Kiera's POV
The fire razed the forest, burning all the trees and plants. Its acrid stench clogged my nose and made my eyes water. I could see nothing but smoke and the wolf, unmoving. Soon, the whole forest will be burnt down. The fire was going to engulf everything in the next few seconds and I would be burnt to death.
There was no conscious thought or rationalization. I turned and ran for my life. I didn’t stop running until the burning smoke became a thin flash in the air.
Gasping heavily, I watched from a mile -miles? Meters? I had no idea, I only knew I was very far away and could barely see the smoke in the air- away as sirens blared so loud, I thought my eardrum would become damaged. The siren reminded me of when I had set our house on fire with my father and his mistress in it.
<[A/N; Hello once again dear reader. I really do hope Kiera and Mason's story has you in its trenches as much as it has me. The story has several parts -the parts follow Kyros' awakening and his rise back to power, and Kiera's attempts to stop that from happening- and we are in the second part. As the story evolves, we will be having point of view from other characters, one of such characters is Mason's wolf, Alvis.This is because Kiera is still unaware of a lot of things at this point but you need to be aware of them so that the story and the characters' actions can make sense to you.And if you do love the book, please consider voting for the book and dropping a comment. ]ALVIS' POVI lifted my snout to the air, catc
MASON's POVMy head was on fire. I groaned and tried to roll over. I shrieked in pain as my left arm made contact with the soft bedding. The coverlet was soft but that was no comfort for the shooting pain that shot up my arm. I opened eyes brewing with tears and examined my left arm.Oh, holy goddess.My left arm was fried. From my shoulder down to my fingernails was all black. My arm was a piece of meat left to roast for days over a grill. Heck, I couldn’t recognize my arm. It was charred and throbbing. Even lifting my finger brought the sharp bite of pain to my body.I didn’t know pain in one body part could radiate to the rest of my body until I tried to stretch the burnt nerve in my left arm.
MASON's POV (Continued)My dad’s office was downstairs and we were two floors up. Walking down the hallway and another stairs, then through the kitchen to get to the office had never been as long as it was today. It felt like I walked for more than an hour before I got to his office. My leg was also sore and hurting. It seemed I hurt more thanjust my hand in the fire but wordvomiting to my parents was unfortunately not going to get me justice I seek for a number of reasons.To begin with, I was the next alpha in line after my father and I was an only child but the possiblity of me being chosen as the next alpha was slimmer than if I had been the first of several children. Ever since my wolf got injured three years ago and I couldn’t shift or communicate with my wolf, several pack members had deemed me defective and incapable of l
Mason's POV “Son? I asked you a question.” He did? Father’s face brooked no arguments and I feared his reaction if I informed him that I hadn’t been listening. “Uh….”I shrugged in lieu of an answer. How could I answer a question I didn’t know? "What does that shrug mean? That you don’t know who did this to you or you don't want to tell your father?" Mother ground through her teeth. Oh, they wanted to know who had done this to me. Well, that was another difficult question. I didn’t want to admit that she had done this to me. Goddess knows what mother would do to her. "Go on. Tell your father how one of those cursed witches did this to you. Tell him how they’ve been breaking the pact we shed so much blood to create." She spat hatefully. In the massacre that occurred during the great war, mum’s family had been one of the countless casualties. A witch attacked them in their home while my mother who had just been 10years old then was digging through boxes for her toy in the
“Do not space out on me kid. Is the pain that bad?” Large hands gripped my shouders and walked me to the cream couch in dad’s room. Groaning at the fingers grazing my injured arm caused the tension in the room to ratchet up several levels. The hands left my shoulders as soon as my butt hit the couch. I looked up to find my dad’s green eyes staring back at me worriedly. “What happened?” “You spaced out. Love, get Syl.” Mum walked out immediately, her walk almost a jog. “I’m okay. Really.” “Its not like you to stare off into space in the middle of your sentence, son.” The landline rang. For some reason, father insisted on using the archaic thing to receive calls in the office. “Alpha Gray here.” His frown was still etched deeply onhis face and was now evident in his voice. How long do I have until mother returned? His frown etched even deeper, if such a thing was possible. His deep, bushy eyebrows curving deeper into the other. My father was a handsome man, even if I do say somys
Mason's POV(Continued)I rose from my reclining position on the couch and faced father. He glanced back expectantly, having caught my worried look at the door. “Someone shot fire at me.” He stiffened, but unlike mother, didn’t start assuming things. “I really don’t have a reason for being at GrimRock, because I didnt know I would end up there, but I was in my wolf form and I noticed something strange about it. The wards let me in, so I followed the figure I’d seen and before I knew it, the whole forest was on fire.”“Why didn’t you know that you would end up in GrimRock?” He asked quietly.“I was in my wolf form. For the first time in a long time, I
Mason's POV(Continued)“Do you remember when you got home Mason?” father asked calmly.“Um, not really. But the sun was just setting when I returned home. So about 5 or 6? I don’t remember much after I shifted.”“You shifted?”“Into your wolf form?” Those were the only audible words I caught from the three shocked faces of my uncle, mum and Syl.“And After that?” Dad caught in his commanding voice once again.“I don’t know. I only remember when mum came into the room.”
Mason's POV(Continued) “Mason?” “You hear about the fire at Grimrock?” “Yeah? What about it?” “I got burnt in it.” His eyes widened some more and his eyebrows disappeared somewhere into his hairline. He messed with his glasses as several expresions crossed his face. I watched him carefully, waiting for him to decide what list of querys he wanted to start with. Movement from the doorway snagged our attention. Five distinct scents wafted to me and I was sure Rhemir had picked up the same thing. Four of the six council of elders were here. The fifth co
Kiera's POVMy eyes snapped open suddenly. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out where I was. I licked the top of my lips as the world slowly came into focus and people stopped screeching in agony. Gingerly, I sat up until I was resting my elbows on my knees, the only sound in the room my harsh pants. Something had woken me up, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. Well, whatever it was, I was glad for it.Before I'd woken up, I had been in the midst of a dream. To put it more accurately, a nightmare. People were screaming in agony. It was endless and bloodcurdling.A loud piercing sound rent the air and I flinched instinctively.My eyes went wide with panic as my heart galloped rapidly. It took me ten horrible seconds in which I died twice before I finally located the sound.I huffed at my own jumpiness and leaned towards the edge of the bed to pluck up the phone. I needed to change that stupid ringtone before it gave me a heart attack. ‘I'm hungry.’ The text message was just o
Kiera's POV (CONTINUED)“Mira?” I called in disbelief, moving closer to the two figures. Big doe eyes lit up when she caught sight of me. One would think she just saw her long lost love with how wide her smile was. “Kiera!” She thrilled and ran over to hug me. I stood frozen to the spot, trying to comprehend what was happening. She ended the strange, too tight hug a few seconds later, her megawatt smile lighting up her eyes. “You're back! Thank goodness, I actually thought we'd have to wait for hours. Are you just coming back from school?” She asked with a nod in the direction of my backpack. “How did you know where I live?” I demanded in a tight tone, cutting through her chatter ruthlessly. Being a brilliant mood reader, Mira's effusive smile dimmed somewhat, but didn't completely fade. "My uncle told me.”Oh, yeah. Tru, the demon seeking giant. “Why are you here?”“You don't want to see us? It sounds like we're not welcome.” She clipped, her eyes turning a brilliant yellow as i
Kiera's POV(Continued)"Okay, so this is how this is going to go down." Jerkface began softly, his gaze trained on the empty road ahead. We were in a wooded area of the town. After Mason's whispered threat -it could be nothing else- I had been in a sort of panicked trance. By the time I was cognizant of anything, a small see through bag was in my hand and Rhemir was on the phone. Shortly after, Rhemir had ended the call with a "Yes, sir."Then he turned to Jerkface and I and informed us with a rueful grimace that he had an important errand to run for his uncle. I wanted to ask if this was the same 'alpha' who had called him out of school a few days ago, but the sudden thundercloud that hovered above Mason's head had me changing my mind. The two of them exchanged a meaningful glance but Jerkface gave a short shake of his head. With a shrug, Rhemir turned and exited the shop. So now, I was in a huge black truck on the road to Lord knew where and the only thing I had for company be
Kiera's POV(Continued) The phone store was compact, but boasted of a vast array of smartphones, tablets, laptops and all the necessary accessories. It was also silent, the only occupants being myself, a boy and girl just about a year or so older than me who are definitely employees of this fine establishment. I spied the burly owner behind an oval desk glaring at me and I promptly headed farther into the store. I stopped next to an aisle of phone chargers, staring at it blankly. A little bell rang as the front door opened, admitting two bodies. Resolutely, I continued inspecting the wall of chargers even as the new entries kept walking towards me. Soon, their body heat was behind me and I didn't have to look at them to know it was Rhemir and Jerkface. "C'mon, the latest phones are in the next aisle." Jerkface asserted....and he promptly gripped my elbow and dragged me along for the ride. Sarah dragging me where she wanted, I had no problem with. But Jerkface doing the same thing, t
Kiera's POV (Continued)"Kiera?" The voice was anxious but gruff. Whoever spoke was scared but trying to sound tough. An innate urge made me want to reach up and comfort the voice. I reached out with my hands blindly. Thick layers of clothe, a firm body. A soft but bushy mound of hair. And then the most delicious scent my nose has ever been honored to smell. It was a cross between melted chocolate and s’mores. Or maybe the s’mores was coated in chocolate before being roasted. Hmm. Yummy.I scooted closer, seeking more of the delicious scent with my nose....and the rest of my body. Something big, fluffy and warm engulfed me, and I scooted as close as possible, not even wanting the tiniest wisp of air between me and the wonderful scent and my comfy pillow. Soft exhalation hit my hair. It felt like relief. I was too busy enjoying this heavenly pleasure to try and determine what relief my comfy pillow was feeling. “Hey! No indecent acts in front of my shop! Get a room!” The voice yell
Kiera's POV(Continued)Rhemir was waiting outside when I exited the building. I found him lounging against the ancient brown doors, his gaze unfocused. He sprang into motion the second he saw me."Hey! There you are. You ready?""For what?" Jail?Can he hear Celyn bouncing around in my backpack?"Why would I take you to jail?" He asked quizzically, his eyebrows furrowing."Um.. where are you taking me?""Home? The school day is over and we missed you at lunch, so I figured I'd give you a lift home." His baby blues narrowed on my face. "You don't consider your home a prison, do you?" He frowned suddenly, his countenance back to warrior mode. He was primed and ready to wage war on my behalf. If he knew what'd I'd done to a fellow girl just a few short minutes ago, he wouldn't be so willing to defend me."No of course not! It was just a random slip of the tongue, okay? You can stop looking like you want to rip someone apart now." I snapped, just barely stopping myself from making a run f
Kiera's POV(continued)I was staring at the buttocks of a squirrel.Why was I staring at a squirrel's butt?Blinking, I rose and tried to confirmexactly what I was looking at. The pain flared to life again."Easy there." A soft voice murmured.I lurched to my feet, and promptly ended up on my butt with a pained groan for my effort. Tears rushed to my eyes as that stupid effing flame made itself known."Are you alright, keeper?"I turned, careful to twist only my neck and no other part of my body. Staring at me in consternation was a tall willowy figure in a frilly gown. It reminded me of something that was popular in the eighties. She wasn't floating in the air. But I knew what she was. Ghost. Sorry, trapped soul.She was strong though, her solid form on this realm stating clearly that she has been here a very long time an
Kiera's POV(Continued)"Human existence is on the brink of extinction." Nana Brooke's voice broke the weird silence that ensued after that horrific show. "They're tired of being in the shadows. They want to rule. Your gift is the only thing stopping them. It is also the only thing that can help they become victorious." Talk about a double edged sword.I turned to her, shell-shocked. "My gift?"She nodded lightly. "Yes, the gift of the flame. It was given to me by William." My mind flashed back to Whitlock's terrified ramblings. It was the flame he'd been trying to hide from 'the traitor.'"I come from a long line of witches Kiera. But we were different. We can't cast spells like other witches -some say it meant we were weak. We only have a particular strength we excelled in and could do well. My mother's was making illusions. She was the strongest there was. Apart from these strengths, we are spec
Kiera's POV(Continued) Reluctantly, I did as she said. "Whoare you?" I wondered. Where was I? That was the next question on my tongue, but I wanted to put a name to the face first. Why did it feel like I should know who she was? "Why, I am Nana Brooke." "You don’t look like a nana."I declared succinctly. Every time I hear the word nana, I always picture an old womanwith a long gown, blue shower-cap and a large wooden spoon. Instead she wore a trim ice blue gownand comfy shoes. Her black hair was gleaming and in a short bob. "The afterlife must be pretty neat." She laughed heartily. Even her laugh was familiar. "We are not inthe afterlife child." Oh, thank goodness. I wasn't dead yet. "Then whereare we?" "Somewhere in the in-between." She has black eyes just like me,