Ember
After work, I was beat. I phased home, letting Seth and Carter know I was home. I went to Jordan and Damien’s room. Damien was gone as usual, and Jordan fell asleep. I backed away and went into my own room, not wanting to wake him. My phone was buzzing since I had it on vibrate. Someone was calling me. I looked at the number and it was Rosalee.
“Hello” , I said.
“Emmy?”, I heard the frail voice I had not heard from in a while.
“Hey aunt Rosalee?”, I said. I had forgotten I had given her my number after letting her know mom was dead and buried next to dad.
“Hi, dear. How are you?”, she asked.
“I am okay, auntie. Surviving. How are you?”, I asked her as I started taking my work clothes off.
“Making it. Still think about your mother every day”, she said. The tone of her voice matched my mood. Saddened.
“As do I.” I told her. “It’s good to hear from you, auntie. I am sorry I have not called in a while”.
“Nonsense child. You did what you had to do. I don’t blame you for wanting to start over. I called you though for a reason. You have a friend here who wants to speak with you. He didn’t have your number”, she said. Friend? I thought to myself.
“Umm. Ok. You can put him on, auntie”, I told her. An unsettling feeling started forming in the pit of my stomach as I heard her pass her phone to whoever it was.
“Hello, Ember” the voice said and all at once I felt my whole world shift. I knew my panic was flooding my mate link as I heard Carter and Seth, both linking me. Jordan also came through the door with a concerned look, but I whispered I had just hit my toe on something. He nodded and went back to his room, still sleepy. I was silent. Not knowing what to say. I could hear Ryder chuckle.
“It’s been a while, my little flame. I’ve contacted your aunt who so graciously called you for me. “, he said, taunting me.
“You will not fucking touch her”, I seethed through the phone. My panic turned into instant hatred. I heard him chuckle again.
“You won’t have to worry about that provided that you come and see me, sweetie. We have a lot to discuss. “, he said, speaking in a way to keep Aunt Rosalee clueless. I knew him. He would kill her without blinking if he didn’t get what he wanted. She was the last family member I had left. I couldn’t leave her to die.
“Where?”, I asked him.
“I’ll meet you at the Miami border. I have someone parked outside your packhouse border who will take you there. You will know this person when you see them. If you cause any trouble for them, your dear aunt will benefit from that mistake”, he said, threatening Aunt Rosalee. He was basically confirming what I already knew. He really did kill my mother.
“I’ll see you soon”, he said, hanging up the call. I was feeling a range of emotions so vivid, I had to cut off the link between me and all four of my mates. I didn’t want them to worry. I called Seth and Carter, telling them I had just fallen down being clumsy to get them to stop calling me, after telling them I was okay. I was happy to hear they believed me and said they would be coming home soon. I took a few breaths. Calming down, I looked back into Jordan’s room and saw he was back asleep. They were all going to be upset with me, but I knew that they would understand. I phased to the outside of the pack. I could see Agatha in her hut, watching through the windows. I heard her voice in my head.
” Help will come to you “, she said. I had no idea who she could have meant, but I gave her a small nod. I saw a black limo pulling up to me and the door opened. The driver got out and opened the door to the back.
“Get in”, he demanded. His eyes turned black. I nodded and climbed into the back seat and surprise went through me when I saw who was in the back with me.
“Human”, Ruby said with a sneer. She sat in an all-black suit with her legs crossed, right across from me. She had a cup of wine in her hand.
” You’re in league with Ryder. How could you?”, I said to her. I should have known she was planning something.
” Shut up, bitch. You took my sons away from me. Mate bond or not? I refuse to let you dilute our family legacy with your weakness. she spat at me. Before I realized what was happening, she grabbed my arm and put something around it. A bracelet? Also… Weakness? I realized she didn’t know I now had powers. If she didn’t know, it was likely Ryder didn’t know either. Best to keep them hidden. I could probably phase right to Seth and Carter, but I knew I needed to face Ryder. For too long, he plagued my dreams. Ruined my life. Took my mother from me. He was my mate’s number one enemy. If I can take him out, I will. I tried linking Seth and Carter, letting them know Ruby was in cahoots with Ryder, but I felt like I was being blocked.
“Don’t bother trying to link my sons, bitch. That bracelet around your wrist is courtesy of your dear old boyfriend. You won’t be able to reach my sons. ” she said, mocking me.
“All of this, just because I am a human. Does Franklin know what you’re doing?” I questioned. I needed to know all the players here. That question earned me a slap to the face. I held my face to reduce the sting it brought.
“Keep his name out of your mouth, cunt. Or I will tear out your tongue and make you choke on it, she threatened. Well, that answered my question. Clearly, she was doing a solo mission. I kept silent as we made the drive to the Miami border. My heart quickened with every mile I watched go by. I knew that by now, my mates would sense I was not home, and would come looking for me. They had the tech to trace the limo. They would know where I was being taken too, and they would come for me. I will need to complete my mission before they get here. They could not cross the state line without dying, per the spell that Agatha told me about.
” I will be so glad for Ryder to finally rid me of you. My sons will be upset, and they will come for Ryder. Ryder knows you will never accept him, so he will kill you. My sons will kill him in retaliation. It’s a win win for our family”, she says, laughing before taking a sip of her drink. I could only look at her as she spoke. Knowing that this was once a Luna of the pack I have now sickens me. If given the chance later, I will make sure she pays for this. The door opened as we approached the Miami line. I saw two black limos parked on the side of the road and we were parked behind them.
“Get the fuck out of my car, human”, Ruby said to me. I gave her a simple nod before doing as she said. It was better not to allow my emotions to spill all over the place. The moment I got out, I was grabbed by two of Ryder’s henchmen. I could not see him, but I felt his eyes on me from one of the limos, even though the windows were blacked out. Just as I suspected, the moment I entered the limo, I heard a growl. I looked him dead in the eye. If he thought I was going to cower, he was surely mistaken.
” Ember”, he said, smiling at me. He tried reaching out to touch me, but I pulled away.
“Don’t fucking touch me”, I spat at him. He raised an eyebrow.
“Still as defiant as ever I see”, he said, smirking.
“What did you think would change, Ryder? You killed my mother, threatened my aunt, and was the reason Lamonte killed himself. All because of your weird ass obsession with me. Well, here I fucking am. What do you want? A fucking apology? I will burn in hades before I let the words leave my lips”, I said to him in almost a growl. Shock displayed in his eyes, and he grabbed my throat, pushing me against the seat. I tried pushing him off me, but he was too strong.
“hmmmmmm” he growled at me. It was something he did when he was feeling murderous. I held my place and looked him in his eyes. I was not afraid.
“You’ve changed a lot, little girl. I like it.”, he said before letting me go. As he did, I gripped my throat as if it was hurting. He sat back down on his side and spread his arms across the seat, with me fully in his view.
“Drive”, he demanded the driver. It was no one I knew.
” Relax, Ember. You are coming back home. ” Ryder said as the car took off.
“Miami is my home. My mates are my home. What you are doing is called kidnapping”, I told him, and he laughed.
“Ah, the mate bond. You know, many moons ago, I came across another human girl who was in her mate-bond. She looked so in love. She looked happy. Something I didn’t have. I just knew I had to have her on the spot. I fucked her. Hard on the forest floor. Poor girl was so shaken up by the attack, she didn’t tell a soul. I doubt she even told her mate,”He said.
” Victoria”, I growled at him, and he smiled at me.
“Very good, Ember. Yes. Vicky. Imagine her surprise to find out she was pregnant. Not knowing whether or not the baby was mine or Lamonte’s,” he said to me. What was the fucking point of this story?
“What is the fucking point of you reminiscing about your sick and depraved days with me?” I asked him. His eyes twinkled.
” I knew the baby was not mine, but she knew I had made it to where she belonged to me only. She knew I would have killed that baby the moment it was born, so what did she and Lamonte do? They hid their baby girl under the guise of human parents, so that the baby would also be raised by human parents”, he said. Another twisted knot was forming in my stomach. He couldn’t be telling me what I think he was telling me, was he?
” What a sad life the child had. Growing up with anger issues. Not knowing her real parents. I never stopped looking for the child. The moment she was born, I felt a connection to the baby girl, so I could not kill her. However, in sparing the baby girl, I had not realized I had given time for Lamonte and Vicky to plan their baby’s escape. The girl grew up beautifully as well, with hair the color of flames, and eyes as blue as the sky. Her human father died on the day of her graduation, thanks to a well-placed car at the right time on my orders. Her mother, torn apart by a wolf. ” He was saying. Tears were falling down my eyes. Was he messing with me? Or was this real?
“Vicky knew I would never stop looking for her baby, as the connection I felt was powerful. Not a mate bond, but something so much more. Fate. I killed Vicky, of course, for defying me. I almost killed Lamonte as well, had he not promised I would have the baby girl by the time she reached twenty-one. He wanted her to live as much as a normal life as possible before I came to claim her. So, I watched the girl from a distance. At my command, he was to keep her true parentage from her. Never revealing he was her father, and in return, I let him live, and even made him her personal bodyguard, so he would make sure she was safe. Too bad he was weak though. ” Ryder taunted me. My face was a mess with tears as everything started to blur together. My life. My whole life was one big lie.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked between tears.
“Because little girl, it is in my nature. Don’t worry. I can tell your “mates”, haven’t told you anything about who you are. It will make sense soon though, ” he said, smiling menacingly. How did he know who I was? I looked closer at him, and the words of Iris stood out to me as clear as day.
“You alone will recognize them when you see them. They will have a red glow around them, through your eyes. ” Iris had told me through Agatha.
My eyes adjusted in the dark, and I saw the glow around Ryder more clearly than anything else now. Bright fucking red. He smiled.
” Don’t worry, little flame. I am actually not your original Ryder, though his meat skin is something I very much enjoy. He was killed the day you left and replaced by something much stronger. Blessed by something beyond your control”, he said. If this was not Ryder, then who the fuck was he?
“Before we can begin, allow me to introduce you to my true self”, he said. The skin on his body melted off. His clothes changed into a thick red hooded robe. Where his skin had been, there was only bone. Where his eyes were, there was only red smoke. It was truly the most unsettling thing I had ever seen.
” My true name is War, and you, Ember, will be my queen in this lifetime, and my brothers in your next ones, whether you want to, or not.”