Rise From the Ashes

by Noah Harris

  She didn’t bother giving the phone back to him. Instead, she called their neighbors. Her sister was first, then Megan, and then Tom. All of the conversations were roughly the same: short, sweet, to the point. When she was done, she tossed the phone back to him.

  He stared at it in his lap. “They don’t have to get dragged into this...” he said softly, clenching his hands.

  She snorted, weaving through traffic at a speed that probably wasn’t legal. “You heard. I gave them a choice. If they stay, they’ll no doubt be interrogated and be put under constant surveillance. In the end, it’s their decision. And they chose to come with us.”

  “You didn’t have to get dragged into this.”

  She flashed him a smile before turning around a corner sharply, tires peeling. “And feed you to the wolves? Yeah, not gonna happen. As I’ve told you before, I’ve got your back.”

  By the time they pulled up to Josh’s apartment complex, the omega was waiting outside, a duffle bag clutched in his arms, eyes wide and wild. Karen pulled up to the curb only long enough for him to slide into the backseat before she was tearing off again. The car ride back to their apartment was quiet and tense, and Karen did it in half the time it should have taken.

  He was learning that she was a very good driver. Very good, but also very terrifying.

  Josh settled in the seat behind him, leaning forward to rest a hand on Adam’s shoulder. Adam laid a hand over his, interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently, as much to give comfort as to receive it. Having Josh with him, able to touch him and feel his presence, his scent filling his senses, was enough to calm him considerably.

  Everything was going to be okay. He would make sure everything was okay.

  Karen didn’t even bother pulling properly into a parking spot when they reached their apartment complex. Ben and Megan were already packing up their car. When Adam slid out of the front seat, they looked up, grave expressions on their faces. But he didn’t see any blame there, nor did he see any resentment. He only saw determination and strength. Megan pulled him into a quick hug and Ben squeezed his shoulder before they shooed him up to his apartment.

  Josh came with him and helped him pack in strained silence. They grabbed clothes, blankets, toiletries, and anything else they thought they might need, throwing it all haphazardly into bags before rushing out the door. He knew his pack would be on their tail quickly, and they’d already had to take a detour to Josh’s place. If they were lucky, Millie would have led the pack there first.

  He and Josh threw their things into Adam’s truck, while Gwyn and Tom climbed into Karen’s car. They all wore similar expressions of grim urgency. Karen looked over at Ben and Adam. “I know where we can go. It’s in the middle of nowhere and no one in the pack knows about it. They can’t track us there. Just follow me, but try to keep up. We don’t know how far behind they are, and we don’t want them to catch up.”

  They all slid into their cars, and Adam felt his truck rumble to life beneath him, finding comfort in the familiar vibrations. It helped hide just how much his hands were shaking.

  Not well enough though, because Josh reached over, took one of Adam’s hands in his own, and squeezed it gently.

  They followed Karen out onto the main street, pushing speed limits and weaving through traffic as best they could without drawing too much attention to themselves. Adam spent the whole time feeling his heart in his throat, eyes constantly on his rear view mirror. He flinched whenever he saw a familiar car color or model, heart jumping and breath coming short. But it was always a false alarm.

  By the time they pulled out of town and onto less busy roads, he was certain that no one was following them.

  They crossed to a side of the city he wasn’t that familiar with, traveling along roads and into woods and hills that he hadn’t really explored. It was outside their pack territory, but it was also outside the New Moon territory. He wasn’t sure where they were going, but he trusted Karen.

  Thirty minutes later, they pulled off onto a gravel road, slowing to accommodate the narrow passage and to keep too much dust from kicking up. The gravel road, he realized as they passed a mailbox, was a driveway. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, but he kept driving. At the speed they were going, it went on forever, weaving through thick trees and bumping over potholes. Nearly a mile along the road, the trees opened up into a field, not unlike the layout around their pack house.

  Nestled at the center of the property was a cozy little home, not too big but not too small, with an old cabin vibe but looked after well. Around the cabin were two barns, and behind the house he could see fences. On the opposite side of the property, the fields rose up into rolling hills with sparse trees and no neighbors.

  Karen pulled to a stop next to an old car, and Ben and Adam pulled up behind her. He could smell animals and hay, freshly toiled earth and a clean breeze. It was peaceful and quiet. The quiet, however, was just as unnerving as anything else. It gave him a sense of security that he wasn’t sure he could trust, and it made him far too aware of the pulse in his ears. He got out of his truck.

  “Where are we?” he asked, heaving his duffle bag over his shoulder and walking around his truck to stand by Josh. The omega stood with his bag at his side, looking around with wide, awed eyes. Adam wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him into his side.

  “This,” Karen said, slamming her door shut and swinging her bag strap over her shoulder, “is where we’ll be safe.”

  The others joined them, everyone holding so few possessions and looking up at the house with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Only Karen looked unworried.

  “This place feels weird...” Tom mumbled, shifting his weight restlessly. “Does anyone else feel that? I can’t explain it but it, like, gives off this weird feeling.”

  “I feel it,” Ben murmured, and the others nodded slowly.

  It wasn’t a scent or a sound. It wasn’t anything they could see or touch. It was a light pressure on their skin, a faint buzz of energy and power in the air. It was subtle and subdued, but definitely there. Adam had never felt anything like it. The fey had something similar, but this was different. He’d been around enough fey establishments to recognize their magic and this was similar, but not the same.

  “This is a witch’s home, isn’t it?” Josh said quietly, awe in his voice.

  Everyone turned to stare at him, and once he realized he was the center of attention, he wilted a little bit, sinking into Adam’s side with hunched shoulders.

  Karen raised both brows. “Yeah, how did you know?”

  Josh shrugged, offering her a small, sheepish smile. “A few of my friends growing up were witches. Their magic has a very specific feel to it. I felt the wards when we turned onto the property.”

  Karen smiled. “Observant. She’ll like you.”

  That made Josh’s smile widen a fraction, but Adam frowned. “Who is she?” he asked, wary. “How do you know we can trust her?”

  “Because she’s my girlfriend,” she said before turning on her heel and walking towards the house.

  Adam was stunned, left staring at her in silence. He hadn’t know she was seeing anyone. He and Josh recovered quickly—at least they had known about her sexuality. He glanced cautiously over at the others. Ben and Megan blinked at Adam, expressions blank, before exchanging looks.

  “Well, that explains a lot, actually,” Megan said softly.

  Ben was nodding. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Whoa...” Tom was gaping, mouth wide open and eyes wide as saucers. He blinked, snapped his jaw shut, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking like he had just had an epiphany. “So that’s why she never fell for my charms!”

  “Yeah, sure. That’s why.” Gwyn snorted, smiling as she rolled her eyes and punched Tom’s arm hard enough to make him whine and stumble. She followed after her sister. “Stop staring and come meet her. She’s really cool.”

  They climbed the porch steps and followed Gwyn throug
h the open doorway, filing in and standing awkwardly just inside the house. The floor plan was open, the walls wooden and worn, with beams high above. The room was heavily-decorated but without looking too cluttered. Dried herbs hung from the beams here and there, and there were some symbols etched into the walls. The smell of freshly-baked bread filled the house.

  It was cozy and comforting and welcoming. Adam could feel himself calming even more.

  Karen stood with a woman not too far away, arms around each other. She was pale, thick black curls pinned into a loose bun that left ringlets falling every which way. Her hands were cupping Karen’s cheeks, tilting her head.

  “You’re okay, right?” she mumbled, concerned.

  Karen chuckled, leaning forward to press their foreheads together, hands winding loosely around the woman’s waist. “I’m fine. We’re all fine.” Keeping one arm around the woman’s waist, Karen turned to the rest of them. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Nadia. Nadia, these are my friends—”

  “Family,” Adam corrected, unaware that he had said anything until he realised that everyone was staring at him. He cleared his throat and continued. “We’re family,” he repeated, firm in his conviction.

  Karen smiled, tilting her head to rest against Nadia’s. “Yeah, family.”

  “Dude, you’re gonna make me cry. Stop that,” Tom said, punching Adam’s arm. Adam grinned, shoving him back.

  “You’ve already met Gwyn.” Karen gestured to her sister before pointing to everyone else. “And then there’s Megan and her mate and husband, Ben. There’s Tom. And then Adam and Josh.”

  They all smiled and waved, the awkwardness of a new meeting settling in.

  “Sorry about crashing in on you like this.” Adam said.

  Nadia waved him off with a wide smirk, then poked Karen’s side. “Nonsense. Any family of Karen’s is always welcome here. I’ve been trying to get her to bring you all out here for ages, but she’s stubborn. I’m just sorry it took such a bad set of circumstances to get you out here.”

  “Yeah,” Adam said, sharing a wry smile with her. “Me, too.”

  There was a pause and then motion as Nadia suddenly waved them deeper into the house with big gestures and quick steps. “Well, don’t just stand there! Come in. Make yourselves comfortable. Try not to touch the talismans, and please close the door! Thank you! Come, come. I was just in the middle of preparing dinner. There’s enough for everyone.”

  They were all ushered into a large open kitchen, which led out to a spacious dining room with a large table. Tom, Ben, Karen, and Adam took seats around the table while Josh and Megan wandered into the kitchen to help Nadia. She grinned at their offers and put them to work. Gwyn grabbed a bushel of grapes that had been sitting out and hopped up onto the counter, chatting with them while they worked.

  Adam watched them, a ghost of a smile on his lips as Nadia bumped hips with Josh and laughed at something he said.

  “How long have you two been together?” he asked, turning to Karen. She, too, was watching the group in the kitchen, a soft smile on her face.

  “Nearly a year now.”

  He blinked at her. “You didn’t tell me you were actually seeing someone.”

  She just shrugged. “I’m not used to telling anyone. I only told Gwyn because she saw us texting.”

  “She seems great.”

  Karen hummed. “She is.”

  “So are you sure we’ll be safe here—”

  “Ah ah ah!” Nadia chastised loudly, spinning around and pointing a spoon at him. She was frowning, brows furrowed. With a hand on her hip, she projected all confidence and command. “No serious talk until after dinner.”

  “But—”

  “No but’s!”

  He heaved a heavy sigh but gave in.

  It was difficult to relax before dinner. The air was tight and tense with the knowledge that they were all on the run from their own pack. Or ex-pack, as it might have been. Without that as a topic of conversation though, and unable to stand the silence, they moved to safer topics. They discussed work, as bland as it was. They chatted at the table while the others talked in low voices in the kitchen. Adam complained about his co-workers dragging their current project down. Ben complained about his boss’s surprise visit a few days ago. Tom complained that he couldn’t get a date. Karen said she was worried about being laid off soon.

  Complaining about trivial things was cathartic. It put them at ease. The tension was still hanging heavily over them, but they were able to put it aside for the moment.

  Dinner itself was amazing. According to Nadia, she grew all her own foods, and she had an incredible knowledge of spices. Dinner conversation focused a lot on Nadia and Karen, learning how they met, learning about Nadia herself. After dinner, Adam, Ben, and Tom did the dishes. When that was done, they gathered in the living room, stretched out and cozy together on the couches as the sun set outside, cold beers in their hands as they addressed the elephant in the room.

  “So...” It was Gwyn who finally pushed through the silence. “What happened in the meeting?”

  Adam sighed. He was sitting on the couch with Josh all but in his lap. Karen was pressed up against him, Nadia nestled into her other side. Megan and Ben crowded in a wide arm chair, while Tom lounged on another. Gwyn sat in a nest of blankets across from the table, back to the fireplace as she faced them.

  He tilted his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. “There was a lot of yelling and arguing. As usual. A lot of demands for New Moon blood. I finally managed to calm them and get them to stop and think.” His fingers clenched into fists. “I nearly had them.”

  “He did very well.” Karen said, patting his arm. “He was amazing. A true Alpha. He had them all wrapped around his finger and had them actually considering peace.”

  “Then what happened?” Tom asked.

  “Millie,” Adam growled.

  “Millie,” Karen spat. “She told them all that Josh was not only Adam’s mate, but a member of the New Moon Pack.”

  There were a few gasps around the room, and Josh curled into his side at the attention. “I’m planning on leaving them... I didn’t know what pack Adam was part of when we met and... He’s more important to me than them,” Josh said.

  Adam wrapped his arm around him. “He was going to leave them quietly and join our pack. I was going to tell everyone once they had time to grow attached to him.”

  “And they would have,” Megan said with a kind smile. “We did.”

  Josh hid his smile in Adam’s shoulder. He rubbed the omega’s arm. “Doesn’t matter now. Millie brought it up in the worst way possible at the worst time possible.”

  “She knew exactly what she was doing,” Karen said, and Adam nodded.

  “She wants to be Alpha. Female or not. She wants to be Alpha, and she thinks she can get it if I’m out of the way. She wanted to do it with me as her mate, but I kept rejecting her...”

  “They turned on him so quickly,” Karen said, eyes on the floor, voice quiet. “It was chaos. Then they demanded—they said—”

  “They gave me an ultimatum,” Adam said, voice more even than he’d thought it would be. “They told me I could either kill Josh to prove my loyalty, or they’d kill us both to ensure the New Moon Pack would never know our pack’s secrets.”

  The silence that settled in the room was thick and heavy. Josh stiffened at his side, still as stone. The wind breezed past loose shutters outside. A clock somewhere in the house ticked. Somewhere out back, chickens clucked and goats bayed. As a wolf, Adam had very sensitive hearing, yet he didn’t hear a single soul in that room take a breath for what felt like minutes.

  The seconds ticked by, slow and agonizing.

  Tom broke the silence, exhaling in a long hiss. “Jesus...” His eyes were wide, mouth hanging open. The others weren’t much different.

  “They wanted you to...” Gwyn trailed off, eyes darting to Josh before snapping back to Adam, then to Karen. “They wanted you to kill h
im? Knowing he’s your mate?”

  Adam nodded stiffly. “Or they would kill me.”

  “Goodness...” Megan breathed, pushing deeper into Ben’s side. His arm tightened around her. His lips pressed into a thin line.

  “That’s... I understand being upset, but that...”

  “It was mob mentality.” Karen said, eyes on the far wall. “They were all worked up, feeding off each other’s negative energy. They were on the brink of rioting and running straight to the New Moon Pack to fight right then and there before Adam calmed them down. Then Millie just sparked them all over again. They needed someone to blame and someone to take their anger out on. Adam became that person.” She turned to him then, face hard. “I’m leaving them.”

  Adam felt his heart breaking. “Karen—”

  “No,” She shook her head. “After seeing how they turned on you, I don’t want to be one of them anymore. Besides, they saw me help you escape, and I doubt they’d approve of my orientation.” She leaned further into Nadia’s side. “I want a pack that can accept my choice in mates.”

  Adam mirrored her smile. “Me, too.”

  “Well, if Karen’s not going to be in that pack, then neither am I,” Gwyn said, crossing her arms and setting her chin stubbornly. “I’m sticking with my sister.”

  Adam sighed, looking around at all of them. “They don’t know you’re with me. I’m not asking any of you to abandon the pack for me. It’s no doubt safer with them in the long run, and I won’t hold it against you if you want to go back.”

  Tom snorted, rolling his eyes and sinking lower in his chair. “Yeah, fuck that. You guys are all the family I need.”