Ashes Of Desire

CHAPTER ONE CARA'S POV I stood in front of the window staring out of it. Looking down at my hands as I held the envelope, I subconsciously held my breath. The envelope trembled in my hands. I’d spent months hunting for clues and now the last one was staring at me in the face, sealed and heavy with bloodstains that never seemed to fade. My breath caught as I tore it open. And there it was — three red claw marks slashed across the paper. The same mark that was left on my parents’ wall the night they were murdered. My mind flashed back to that unfortunate night as the air reeked of iron and wet stone. The window poured in rain, which mixed with their blood giving the room a tangy odour. Sometimes it felt as if I was reliving it. I had to remind myself why, out of every office room in the building, I chose this particular one. Apart from the beautiful view, this office belonged to my late father. Mom would carry me to Dad's office and he would sit me down on his table and twist his face into weird expressions to make me laugh. Not a day goes by that I don't think about those moments. But those memories now came to my mind with the images of them lying drenched in their blood. The sounds of a thunderstorm and how loud their screams were, as they were brutally killed and then the piercing sound of a glass breaking, while I was locked away in the closet. Whoever it was wasn't just a murderer, he was a powerful werewolf. And all I had at the moment was a camera footage of him escaping. He had jumped through the windows, landed on all fours, and made a run for it. Turning the paper, nothing else was written. ‘There's no other lead.’ My voice tightened. ‘How is this supposed to help?’ I questioned myself. *Knock! Knock!* The sound of someone knocking interrupted my thoughts and without turning my back to face the door I knew who it was. "Come in Abby..." I responded as the door opened with a slight creak. I turned to look at her, the pant trousers she wore made her look taller than she was. "Again, you don't have to knock..." "Really?" Abby smiled, subtly flipping her blonde ponytail. "It's simple courtesy and you wouldn't want me interfering with your moments." She joked, joining me before the window. Her green eyes searched my face, her gaze filled with concern. Staring down at my hands, she asked "is that a new lead?" I nodded, handing her the camera footage Rosa, my private detective, had sent to me earlier this morning. She took it and scanned it with her eyes... "This is the footage from that night?" She asked, her eyes still on the phone screen, she looked impressed because honestly, the video looked like a scene cut out of an action movie. The stunts performed seemed like something you'd only see in the movies. "Yes. Slow down and pause between his landing and rushing off..." I instructed. "Okay?" She furrowed her brows, awaiting further instructions. I spared her a glance and further instructed... "Zoom in..." A few seconds later, she squinted her eyes, noticing a tiny but important detail. "There's a tattoo on his wrist..." She gasped when she realized and I just nodded in response. "Yes. If we can find the origin of that tattoo then I would be a step closer to uncovering the truth." "I'm ready to take your orders." She replied, with a stern look. “Do what you must do, Abby,” I said, forcing a smile I didn’t feel. If this lead failed too, I wasn’t sure how many more sleepless nights I could survive. Taking a small bow, she returned my phone and made for the door. Before she left, I called out to her... "Abby...thanks," I said with a curt nod, my smile widening. Returning the smile she left. It was time for the Pack business meeting. I straightened my posture, and breathed in. It seems as though I was subconsciously getting used to holding my breath. I stared at my reflection on the window and I smoothed my hair. Ensuring my makeup was still intact, I looked at my slim and curvy body, which fitted perfectly with my formal yet stylish suit. I raised my chin up as if to muster confidence and then made for the door too. *** I had just finished meeting with the Pack Leaders and I wouldn't call it a success….. "Your so-called Silver Fang deal is dead in the water! Wallace Enterprises undercut our bid by fifteen percent. Fifteen! Draven Wilson is laughing at us, and he's not just laughing at our balance sheet. He's laughing at our supposed leadership." Elder Brett had snarled at me during the meeting. His voice was cold, dripping with disdain. And even worse, I could hear the murmurs of agreement among the rest of the pack leaders. "My Lady, you shouldn't trouble yourself over such little matters..." I heard Henry the butler say from behind the desk. I chuckled inwardly, recalling his reaction in the meeting. I saw his grip had tightened around the cup as he stood faithfully beside the sideboard. It was clear he was about to cause a fuse... And I? I had to step in to stop him. "You heard what they said didn't you? They said spreadsheets don't win wars against Packs. Power does. You do understand the intention behind those words, right?" Taking a deliberate pause, I turned to look at him. Elder Brett's words must have struck him the same way they did me in the meeting. His eyes stared back at mine. In them I could see an evident irritation but there was a calmness in it that couldn't be ignored either. It made me feel reassured. But…. "It was a direct slap to my face to call me wolfless without actually saying it? After twenty-two long years, I have come back to take what's rightfully mine and this is how I'm being treated?" I complained, not knowing what reply I wished to hear. I wasn't even angry, I felt just sad. Even if I was angry, it would be towards myself. It's just that nothing ever seemed to work as I planned. "And I can clearly remember your reply to them as well,” Henry responded, interrupting my thoughts. “Didn't you say we wouldn't match his bid and let him have Ridgecrest? You made it clear that when he would be busy swallowing a project that will tie up his capital and resources for the next eighteen months, we would pivot." He continued. He tilted his head as he allowed his eyes to look at my face, it felt as though he could see my soul. He let out a small smile and added... "That goes a long way to show how your wit makes up for your... temporary disability, your highness." I smiled widely, unsure how to take the strange comfort. But he was mostly right, Wallace was bleeding his own capital. And it was quite simple, the new initiative to take. “We simply acquire the smaller, adjacent lands he had ignored, then we fast-track The Scarlett Haven project…” I went over the details in my mind. 'Fast-track?' I questioned myself, my smile quickly faded. It was true that we could build luxury homes for the elite families who don't want to live next to the industrial noise and smell of the Silver Fang plants Wallace is now committed to. It was a perfect plan to not just sell houses; we'll be selling peace, quiet, and exclusivity. But there was no time. I was already running on borrowed time. As if reading my mind, Henry chipped in. "You know that there's another route we can take to fix this, right?” He suggested, lifting up his chin. I immediately felt a bitter taste in my mouth and rolled my eyes, I turned away from him. I knew what he was about to say. "For how long will you ignore the marriage alliance proposed by Draven?" When Henry mentioned Draven’s name, something in me twisted — anger, fear, or maybe something worse. I could still remember his voice the night of the gala, low and mocking: “You’ll crawl back to me when you’re desperate enough, Cara.” Maybe he was right. But hell would freeze before that happens. "Ignore? I rejected it. Why are we still having this conversation, Sir Henry? I would rather lose everything than be bound to a power-hungry smut like Draven, the only thing he understands is money, and there's no good review about him anywhere." "But that's the only way out of this, Alpha." "And who decided that?! It's over when I say so, otherwise... Send back my message. Say I respectfully decline it and suggest he rolls it up real nice and shove it up his arrogant ass!" I winced inwardly, seeing how Henry frowned, disturbed by my choice of words. "I'm sorry..." "No, no need for that. At least consider attending the Pack business summit in Manhattan held by the Wallace Enterprise. A lot of influential people will be there, you can make a few friends..." "You mean business associates who are most likely tied to Draven. He has them all in his fingertips, it's useless…" “But, I will try to attend.” Hearing my answer, he nodded his head in approval. *Ping!* I looked down at my phone. I was expecting a message from Rosa, my detective, after the meeting . The screen popped up and my eyes widened seeing the one-line text from her. *The Crest tattoo is from the Blood Veil Pack.* “What?” The word slipped out before I could stop it. "That's Draven's Pack," I mumbled. “Did you say something, Cara?” I heard Henry's voice. For a moment, I forgot he was still there. “No I didn't. You may leave”. He excused himself, not before staring through me, as if he could sense my lie. I stood up abruptly, leaving the study. I spotted an omega while passing. Forcing out a Smile, I said “Please inform Abby to get ready, we're going shopping.” With that order, I had made my decision to attend the Pack business summit.