Page 17 of Danny's Dance

Ash nodded. “Yes, she was. She used to be... Much moreplayful?”

“She had a beautiful smile,” Aspen added, recalling our childhood. Chesca had been particularly close with Aspen. There was even a certain point in time that I wondered if something had been growing betweenthem.

“And she was l-less of a c-crazy bitch,” JP stuttered, making us all laugh out loud. He was definitely right. Chesca used to be a sweet and humble girl and we all lovedher.

“At first, we didn’t even know she had come back to life. But after a while, these strange incidents started to happen. I kept finding red roses everywhere and things started disappearing. I thought I was goingmad.”

“You are quite untidy,” Ash smiled, pointing at a stray sock of mine lying not far away fromher.

“Yes, so I just assumed I was a bit off my rockers. But then one day, Chesca appeared in front of me. I was so happy, I tried to hug her, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She spouted all kinds of nonsense about me needing to repent for my sins and that I had to pay for what I’d done. She almost drowned me that day.” I shivered as I touched my windpipe. The memory of the icy water in my lungs a harsh reminder of how fickle life couldbe.

“Luckily, JP found her in time,” Aspen added to the story, patting my lover and his friend on theback.

“Ever since that day, she has been trying to kill me. Or trying to get me to kill her. I’m not even sure anymore what she wants. That went on for a long time, rightguys?”

Ash nodded as she brushed away her dark curls. “It was exhausting, always having to watch your back. It doesn’t help that she can turn invisible and can literally pop up anywhere,” she sighed and I noticed she poured what was left of her stew in Aspen’s bowl. Luckily, he didn’tnotice.

Darren twirled his spoon between his fingers. “So what does any of that got to do with thewar?”

“Chesca somehow managed to convince the Lowetts to rekindle their vendetta on the Ardelean Clan. She told them that Aspen and Ash were still alive andso...”

“They came for us,” my best friend hissed between her teeth, her face hard with anger. I knew she blamed herself just as much for the whole war as I did. But I knew that Chesca would’ve managed to turn anyone against us. The Lowetts were just an easytarget.

The young man in front of me ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily. “So you all ran and they just keep following you, burning town after town as theygo.”

“Pretty much,yes.”

“Fucking hell,” he grimaced, his hands trembling slightly. Interesting. I wondered what affected him somuch.

“Why is my father not doinganything?”

“King Damara? He can’t... Not without consulting the Wolf Clans. And he can’t consult the Wolf clans because... Well, Regan’s parents are in hiding, mine are dead, Danny’s are pretending everything is peachy, and we’re sitting here in this rotten barn eating Aspen’s terrible excuse for a stew,” Ash ranted, surprising us all. She was usually so polite and well mannered, but every once in a while, she became far too honest and said all the things nobody daredsay.

“Yes... That’s aboutit.”

“Wow...” Darren whispered, softly patting the back of his own head. “That’scrazy.”

“Yup, that’s how we got here. Anyone want more stew?” Aspen asked, holding up the kettle with what could only be described as murkybathwater.

“No!” we all yelled in unison, scrambling for excuses as we patted our stomachs and pretended to befull.

“Fine... More for me then,” he huffed, the leftover stew splattering in his plate looking like it had already been eaten. “So, you heard all our stories. What about you, Daisy?” Aspen casually inquired, ignoring the angry glare he got fromDarren.

“Well...”

Chapter Eleven - Fire

Aloud shriekfrom outside interrupted Darren and pulled us out of our conversation. Hastily, we all jumped up and ran outside to see what was goingon.

“Fire!”

Thick, dark clouds of smoke ominously wafted up from the little town. The sky was painted red as flames danced on the roofs, casting long shadows over the town. Familiar shrieks of panic and terror filled the night. I had heard this before. Hell, I dreamt about it every night. No matter how different the towns we visited were, panic always sounded thesame.

“The town is on fire,” Regan concluded, quite unnecessarily. That much wasobvious.

“H-How did they get here so s-soon?” JP muttered, beads of sweat appearing on hisface.

Aspen grabbed Darren by his collar and yanked him towards him. “Did you bring them here?” he hissed, his knuckles turning white as his eyes flashed dark. Oh no, that was never a good sign. Aspen’s temper was not something to be messed with. Especially not if it awoke his Alpha. I quickly stepped between the two men and pushed Darren behindme.

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