Fire

LAKE

The sun is beginning to set as Derrick and I make our way through the house to the door of my father’s office.

Hesitation lingers in my hand as I reach for the doorknob. The gold is musty and dull. My hand struggles against the knob. It’s locked.

“Of course,” I mutter.

Landon and I were never allowed to go into my father’s office. It was the one place in the entire territory, other than the rogue dungeons, we weren’t ever allowed to enter.

“There’s a rug here.” Derrick points to an old, tattered rug by my feet.

“Derrick—” I’m moved aside by the brute of a man, and I continue, “There’s no way my father would simply—”

“Found the key.” Derrick shows me the key to the door in triumph. I’m flabbergasted.

~Really, Dad?~

~

I take the key, and I’m able to unlock the door. As the knob clicks open, my heart squeezes tightly. I feel as if I’m committing a crime.

When I enter the room, Derrick stays outside. “I’m going to go downstairs to be a lookout,” he says. “Make it quick and be careful. Your old pack must have picked up our scents hours ago.”

I’m left to my own devices as Derrick rushes to the front door downstairs.

My father’s office smells of his old signature cologne that my mother has been buying him for years.

A large oak desk sits in the far corner of the room with papers scattered from one side to the other. My father’s desk chair is in pieces on the floor next to the matching desk.

On the wall adjacent to the door stands a built-in bookcase filled with different kinds of books.

I lightly run my hand over the dust-covered documents and books. My father was many things, but organized was not one of them.

I come to a section with two old leather-bound books with strange lettering on the spines.

I pull both out of the shelf and set them on my father’s desk. One is much larger than the other. The smaller one seems to be written in some kind of old language, while the other is in German.

My father taught Landon and me how to read and speak German from a very early age. He’d always say we would run away to Germany whenever we asked why.

Now, I have a sinking feeling this book is the reason.

I flip through the pages of both and see pictures of old detailed drawings of this woman in white.

The smaller book just has measurements and what seems like spells. I pick up both books and hold them to my chest.

~You left these for me.~

~

As I turn to leave, an old yellow envelope falls to my feet. I bend down and flip it over.

The front reads ~Lake~ in my father’s handwriting.

Before I get a chance to open it, Derrick is standing in the doorway.

“We need to leave,” he warns. “Now.”

With both books and the letter in my hands, I follow Derrick downstairs and out the back door.

The trees help hide our figures as warriors storm the house from all sides. My eyes tear up as the alpha and his men discover my family’s grave.

Derrick keeps a watchful eye on the area around us. I watch in horror as the men tear the crosses from the ground and start to pour gasoline over the dirt.

“Burn it and the bodies,” the alpha says. “No one needs to know about this family any longer.”

“But, Alpha…” One of the young trackers seems hesitant. The others look at each other.

“The mother was an Alignment,” the tracker spits out. “There will be bad repercussions if she’s not buried properly.”

“Yes… You’re right.” Alpha has a sour, mournful look before quickly grabbing the young tracker by his throat. His feet are off the ground as he gasps for air.

“But maybe you should be right along with them?”

“I—I’m sorry, Alpha.” The young tracker’s face is starting to turn a dark red. “I won’t q—question you a—again…”

Alpha throws the boy to the ground and growls. His dominance makes all the trackers and warriors surrounding him bow their heads.

“Get this done.”

Derrick holds a hand around my waist and one over my mouth. I’m clawing at his grip as my family’s bodies are dug up by a gray wolf and a white wolf.

The dirt falls harshly over the sheet of snow around the grave site.

My blood is rushing through my veins. I can feel my stomach churn. Lynne is pounding against the barrier.

One by one, my family members are tossed around like rag dolls. Landon’s body lands on top. His eyes are still in the back of his head. Riley’s stiff body is underneath my brother’s.

“Gross!” One of the trackers rips Riley’s left arm out of its socket and off her body.

Tears of rage rush down my face. Derrick is starting to struggle against me. I can taste his blood on my tongue.

I go numb as gasoline is poured over my family. My body is shaking as the men strike several matches and set my family ablaze.

Alpha is standing in front of the fire with his arms crossed and a sinister smile planted on his face.

“Find her,” Alpha orders. “She has a date with destiny.”

Derrick quickly shifts and scoops me onto his back. Drax makes his way north.

My tears freeze on my cheeks as the freezing wind brushes across my face. I hold the books and letter close to my chest.