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Part Thirty-Four
Last Updated:
2024-11-11 13:38:34
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Fire Part Thirty-Five
The conversation between Kiran and Malachi had kept replaying itself in his head. On one side he was relieved that Kiran accepted his relationship with Jessica because she was important to him but on the other side their age difference made him feel like an asshole.Malachi lay in her bed and watched her sleep. He smiled as he looked at her. A strong surge of love spread through him, so intense that it actually frightened him. He missed her every minute they were apart. He could never grow tired of her, but did she feel it as intensely as he did?Malachi knew that Jessica loved him but what kept him awake in the early morning hours was if she loved him enough to spend the rest of her life with him, to marry him and make a life with him.“You know that’s creepy, right?” Jessica’s voice was soft and her eyes were still closed.Malachi smiled. “What is?”Her eyes opened and softened as she looked at Malachi. “Watching me sleep.”“I made you coffee.” Jessica shifted and sat up straight, t
Last Updated : 2024-11-12Fire Part Thirty-Six
“Hello, Malachi.” Adara’s voice was clear and she sounded happy even.“Jessica’s been vomiting the whole morning.”“Is she pregnant?” Malachi heard amusement in Adara’s voice but he ignored it.“She says it’s food poisoning.” Pregnancy was the first thing that had popped into his head when she threw up the first time.“I’ll phone her, don’t worry, Malachi.”Malachi parked his car in front of the court building and he pushed everything out of his mind and switched his phone off. He took his seat and opened his briefcase as his client joined him at the table. He breezed through the next few hours and finally got his client a settlement that he was happy with.Malachi sat in his car and switched his phone on again, surprised that Jessica hadn’t tried to contact him at all. An eerie feeling settled in his gut, a feeling he didn’t like at all. He opened his messages and started typing.Malachi: Are you okay?Jessica: Never better, stop worrying and stop frowning.Malachi laughed as he read
Last Updated : 2024-11-13Fire Part Thirty-Seven
James lay on the ground and I had my legs around his neck. I squeezed slightly and James started tapping on the ground. I let go of him as he rolled to his knees and coughed twice. I saw Malachi by the tree line as I stood up. He was watching us.Malachi had an odd look on his face but I didn’t question him, he’d talk when and if he wanted to. I’d learned early on not to push Malachi. He was a very private person, even though we shared a lot, some things had to remain private.James was on his feet again fast and as I looked back at him from Malachi, I was too slow in blocking his kick. I spit the blood from my mouth and grinned at him where he danced like a boxer on his feet, laughing at me.He turned his head and looked at Malachi. “Do you want to cut in?”Malachi nodded, took his shirt off, and walked closer to me. He lifted his arms and I went into a boxing stance. I blinked as I lay flat on my back with James laughing so hard he struggled to breathe. Malachi’s face appeared above
Last Updated : 2024-11-15Fire Part Thirty-Eight
“What now?” James looked quizzically at me. I had just told him my ideas about the email from John.“I’ll reply within five days, not that I see the point. I met Vincent and there’s no doubt in my mind that if Malika is sent back, he’ll kill her.”I sent a text to Robert and told him that they both needed to come to the house on urgent business. James and I walked back to the kitchen where Malachi stood near the counter tapping on his phone.“Everything okay?” I nodded at Adara and sat down at the table.“What did John want?” Malachi turned his attention to me and sat down across from me at the table.“A claim was lodged against me.”Malachi sat up straighter. “What claim?”“The new Alpha of Mauritius claims that I aided Malika in running from her Alpha and that I’ve been harboring her ever since.”“We should discuss this in detail. Do you want me to speak to John?” The look of worry in Malachi’s eyes worried me, but I wouldn’t back down.“No, Dad. Vincent doesn’t have a foot to stand
Last Updated : 2024-11-16Fire Part Thirty-Nine
I pushed the emails from John to the back of my mind, but it kept creeping up on me and I knew that at some point I’d have to make an effort to squash this thing before it became bigger. We hadn’t done anything wrong and I believed Malika when she said she never signed allegiance to Vincent.I sat down at my desk and opened the laptop. I only had one day left to answer John Whitcombe. I didn’t really have the diplomacy that Malachi had and I acted on my emotions much more than he did. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing, making emotional decisions often led to more trouble.I thought about how to correctly get my message across without being too forward about it. I hit the reply button on John’s email and started typing.“To Head Alpha John Whitcombe,I regret to inform you that Malika Luximon is not being harbored by me, unlawful or not, or the pack of Southern Alaska. Vincent Pierre is an idiotic, blubbering …”I laughed suddenly and hit the delete button. I couldn’t send that to Joh
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I was furious as I sat there behind my desk. Did the African Council not investigate my statement at all? Why was there no mention of that? John was right about one thing, I had approved the wedding and I wouldn’t be able to lie about it. John himself was a truth seeker and he would only have to ask me once to know what I did.I didn’t care much about the consequences at that point. I was too enraged and now I was more determined than ever to end this thing without having to send Malika back to Mauritius.I looked at my watch and typed my reply to him. Why waste the time when I knew that I wouldn’t change my mind? No matter how much I thought about it, I wouldn’t do it.“Dear John,I will not send Malika back to Mauritius. She is a free human, to go and do as she pleases. She also doesn’t want to return to Mauritius. If Vincent Pierre wants her so badly, he can come and get her himself, but he will have me to deal with if he sets foot in my territory and that goes for any other wolf t
Last Updated : 2024-11-18Fire Part Forty-One
James and I stood outside, near the front door of the den. I had called another pack meeting so we could discuss and vote on the Mauritius situation. I had learned early on in my life that if I wanted to keep the pack’s respect, I needed to be honest with them.Robert was angry because I had denied him access to the meeting. Although we considered him family, he wasn’t a wolf. I wasn’t about to change hundreds of years of tradition just because I liked him.More cars pulled into the space in front of the den and I greeted my pack members warmly. Malachi was the last to arrive, smiling to himself as he walked towards us. ‘Only Jessica can be responsible for that smile,’ I thought to myself as Malachi grinned at me.I closed the den’s door behind me as the rest found seats. I walked to the front with James trailing behind me and hit the gavel once on the table behind me. “This meeting is now called to order.”The men settled down with low whispers as I leaned back against the table and
Last Updated : 2024-11-20Fire Part Forty-Two
Malachi watched me but made no move to meet me halfway. His face was void of emotion and I had a hard time reading his aura. I pushed harder against the mental wall and his aura appeared and his guilt showed.“Sorry, I know you wanted to discuss this but I kind of had my hands full,” he said to me and I smiled. “It’s okay,” I replied.“But you did well on your own, there’s nothing I would have done differently,” he said to me and slapped me on the back.I was about to say something more but kept quiet as our pack members started leaving the den and shook our hands. Carl and Frank stopped in front of us and I smiled. I knew Carl’s mind was working overtime already.“If it comes to it, we go with you and we kill Vincent.”Frank nodded his head. “And whoever else we need to.”“Yeah. You’re not going down for this shit, Kiran,” Carl said.“It’ll be fine. Vincent has to prove his claims and a truth seeker will know, so I doubt there’ll be a tribunal.”Carl smiled and slapped me on the bac
Last Updated : 2024-11-21
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“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
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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
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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
