Wildfire

Chapter Twelve

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It isn't quite as long as the last one, but I tried to make it close.

P.S. The video on the side is Unbroken by Black Veil Brides~ I was just so excited and in-love with it, that I had to share it with you all!

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Chapter Twelve ~

Axel

I nearly kicked open the back doors of the pack house in my rush to get inside. I was so concentrated on the fact that the council would be there in a minute, that I didn't even have time to contemplate the fact that I'd just kissed Riley. Not even my wolf was concentrated on that, and for the last couple of weeks he'd been pestering me almost non-stop about her.

I burst through the kitchen door and into the hallway, then the living room. Half the pack that lived in the house was gathered on the sofas, armchairs, beanbags and the floor. Chris stood in the middle of the room in front of the TV, a old football game playing behind him. He looked up when I came into the room and the look in his eyes had me worrying instantly. I knew that look. I'd seen it hundreds of times before. And it never meant anything good.

"What is it?" I asked him. I frowned when I noticed that no one other than Sera and Chris would meet my eyes. The rest of them just shrunk away and looked at the floor.

"He's coming with them," Chris said. "Nornis said that they were bringing Tomas with them, that he insisted."

I swore loudly and saw Handley cringe.

"When are they going to be here?" I asked, trying to quiet my voice a bit.

"About five minutes," Sera said. I heard her voice quiver a bit. She didn't like this anymore than I did. But instead of being angry like I was, she was scared. I didn't blame her. I would be scared too if I'd left my pack when I was thirteen and had to worry about my alpha finding out. Nope, I did it when I was seventeen.

"Sera, Handley, go out and stay with Aaron and Riley. Callum needs to be here, plus he can't watch them by himself," I said, giving Sera a look.

She nodded and mouthed Thank you. I nodded and the two of them eagerly left the house.

Then I began pacing. My thoughts raced, while my wolf didn't say anything, but I felt his anger and discomfort with the situation. We both knew why the Council was coming, but why Tomas was coming was a mystery to us. My racing thoughts strayed to Riley. If they found her...No. I wouldn't let them find her, not yet.

All of a sudden, new scents entered our territory, making us all stiffen. My wolf growled as the scents got closer. Then...I hate to admit it, but actual fear settled in the pit of my stomach. I had forgotten that Tomas had actually scared me in the past, not just made me angry.

I looked next to me when I felt Chris clap me on the shoulder. "Come on, lets get this over with."

Begrudgingly, I went with him to the front door. He pulled it open just as the doorbell rang, the sound echoing strangely through our normally loud house.

I saw Elder Nornis first; a relatively short old man, with a hairline that had receded three inches since the last time I saw him. His face was impassive, his eyes dull.

Next I saw Elder Colin, though he didn't exactly look like an elder; he was probably only forty-five, and his hair was barely gray. But his father had died when he was still in his early twenties and despite a lot of protest, he proved himself worthy of the title. He smiled when he saw me, though I could tell it took him a minute to recognize me. But that was understandable. I hadn't seen him since I was about ten years-old.