment, as they all stared death in the face and their chests heaved in heavy terror- that they realised their own mistake.
The Crescents had built up the courage to attack the human way, in their weakest forms. But they had clearly won.
"They've got fucking guns." Kurt whimpered, eyes peering around the edge of the bar as he scanned the area before swiftly yelping in shock, rather girlishly and ducking back around the corner when a bullet narrowly avoided his head.
"No shit Sherlock" Lou rolled her eyes, searching the area of anything that could be of even slight use in this situation.
"What do we do?" Chann demanded, pulling Adolpha impossibly closer to him in their unsafe position.
"Fucking Improvise." The voice of Conri grunted through his teeth and Adolpha's eyes whipped around to face the bar- though she could not see the people hiding behind it.
"Con?" she hollered, the bullets still very much swimming in the air at even the chance of hitting one of them. They didn't know how many gunmen there were, but they were completely unfamiliar with any protocol to do at that moment as they waited in panic.
"Con? Conri?!" Lou's panicked voice sliced through Adolpha before she even had the chance to comprehend what was happening. "Dolpha! They hit him. They shot him"
