Page 22 of Escaping Wildfire

“Beta Griffin, stay back, and make sure this mess gets cleaned up.”

Alpha Marek turned to the small crowd remaining. “Cobalt Falls is under new leadership now. Welcome to the Wildfire Pack.”

9 Captive

GEMA

The guards pulled us off our knees as several vehicles pulled into the drive.

My father walked over to us, still a bit breathless from being punched.

“Que has hecho?” (What have you done?) My mother turned to him with a mixture of fear and anger on her face.

Before I could hear his answer, they started taking us to separate vehicles. Annie and her boys in one, my parents and Rodrigo in another, and me, Jasmine and Jade together.

They sat us all in the back seat of an SUV. Both girls were now covered in their father’s blood as they continued to sob. I could see a large bruise was already forming on Jasmine’s face from where she was slapped. Jasmine looked up at me through her tear-stained eyes as she held onto Jade. “Where do you think they’re taking us?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t imagine it’s anywhere good.” More tears fell from her eyes, and my own eyes watered as I reached out to hold her. She sobbed in my arms as we waited to see what fate held for us.

After a few minutes of watching the warriors scramble around our pack, two female warriors got into the front seats, and we were off. “It’s a long drive, so if you don’t stop with the blubbering back there, then I’ll have to stop you myself.” The one driving said to us.

“Come on, they’re just kids. I’m sure you still remember what it was like to lose our grandparents.”

“And I used that to become stronger, not to be a crying mess.”

The guard in the passenger seat sighed, clearly done with the conversation. As I looked more closely at the two women, I realized they had similar features. They must be sisters, I thought.

Jasmine continued to cry but let her tears fall silently as she was trying to soothe Jade who eventually caught her breath enough to stop sobbing so loudly.

It felt like we’d been on the road for an eternity. The two women hadn’t said another word since their first exchange, and we had kept quiet in the back. Jade eventually fell asleep from the exhaustion of crying, and Jasmine and I continued to huddle close to each other gaining some comfort, even if only false comfort, from each other’s proximity.

I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep until I was woken up by the sound of slamming doors. “Welcome home, ladies.” Our driver said sarcastically as she got out of the vehicle and opened the back door for us to get out. My body ached, and I stretched out my sore muscles from having been curled up with Jasmine and Jade the whole trip.

I looked at our surroundings and saw a large house surrounded by buildings. It was dark, so I couldn’t make out much, but it looked similar to the setup at Harvest Moon, so I was left to assume this was the Wildfire pack house.

One of our captors grabbed onto my arm and practically dragged me into the house with how roughly she pulled me. Jasmine and Jade were given similar treatment. I looked around to see if I could find my parents, but the cars they had been put in were nowhere in sight. I wished I had my wolf already so that I could at least try to mind link them.

Once inside, we were led up the stairs and down a hallway with doors along both sides. “These are your new rooms, go to sleep, and you’ll get breakfast in the morning. Don’t even think about escaping. You will be caught, and you will be punished for even trying to run.” With that, she opened the door and practically threw me into the room. I heard the lock turn on the door and confirmed the door was locked when I tried the knob.

I went over to the window, but it was sealed shut, and we were about three stories up if I counted the floors correctly as they dragged me up the stairs. Outside the window it was pitch black, so I figured I must be facing the back of the pack house or a forest as the front had a few floodlights. I wondered if I would have been able to see anything if I already had my wolf and better night vision, but I guess it didn’t really matter at this point, no one was coming to save me tonight.

I lay down on the bed and tears escaped my eyes in big droplets. I had cried a little on the way up, but I wanted to keep it together for Jasmine and Jade. Now that I was completely alone, I let myself drown in my tears.

I wondered how Noah, Cristian, and Jordan were doing. They were worried when they called, I can only imagine how much more worried they were now. I suddenly remembered that they hadn’t taken my phone from me. I reached into my pocket, suddenly scared they might have taken it while I was asleep or that it had fallen out of my pocket while sitting in the car. Luck was on my side, and I was glad I’d gone for the smaller phone model as it fit better in my tiny back pockets. Unfortunately, I celebrated too soon, as I pulled out the phone just to find it dead.

I went around the bed and slid the phone behind the headboard. I’d have to find a better hiding spot, but that should work for now. Maybe I’d be let out and could find a charger somewhere. Wishful thinking.

I looked around the room and rummaged through the drawers. I found some clothes and toiletries, but not much else. The clothes all appeared to be in my size and also new as the tags were still on them. Had they prepared this room specifically for me? I wondered as I wandered into the bathroom. I flicked on the light just to come face-to-face with my disheveled self. My hair looked a bit matted from my nap in the car, and I had blood stains on my shirt, most likely from hugging Jasmine.

I hoped they put Jasmine and Jade together, but I highly doubted they would be so kind. I looked down at my arms and noticed they too had remnants of blood. Alpha Henry and Luna Christina were really dead. I started to sob at the realization. My tears flowed freely as I realized they had never really stopped once I started crying earlier.

I looked at the shower and the fluffy pink towel hanging beside it. Everything about this room was neat and feminine, clean…elegant even. It was alarmingly unassuming, and the exact opposite of how I felt. Being in this room felt like the calm before a storm because I knew whatever was waiting for me in the morning would be just as bad as what had already happened that day.

I was woken up by a knock at the door. I heard a key turn before a girl about my age walked in with a tray of food.

“Hello, my name is Nora, and I’ve been sent up to bring you food and make sure you found the clothes that were left for you.”

“Will they be letting me out of this room soon?”