Born of Fire

The wager

“Eshne,” Sarah told the scarred little girl by the car on the side of the road. “I need you to keep watch in case anyone approaches.” They were parked at the end of a long dirt drive and only sporadic stars that shone in the open sky lit the night.

“What if I see someone coming?” the wretched thing asked, eyes wide and body shaking.

“Pretend to be hurt and when they come close stab them with your pocket knife,” she ordered.

“I’ve never killed anything before.” Eshne flinched when Sarah gently brushed a wisp of black hair from her face and firmly gripped her chin.

Sarah had found the girl lying naked in her own feces several years ago; too frightened to speak. The coven had been inbreeding to create more powerful witches for nearly a century, but didn’t see the need to care for their offspring. Though they were powerful, they weren’t very bright. It took little effort to pick them off one at a time.

Eshne was the smallest and weakest; she didn’t scream or run when Sarah approached her after killing her family. There was something about her that had made Sarah pause; a gut instinct that told her she might be able to use her someday. Children were disposable, but could be useful if properly fed and controlled.

“You can do as I say or you will be my next meal. Now heal me.” The girl went pale, her long red scars on her arms stood out against her pale white skin. She reached for her knife and cut another long slit onto her forearm. Blood pooled onto the flesh and she held her arm up for her mistress. Sarah clutched the arm and licked the blood from the surface, then clamped her mouth over the cut and sucked like a light forsaken vampire.

Pathetic.

Sarah hated relying on anyone, but she would have to make do. She had tried feeding earlier but the human had shot her while she wasn’t paying attention. She knew better now. She would have to feed again but there was something she needed to see first.

She left the girl in the car and walked up the dirt road to the large mansion at the end. Orange flames spread from her back, spreading like eagle’s wings and lighting the earth around her. She flapped and flew onto the balcony that wrapped around that level of the house and extinguished her wings. Light spilled from a window around the north side of the home.

She tiptoed to the window and peered through the gauzy curtains at the Alpha. He wore only boxers and spoke on his cell phone as he paced the floor of the room. Her ears weren’t sensitive enough to hear his conversation. His shoulders were tense with stress and he paused every so often to run a free hand through his damp dark hair. Finally, he sat on the edge of his bed, hung up the phone and stared into space.

He turned toward the doorway that led to the bathroom where a young blonde woman sashayed. She was wrapped in a towel; drips of water dropped from her pixie-cut hair and ran down her back and chest. She crawled onto the bed behind him and began to massage his shoulders, sometimes taking a pause to kiss his neck or nip at his ear.

Sarah’s shoulders slumped. The blonde wasn’t the person she came looking for.

Their hidden audience knelt slowly to get comfortable; hoping the one she wanted would show up.

The Alpha stopped the massage and turned to reach around the girl’s waist. He lifted her onto his lap and began kissing her neck and shoulders. She reached down and caught his mouth with hers and her towel fell to the floor. The lovers moved higher up on the bed; pawing and nipping at each other until they were a tangled heap of sweat-covered limbs.

Their watcher waited until she was sure they slept and climbed through the open window, taking care to muffle any scent or sound with her magic. She stood next to the bed and reached down to smooth the Alpha’s hair. Red-orange sparks lighted on her fingertips and she leaned down to whisper in his ear. He frowned in his sleep and muttered softly. A smile spread across her face, this visit wasn’t a complete loss.

She wanted to take him while his lover watched, make them hurt each other. Unfortunately, she needed what power she had for other things. She would have to hurt them another day.

***

Several hours later, she entered the Alpha's hotel. She couldn’t feed often enough to feel satisfied anymore. Ever since her lifeforce was stolen from her twenty years earlier, it was like she was running on empty. No matter how often she fed, she still felt as weak and pitiful as a human. She gazed down at the wolf responsible. He slumbered on the couch in the hotel room. She had followed him to the field earlier today and, to her shock, found the girl she gave birth to now sleeping on the other end of the sofa. She had seen her earlier at the gala when she went to spy on Ben, but hadn’t thought anything of her. Seeing her next to Darren, she knew as clear as day who she was.

My daughter. That word felt strange to think. She’d enjoyed hurting this man and killing his family, yet hadn’t imagined the consequences. She walked into the bedroom just past the sitting area of the suite and rummaged for the tool she needed. Hope wasn’t an emotion she was accustomed to and for good reason. She went through every piece of the girl’s belongings and sank to the floor in despair. Panic weighed on her chest; she didn’t know how much longer these feedings would sustain her. She hated to admit it, but she needed her daughter in order to survive. She needed a plan.

Soon she would be free of this place. She would finish with this family and consume them. She’d been patient for 20 years. She could wait a few more days.

***

The next morning, Darren and Kenna drove to Ben’s house where the lab results were waiting for them.

“I told you so.” Kenna dropped her head onto the table in despair and irritation. She’d been holding out hope that Darren would find the answers she needed.

“Not to be melodramatic, but I don’t want to die,” she whined.

“I’m not ready to give up,” he told her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I figured I wouldn’t find anything, but I had to see if there was something the others may have missed.”

“That was a pointless effort.” She didn’t want to sound sour, but her life was at stake, dammit.

“The lab results would have detected any enchantments or a mutated human illness, though that last one is unlikely. According to these results, you’re a perfectly normal werewolf.” He paused through the paperwork. “Has anyone done the lab results during one of your fevers?”

“No, I don’t think so.” She brightened, seriously hoping he was onto something.

He walked over to the phone and called his office. He spoke quietly in a seemingly foreign medical language only known to those initiated in the medical field.

She was squishing a forgotten crumb on the countertop with her finger when Ben walked into the kitchen. Behind him was a female wolf that couldn’t be much older than Kenna. With her pixie cut and very blonde hair and deep blue eyes, Kenna would have bet anything that this was Darren’s daughter.

She could smell the nature of their activities from the night before. She had a growing urge to walk over and claw this girl’s face off, but she had made a promise to Darren.

She stood up and offered her hand to the other woman.

“Hi, I’m Kenna.” She stretched her hand out for a shake and tried to offer a friendly smile.

The woman looked her over before returning the shake. She didn’t even bother with a pretend smile.

Kenna hated her, though she knew nothing about the girl.

“Rochelle,” she said and dropped her hand, daring to meet Kenna’s gaze. This girl was outmatched in every way, yet she didn’t look like the type of person to back down from a fight for such an insignificant reason. Kenna smiled, impressed at the girl’s gumption.

The grin on Ben’s face told her he was enjoying this little confrontation, or his thoughts were headed to a more depraved gutter. He turned to Rochelle and took one of her hands to bring it to his lips and kissed her gently. He barely suppressed a laugh at Kenna’s growl.

“You have to be at work in half an hour.” He reminded Rochelle while Kenna stuffed her hands in her pockets. He might enjoy it too much if he saw them fight. Men on television were often smitten by the idea of a “cat-fight.” Thinking of it as a cat fight made her giggle out loud and the two looked at her as though she had spilled all her marbles.

Rochelle moved in front of Ben, careful not to turn her back on Kenna, and reached up to pull his lips hers.

“Last night was amazing.” She murmured in his ear loudly enough for Kenna to hear.

“Glad you enjoyed yourself.” He kissed her forehead.

“More like I enjoyed yourself.” She flirted back and Kenna rolled her eyes.

“Okay you two. I’m going to barf on Ben’s shiny marble floor. Didn’t you just say you have a job to get to or something?” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in hope they would think her impatient rather than jealous.

Darren finally walked over to them. “Play nice, girls,” he said, then turned to Rochelle and handed her a tall lidded cup that smelled like coffee. “I’ll walk you out, sweetheart.”

When the two were out of earshot, Kenna turned an angry glare on Ben. “You are a jerk. Do you need women to fight over you to make you feel manly, or do you just get your kicks by pinning women against each other?”

“My ego isn’t the one that’s bruised here. You knew I was spending the night with someone. I told you about my date yesterday.”

“Yes, you did, after spending most of the day flirting with me and trying to get into my pants. What’s your game? I’m nineteen, I understand the urge to sleep around. What I don’t understand is rubbing a potential partner’s face in the fact that you spent the night with someone else.” She gave into the feeling of righteous indignation. She could finally freely admit to him that she wanted to have s*x, but it wasn’t like she was asking for anything more than that. She’d only just met the guy yesterday.

“You’re one to talk.” His icy eyes bore into hers and he crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. Darren entered the room again and looked back and forth between them, as though unable to decide whether he should intervene.

“You made no effort to hide the fact that one of my wolves stayed in your room all night.” He turned his angry glare on his wolf. The poor guy shut his mouth tight and looked at the ground in front of him.

She gaped at him and laughed. “You’re jealous! You only need to use your nose to know nothing happened.” She had to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter. She had a habit of snorting while she laughed and found it embarrassing.

“I’m not jealous and I’m not your father or Alpha. You’re free to sleep with whomever you want. You didn’t need to wait for my permission.” Her mouth opened in shock. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head for a moment to process his words and make sure she heard him correctly.

“Nothing happened because we didn’t want it to.” She opened her eyes and stepped closer to him. His jaw clenched and his back straightened. “You’re right about one thing, you’re not my Alpha, but you are his, and putting him on the spot like that to heal your wounded ego is wrong.” Ben glared at her, but his eyes softened as his gaze settled on Darren who was trying very hard not to be noticed backing out of the doorway.

Darren looked up hesitantly when Ben chuckled. “My ego is just fine, though I thank you for your concern.” He turned back to Kenna. “We’re both too Alpha, everything you do comes across as a challenge, though I appreciate the effort you’ve made to avoid it.” She knew he was right; at least one of them was willing to admit it, though she hated what it meant. They would have to fight to satisfy their beasts or she would have to leave.

Losing a fight was the same as submitting to him, but if she won, that would put her in charge of his pack, and he might not be as willing to help her. s*x would put them on more equal footing, but getting to that point usually required submission from one or both. For them, it would require both submitting to the other. She didn’t think she could be the first to do so.

“Darren, I’ll watch Kenna for now. Why don’t you go home and do some research on her condition.” His gaze remained glued to hers as he spoke.

“Yes, sir.”

“And Darren,” he finally turned to the other wolf.

“Sir?”

“You’re a good friend and free to see whoever you want. You don’t need my permission either.” Tension eased a little from Darren’s shoulders, but his still didn’t meet Ben’s eyes, or Kenna’s.

“I don’t think either of us feel that way about the other, but I’m glad to hear it.” With that, he left the room.

Ben walked towards her. “Neither of us would submit. Would you care to fulfill yesterday’s challenge, then?”

“Ladies first,” She said smugly. He rolled his eyes and led the way through the kitchen to the backdoor.

Behind his house was a sparkling outdoor pool. It wasn’t very large, but the water looked beautiful. If they both survived this challenge, maybe she would get the chance to use it.

Beside the pool was a concrete basketball court, built like the ones you might find outside an elementary school. Basketball wasn’t really her sport, too many rules.

For a moment, she was afraid their challenge was going to be basketball until she saw the dark stains on the cement. He led her onto the court and began to remove his sports coat which he put on the fence and then removed his tie.

“Concrete roughs up the skin enough so fights won’t take all freaking day,” he told her and placed the tie next to his jacket.

“Smart,” she said and put her hair in a bun so he couldn’t grab it during the fight. Thankfully, she was wearing old jeans and a t-shirt, nothing she really liked.

He walked to the other end of the court and faced her. She tamped down the nervous tension in her stomach and paid attention to the way he walked. She had no doubt he was stronger than her, and was probably fast too. He had mentioned having two black belts, and she knew he was older than her father. Being an Alpha meant he was often faced with challenges for control of his pack.

She knew she was quicker, and was experienced with this too. She taught fighting to creatures bigger and stronger than werewolves for a living.

He began to walk toward her, a signal that the fight had begun. There was no hurry in his steady pace. Usually, wolves circle one another to gauge the other’s strengths and weaknesses. She already knew he wasn’t weak, but neither was she.

He was halfway down the court before she broke into a sprint to charge him. Feigning for a jab to the face, she ducked around him as he tried to make a grab for her arm. She spun behind him and dropped to the ground to kick his feet out from under him as he turned.

Her foot connected with his right heel and he fell backward, rolling into a crouch and putting her in a vulnerable position. He took advantage as he leapt toward her and swung a right hook at her stomach. She managed to grab the fist and use his momentum to send him over onto his back beside her. She had just rolled onto her feet when a fist slammed into the back of her right shoulder. Her body went limp and she rolled onto her back.

No sooner had she hit the ground than she brought her foot up and connected it to the side of his knee. Her kick brought that knee down onto the concrete with a loud crack, giving her time to get to her feet. Backing up a couple of yards, she blinked away the pain until her shoulder could heal and move properly.

Ben didn’t try to hide his limp as he stalked toward her. Both were sluggish, tired from the pain, and she could barely catch her breath. He was obviously tired too, but it didn’t seem to bother him as much as it did her.

“You’re tired.” He told her.

“So are you.” Her breathing was a little more even now and her shoulder didn’t hurt as badly as before, though it still smarted like the dickens.

“Not as much as you are. Would it really be so bad to submit to me and let me take care of you for a while?”

His knee and hands dripped blood from the cement, and she would bet anything she had cracked his knee, though his wounds were probably mostly healed by now. She could smell the blood on her back and elbows, but her shoulder was taking longer to heal since she couldn’t take her eyes off him to put it back into place. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold out in this fight, but she didn’t want to give in just yet.

“I’m not the one trying to convince the other to forfeit.”

“So stubborn,” he said and smiled. She took a gamble and reached over with her other hand to shift her shoulder back to where it belonged. He took the opportunity to attack and she let him grab her wrist in an attempt to put her in a hold from behind. She twisted her body around to face him and grabbed his hair with her free arm.

She pulled his head down to hers and their teeth banged together as they kissed.

He pinned her wrist behind her back as his tongue explored her mouth; but he made no move to grab the other wrist or continue the fight.

She let go of his hair and brought her free hand down to rip the buttons from his shirt and he growled low, the rumbling in his chest vibrated against hers. He let go of her wrist as the first button popped, then brought that hand up to cradle her head. He pushed her shirt up and rubbed the skin of her back. Her newly freed wrist went to work with her other hand on removing his shirt.

This wasn’t submission, either one could stop and continue the fight at any time, but she knew they would rather end this little wager as equals.

He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust her pelvis against him. He moaned as she leaned down to kiss his neck and growled at the scent of the other woman. He carried her into the house to the great room and fell on top of her on the couch.

“Looks like we’re both sleeping on the couch today,” he whispered to her.

She merely moaned a reply and got back to work on his clothes.