LOGINShare
Part One
Last Updated:
2024-09-18 00:17:52“Kai…” I managed out a whisper. Death touched my soul and I blinked.
Three women sat beside a well. I didn’t recognize this place, but it was breathtakingly beautiful. The women had no faces, yet I felt like I knew them. I had to prove myself for them to reveal their faces to me.
“These are the Norns, they can either bless you or curse you. To change Kai’s fate, you have to honor each of them and perhaps they will reveal to you what you seek most.” Death’s voice was low.
“Where are we?” I asked him, looking around.
“We’re beneath Yggdrasil in Asgard. You have a choice to make, give them what they ask, and they will reveal the past, the present and the future to you. Refuse them and be cursed.”
I walked up to the three women and I bowed before them. In this place, I had no standing, Alpha or not, and to offend them would have consequences. Urdr, Verdandi and Skuld each placed a hand on my head, and I was taken back to the past. I saw Karani, I could feel her, hear her and the pain tore at me. I saw the truth of what I was in her eyes and it blinded me with shock.
Verdandi showed me the present and I smiled briefly. Adara, Kai, Christian, Malachi, James. The people I loved most in this world. I saw her then, angelic, beautiful and I knew that I loved her too, in that moment I wanted to protect her. ‘How did this happen?’ I wondered and Urdr took me back and I could hardly believe what I saw.
Skuld gripped my head and I tasted fear, my own fear. She showed me the future and I couldn’t prevent the tears from rolling down my cheeks. This wasn’t too far ahead in the future, Kai was still a baby, crawling and laughing. I saw the dreadful things that awaited me if I didn’t get their blessing. I saw Kai in the clearing, Adara unable to take his heart from his chest with me and I couldn’t breathe.
I started choking and I was back in my office, gulping for air. Death sat down in front of me, and my hands were shaking. I couldn’t speak and I tried to swallow and comprehend everything I’d just seen.
“I don’t understand,” I said to him and he smiled sadly at me.
“The choice is now yours. You can change his fate by changing yours, give what the Norns ask of you and you will succeed. Now, I have somewhere to be, I do have a full-time job, you know.” Death laughed at his own joke. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
“Holy shit.” I realized that facing Adara would be worse than what the future had in store for me if I couldn’t get her to believe me. I picked up my phone and I called her.
“Where are you?” I asked her when she picked up.
“I was just about to head back home. I forgot my laptop.” I heard annoyance in her voice.
“I’ll see you there in a few minutes.” I grabbed my keys and headed out of the hotel and drove home. My heart was beating so fast that it drowned out all the other noises and my nerves overtook me. I parked in front of the garage and saw that the front door was open.
I walked inside slowly and smelled Malachi, then I got the other shock of my life. A woman was sitting on the kitchen counter. Malachi had no shirt on, and they were kissing. “Take it upstairs, Dad.” Malachi instantly looked up and he looked somewhat guilty, she turned her head towards me and I got another shock.
“Oh, hey, Superstar,” Jessica said to me and I had a million questions that I couldn’t ask now. I had bigger problems than my best friend making out with my father. I shook my head to try and erase that image from my mind.
“Adara’s on her way home. Either get dressed or take it upstairs.” I opened the sliding doors and stood on the patio. After a few minutes Malachi joined me, his shirt on now.
“Are you okay? I know this is a shock, I was planning on telling you about Jess…” The look on my face had his words falter.
“I don’t care, Dad. I have bigger problems. I’ll speak to you after I’ve told Adara.” Her car came up the driveway and I walked around the outside of the house and opened the door for her.
She smiled at me and I wondered briefly how long that smile would last. I took Kai from his car seat and we went inside. I stopped just before we reached the front door.
“I just found Jessica and Malachi making out in the kitchen. You might want to bleach all the counters.” Adara started laughing at me. I loved her laugh.
“Making out? Like teenagers?”
“He was already shirtless, thank the gods she had all her clothes on.” Adara laughed again and walked ahead. I gave Kai to Malachi and told him we needed a minute as I took Adara into the study, the only place in the house where we couldn’t be overheard.
I took a deep breath and started the conversation. “I have to tell you something, a few things, actually.”
“Okay, this doesn’t sound like a good conversation.” She still had a tentative smile on her lips, one that would disappear soon.
“Adara, just know that I love you. I would never intentionally hurt you. I really need you to keep an open mind and believe me.”
The smile on her lips disappeared and she didn’t answer me but sat down on the couch instead. I sat down next to her and took her hand and then I started telling her everything I knew. I should have switched my emotions off, but I wouldn’t let her feel these emotions alone.
Related chapters
Fire Part Two
“Death visited me earlier. He took me to a place where I saw three old women, they’re known as the Norns. They see the past, the present and the future. If you’re worthy, they will show you and give you a chance to change your fate.”“Who’s fate? Yours?”“I have a daughter.” Her eyes were wide with anger, but she controlled her voice.“How old?” I knew this was the make-or-break moment.“She was born the day after Kai.”Adara slapped me harder than I thought she could and stood up. She grabbed the first thing she could find on my desk and threw it at my head. The solid steel wolf statuette connected and cut my cheek open. She wasn’t looking at me, she was crying as she grabbed whatever she could find, and I had to turn my back to her.“Adara! Enough!” I yelled at her as she slumped to the floor and sobbed. I bent down in front of her and just held her.“Let me just tell the story. This is as big a shock to me as it is to you. I never cheated.” She didn’t lift her head and I continued
Last Updated : 2024-09-18Fire Part Three
I emptied half a bottle of Scotch in the time it took James to arrive at the house. I was exhausted and I was scared. I wouldn’t admit that to anyone, but I was. I had no idea what awaited me because I hadn’t even known witches existed.James and I finished the bottle as I told him my story. His eyes held disbelief and the expression on his face was one of utter shock. I left nothing out, I told him everything. He didn’t interrupt me once and for that I was glad. It was hard enough to tell the story twice in one day.I hadn’t slept yet and I knew my eyes were red-rimmed from lack of sleep. I had spent the night looking at Christian and Kai as they slept in our bed next to Adara. Christian saw it as having a sleepover and he loved it.“I don’t know what to say. Witches…shit”“Tell me about it.” I rubbed a hand over my face and sighed.“And Jessica and Malachi? I didn’t see that one coming.” I smiled at the way he said it, the slight frown making it more comical than it was. “What are y
Last Updated : 2024-09-18Fire Part Four
I gave the pack a moment to settle down, to digest everything I’d told them and let them come to terms with what they’d seen from Jessica. It was a lot to take in and a lot to understand. Once I did that spell, there was no going back, I’d be a half breed.“Dezrael will be coming for Kai because he is my first-born.” I had yet to tell them that I was a half breed.“Why is she coming after Kai?” Frank asked.“Okay, guys, now I’m going to tell you another secret that I only recently found out and then if it’s your choice, I’ll step down as Alpha if that’s what you want.” They all looked at me and I could see the confusion in their eyes.“This sounds worse than a witch coming after your son.”“Karani was a half witch and that makes me a half witch too. She chose her wolf life over that of a witch. Dezrael’s fear is that Kai will draw on Karani’s power one day. She wants Karani’s power for herself and she will try to claim it through my daughter which she thinks is my first-born.”There w
Last Updated : 2024-09-18Fire Part Five
Malachi glanced at Jessica every so often as he drove towards her house. It had been a long day and the time was creeping closer to midnight. She’d been quiet ever since they left the house and he wished she’d say something.“Jess.”Jessica knew exactly what he wanted to say. Malachi was loyal to a fault, always pushing and putting everyone else first. “No, I’m not going to do it.”“Why not?” The tension in the car was thick and Malachi exhaled slowly as he felt the familiar rise of irritation that could and would turn to anger in the blink of an eye.“You have no idea what you’re doing, he has no idea. That spell I mentioned, I’ve never done it and I don’t know of any witch that has successfully completed the spell.”Malachi remained quiet as he pulled into the garage and Jessica climbed out of the car and pulled the side door open. Malachi gritted his teeth when he noticed that she had yet again failed to lock her doors.“Jess…don’t walk away from me.” Malachi put his keys down on t
Last Updated : 2024-09-18Fire Part Six
Malachi halted in the doorway as Jessica lay motionless on the bed, the cups falling from his hands as his breath hitched in his throat. She wasn’t breathing and she had no beating heart. Malachi swore under his breath as he looked at her, wanting to touch her but not being able to.It reminded him too much of Karani’s lifeless body and it physically hurt, deep in his soul because he had no idea what to do. He hated feeling powerless and clueless and it didn’t happen often that he did.Malachi could feel his emotions tumbling about, his heart rate slowing, his skin growing cold as fear gripped him. He couldn’t lose her, not like this, not for something he asked her to do, something she hadn’t wanted to do.Malachi stood rooted to the spot, a low buzzing sound in his ears. Jessica was his second chance at life. He’d realized it soon after that first night he’d spent at her house, even with no imprinting bond keeping him to her, he loved her completely.Jessica gasped and her eyes snapp
Last Updated : 2024-10-18Fire Part Seven
James had begrudgingly taken over for me both with the pack and at the hotel. We still had a manager that reported to him while James took over command. It freed up my time to do what I had to do to keep Kai safe.I spent my days in the den going through every single lupiary that we possessed, but not one of them mentioned witches. I wanted to know everything I could. Knowledge was power but my knowledge at that stage was extremely limited and that’s when I phoned Jessica to join me.“What?” I smiled at the way Jessica answered her phone. Diplomacy was obviously not her forte.“I need help.”“Of course you do, Superstar. Where are you?”“At the den. Our lupiaries have nothing about witches.”“Duh. Give me ten.” She ended the call as abruptly as she had answered it and I sat back on the sofa.Jessica arrived exactly ten minutes later, a frown on her forehead and not looking happy at all. She fell down on the sofa and emptied my glass of Scotch before looking at me.“Help with what exac
Last Updated : 2024-10-18Fire Part Eight
It only took me a few seconds as it all clicked and I smiled broadly and kissed her forehead again. I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed to the garage. I found a shovel and made my way around the house and down to the clearing.The path down to the clearing was as overgrown as always and the stillness of the forest around me had me feeling at peace. I knew that feeling wouldn’t last long. The moment I stepped into the clearing I’d feel different.I entered the clearing and my soul felt heavy. Too many dead bodies had lain here. I walked up to my tree and I looked at it. My mark didn’t look anything like a wolf to me but then I wondered if perhaps Karani had made Adara see a wolf, perhaps knowing that this moment would come.It seemed Karani had been prepared for a lot of things and I missed hearing her voice. It felt like years since I’d hugged her and I missed her warmth. I didn’t think I’d ever get over her loss and I didn’t really want to.I wondered where I should start dig
Last Updated : 2024-10-18Fire Part Nine
I sat down on the couch with the first book and opened it. I felt drawn to it, maybe because the handwriting was Karani’s or maybe because of the magical connection, I didn’t know which but it was almost overwhelming.“Kiran,If you’re reading this then I’m dead, and you have a child. Firstly, congratulations! I wish I was there to see him or her. You’ll be a great father because you had a great example in Malachi. I know he’s with you every step of the way, he always will be too. You were and always will be the great love of his life, the pride he feels each day and the reason for him to keep getting up each day and going on.Know that I love you and I always just wanted to protect you from this world. I know that you wouldn’t have found my chest by accident and you will need help to harness my magic.You would have cremated my body and scattered my ashes in the clearing and therefore you’ll need to replicate my heart with a part of your liver. I’ve written down all the spells you’ll
Last Updated : 2024-10-18
Latest chapter
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Nine
Things were surreal and things made even less sense than when I had just woken up in the hospital. Josh was talking about things that didn’t make sense at all but he was the only friend I had, I had to trust that he wasn’t bullshitting me.“We have to get rid of these first. I’ll tell you everything, I promise, maybe that’ll help trigger your memories. Man, put some clothes on,” he said to me as he opened the window in the living room. I wiped the blood from my stomach and back and put a clean t-shirt on.Josh was pulling the dead men closer to the window and I looked at him. “What exactly do you plan to do about this?” I asked him.I knew we couldn’t call the cops. I had no license, no social security card and Josh hated cops. We both steered clear of them and trouble. We never went out socially, we minded our business at work, came home, trained and when we felt like it, we watched movies at home.We saved most of our money in the loose floorboards of our bedrooms, he told me plenty
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Eight
One month after waking up…“K!” Josh shouted as I walked around the corner and he saw me.“Josh,” I smiled at him.We had become good friends after my audition and I’d gotten the job to work for Marcus. We now also shared an apartment two blocks from the club. We trained together, we jogged together and most nights we worked together. It was my night off and he had grabbed an extra shift.“What are you doing here?” he asked me and I gave him that look.“Marcus called me to come in and help out,” I said to him as I put the black jacket on and inserted the earpiece into my ear as I took my position next to him at the door. I looked at the line that extended around the other corner.Marcus owned the hottest night club in Fresno. People stood in line for hours just to get inside, naturally we were at the door because like Marcus said, “Ain’t nobody gettin’ past the two of you.” I had laughed at him. We must have looked quite intimidating. We were both tall, muscular and had these blank st
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Seven
Malcolm took me shopping and gave me money. I promised to pay him back but he would hear nothing of it. We had spent hours talking in my hospital room. He brought a chess board and looked surprised when it became evident that I’d win after ten moves.We’d established that I was intelligent, that I could read and write and that I knew random facts so I had gone to school, but that didn’t help me now. I was still a nobody and I still couldn’t remember anything about my life.Malcolm Schwartz became my savior in that moment and if it wasn’t for him I would have probably ended up on the streets. He introduced me to his relative, Marcus Brigham, who liked the look of me, said I was big and if I could handle myself in a tough situation, I’d be perfect for the job.Marcus asked me to meet him at a sports club for my audition. I wondered what this job entailed and how would I have to handle myself? I walked in and two guys were sparring in a boxing ring. Could I box? I had no clue but I guess
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Six
Four months earlier…“He’s opening his eyes, Dr Schwartz,” the nurse said as Malcolm Schwartz stood in front of the counter at the nurse’s station filling in paperwork. He’d been waiting for this day anxiously. They were all curious about the young man in that hospital bed.He looked up and walked into the hospital room where for the past two months ‘John Doe’ had been in a coma. He felt relief that his patient had finally woken up since there was no medical reason for him to be in a coma.“Good morning, I’m Dr Schwartz.” He kept his voice low and he was sure the relief showed in his eyes.Dr Schwarts looked at the man lying in the bed as the nurses checked the monitors showing his blood pressure and heart rate. Everything was normal as it had been for the past two months, ever since a taxi driver had brought him in.“Where am I?” I asked him, looking around.“You’re at the Fresno Community Hospital. Can you tell me your name?” Dr Schwartz asked me.“It’s… it’s… I don’t know,” I said
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Five
Adara hadn’t changed anything. She’d washed his clothes in the hamper and nothing had been touched in Kiran’s study. Malachi had made the notifications to The Council but Adara still kept everything the same. Some nights she still made Kiran’s favorites, like that would bring him home.His car keys remained in the bowl and she recorded everything the twins did, so that when he came back he could be part of everything he had missed. She even had his car serviced and started it every single morning to keep the battery charged.“You should just give her time, maybe give her what she wants and move to our own house. We’re close enough if anything happens and she’s not defenseless, she has Norah here,” Jessica said to Malachi.Adara sighed as she stood on the stairs and listened to them talk. She turned and went to her bedroom. Every day she scoured the internet for stories of acts of heroism. That was something Kiran could never stop doing, being the hero.She had phoned all the hospitals
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Four
Five months later…Days had turned to weeks and Malachi’s hope was dwindling. Each day brought a fresh wave of sadness and worry. They had no body and no idea where Kiran had gone. He didn’t want to believe that his son was dead. He’d pleaded with the gods for a sign, any sign. Anything would be better than wondering. He wasn’t sure how much more he could handle.He was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, staring at the newspaper in his hand but his thoughts were with Kiran. If he was indeed in Helheim, he hoped he wasn’t suffering, but even Jessica wasn’t sure. Kiran had said that Death liked to taunt and torture him. He shuddered at the thought of what Kiran must be going through.Adara pulled a chair out and sat down next to him. “Can I talk to you?”“Of course,” Malachi said and put his cup down. He folded the newspaper and looked intently at Adara.Adara fidgeted with her hands, seemingly nervous. “You don’t have to keep living here, your house was finished two months ago
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Three
“What the hell do we do now?” Carl asked and James didn’t have an answer for him. He turned around without answering and followed Malachi out of the forest with Carl trailing behind him. They had walked into the house, the clearing littered with dead witches.“What happened?” Jessica asked as she stood up from the couch putting the glass of water down on the table as Malachi put Adara down on the couch and she curled herself into the fetal position and just cried.“He’s gone,” Malachi said and walked to the study, slamming the door behind him. He screamed and wiped everything off the chest that stood behind the couch and acted as a secondary table which held the glass bottles of brandy and whiskey and the tumbler glasses.He started hitting the wall in frustration as he struggled to deal with facts that he didn’t really know. He stopped when both hands were broken and his blood dripped onto the carpet. He sat down on the couch and he lowered his face into his hands and cried.Jessica
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-Two
Adara sat in the study and looked at Kiran’s laptop. It was four weeks later and she hadn’t had the heart to go into his study before now. She opened the laptop and the screen came alive. She looked at the numerous folders on the screen and started to cry.That day had been the absolute worst day in her life, by far. She felt helpless and so alone, although the house was never empty. Malachi and Jessica had basically moved into his old bedroom.James was there every day and she could see that it was taking its toll on him, between his twins, the hotel, and their house, he was overdoing it. She would have to ask Malachi to speak to him and tell him to stop coming over.Kiran had closed Karani’s chest that afternoon before he went to the clearing and Jessica had tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. She finally admitted defeat and told Adara that only Kiran could open it. She had hoped to find something in there to explain what had happened to him.She started going through his folde
Fire Part One Hundred and Thirty-One
Some days Death showed me my children, other days he let me burn for hours on end. On rare occasions I was with Adara or Malachi or James. He wanted me to witness their grief and their pain and feel it deep in my soul. It was the worst punishment I’d ever suffered through.He took such pleasure in my pain that I stopped reacting to whatever they felt and turned my emotions off. He let me burn extra-long when I did that and I don’t know what hurt more, their pain or mine. I felt numb to it all, even their emotions because I was beginning to feel like I had when I’d taken Malachi’s pain, before going to Wolf Peak. I felt weak.Finally one day he let me sit down and said we should talk, man to man, and I laughed at him. I had clearly lost my mind and I had no idea how long I’d been there with him because there was no measure of time. There was only pain.“You’re not a man,” I said to him and he looked hurt.“Don’t be so mean, here I can be whatever I want,” he said and I just looked at h
