One Ember, Two Hearts

CHAPTER #1: THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS

EMBER P.O.V.

Searing pain radiates in my head like a symphony of agony as I feel the blood trickling down the back of my head. Each throbbing pulse is a relentless drumbeat against my skull. Blurry shapes rock back and forth before my eyes, like a ship on the ocean. My mother's desperate cries, laced with pain, are like a siren song, pulling me from the fog of confusion.

"'Mommy?!" My voice is a weak whisper.

Mother is trying to fight off her attacker. She has a dart in her arm. I'm guaranteed filled with lethal doses of wolfsbane and sedatives.

My mother's wolf, I've been told, is really special. It's bigger than any alpha wolf and has the ability to walk like in human form. Also, it takes quite a lot of wolfsbane to affect my mom.

"Don't look, baby girl!" She screams. Her voice is ragged and strained.

My brave mommy! She's fighting the wolfsbane!

Her words are quickly swallowed by the chaos that is now erupting inside the manor. People are screaming. Gunfire echos all around. The growls of wolves fighting. The floors and walls are shaking and snapping.

My vision finally returns enough were I can stand without falling. The hulking figure of a man is what I see. His face is twisted in a sneer. A silver dagger glinting in his hand that he has at my mother's throat.

Alpha Lucian?

"You can end this now Andra!" Alpha Lucian growls. His voice is like a storm brewing, filled with insanity. "Surrender and give yourself to me! I'll spare everyone! Resist, and your pack will be erased!"

"I will never submit to you, Lucian!" She growls at him.

Her eyes are beginning to change their color, turning from blue to dark gold. My mother is regaining her strength. Her body is pushing out the wolfsbane.

Lucian realizes this and panics. He sinks the dagger in her stomach. My mother, her eyes wide with terror, tries to push him away, but he is relentless. The weapon strikes her again. Her pained moan echoed through the room but was quickly stifled by Lucian's twisted laughter.

"I want the power that lies within you! You either submit or I'll kill you!" He growls through gritted teeth.

I hear the sounds of clothes ripping. My mother isn't transforming. Lucian is ripping off her pants. My mother screams out sending an icy chill down my spine.

A primal rage ignites within me. A fierce, desperate love for my mother is driving me to act. Scrambling to my feet, I lunge at Lucian. I latch onto his arm with all my might. My teeth sink into his flesh as I bite down hard. The taste of blood fills my mouth.

He snarls a low, chilling growl that vibrates deep in my bones. His eyes are black as night as I lock eyes with him. He is losing control, the wolf within him is struggling to break free.

A sharp, searing pain rips through my cheek, making me cry out. The cold, sharp, silver dagger had sliced across my face, leaving a burning trail of fire. I won't get my wolf until I'm eighteen, but I am still affected by silver and wolfsbane.

He flings me across the room, sending me crashing into the wall again. My head throbs on a new level of pain I have never felt before. The world is crumbling further into chaotic colors and buzzing sounds.

My vision fills with flashing dots. The screams of people outside are replaced by an overwhelming symphony of trombones again. I giggle. My mind is slipping into a bizarre state, remembering my father's favorite Charlie Brown cartoon. A distant memory in the face of an escalating nightmare.

A new wave of anger washes over my mother. Her eyes flare fully now in dark gold of her wolf's eyes. Her face contorting into a feral snarl.

With a roar, she transforms into her massive wolf. Her fur is the color of moonlight. What's even more mesmerizing is that it glows.

Lucian is thrown off by my mother. He hits the wall but stands quickly. He is in mid-transformation. This only happens when both the person and the wolf are fighting to have control.

The door explodes into pieces. My father bursts through the door in his magnificent black wolf. His rage was evident in his fierce growl. He barks a command at my mother, through their mind link. I can't hear it because I don't have my wolf yet. The only way I know is the way they stare at each other.

In a flash, she scoops me up in her arms. She scrambles down the stairs of our pack house. The scent of smoke and blood is heavy in the air. My mother tries to shield me from seeing the horrors unfolding around us.

I can see splashes of crimson on the walls with holes. I remember a movie I watched on Halloween. It was a terrifying film called 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Mommy and Daddy thought I was asleep. I snuck out of my room and watched it. I got in big trouble. They took my T.V. privilages away for two weeks.

What I saw next not only made the entire world stop for me, but it is something I'll never forget for as long as there is a breath in my body. My screams tear through the air, a desperate cry that echoed in the chaos around me. Ivy, my best friend since before we could talk, is lying on the floor with a gaping hole in her head. Tears sting my eyes, leaving a bitter salty trail on my face.

I close my eyes tight. The winter night air hits me, causing my eyes to open back up wide. The cold seeps into my bones. The deafening sounds of gunshots and screams echo around us. It sounds even louder than inside the manor, at least to me.

It's a terrifying soundtrack to the nightmare that is my reality. I squeeze my eyes shut, clinging to my mother's warmth, desperately trying to block out the horrors that fill the night.

I hear my mommy roar. I fall to the ground, rolling hard into the snow and mud. As I open my eyes, I see steam rising from her body as she painfully moans. The snow slowly turning crimson around her.

Panic surges through me as I stumble to her side. She tries to pull the bullet out from her chest, but it's laced with wolfsbane. I'm guessing because my mother transforms back into her human form.

I look around seeing that we are in the forrest heading up the mountain. Although I wish I hadn't looked back. Cold dread fills my heart as I watch this battle unfold before my eyes.

The forest echoes with snarls, growls, screams, and gunfire between the two packs. Despite the ferocity of my pack, the Shadow Fang, is outnumbered and outmatched. If we had guns, my pack would be winning. Guns are forbidden among wolf packs.

I watch in horror as my pack family are falling down like flies, one by one. We hear something run past us, causing us to jump. My mother scoops me up in her arms and tries to flee. She limps as blood trails behind her.

"ANDRA!" Lucian's voice bellows from below.

We're perched on the mountain, hidden by the trees. We have a clear view of our pack house. I watch in horror as Lucian forces my daddy to kneel on the ground.

Daddy's body is riddled with wolfsbane bullets. His blood is staining the snow. Lucian grabs my daddy's hair, jerking my daddy's head closer to him.

"ANDRA! COME WITH ME NOW OR EVERYONE HERE DIES! YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS!" Alpha Lucian shouts as he scans the surroundings around trying to find us. "ONE!" Desperation gnaws at me as he continues his chilling countdown.

Selene, moon goddess and watcher of wolves, please! Please help my Daddy!

"TWO!" Lucian's voice is booming now.

I didn't realize how quiet it got. The screams had stopped. Now we only hear a shot or two of guns. They are executing any survivors.

"I LOVE YOU BOTH!" Daddy's voice echoes through the air as he searches for us.

Tears stream down my face as I'm trying to stay silent. My mother silences my sobs with her hand. She knows that we must remain hidden.

"THREE!" My daddy laughs at him. "FOUR!"

"You fool!" Daddy laughes defiantly. "My family is long gone by now!"

"FIVE!" Alpha Lucian growls in anger. He jerks Daddy's head, causing Daddy to growl in pain and anger. "DAMN IT, ANDRA! I WILL KILL YOUR MATE!"

My heart is pounding in my chest. My eyes remain fixed on Daddy. His gaze was still searching for us. I grip my mother's hand holding it tight.

Finally, the gunfire and desperate screams from the pack house are gone. Alpha Lucian's sadistic countdown still continues. Mom and I watch silently, anticipating the inevitable. I can feel my mom begin to shake. I can feel her tears dripping down on me.

"TEN!" Lucian shouts.

With agonizing slowness, my brain has mapped out every detail. Time stops for what seems like an eternity. Daddy tries to transform but he can't. He's trying so hard, but the more he does, the more blood pours.

Lucian pulls out a silver dagger. It shines in the moonlight. I hold my breath waiting for what is about to happen.

Lucian sinks the dagger deep into Daddy's chest. The sickening sounds of Lucian tearing Daddy's heart out of his chest is all I hear.

Daddy's eyes went wide in a mix of shock and disbelief. A strangled gasp escapes him as he crumples to the ground. His blood pours out of him, staining the snow.

I stare blankly at my mother, who is consumed with unbearable pain. The mate bond has been severed. Half of her life force has vanished into the great beyond.

My mother takes me by the hand, and we begin to walk. My head is still turned back to my dad. I'm in shock. I keep waiting for him to get up but he doesn't. My mother scoops me up in her arms. She tries to run, but her leg is hurting because of the bullet that is still in it.

We arrive at the dilapidated cabin, a place of happy memories that now feel tainted with fear. This was mine and Ivy's secret hideaway where we'd play among the dusty furniture and dream of adventures under the sun.

My mother sinks to the floor. I leave her arms to retrieve the first aid kit that Ivy and I keep here. As I bring it to her, I can see her face etched with agony. The tears silently fall down her face. I don't know how she is able to focus in a time like this.

I see that my mother is not only shot in her leg but in her shoulder as well. The bullets are spewing with liquid silver and wolfsbane. They are embedded deep in her flesh.

She digs at them with trembling hands. Her moans echoed in the stillness like mournful cries. The wolf in her, normally so vibrant and strong, is sluggish and drained of its very essence.

A twig snaps outside, breaking the tense air inside the cabin. My mother's eyes widened. A fierce protectiveness instantly replaced the despair in her. She scoops me up in her arms, her own fear now a tangible presence in the air.

"I know, baby girl," She whispers, her voice strained. "I'm going to get us to the river!" She can always read my mind.

We fled through the night, my small body nestled against her. I watch, mesmerized and horrified, as her blood drips from her wounds. The moonlight makes the blood simmer.

The wind whips my hair all around. Snow beings to fall heavily. The air is thin and biting at Widow's Peak. It's the highest point on the mountain, a notorious place for suicides. It's a fact whispered with hushed words by the pack.

At the bottom of this peak is the river filled with jagged rocks. The terrifying truth though, like a jagged shard of reality, pierces my childish understanding. The journey to that river is a desperate race against time, a battle for survival that has only just begun.

My mother, strong and determined, heads along the path to get us to the bottom of the mountain. Her eyes focused on the treacherous path that is lined with icy rocks.

The sound of gunfire rips through the air, shattering the sounds of the windy snow. A sharp, metallic dart plunges into my mother's back. She stumbles. A gasp escapes her lips.

My heart shutters as cold fear grips me. I stretch out my arms, desperate to reach the dart, to pull it free. My arms are far too short to reach it.

My mother is beginning to panic. She runs trying to get down the rocks. Suddenly, she skids to a stop. I hear the sounds of weapons clicking. A man yells at my mother to freeze.

She turns around, running back up to the peak. She skids again to a stop. She is breathing hard in the cold. My mother, her face pale, her eyes wide with pain, somehow gathered herself. She turns looking down at the river. A silent, desperate plea in her eyes as she searched for a way to get away.

"You have nowhere to run, Andra!" Lucian shouts. His cruel, mocking laughter echoes. "Just come with me! I can promise you a luxurious life for the both of you!"

My mother looks back down at the rocky river. She studies the sheer drop, the unforgiving height that she knows will kill her. The despair in her eyes deepened, making me even more terrified.

"You can't make that jump, Andra!" Lucian shrieks, his desperation laced with concern. "Even with your lycanthrope blood, the fall will kill the both of you!"

"We would rather die than be with you!" My mother's voice trembled with determination and her eyes blazed with defiance. Her grip tightens around me as she leans her lips down to my ear. "Hold your breath, baby girl, and no matter what, you just keep swimming!"

Tears stream down my face, a silent torrent of grief and fear. Mother leans and kisses my head, her lips lingering on my forehead. It's a final desperate gesture of love. Her way of saying goodbye to me.

She turns to leap, to defy the odds, to choose death over captivity. Gunfire erupts with more darts. This time, a dart found its way into my arm.

Searing pain explodes through my limb as a wave of drowsiness washed over me. The world begins to blur. The wind roaring past me, a deafening and heart-breaking sound. I hear the desperate pleas of the warriors. Their words are lost in the rush of the wind, the overwhelming fear that choked my throat.

A very painful thud is all I feel. My mother gasps as her arms fall to her side. The icy grip of the water replaces that pain with a new one. It feels like a thousand needles pricking my skin. My lungs burn, screaming for air. Strangely though, I'm not panicking. My mother's words are all I hear.

Don't panic, baby girl! Just kick and swim!

I try to make my limbs move, but they feel like lead. I'm just so tired. The world blurs as I succumb to the darkness.

I wake with a gasp, coughing violently as water spews from my mouth. Someone is rubbing my back, urging me to breathe. Slowly, my ragged gasps become regular breaths.

I look to see my savior. My eyes focus to a handsome boy with long black hair and piercing sky-blue eyes. He has a strong build, clearly a dedicated workout enthusiast.

"Stay with me, kiddo!" His voice laced with worry. "My name is Flynn. What's yours?"

"Ember Hutton." My voice is hoarse.

His smile warms me, despite the shivers that run rampant in my body. Suddenly, a roar shatters the peaceful scene. My heart immediately wants to jump out of my chest.

"BRING HER TO ME!" Lucian's voice echoes to us.

I feel Flynn's grasp tighten on me. Panic surges through me. I try to escape his grasp, but a sharp pain pierces my arm. I look seeing a dart with its metal cartridge glinting in the moonlight, sticking out of my bicep. The darkness is creeping back on me.

The last thing I see is Flynn's face tormented over doing this. He scoops me up, cradling me close to him. The warmth of the darkness takes hold of me.

I WANT MY MOMMY!