Page 61 of Escaping Wildfire

“That was the plan once we finished our training with Alpha Kedrick…” Cristian paused for a second, “but we never made it back home.”

Alpha Tate was silent, understanding exactly what Cristian meant. “I’m truly sorry about your pack guys, but tomorrow, we can look at the surveillance we’ve set up. In another hour or so, once it’s dark, and if you guys aren’t too tired, I can take you to some of the places where we scout in person.”

“Yes! That would be great, we’re not too tired.” Jordan said a little too enthusiastically before looking at me and Cristian for confirmation. We both nodded and agreed that we wanted to go tonight. Even Gamma Isaiah agreed that he had enough energy left to go with us. So, we waited for the sun to go down as we explained to Alpha Tate everything we had already planned with the cats and how we had helped Nora escape.

Once the sun went down, Alpha Tate led us out to a spot near the shared border of Cobalt Falls and Brown Claw. I thought we would just look over the border to see if we could find anything, but Alpha Tate continued to lead us into the border and to a spot where we could see the pack house while hidden by the trees. He was brave for crossing into wolf territory, but at the same time, I was surprised that he could so easily get this far into our territory. We really did need to step up our security. There were no wolves even patrolling the area.

A few people were heading in and out of the pack house. I recognized most of the people, and it looked like a few of them were arriving home from being out training. Luckily, we were downwind, and no one could smell us as we watched. Our previously thriving pack seemed the opposite of what it used to be. Now, hardly any lights were on inside the pack house, and people looked too somber for my liking.

The five of us looked on silently, and I noticed Gamma Isaiah was still quite agitated. Before I could register what was happening, his wolf let out a low growl as a group of wolves walked up to the pack house. It was some of the female warriors, and they looked like they were part of the group that had been out training.

“I’m sorry, Gamma Isaiah,” Alpha Tate patted his back, seeming to understand what was happening before the rest of us realized it. “Which one is she?”

“The taller one, with the curly hair.” He clenched his jaw, staring at the woman he was referring to.”

“Your mate?” I suddenly realized what they were talking about and asked to confirm my thoughts. Gamma Isaiah just nodded as he continued to watch the woman he could not yet meet as she disappeared into the pack house. We stayed quiet, and I could tell Gamma Isaiah was fighting with his wolf to not rush into the pack house and claim his mate. The Gamma knew he couldn’t give us away, though. We headed home after that, more determined than ever to get our home back from Wildfire.

27 Step Four

GEMA

After Jade’s visit, I walked back with her to talk to Jasmine, and we were able to convince her to take a few bites of food. Jade and I sat and talked about our day, and even though Jasmine didn’t say anything, she let me sit on the bed with her. I told them about Rory, and we discussed what Larkin, Jade, and I had talked about earlier. Jasmine seemed to perk up at the thought of being back with Jordan. “Larkin said his plan should work, but we really need your help, Jasmine.”

“I know, it has just been so hard these last couple of weeks, and I hate having to train with this pack. All I can think is that these are the people who killed my parents. I don’t want to be forced to fight for them.” Angry tears flowed down her cheeks as she talked. “I’ll follow the plan though, I can do it. I’ll do anything if it gets us all out of here.”

“It’s just you two and the twins for now, but the more people we get out, the better the rest of our chances will be.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow after training then.”

I nodded and hugged both girls before heading back to my room. I had let Jasmine in on everything that had happened with Nora, and it seemed to put her in a better mood. She even smiled for the first time in weeks.

The next morning, I woke up feeling happier than I had in a while. Rory was still in my room, and Larkin had slept in the room with her to make sure she was okay during the night. She woke up with most of the swelling gone on her face, but she still had some bruising around her torso. The doctor checked on her and told us her wolf had used a lot of energy yesterday and was healing more slowly than usual but that she should be better by tomorrow.

I kept Rory company that morning as Larkin did some of his work around the pack. I had the pup training session after lunch, so I changed into workout clothes and waited for Larkin to arrive to sit with Rory.

I rummaged through my closet and found the red dress I was looking for, the one I had worn to my first dinner with Alpha Marek. I glanced at it one more time. In another world, I might have liked this dress, but in this world, I hated it and everything it represented. I pulled on it as hard as I could, tearing the fabric in half. It felt good to destroy the dress, and I laughed to myself as I clutched the dress in one hand and marched downstairs to the dining hall, giving both Larkin and Rory a small nod before heading out.

I saw Jasmine and Jade sitting at a table with the twins. Most of the pack members had lunch at the pack house, so the room was fairly packed with people eating and minding their own business. I took a deep breath and marched up to Jasmine, and when I reached their table, I roughly turned her body to face me.

“You bitch!” I yelled loudly and threw my torn dress at her face. “What gives you the right to go into my room and destroy my things?”

Jasmine shoved her chair back and cocked her head as she placed her hand on her hip. “You mean this trashy dress you just threw at me? I did you a favor, now you can get something more decent to wear.” She kicked the dress in my direction.

“You’ve always had it out for me. I’m just glad you finally decided to show your true colors.” I placed my hand on my hip as well, mimicking Jasmine’s posture in a show of dominance. “You pathetic, little pup…” I shook my head slowly as I narrowed my eyes at her. “You’ve always been jealous of me, and now that your mom and dad aren’t here to hand you everything on a silver platter you think lashing out at me is going to help? That won’t bring them back, Jasmine.”

“Oh, I’m the pathetic one? My parents might be dead, but at least they aren’t traitors like yours.”

“You think your words hurt me? At least I’m not wasting my life away in bed like you are.” I lowered my voice, putting every ounce of rage I could into my words. Jasmine’s eyes widened, and I saw her eyes start to water as my words cut through her.

“You slut.” I could hear the hurt in her tone, and the room around us got quieter as the others strained to hear what we said to each other. “At least I have enough pride in myself to not fawn all over this pack and their Alpha. You walked around our pack like you owned it, always throwing yourself at my brother. I’m surprised you didn’t stoop so low as to actually beg him to make you his Luna. Luckily, he was smart enough not to fall for your games.”

“You’re just upset that Larkin’s going to be my mate and not yours.” I widened my eyes at her and got in her face as Amora growled.

She shoved me hard with both hands, and I stumbled back nearly tripping on the dress still on the ground. My anger surged, and I shoved her back hard enough to where she fell as she stumbled back. Jade rushed over to Jasmine’s side, and I was about to say more when I heard Alpha Marek’s loud voice sound out. “What is going on here!? Gema, in my office, now.”

“Yes, Alpha.” I narrowed my eyes in anger at Jasmine and Jade who were both still on the ground and left the dining hall seething. I noticed that everyone else in the room had been watching the interaction between me and Jasmine but looked away when Alpha Marek walked into the room. I was certain our fight would be the talk of the pack for the rest of the day.

Once we reached his office, Alpha Marek shut the door behind me and went over to sit at his desk as he gestured for me to take one of the chairs in front of his desk.

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