Chapter 17| The Avocados Burned
The sky was light when we first heard the sounds of cars speeding down a road. I was the first one to come out of the tree line, seeing the main road from Rese's house to mine. The wolf cautiously followed me out of the cover of the forest.
Instantly, cars stopped, drivers and passengers, watching awe as I crossed to the middle of the road. I looked down each way, trying to determine where I was on the road. I veered to my left, and without warning I took off, galloping between the lanes to avoid traffic. The wolf followed me with a disagreeing whine, but I ignored his advice, booking it down the road. Cars came to screeching halts, trying to see what ran past them, and I only stopped as I heard someone.
"Holy Hell. Calina?!" Someone asked, barking out my name. I came to a halt, my head whipping around. I tilted my head, but my feet started to move again when I saw it was only Gavin.
I needed to find Rese. I needed to find him. I took off at a gallop again, the wolf following me with disapproving howls. I ignored him again.
As soon as the giant house on the hill came into view, I took off sprinting, my feet barely touching the ground for a second as I flew off the road, my whole body aching as I climbed up the embankment as fast as I could. I didn't even know what day it was.
Rese might not even be at his house. I felt my chest tighten as the thought of not being near Rese for another second started to tear me apart.
As my paws touched the driveway, the wolf howled at me and as his tone changed, I finally stopped, looking back at him.
I only had a second to scramble back as a giant grey wolf lunged at me, tackling me into the ground. I howled in pain as he bit down on my shoulder.
My fight mode flickered on and the wolf yelped in surprise as the Moon Flames burst out for a second–enough to get the wolf to let go of my shoulder and jump off me. I heard the door open as I scrambled to my feet, snarling at the wolf angrily. I felt my hackles raise and the grey wolf lowered his head a little, snarling at me.
"Calina?" I heard someone ask in a quiet whisper and my whole body froze up. My head whipped around, and before any warning could be given, the wolf lunged at me again, taking hold of my neck, and slamming me into the ground head first.
The world around me spun and blurred as the wolf ripped his head from side to side, his paws digging into my chest. I laid there for a second, my head pounding, and then with a low rumble, the Moon Flames came out full force, scorching the wolf instantly. I ripped my neck away from the wolf, sliding out from under him as the flames devoured his fur rapidly. He howled, spinning around, trying to put them out.
I stood there, my whole body tense as the flames rolled off me with a loud roar. I watched as the grey wolf rolled, successfully putting out the flames.
I didn't have time to attack him before the wolf came up from behind, latching onto the grey wolf's flank. The grey wolf let out a whimper as the wolf started to drag him to the hill and without hesitation, I watched as my wolf friend tossed the grey wolf off the edge, letting him roll down.
He didn't get up when he stopped.
The wolf turned to me, and he took one step, looking determined, but then he stopped, watching silently as I whined. My shoulder was bleeding and I could feel the rest of my body was on fire, burning from the inside.
The Moon Flames disappeared and my ears pressed back against my skull.
My vision blurred and black spots started to appear. I shook my head with a chuff, clearing it up.
Then with a heavy heart, I turned around, and my eyes collided with the most gorgeous eyes of the one and only Rese Alvaro. We stood there–dumbstruck–staring at each other. He looked so beautiful–and worried. He looked so worried that he was shaking. But before either of us could attack each other with a hug, my vision blurred around, and without any warning by my body, my vision went black and all the pain disappeared.
∞∞∞
I could feel the sun bearing down on my face as I woke up. It was quiet–the only sound being a fan somewhere near me, blowing cold air against my torso. I was human, I could feel it. My senses felt strange and dulled after being a wolf for a few days straight.
A low groan left my lips as I moved my legs. A wave fire erupted throughout my whole body at the movement, but it wasn't half as bad now. I must be on painkillers or something strong. But that didn't mean I couldn't feel the pain.
A gentle hand rested on my forehead, and my eyes fluttered open. I went still as I looked up at Rese who was looking up and down my body in worry, wanting to see what was causing me pain. While he was distracted by my pain, I looked around the unfamiliar room and I furrowed my brow when I saw freaking mountains outside a huge floor to ceiling window. It looked like it was early, early morning.
"Where am I?" I croak out, my eyes flickering back over to Rese. I watched as his eyes snapped over, and relief flooded through them as he stared at me. I close my eyes for a brief second as he leans down, gently pressing a lingering kiss on my forehead.
"The Mountains of East Tennessee." He breathes out against my skin before he leans back. I look up at him, gawking. I'm sorry, where was I? East Tennessee?
"Why am I in the mountains of Tennessee? Where's Tali–Oh God what did I do?" I ask, my voice husky and cracking. Worry started to weigh down on my heart as I tried to sit up
. I needed to know all the answers to these questions before I went mad. Rese placed a hand on my shoulder, lightly pushing me back down into the soft bed.
"Like hell," He snaps, "Lay down, Sugar. You're in no condition to be moving around. How do you feel?" He adds in a softer tone. I lean back, pressing my palms against my eyes as I tried to fully wake myself up. I groaned again before I lunged at Rese. He seemed taken aback as I wrapped my arms around his neck, taking a deep breath.
"I'm still cruising in-between." I whisper before I say, "I couldn't think about anything else while I was running–I don't know why but I just needed to see you first. I didn't care if anyone else called my name or tried to stop me. I kept telling myself that I would find you." My throat tightened as I tried not to cry. Rese cooed at me, wrapping his arms around me after a second.
"I know–I know, sugar," He whispers, "you don't have to tell me anything until you want to." He adds, and I nod, showing no signs of letting go of him. He sighed a little, throwing the covers back before he laid down next to me, letting me curl up next to him.
"Was it bad?" I ask him after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah. It was. I thought–I thought you weren't going to make it. All the doctors looked so worried and so stressed. No one looked more worried than Salmon though. He wouldn't move from the door separating him from the surgery room." He says, chuckling a little and I smiled quietly.
"Surgery?" I ask him, looking up. He hummed, twirling a lock of my hair around his finger.
"They had to take all the splinters out and stitch up all the wounds. None of them didn't need a stitch or two. You were knocked out for about a day and a half after that, and then we moved you here. Thought it'd be safer." He explains and I nod slowly, looking out at the mountains.
"Who's here?" I ask him, a thought dominating my mind. I needed to know who was here first.
"My parents, Salmon, Russet, Talan, Gavin, and a bunch of pack members who are in the smaller houses around here." He says, looking towards the door. I nod again, my mind spinning. I took a deep breath, wincing as I sat up, turning to look at Rese. He stared at me curiously as I looked at him with my brows drawn together in thought.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask a question, I blurted out what was on my mind.
"I'm declaring war." I say quickly, and I watch as he chokes, his eyes widening as he stared at me.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asks, blinking rapidly. He sits up, grabbing my hands. I stare at him.
"I'm declaring war. I don't know what the wolf protocol is for calling war, but I know that when a pack member is taken, war can be declared–I'm declaring war on–" I stopped, staring at him. He didn't know who Caesar was, he definitely didn't know what he was to me. "I'm declaring war, but first I'd like to explain myself to everyone." I finally say, only wanting to say it once.
Rese stayed silent for a long time, his eyes flashing with emotions as he stared at me intensely. I didn't look away as I stared back at him, wondering what he was going to say.
His lips curled up into a beautifully savage grin, "Let's go to war."
∞∞∞
I explained to everyone in the house everything that had happened to me since I shifted for the first time. I watched as people's faces morphed into shock at a few details, but most turned into rage as I went through what happened when I was taken.
The whole time, Salmon was wrapped around me like a puppy, begging for my attention every second. When I finished somewhere in the late morning, Rese was fighting Salmon for my attention. They snarled at each other silently every time I turned to look away.
"I'm declaring war on him and his pack." I say into the shocked silence.
Rese's father–to his credit–didn't look as shocked when I said that. Rather, he looked like Rese when I told him. He had this savage look in his eyes that seemed to satisfy their wolves.
"I'll call the Alphas for a meeting. It's about time something brought us together." Mr. Alvaro says, standing up, but Mrs. Alvaro gives him a look, pulling him back to sit next to her. He grumbles something under his breath, looking down.
"You controlled the Moon Flames." Russet Whispered. The first thing she had said to me. Her parents looked at her with wide eyes. They must have agreed not to bring it up. I nodded at her.
"It comes when I call for it." I say, flipping my palm up to the ceiling. Barely thinking about it, a blue/white flame flickers in my palm, before I curl my hand in, snuffing it out. Russet gawks.
"That's–That's so cool!" She says, beaming happily, ignoring her parents look. I smile a little, my face flushing red.
I guess it was cool, but I looked at it as a survival tool and as a friend of sorts. It wasn't a toy–far from a toy.
My face turned somber with a realization as I looked out the window.
"He's going to search for me again." I say quietly, and the room turns somber as well. Rese turns my head back, making me look at him. He had a serious face on.
"The truth, Calina, is that he's always going to look for you. People are going to hunt you down. You're never going to be safe–you'll never have a normal life. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's what you need to hear because you have to understand it. But while they chase you down, you have to choice–only you–to decide whether you keep running or whether you stand your ground and fight back–and you can't run forever Sugar." Rese says, watching as my face drops, and tears well in my eyes. "You have to be braver than they are, My Love. You're going to get hurt, people near you are going to get hurt–but that's part of it all. You're going to fight like hell at times and at others your not going to want to fight at all. You're going to kill people, and you're going to regret it sometimes, but that's how it works. You're going to feel pain worse than you've ever felt it, but that's how you're going to survive. You are the Moon Kissed and there is nothing in this world more powerful than you." He adds, and the world vanishes around us as he leans closer, the pad of his thumb wiping away a tear before it can fall.
"You're going to be there?" I ask him quietly, and his lips draw up into a sweet smile.
"You couldn't lose me if you tried, Sugar. I'm your stalker remember?" He asks, and I throw out all the worries making my stomach churn, and I lean forward, pressing my lips against his. I hear a groan that brings me back into reality. I pull back instantly, my cheeks burning bright red and Rese doesn't mind holding back a huge smile that slaps across his face.
"PDA." Russet grumbles and her parents smile at me and Rese, not saying anything about it.
"So..." Mr. Alvaro finally says, looking at his mate, "War?" He asks, and she looks at him with narrowed eyes, and so he looks at Rese who nods once. I giggle quietly as Mr. Alvaro jumps up, pulling his phone out. As he puts it to his ear Mrs. Alvaro sighs, looking at me.
"I hope you're ready to meet a few Luna's. They're going to absolutely adore you." She says with a smile, watching as Rese follows after his father. Russet snorts, smirking at me as my face pales.
"They're going to fawn over her like she's a newborn deer, mother. But she's a tough cookie and I'm sure she'll find a way to bully them into a friendship." Russet says, and I frown at her playfully, rubbing Salmon behind his ears as he licks my hand for attention.
"I don't bully people into a friendship. You were just being stubborn." I remind her, and she hums, a knowing smile on her face as she looks down at her nails. Mrs. Alvaro beams at me suddenly, and I look over at her.
"Calina, dear, would you like to help me start dinner? Russet is a terrible cook." She says, and I beam right back at her, nodding rapidly. Russet huffs at her mother, standing up. They both help me off the couch, giving me my two crutches that helped ease the pain of walking around without any support.
Russet ended up almost burning down the house when she tried to help me cut up some avocados, and from that point on, she was banned from entering the kitchen without a supervisor who made sure she went nowhere near anything flammable. I couldn't stop giggling as her mother scolded her in the living room while I continued to cut what remained of the avocados.
Most had been scorched by the fire Russet created.
"It's not like it didn't say don't turn it on!" Russet argued, her voice carrying throughout the entire house. A pack member in the kitchen couldn't seem to hold down his smile as he listened to the conversation like I was.
"It's a hotrod red, Russet! I'd say it gave a clear warning!" Her mother snapped back, and I snorted, throwing the avocados into a pot on the stovetop. The pack member in the kitchen glanced over at me with a smile. I glanced up at him as he stood up, walking over to me.
"Looks good, Luna." He says, leaning over to look at the food. I beamed at him happily.
"Thank you. I honestly thought it would go south real soon when Russet set them on fire." I confessed and he chuckled quietly, his eyes shining with amusement. Someone cleared their throat and the pack member flew away from me, stiffening at the sight of Rese who leaned against the door frame, his head tilted to the side curiously as he stared at the male.
"Rese," I say with a smile, and he looks over, his eyes lightening up instantly, "Come here. Don't just stand there and brood." I tell him, and he pushes off the frame, trotting over with a dangerous and warning glance at the male. I didn't say anything to either of them as Rese silently snarled at the male, saying something territorial related.
The male left the kitchen without a word, and Rese looked smug. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at him.
"She didn't burn all of them?" Rese muses, leaning over my shoulder, his body pressing against mine as I became all too aware of how close he was getting.
"Nope. Water does miracles when there's a fire involved." I say, making him chuckle quietly.
"Russet is trying to fight a fight she can't win with mother. It was clear she was the one who set it on fire, but Russet is firm in the belief that it wasn't her fault she's so damn curious." He explains, and I shake my head, knowing Russet was so stubborn.
I spin around, wrapping my arms around Rese's neck as I look up at him.
"I didn't know you were so territorial and such a baby when you don't get my full attention." I crooned at him, and I watched as he narrowed his eyes at me. I squealed as Rese wrapped his arms around my middle, lifting me off the ground. I started to laugh as he carried me out of the kitchen, silencing his mother and Russet as he hung me over his shoulder, marching towards the room I had been in when I woke up.
I didn't mind the crushing pain that traveled through my body as he carried me–rather I completely ignored it, noticing with a vague indifference that the bruises on my skin began to become lighter and the stitched wounds on my body began to close. Rese was the only thing on my mind.
"I'll show you exactly how territorial I can be, Lovely. I'm tired of other males looking at you." He growls at me, and I continue to laugh as he slams the door behind him.