Page 64 of Escaping Wildfire

“They’re resting. We gave them rooms on your same floor, and they’ve been asleep for the last hour or so. They had a long night. We have a family room on your floor, so we’ll get dinner sent up there for you guys and your siblings.” Luna Ellis spoke to us calmly, sensing our nerves.

“Thank you, Luna.”

“They have been a little nervous since arriving, but Nora helped get them settled in. She suggested we pair them together as they had shared a room at Wildfire, and the four seemed grateful to not be split up from each other.”

“They’re really here then?” Jordan was antsy, and I could tell he was ready to see his sisters.

“Yes, how about we peek in on them, maybe that will calm your nerves.”

Jordan practically launched himself upstairs to our floor, and we all followed.

“The girls are over here next to Nora, and the boys are right next door to Noah.”

Jordan opened the girls’ door trying not to make any noise. He peeked his head inside, and we heard a loud shriek.

“Jordan!” You’re here, Jade pushed the door open as she ran out and jumped up into Jordan’s arms. They held each other tightly, letting their tears fall unashamedly. Jade tried to say something, but she was sobbing so hard that she couldn’t talk clearly.

I let them have their moment and went over to my brothers’ room. The room had been set up with two beds, but they were both sleeping in the same bed together. They used to sleep like that when they were little, but they hadn’t done that in a while. I knew they must have been through a lot, which must have driven them to that habit again. I let them sleep and quietly closed the door back up. For now, it was enough just knowing they were safe.

Jade had finally unlatched herself from Jordan and came up to me and Cristian to hug us as well. Jasmine and Jade were like little sisters to me, so it was good to have them with us again. We were halfway complete now…but we’d never really be complete anymore without Alpha Henry and Luna Christina.

I heard a door open, and Nora came out of the first room by the stairs. “The table’s ready now.” She bowed her head to Luna Ellis.

“Thank you, Nora, but remember, no bowing here.” She put her hand on Nora’s shoulder, which made Nora look up. “You were born to be a Luna, don’t ever forget that.”

Nora smiled at Luna Ellis and nodded shyly. “The room is ready now.”

“Thank you, Nora. How about we give them a few more minutes before we wake them for dinner.”

The guys and I agreed and took that time to unpack and freshen up from our car ride. Once I was showered, I headed to my brothers’ room. We had a little more time, but I wanted a few minutes with them to myself.

I walked into their room and gently shook them awake. They’d always been deep sleepers, so it took a few tries before I got them to open their eyes.

“Noah!” Felix woke up first. “Miles, get up. Noah’s here.” Both boys tackled me in a hug, and I could tell they had actually missed me. I would consider us close, but we also were never big on hugs with each other. With our current circumstances, none of that mattered, though.

“We thought we’d never see you again.”

“You’re getting Mom and Dad out too, right?”

“Yeah, we’re doing everything we can to get them and our pack back. We got you out, didn’t we?” I didn’t feel as confident as I let on, but I wanted them to feel safe here.

“Yeah, you did…and we’re safe here now?” Miles looked up at me and his green eyes watered.

“Yes, you’re safe, and no one here will let Alpha Marek take you again.” I hugged him to me again briefly before breaking apart and heading out to dinner.

Jordan and the girls were already there when we arrived, and I greeted Jasmine as I hadn’t seen her yet. She had lost a lot of weight, and her usually bright skin had a pasty look to it. She smiled at me, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Our food was brought up to us, and Jordan sat down in between his two sisters. The twins sat next to Jade, and Cristian sat next to Jasmine. For some reason, they had set a table for eight, even though there were only seven of us. That empty chair between me and Cristian made it very obvious that we were still missing someone…that we were missing Gema.

“We’ll get her back. Remember, Noah, you said you’d do everything possible to get our pack and family back. That includes Gema, we’ll get her back.”

I looked over at Felix whose words sounded both wise and innocent all at once. Then I looked back at the empty chair beside me before looking over at Cristian. He gave me a soft smile and started passing the food around. A part of me felt bad for him for being the only one without his sibling here. We had reunited with ours but at the cost of his.

The rest of the dinner went well. Jade was more talkative than usual, and Jasmine had barely talked. It was like the two sisters had traded personalities. It also hadn’t slipped my notice that Jasmine had barely eaten anything, and Jade kept looking over at her nervously. I’d have to talk to Jordan about that later.

As for my brothers, they were also quieter than usual. They always joked around, but they seemed to have lost their spark. Even Cosmo knew something wasn’t right.

“I’m still tired, I think I’m going to head back to the room.” Jasmine pulled at her shirt hem and started to head out.