Memory of Fire

His reputation

{Alora}

"Can I walk you home? I walked here from my hotel." We were walking side by side to the street 30 yards outside the clearing.

"Yes, Alexander, you can."

He chuckled softly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"What did you mean about your reputation?" I ask, looking over at him.

"You don't know who I am?" he looked at me like I was the oddest person he had ever met.

"I don't. I don't have time to know every businessman or politician." I shrug.

"Alora, I am neither of those things..." he said darkly.

"Well, are you gonna tell me?" I huff.

"If I do, will you be scared?" He wasn't looking at me anymore. His face was washed over with guilt as he stared off into the distance.

"I don't know." i say honestly.

"Alora... I have started many wars and killed hundreds. My name is Alexander Ridgewright." He had stopped walking and now fully watching me, a dark expression on his face.

Alexander Ridgewright? From the Bloodborn pack. I stopped walking and turned to look at him. This man's hands are more bloody than a butcher's. More dangerous than the deadliest of animals. This is the man I am mated to? This is the man standing on the side of the street with me? No... I look away from him, trying to understand.

"So what, that changes nothing, and you know it, Alora. You don't know everything." Pru sounded pissed, at me?

I didn't know what to say to either of them, so I nodded and resumed walking, one block till we get to my house.

Alexander followed me quietly, seemingly lost in thought.

This man has been hated by most packs, slaughtered even more. He is the reason why werewolf populations were plummeting twelve years ago. i may have spent almost all of my life focused on becoming the strongest she wolf in our training classes, but we had learned a great deal about him in school. And he is my mate. I am mated to one of the deadliest men in our history.

"You don't know the reasons. His wolf says he is good. Think Alora. Think of the rejection. What will happen to you? To us? You know the survival rates." Pru growled into my mind, not allowing me to ignore her.

"Well, this is my house..." I say as we approach my front door.

"Are you going to come with me?" was the only thing he said.

"Right now?" I asked, looking around awkwardly.

He nodded in response as his jaw clenched tightly. He seemed standoffish, it was odd for someone claiming to be an Alpha.

"No. Alexander, I have some things to wrap up here. I will follow you in a few days and meet you at your pack." I say, turning to unlock my door. I heard Alexander growl behind me as I turned to unlock my door. I turned back around to say something snarky, but he was already gone. He had disappeared just like the time before in the office.

Sighing, I walked inside and closed the door behind me. Climbing the stairs, I could tell my parents were still at the packhouse, the house was dark, and their bedroom door is open.

I dragged into my room and flopped on my bed, pulling my phone out of my purse, dialing Karmen's number. I hold the phone to my ear as I wait for her to answer, sighing when it takes too long. Voicemail. I dialed her again and put my phone on speaker.

"Come on Kar…" I whisper in frustration. I really need to talk to her about this. I sigh and give up, sending her a text instead. She is most likely still playing around with that warrior kid from our class.

"Hey, went to the woods like you said. Need to talk. Stop playing with James and call me"

That should be enough info to catch her curiosity. With nothing else to do, i pulled the clip from my hair and shook out my curls. Walking to the bathroom, i kicked off my heels and turned the shower on and walked back out to the bed and stripped myself of the silky black dress. Tossing it onto the bed, I go back into the bathroom and get into the steamy shower, exhausted by the events of tonight.

As I washed my hair and body, I allowed myself to think about the big what ifs. What if he is a good person like Pru said? What if there was a good reason for all the blood on his hands? What if I could like him the way the bond is making me think? Am I dreaming? I pinched myself, hard. Nope not dreaming...

Around 2 am comes and I am reading in bed when I hear the front door, mom and dad are finally back. I roll my eyes and shut my door, hoping they do the same, seeing I know what exactly they're going to be doing, and get under my covers hoping for some sleep.

The forest is full of smoking flames. I can hear the wood of the trees cracking as they ignite, feel the heat on my skin. I turn in circles, looking for a way out. The air burns my throat and lungs as I breathe in the surrounding smoke. There is no way out. My gut twists as I find the smallest flame to the right of me. I take a deep breath as I run as fast as I can through the flames, collapsing on the other side. My bare arms and legs radiate unfiltered pain. I breathe quickly as I inspect my surroundings, more flames are growing, reaching the top of the trees. Above the flames you could see the thick black smoke billowing away. It was getting harder to breathe, so I did the only thing I could think of. Scream.

"HELP!!" I sat up, panting as my parents burst through the door. Everything felt foggy, like I didn't even notice they had come in. I barely noticed the fear of danger on my dad's face or the worry on my mother's. All I could think about was the fire, burning away my skin over and over.

"Alora!" my dad was sitting in front of me, shaking my shoulders, effectively snapping me out of my stupor.

"Dad." I gasp

"Sweetheart, what on earth? You're sweating" He was right, my hair stuck to my face and neck.

"Fire, dad. All I can remember is fire, feel fire. It burned my skin off." I sobbed into my dad's embrace. I could still feel it on my skin; the smoke, the fire, the fear.

I don't understand why the dream has returned, and has gotten worse, but I was terrified. The look on my parents faces told me they were too. the last time I dreamt of fire, I was 12 so why is it back now?