Page 18 of When Embers Become Ashes

CHAPTER SEVEN

Creed

“Jay, you got mail!” I yell through his door, it swings open.

He grabs the box and stomps back to his bed. As he opens it, her scent hits me – 'Ember.' I drift forward, ignoring my usual hesitation, and step into his room.

He’s generally okay with us guys, but he doesn’t trust girls, so why would he have things that smell like Ember? He’s muttering in Japanese. I know a few odd words, but I’m not fluent. Out of nowhere, he nearly pops my eardrums,

“DARBY, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!” Jay yells at the top of his lungs, the bang of a door is followed by a panicked voice.

“Brother, what’s wrong?” Ren rushes in half-dressed and freezes, like he’s looked a Basilisk in the eye. Darby wanders in, followed by Devin, both casting Ren strange looks for his frozen state. I don’t understand why they hide their relationship. We all know well those who live in the pack house, and none of us care.

“Darby, can you see if you can track a USB that was used on this laptop and find out where it is fast?” Jay asks.

He looks like he’s on the verge of tears. He goes to his bedside table, pulls out some rich tea biscuits, and starts munching on them.

“Jay, what’s going on? Is Ember in trouble? How do you know her?” I ask as calmly as I can when I hear Ren Whisper out

“Ember?” Ren then snaps out of his trance,

“Brother?”At Ren’s prompt, Jay sighs, puts away the remnants of his sugar fix, and stands defiantly looking at his twin,

“I’ve been in contact with her since just before school started last year.” I immediately see the hurt in Ren’s eyes.

“Why haven’t you said anything?” Ren asks, struggling to keep the hurt and anger from his voice and failing, he is normally the most controlled so it's freaking me out seeing him like this.

“She was happy at school and said she would come home when she finished! But I got a text yesterday. Jameson took her before she could leave!” Jay looks crushed,

“I’m sorry,Brother, I knew if I told you, you’d basically kidnap her, and that’s not what she wanted! Not yet!” Jay looks at me.

“We were her first foster home. When did you meet?” I smile.

“At the group home before I came here. She was the first one to be nice and accepting of my hybrid nature.” Jay smiles and gets a far-off look before talking to Darby again. Ren wears a similar expression,

“That’s Emmy. She sees so much and has a big heart, even with everything she has been through.” He turns and heads back to his room to finish getting dressed. She really does have a big heart, and I wonder if they realize just how much she actually sees.

Ember

Jameson barely speaks to me as I’m dropped off at a small cabin on the edge of the Lennox Pack lands. They own most of the town, including the schools.

When I tried to catch a bus, I was quickly questioned as to where I was going and who I was meeting, the Alpha even tries to make me submit with his dominance, which I found very hard not to laugh in his face about, turns out every business in town is owned by the Alpha or he has people working there to report back, even the humans doing Uber rides, log who’s being picked up from where, so I was stuck.

The high school doubles as a community college, and I manage to get a job as a teaching assistant in the art department of the high school.

About two weeks in a dick Jock notices me and starts trying to chat me up. I’m not interested, as he gives me the creeps.

I’m ok for the first week.

The second I’m more direct, this pack leads by fear, and the barely there Beta is the Alpha’s nephew, so I know I’m pushing the line.

For the third week, I can feel him watching me, but he doesn’t try to talk to me until December 11th as I was leaving school.

It’s a Tuesday, so nothing big is on, no football training or cheerleader practice.

I’m grabbed from behind and feel a prick on my arm.

SHIT!

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