Typhoon & Tempest

Chapter Sixteen

Jack rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm a rarity. I prefer blunt honesty over flimsy words." 

Ryan lifted his head back up as she peered over the book again. "Any word could help Lily out so why don't you read the whole thing?" He sighed, glaring at the witch. As she grumbled about how torture was illegal, Ryan peered over again at Lily. She was hiding her face behind her long red hair, fiddling with her fingers. He wondered whether she was the type to enjoy a love letter, or blunt honesty, before he shoved that thought to the back of his head.

Jack leaned a little over Andrew to get a better look at the page. Licking her lips, she began reading.

"I met an angel today." Jack paused, raising an eyebrow. She scoffed at the term but continued on.

"We were on another patrol on the outskirts of our western borders when we spotted some rogues chasing a woman. We followed the rogues, ready to attack, before we reached a muddy clearing still pooled with rain."

Lily cocked her head to the side, hooked on every word. It was eerily similar to how she'd encountered Alice last week. 

"The rainstorm from the night before had created a mudslide flowing off the field to the river beneath. The rogues were slipping, their claws couldn't find grip, but the woman ran on with feet sturdier than mountains. Her scent wafted to my nose - I cannot describe it, only that it was the same as the water beneath her feet, the storm that was brewing on the horizon. Charged but radiant. A wild nature bottled beneath the skin of this woman. Her power was greater than my own as alpha.

"The mud ran the rogues off the field into the stream but the woman remained still in the slippery wet. She saw us, saw me, and how I loved her immediately. She was no creature I'd seen before, smelled before. She was a rare jewel I had uncovered in this spontaneous run.

"She blew a kiss and ran off the mudslide. Despite all my best efforts, those of myself and my patrol, we could not find her again. All we smelled was the fresh rain on the ground."

Jack frowned. "This is a later entry, dated 50 years later? Does the year 2004 mean anything to you Andrew?"

Andrew stilled. "That's the year my grandfather died." 

Jack didn't have a response to that but slowly read on. "I never saw the woman again in all my years after this but it is the one day I remember the most. I am ashamed to say it was the best moment of my life setting my eyes on the woman. She had hair like the rare blood moon and eyes the colour of the brightest stars, but her smile was dangerous. If you, my son or grandson, see this woman I can only offer you one piece of advice."

Jack lifted her head, locking her eyes with Lily. "Run." She finished reading.

Lily was quiet as she sat on her chair. The others were staring at her as the old alpha's words rung in their ears. A headache pulsed in her temples. She rubbed them gently as she stared back at Andrew.

"What makes you think that this woman's the same as me?" She asked. 

Andrew pointed at one of the paragraphs. "When Ryan mentioned your eyes shifted to a silver or grey. I've read this book a hundred times when I was young, and his description reminded me of the woman."

Jack gestured between the book and Lily. "Both have red hair? But that's not much to go off."

"Eyes like the brightest stars though." Andrew stared at her. "It's why I grabbed your arm before, to see if under 'threat' like the woman was, your eyes were the same as hers. I had to see if I was right."

Lily didn't trust her knees not to give out if she stood, so she just gripped the chair tightly. "This was over fifty years ago though." Her voice cracked. "We'll never find her, even if she's still alive."