The Thing About Fate

Chapter 3: Forgotten Past

The walk doesn't take us long and soon we are in the square that I fought John in yesterday. The town is busy today. I see lots of people in the shops around us and many walking around. Most are Lycans but not all. I can't help but notice all the stares and odd looks I'm getting. I should have known that after what happed news would of spread about me. I am incredibly uncomfortable here, I hate attention. Elissa seems like she doesn't even notice the people and starts walking into a*****e near us. I awkwardly follow her like a lost pup.

The store we enter is called Silver Moon. It's a clothing store and by the looks of it, an expensive one. Oh boy. Any normal teenage girl would be in heaven here, all of the clothes are stylish and very form flattering. I shift my way through the store until I find more sensible clothes: some cute t-shirts and shorts. My grandmother however has other ideas. I groan under my breath as she walks over to me with her arms piled high with outfits. "I think these will look great on you!" She ecstatically says with a smile. I hid my lack of excitement and follow her to the dressing room.

After trying on all clothes and compromising on a few outfits Elissa is finally satisfied and we make our way to the checkout counter. The cashier is a girl only a year or two younger than me. She is classically pretty with long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes, she’s petite but has an attractive hourglass figure. She is a wolf but not of the Riversbend pack or from James' pack based on her smell, so she must be from the third pack that lives here under my grandparents. She smiles cheerfully at Elissa but never makes eye contact with me. I can sense resentment coming from her. My wolf growls in irritation, a little louder than intended. She quickly looks up at me startled. Elissa blows it off like nothing. "Bye Makenzie! Have a nice day." She sweetly says walking out the door. Makenzie waves and sneaks one last look at me thinking I didn't notice.

As soon as I walk out the door I am shoved up against the building. Shocked it takes me a moment to react. A guy in his early twenties is standing in front of me. He looks more shocked than I am. "So it is true." He says with a shaky voice. "It really is you." He embraces me in a tight hug. I finally get it together and push him off me. "Get off me!" I yell. I throw a punch and he catches it, pulling me into him again and holding onto my arms. I struggle against him, he is surprisingly strong. He isn't from my grandparents or James' pack either. It almost feels like he is an alpha but the emotional weakness is strange for an alpha, and he is so young. Then again James is young too. Could he be the alpha of the third back in Riversbend? I don't think on it too much as I continue to fight against his hold. Elissa has noticed my absence and turns around running toward us. "Alexis please. It's me." The guy cries as I flip him over my back onto the pavement. "I don't know you freak!" I scream as I raise my foot to stomp on him.

"Alexis stop!" Elissa yells. I freeze with my foot on his neck. "He attacked me!" I yell back. "Alexis he was your best friend. How can you not remember him?" My breathe catches in my throat and my heart starts pounding. There is no way he could have been my best friend. I don't know him. I strain my brain trying to remember but I just can't. I remove my foot from his neck and stare down at him. Getting up he brushes himself off, I take a few steps back. You're stronger than eight year old Alexis. He says with a polite smile. "I'm sorry I scared you. I just can't believe you're alive. You're here right in front of me and I..." choking on his words he goes for another hug, I put my arms up in defense. "Please don't. I can't." I whisper.

Turning towards the woods I take off running. They cry out to me but don't chase after me. I'm glad they don't, right now I'm too overwhelmed and need to think. Even in my human form a run always calms me down. I have no idea where I am but I feel like I know where I'm going. These woods feel comforting. Like they know me and they've missed me. It is the strangest feeling but I embrace it and let it lead me. It will be fall soon and even though the air is still warm and thick there is a hint of a cool breeze. It feels good against my heated skin and I take large breaths, letting it fill my body. I can feel my body start to relax a little.

Stopping dead in my tracks I come to old drive way. It's really long and I can't see the house from the here. Large oak trees form a beautiful tunnel over the driveway. Weeds and grass are overgrown and sprouting up everywhere. I can tell this place hasn't seen visitors in a long time. Strange. Something about this place is wrong. Something is calling to me. Curiosity is a good distraction anyway.

Starting up the driveway I make sure to keep my senses alert. Nearing the end I can finally see the house just a few yards away. As I come closer I realize it's burned badly. There must have been a terrible fire here. Parts of the roof are caved in and you can see the where the fire came through the windows leaving burn marks on the brick exterior. There is no front door. It was probably knocked down when the firemen got here I think to myself. I need to see the inside of the house. My wolf whines as if she knows something I don't, but I keep going. Something awful happened in this house and I need to know what it was.

What happened here? The whole house is destroyed. It's impossible to believe this was once a home. Then suddenly I hear a noise upstairs. Someone else is in this house. Against my better judgment I head toward the noise. The energy of the house is of pain but the energy coming from whoever was in the house is of heartbreaking loss. The other person is a wolf. The closer I get the more I can sense him. Then the scent hits me. It's James. He is hurting. I can hear his wolf whimpering. I can't believe he doesn't know I'm here yet. An alphas guard should never be down like that, something's wrong.

The stairs are covered in ash and char but look structurally sound, I know he must have used them to get upstairs himself. I start waking up them, thankful they don’t squeak. Following his scent I walk down a hallway to the right of the top of the stairs. It's more burned than the rest of the house. I must be getting close to where the fire started. James scent leads me to the last room on the left. The door is lying on the ground broken in two like someone had kicked it in. The room is black; ash is all over the place and parts of the roof and floor are gone. The fire had to have started here I note to myself. I pick up the faint old smell of gasoline. James is kneeling by a small child's bed in the back corner of the room with his back mostly turned to me. He's holding something but I can't see what it is. His knuckles are bruised and cut like he has punched something, recently.

Gathering my courage I step forward. "James?" He looks up obviously shocked to see me here. His eyes are red and I can see the faint stains on his cheeks the tears left. "Are you okay?" I take a step closer to him. "Get away from me." He growls at me. I see something flash through his eyes again under the pain. "James, please I come in peace." I put up my hands to gesture. "What happened here?" I ask. He stands up and I finally see what he is holding; a picture of a small boy and girl, smiling and hugging. "What happened here is the fire that killed Alexis Riversbend." He says in a voice equal parts disgust and pain.