The Elementals

Chapter 11 | Burned

The moment we stepped through the doorway, into the foyer, the sound of Orion's voice shot through our ears. 

"I NEED ANSWERS!" his voice demanded, obviously coming from the meeting room, which was on the far side of the house. "DO NOT COME BACK HERE UNTIL THAT WOLF IS UNDER INABALA AND PRACTICALLY IN MY HANDS."

Xerxes sighed and shoved me into the house lounge. "Stay in here until I come back. Got it?"

I nodded reluctantly. 

And with that, he shut the door tightly. 

I let out an exasperated breath and plopped myself down on one of the sofas. I contemplated following Xerxes but I remembered that I was going to be smarter from now on. 

"I SAID GET OUT!" Orion shouted again. 

I flinched. God...he was angry. Really angry. He never raised his voice in his own house often. 

The sound of footsteps trailed from outside the door. 

I bit my lip and got up, tip-toeing to the sound. 

I carefully turned the doorknob and cracked the door open, peering out, but what I saw made my mouth go completely dry. 

Walking down the foyer were about a dozen wolves, but they weren't just wolves.

Multiple were still stuck in their wolf form while others had managed to turn back to human completely, but it wasn't the shifting that was so alarming. 

Each person was completely botched. Their faces were purple from the amount of bruising, their lips were busted, their hands and legs were bloody, but most of all, they were covered in dirt; but it was more than dirt. 

One man's arm was completely engulfed in slabs of earth, weighing him down causing him to walk in a lop-sided manner. 

They were soldiers no doubt, but what being so powerful could possibly do this?

My stomach dropped to a pit so low, I thought I'd never be able to get it out. 

The Elemental, I realized. The Elemental did this. 

It made total sense. 

The corpse I saw in the woods was engulfed in the earth and the soldiers here looked like they had a fight with Earth itself. 

"Alpha Orion," one soldier whimpered. "The entire party of twenty almost died and nearly half of them did. This man that we are hunting can take down dozens if he choses with just a mere thought and wave of his hand. This isn't just a rogue wolf. It's an Elemental, no doubt searching for Ashlyn West. Maybe...maybe if we give her to him it would be better for everyone. You know what is coming. Perhaps they can stop it." 

I opened the door slightly more, now able to see Orion farther down the foyer with Xerxes behind him. 

He took a deep breath and strode over to the man who spoke. 

"Commander," the alpha said, only inched from his face. "She is my greatest weapon. I know what this force that we are fighting is, and I know it wants Ashlyn, but I never thought in a million years that my own trusted commander of my army would ever be such a coward." 

The commander was frozen on the spot.

"So," Orion continued. "If you ever doubt me, or my decisions for my pack again, you will be locked up in The Pit and never see the light of day again."

I shuddered at the thought. I had never heard Orion sound so ruthless. 

"Now leave and take care of your wounds. I want you back out there, looking for that Elemental by dawn."