Nefarious

Chapter 38

Her eyes glisten with fury, leaving me to reminisce of my first day in Aacanon.

In the form of a lean, tall wolf with honey blonde fur, she had immediately expressed her distaste with warningful gowls and spiteful glares. The ethereal, golden eyes she carried as a wolf remain in her human form as they're framed with dark lashes and thick brows.

"With all due respect Alpha, how can you let some of our pack, and even your own son, run off to fight in someone else's war?" she bites out, fists balling tightly at her sides.

Alpha Gage's eyes harden at the mention of his son. "It is their choice, Sabrina. I won't force any of them to stay, just as much as I won't force anyone to fight."

Sabrina growls lowly, luminescent, lemon colored eyes brightening as she steps closer to me.

"Are we just going to forget all that she's done?" she sneers, eyes narrowing on my face. "Besides everything that happened with Aiden and Ezekial, she's now dragged us in the middle of some angelic war. And because of her, we're left with one dead pack member, about twenty injured, and at least three destroyed houses."

I inhale sharply at the venomous, blunt words that hold brutal honesty. Despite my faltering breath, I don't blame her for saying what I'm sure most are thinking. I stand at the center of their recent heartache and pain, so I understand her frustration, and I don't expect them to just brush it off and cooperate.

"This was never my intention," I admit sincerely, a sorrowful tone hidden in my voice. "When I first got here, I threatened you in the hopes that it would keep you further away from me and this war. I never wanted to drag any of you into this, and I apologize for that. You have every right to be mad, but you should know that losing this war would mean losing everything. You don't have to fight for me, but you can fight for yourselves, and avenge what he took from you today."

A scoff from her dark pink lips is her immediate answer. Her glaring eyes roam over the few that supportively stand beside me. "You're going to get all of them killed."

My stomach drops as I feel the weight of her words, and I don't even want to consider the possibility of one of them dying while fighting with me.

"Sabrina, that's enough," Alpha gage snaps, a low, underlying growl in his words.

"I don't think it is," she fumes, taking another few steps closer.

With a sickening sound, her nails elongate to form threatening claws. Zeke's hand suddenly latches around my wrist, as her breath turns ragged. He tries to tug me away, but it's pointless as my feet are like lead, anchored to the ground.

Her lips curl upwards into an animalistic snarl, long canines on display like an unspoken threat. Heat rolls off of her in waves, and watching intently, I see thick blonde fur beginning to sprout along her arms and hands. Her eyes take on a wild, but challenging gleam as they yearn for redemption.

"Sabrina?"

A melodic and slightly panicked call of her name comes from the edge of the nearby woods. Like the abrupt flick of a switch, her anger fades away.

Claws swiftly sink back into fingernails, cold eyes soften, and her snarl drops as a head of curly blonde hair comes into view. The girl runs forward to stand between me and Sabrina.

"Alice, I told you to stay with the younger kids," Sabrina scolds her gently.

Alice appears to be Aiden's age, or even a year older, with a heart shaped face, rosy cheeks, and faint freckles dusted over her nose. She sighs heavily, rolling eyes that hold a similar shade as Sabrina's.

"I don't need to be with the younger kids, I want to stay with you," she argues. "Is everything okay?" Alice's head turns to catch a glimpse of my face over her shoulder. Her round eyes study my face with a hint of lingering curiosity, and I realize that she's very intuitive.

"Everything's fine," Sabrina answers, an edge to her voice that catches Alice's attention.

It's obvious that Alice doesn't believe her lie, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's spent a while hiding in the woods to watch our interaction before actually making an appearance.

"Come on, let's go see if Sarah needs any help with all the kids," Sabrina suggests, but it's obvious that Alice doesn't have much of an option either way. She slings an arm over Alice's shoulder, leading her away after shooting me one last hard expression.

"Alice is her sister." Zeke's subtle whisper comes from next to my ear, his arm brushing against mine, making it apparant that his skin is drastically warmer in temperature. "Their parents died right after Alice was born, and Sabrina's been taking care of her ever since."

Zeke's breathy words linger in the air as I watch Sabrina and her sister disappear behind lush vegetation.

The rough bark of the willow tree digs into my back as I sit atop one of its highest branches, my legs straddled over it while I lean against the trunk for support.

Most of the pack decided to spend the night in the aged, white house as a way to bond and honor the man that was lost in the fires. Their faint snores and occasional shuffling reach my ears through the eerie silence created by the night.

After healing those that were injured, I chose to stay close instead of going home. There's still a possibility that Lucifer could come back, and I want to be here to help the pack if he does. I figure that it's the least I can do after what happened tonight.

Four of the seven houses that caught fire are completely destroyed and decidedly unsalvageable, but Alpha Gage is hopeful that the other three houses will only require minor repairs.

Guilt constricts my chest every time I think of the damage that was done, images of the sobbing woman and flame ridden homes flashing through my head like a never ending nightmare.

The shrill creak of a floorboard makes me jerk forward, eyes wide open as I listen intently. Soft footsteps sound from the distant home, followed by scuffling and the faint screech of the backdoor opening.

My muscles relax back against the tree and I breath a sigh of relief when I spot Zeke exit the home, a paper bag gripped in his hand.