He carried his mother back towards their home, cringing at the sight of the rising flames. Kay ran off and returned with a few large, dripping blankets. Begrudgingly, he laid his mother in the dryest patch he could find and Kay threw the blankets at him. They landed in his face and he glared at his sister for a moment before he threw them over his shoulders and dashed into the burning remnants of his childhood home.
Crumbling pieces of the ceiling pinged off the wet fabric as he ventured towards the basement. And every step he could hear the ominous creaking of weakening floorboards, threatening to collapse at any moment. But as he opened the door just enough to slide himself through and slam it shut again, he was relieved by the coolness that still radiated from his home's depths.
"Ness? Charlie?" he called, finding himself sending up a silent prayer that he didn't find them in a blackened crisp somewhere in the rubble.
The stairs creaked as he crept down the stairs, his eyes easily adjusting to the dim light and finding no one. He spent as much time as he could risk searching every dark corner, but he found nothing but a caved-in wall and a pile of dirt. They couldn't have been dumb enough to try to escape into the house, could they? Weren't vampires highly attuned to the rise and fall of the sun?
And then the roof above him disintegrated. Ash, smoke, and flames poured down on him and he realized he'd stayed too long.
***
Autumn darted through the village, trying to avoid every familiar Blackmoon face she came across, but it made tracking down Torin's father twice as difficult. She was taking too long. Lauren could already be fading away.
"Aren't you a pair of pretty ones?"
A chill ran up Autumn's spine as she turned to see one of those familiar faces giving her an ugly, crooked grin. Her mind raced as she contemplated her very few options. Her fight or flight instincts would kick in. Honestly, though, neither were viable options. Against a trained lycan warrior, what chance did she and the child really have? There was only one thing to do.
Setting the child on her feet, she crouched low and whispered, "Run as fast as you can until you find someone you know. Okay?"
Shaking like the little leaf she was, the child nodded and darted away. Autumn stood and set her shoulders back. "Leave the child and I'll go quietly."
The Blackmoon warrior seemed to mull it over for a few seconds as his gaze tracked back to the fleeing child. Ultimately, he chose the easier path. Typical. Snatching her arm, he nodded. "Very well."
As she was dragged away, she couldn't help but glance back at the only place she had ever experienced happiness. Or at least had the hope of happiness. Torin's face flashed through her mind. Lauren's and Kay's as well. Each step away from them made her heart ache, her stomach cramping at the thought of never seeing any of them again. She had known them such a short time, but she could never forget them or their kindness.
That knowledge hurt more than knowing the life that lie ahead of her. Where pain and misery were her only company. Would her memory of happiness be enough? Or would it drive her to madness that much faster?
At least the girl is safe, she thought as the burning village faded into the distance. Would the child know the horrors she'd been spared? Perhaps not. But Autumn knew, and that would have to be enough.
***
"What the hell are you doing down here?"
Coughing up ash and smoke, Torin peered through the haze. Nessie snatched up his hand and yanked him (a little too easily for his taste) towards the collapsed wall. "I came to get you and Charlie," he said. "Why the hell else would I be here?"
Nessie rolled her own hazel eyes at him and released his arm. "Where exactly did you plan on taking us?" She snapped the question at him as she clawed through the dirt. "In case you haven't noticed, the sun is still up, genius."
Torin clenched his fist, wondering why the fuck he had come down here. Didn't seem like she appreciated his concern much. "Well," he ground out. "I wanted to make sure you weren't burned to a crisp. And I brought these." He held up the damp quilts in her face.
She eyed them before returning to her digging. "What are those supposed to do? We don't feel the cold. Vampires, remember?"
He glared down at her. "They were soaked in water to keep the flames off you both…genius."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh. Well, then…thanks, I guess."
Gee, she was about as good at apologies as his father was. Well, she is his daughter. He threw the blankets next to the dirt pile. "Yeah, you're welcome."
It was her turn to glare now as he crouched down and began digging alongside her.
Another beam fell then, catching Nessie along her back. The splintered wood bounced off her strong frame, but she hissed as the flames licked through her shirt and seared her skin. He reached out to her (purely on instinct, of course). "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she snapped, refusing to look at him. "My back has endured much worse, trust me."
He pressed his lips together as a wave of sympathy swept through him. His mother had told him that his new sister had also suffered. In a different way, perhaps. But suffering was suffering. And like it or not, she was his family. In fact, had it not been for her and Charlie, he'd never have met Autumn. She'd still be trapped in Blackmoon. Still…suffering.
He laid a hand on Nessie's and that got her attention, her eyes snapping up to his. "Look. I know I haven't been exactly welcoming."
Nessie raised a brow as her lip quirked in a smirk. "Okay, let me stop you right there. Now is not the time for the mushy bullshit that I know neither of us wants to endure. So, how 'bout we just skip the touchy-feely and get out of this mess." She punched him in the shoulder and smiled. "You can thank me later, bro."
He gaped at her a moment longer as she returned to the dirt wall. "You're a piece of work, you know that."
A smile broke across her face as she made another dent in the wall, carving out a little cavern. "You aren't the first one to call me that. I doubt you'll be the last." She held out a hand as she stepped into the cavern.
"What's taking so long?" Charlie's head popped out of the dirt, making both of them jump. Nessie's head smashed into the roof of the cavern and she turned to give Charlie an evil glare.
Another round of beams collapsed, but this time the whole roof of the basement came with it, smothering Torin. He coughed and lifted his arms, but a large chunk of the cement foundation came crashing down on his head. He heard both Nessie and Charlie curse before it was lights out and he heard no more.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Autumn crashed into the wall, feeling her arm bruise at the impact. Falling on her ass, she glared up at the man that had brought her back to this godforsaken shithole of a shed. The same exact four walls stared back at her. They hadn’t even bothered to wipe her paintings from the wall. The fur blanket still lay on the floor where she’d left it. Her bowls of paint remained scattered, brushes and all. Nothing had been touched. As if she’d never even left.
The man sneered down at her. "I'll make sure to let Jaxon know that his little whore is back and waiting for him."
When he stomped back out the door and she heard the faint click of a lock, she collapsed into a heap. Because no matter what it looked like around her, she had left this place. Those memories of Torin and his family made it hard to breathe through the sobs. Those memories were the best…and the worst, making her cry out in agony as her glimpse of happiness faded into the darkness around her. Knowing what could have been made knowing what was about to happen even worse. Ten times worse. A thousand times worse.
Maybe she deserved this. She had brought death and destruction to the only ones who had ever shown her any kindness. And this was her punishment. Punishment for daring to dream of a life outside these four walls. Life without pain and misery. Oh, yes, she'd dreamed all right. Dreamed of a man with hazel eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. A man who had showed her what laughter was. What fun was. What...love was? Was that what this feeling was? As if without him, she'd sure
ly drown in her sorrow.
Hours later, she had cried an ocean of tears. Until her eyes held no more, and her body shook with sheer exhaustion. And all she could do was wait. Wait to see who walked through that door. Would it be the man or the monster of her dreams?
And then the lock clicked open.
***
Torin peeled his eyes open as he heard crashing around him.
"Torin? Nessie? Are you down here?" he heard his father's gruff voice calling.
"We're in here!" Nessie yelled from way too close making him clap his hands over his ears.
"Nessie? Is that you?"
Nessie huffed and, even in the darkness, he saw her crawling towards a wall of rocks, dirt, and broken pieces of what must have once been the basement ceiling. He became acutely aware of the pounding in his head, reminding him that said ceiling had fallen on him.
"What happened?" he asked, wondering why he wasn't lying beneath all that rubble.
Nessie whipped around, gasping. "Torin! You're okay!" He grunted as she threw herself on him and then just as quickly jumped off him. "I mean, ummm. I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled, her cheeks blushing. "You...uh...scared me for a minute there." She gave him a weak jab in the shoulder, which still made him wince.
Then, suddenly, a large chunk of the wall collapsed, allowing light to filter into their makeshift burrow. His father poked his head through the wall. "Are you two alright?"
They both nodded and Nessie helped him to his feet. Several more heads popped through the widening hole. Torin saw that most of the other Whitemoon Warriors were here to dig them out.
"Dude," Alaric called as Torin climbed through the hole and back into what remained of the basement. "I nearly shit myself when Kay told me you'd been dumb enough to come down here."
Nessie climbed out next and threw a glare towards his best friend. "Gee, thanks. Nice to know I'm so well liked around here."
Several of the other warriors groaned and mumbled rude comments. Torin shook his head, "You guys are real assholes, you know that?"
That got a lot of them turning their heads. Even his father looked surprised.
"If it weren't for her, you'd have all found me buried under all that shit you just dug up. Probably dead. So, how about showing her some respect, you pricks."
There was an awkward silence as the others exchanged glances. Well, at least they were being silent assholes. For the moment.
"The sun set a few minutes ago," his father said.
Nessie gave an exasperated sigh. "Gods, we know. Vampire...well, part vampire, at least. We can sense when it sets."
His father looked taken aback, but simply nodded. "Um, right."
Okay, Nessie obviously hadn't warmed up to Talon as much as her mother had over the past few weeks. Of course, Eva, Nessie's mother, had loved the man twenty years ago. Torin had a sneaking suspicion Eva still did...and that his father might as well. The thought angered him, making him understand Nessie's hesitation. Even he had grown distant from his father since Eva and Nessie's arrival. And, honestly, he couldn't blame that on Nessie. She couldn't help who her biological father was or who her mother had loved (and might still). He really couldn't even blame that on Eva. She wasn't the married one, after all. In fact, he had to thank the two of them. If it weren't for them, he'd have never ventured into Blackmoon and found Autumn in the first place.
Speaking of Autumn...
"Pop," he called, catching his father's attention. "Is Autumn and the little girl okay now? Did you get them somewhere safe?"
Talon quirked a brow. "I haven't seen Autumn since the two of you left for that ridiculous picnic."
"What?!" Torin roared.
***
Autumn’s body shook as the door creaked open. Was she doomed or saved?
"Ahhh." Well, now she knew her answer. "I knew you'd be back, baby cakes," Jaxon's booming voice echoed in the tiny room. "And from what Leroy tells me, you've even started using that voice of yours again." He pulled her up from the floor with one arm easily, grinning at her. "Let's see if we can get those pretty pipes singing, shall we?"
She contemplated whether she should try to fight back. Something inside her wanting to keep herself from being tainted worse than she already had been. Or maybe it was because now she knew what it felt like to actually want a man in that way. Whatever it was, the moment he touched her, she flailed. Her body rebelled against him, refusing to accept any more abuse from this wretched creature.
"Oh," he purred against her ear. "I should let you escape more often if this is how I'm rewarded when I get you back."
Although she thought she had no more tears left in her, her eyes proved her wrong. Because even though she knew she should stop the struggle. Go limp in his arms and just let him get it over with already. Her heart just couldn't accept it now. Maybe, if she struggled enough, he'd accidentally kill her. Then, the misery of her existence would be over. What did she have left to live for now?
The door crashed open, and, damn her, her heart leapt as she snapped her head up. Praying for a miracle.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Torin dashed up the piles of debris onto the main floor of the house. He was distracted for only a moment by the sheer state of destruction his family home had been turned into. Black soot coated everything and the dining room had been reduced to a giant hole into the basement. Ash and dust had settled on any furniture that remained, which wasn't much. But the loss of all that he owned did little to faze him. Houses could be rebuilt.
"Autumn?" He bolted through the village, ignoring the pounding of his head and the ache in his body. "Autumn?!" His mind raced as he thought of the next place to look. But as each remaining house turned up empty and each face wasn't the one he wanted to see, his heart began to throb.
"She's gone," a tiny voice said when he stopped to catch his breath and try not to panic. He looked down to see the little girl that Autumn had held in her arms staring up at him with eyes shimmering with tears.
He knelt down and tried to smile at her, but his face wouldn't cooperate. "What do you mean?" he asked in as calm and soft a voice as he could manage.
The girl sniffled and pressed her lips together. "You're looking for the pretty red-haired lady, right?"
Torin nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat, hoping he'd heard her wrong the first time.
"She's gone," she whispered, bowing her head and wiping her runny nose with her dirty arm. "One of the bad men took her away." She lifted her head to stare at him again, a look more intense than he'd have expected from such a young child. "She went with them to save me, I think."
Torin's breath caught in his throat as her words spilled over him. Rage, worry, and pride filled his chest. Those cruel bastards had his mate in their grimy claws...again. The tiny girl in front of him was here, safe, because of his mate's amazing selfishness. And the woman thinks she doesn't deserve me.
"Torin," his father's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to face the man he'd looked up to his whole life, only to have his next words shatter all respect for the man. "You need to let her go."
Rising from his kneeling position, Torin gave his father a hard stare. "I don't fucking think so."
"They have recovered their stolen property. There will be no further reason for them..."
"You would allow that godforsaken pack to get away with what they have done?" Kayline screeched from behind him, her icy glare drilling into Talon. She stepped around him and got into the Alpha's face. "Your wife is fighting for her life because of those bastards!"
Talon's eyes widened. "What? Lauren?"
"Yeah. Lauren. The wife you've seemed to have forgotten the past few weeks, you selfish coward."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Talon yelled. "Where is your mother?!"
"How dare you!" Kayline screamed back, pointing a finger up into Talon's face. "You act worried now! Now that Blackmoon has nearly killed her! And still you do nothing!"
The rage in his father's fac
e melted away as he took a step away from Kayline, shaking his head. "I...I was just," he stuttered. "I didn't want a war. Over a slave."
"Do not blame Autumn for this," Torin growled, clenching his teeth.
Talon's eyes snapped up to his, narrowing. "I don't blame her."
Torin took a step forward. "You can blame me all you want, father. But, you know as well as I do that Blackmoon has been gunning for a reason for war since we invaded them to save Charlie."
"And you gave it to them!"
Guilt clawed at his insides as he stared into his father's eyes, as if staring into his own. He couldn't deny it. Rescuing Autumn had given Blackmoon the reason they'd needed. And the longer she'd stayed, the more he realized he couldn't let her go. Especially now. She was his mate, and he'd die before he let her go without a fight.
"Autumn is my mate. And the claim of a mate trumps the claim of a slave any day in the eyes of Pack Law." He knew it was true. Mates were treasured above all else in their world. To kill another's mate meant death if brought before the Leaders, a small group of the eldest and most powerful of the Alphas.
"You may have claimed her vocally, son. But until she bears the mark of a true mate, that claim holds no bearing on Pack Law. So, unless you're willing to force yourself on her..."
Torin growled again.
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Just then, Alaric and the other warriors hustled from the charred remains of their family home. "Any casualties?" his father asked.
"It's not looking good, sir," Alaric said as they circled around them. "It's looking like Blackmoon has straight-up kidnapped at least a dozen of our women and young girls. And we found Jarden and Lucas both gutted just outside the village."
The three of them cursed loudly.
Torin was the first to speak as his father rubbed his forehead. "Autumn was one of them," he said, catching Alaric's gaze.
Kiss of Fire: A Dystopian Shifter Romance (The Whitemoon Warriors #2) (The Whitemoon Warriors Series) Page 14
