Rise From the Ashes

by Noah Harris

  He knew that Nadia’s place was far outside the city limits, but the drive into town felt much longer than the drive out had been. He glanced over at the dash several times, assuring himself that Karen was indeed speeding and biting his tongue before he could tell her to drive faster. Her face was set, lips pressed thin and eyes narrowed as she stared out the front window. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the steering wheel.

  Her worry, knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling this way, helped calm him, if only a little.

  The air in the car only got stiffer as they entered the city limits and crossed over into New Moon territory. He could hear everyone collectively hold their breath as they passed over the invisible territory line that they all knew so well. Nothing would happen right away. They all knew that, but it didn’t stop the collective sigh of relief nonetheless.

  He had never been on this side of the city. His eyes darted out the windows, taking in everything and eyeing every person he saw. He couldn’t tell from inside the car who was a shifter and who was human, but that didn’t stop him from trying. In his current state, everyone looked like a threat.

  Karen glanced at her phone a couple times to figure out where they were going, but other than that, no one moved. It felt like no one dared take anything deeper than a shallow breath.

  When she pulled into the parking lot of a supermarket, Adam leaned forward in his seat, eyes darting around the parked cars, looking for—

  “There,” he said, pointing to where Nadia stood outside her car, arms crossed as she paced.

  Karen pulled up beside her, and Adam was out of the car before it had fully stopped moving. He slammed it shut, body a live wire as he stomped over to her.

  “Where is he?” he snapped. Nadia flinched, face wincing as her body folded in on itself, pulling away from his rage. He kept moving toward her. “You said he would be safe! You said—”

  “Adam!” Karen snapped, and she was suddenly there, standing tall and strong between him and Nadia. He met her gaze, teeth bared as a snarl ripped from his throat. She matched him, moving to further block his way when he tried to step around her.

  “Karen,” he growled.

  She didn’t back down, but her scent wasn’t challenging, it was consoling. He was pretty sure that was the only thing that kept him from snapping. “No one expected this to happen, and now is not the time to throw around blame. We need to remain calm and let Nadia explain.”

  He glanced over her shoulder at the witch. Nadia had stepped up behind Karen, a hand on her waist. She was clearly hiding behind Karen, but she wasn’t cowering. She met his gaze steadily. He nodded. “Right. Sorry. I just...”

  Karen smiled wryly. “I know, Adam. I know. We’ll find him.” She turned to Nadia, wrapping an arm around her and pulling the witch to her side. “What happened, love?”

  Nadia sighed as Tom and Ben came up to join their small circle. She looked out across the lot, eyes scanning and wary. “I don’t know how they found us. This place is right on the edge of the New Moon territory, so I suppose they were stalking the edges for signs of you.”

  “They’re getting bold,” Ben growled.

  “Far too bold. They would have started a war if they had been caught. If they haven’t already,” Adam said, and the other shifted uncomfortably. Everyone’s gazes roamed the lot for signs of shifters, even as they hid between the two cars.

  “They waited until we came out of the store,” Nadia continued. “I didn’t see them coming. Neither of us did. It was sudden. We just finished putting everything in the car when another car pulled up. Several people jumped out. Before I could do anything, they knocked me out.” She trailed off, a hand idly lifting to gingerly run her fingers through her hair. She winced when she reached the back of her head. “I remember Josh shouting as I fell, and when I came to, he was gone.” Her hands clenched, and she met Adam’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t even have time to put a tracking spell on anything.”

  He could see her sincerity. He could see how her guilt was eating her up. It etched into her features, creating shadows that were hard to miss. He nodded, letting out a frustrated sigh. He put a hand on his hip, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s fine. They made sure you couldn’t do anything. Now we have to focus on getting him back. Were you out long?”

  He surprised himself at how calm he sounded and even more so at how calm he felt. Now that they were here, ready to go into action, the fire in his blood had calmed to a low simmer. His wolf paced beneath his skin, wanting to be released but soothed with the patience that comes before a hunt, the slow stalking of one’s prey. Action calmed him, much more so than sitting still. He would find Josh. He would. He had to.

  Nadia wrapped her arms around her middle. “I don’t think I was out for more than ten minutes. I called you as soon as I could.”

  “So they have nearly an hour head start,” Tom said, arms crossed and weight shifting restlessly. “Great.”

  “Did you see any of them?” Ben asked.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t get a clear look before they knocked me out.”

  Ben cursed under his breath, but Adam put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright. I have a pretty good idea who it might have been.”

  “What now?” Tom asked, and they all turned to Adam.

  It dawned on him then that despite them being family, and despite them having run away together, they still saw him as their Alpha. No matter how familiar their dynamic was when everything was peaceful, he was their Alpha. They would listen to him, and they would follow him. His pack was small, but he trusted each of them with his life.

  “Spread out and try to catch a scent. We can assume it was our pack—our ex-pack— but try to catch scents anyway to make sure. See if you can recognize who they were. If it was our ex-pack, then they’ll no doubt bring him back to the pack house.”

  He didn’t say what they were all thinking. He didn’t say that if it was their old pack, they’d have to go to the pack house. He didn’t say that it was no doubt a trap. He knew he didn’t have to say anything.

  He made eye contact with all of them, and they nodded their understanding, faces set in grave determination.

  “If you find something they might have dropped, I can use a tracking spell,” Nadia added.

  Adam nodded. “Understood. Now spread out, see if you can get a scent or a clue. And remember”—he paused for emphasis—“be careful. We’re on New Moon territory. We may have separated ourselves from our old pack, but we still have the pack scent. They won’t know the difference. We can’t afford to be found now.”

  They all split up. Nadia stayed with the cars while the wolves dispersed to scope out the area. Karen stalked the store for any sign of someone who might have followed them around inside. Ben searched the perimeter of the parking lot, and Tom and Adam wove their way through the parking lot itself, headed in opposite directions.

  Adam put his nose to the air, breathing in deep. On surface level, there was nothing different about the air of this side of the city compared to the other side, where his old territory was. He smelled cars and engine exhaust. He faintly smelled the bakery of the supermarket. He could smell the people, the salt of their bodies and the chemicals of their perfumes. He could smell plastic and cardboard. He could smell tires and car fresheners. It was nothing abnormal for a parking lot.

  He exhaled, closed his eyes, and breathed again, slow and deep, filling his lungs. With the wolf so close, he could easily tap into his heightened senses. Adrenaline fueling him, he could pick apart the underlying scents. There was a faint difference, like a vibration in the air. It was a scent that was both unfamiliar and familiar all at once, one that made the hair on the back of his neck instinctively rise. It was a scent marking. It was faint and spread thin, but it existed in the very air itself, marking this as territory of another pack, unnoticeable by anyone other than another shifter.

  Pushing his uneasiness aside, he catalogued those scen
ts away, pushing them mentally to the side. When he breathed again, he tried to sort through the scents that didn’t fit into those categories.

  He paced through the open lane, where Nadia had said their car had stopped. He caught a faint whiff of his old pack smell, the vague but familiar scent that was a conglomeration of all of them together. Pack scent. It was familiar, and the warmth in his gut that sparked at that familiarity made his stomach churn. It wasn’t home anymore.

  He was in the process of picking apart individual scents from the pack scent when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It startled him out of his thoughts, eyes flying open as his body jerked.

  Frowning, he dug into his pocket, intent on during it off. He froze when he saw Millie’s name on the screen.

  Fingers trembling, he answered the call and put his phone to his ear.

  “Millie,” he growled, voice pitched low. “Where is he?”

  She clicked her tongue, slow and condescending. “Adam, dear, not even a hello?”

  “Where. Is. He?” Adam grit out between clenched teeth.

  “He’s safe, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, tone lazy and almost bored. “For how long, however... that, I can’t guarantee.”

  “What do you want, Millie?”

  “Adam, there are so many things I want, and I’ve recently come to the realization that I can’t have them all. But I’m making do with what I can.”

  “Millie...”

  “Now, now. You know your tough Alpha act doesn’t work on me.” She hummed, a bitter laugh at the edges of her voice. “You’re not my Alpha anymore, Adam. And I hold all the cards here. I’d be more respectful, if I were you.”

  He hated bowing to her. It made his insides burn and his skin itch, rubbing him in all the wrong spots. His hair stood on end, hackles raised and inner wolf snarling. He kept his tone carefully blank as he said, “What do you want from me?”

  “There we go, was that so hard?” She chuckled, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “Do you remember our spot?”

  It took Adam a moment to register what she was saying. It was unexpectedly soft, almost subdued with faint traces of nostalgia and wistfulness. Something in Adam’s chest ached, missing a time long gone and a friend he had lost as she had grown too ambitious. “You mean our rooftop?”

  “The very one.” Then her voice changed, hardening, sounding colder, formal, and demanding. She sounded like an Alpha. “Meet me there at sundown.”

  “What do you want?” he repeated, knowing it wouldn’t be so simple.

  “You’ll find out. If you want to see your mate again, you’ll come,” She spat the word, like it was something grotesque on her tongue.

  “Let me talk to him,” Adam demanded. “I need to know he’s safe.”

  She scoffed, but he heard a rustling. When she spoke again, her voice was further away. “Speak.”

  “Adam?” Josh’s voice, small and wavering, weak and nervous, but unable to hide that small spark of hope.

  “Josh,” Adam breathed.

  Before he could say anything else, Josh was speaking in a rush. “Adam! Whatever she says, don’t listen to her! Don’t meet up with them, Adam! It’s dangerous, they—”

  There was the sickening sound of flesh on flesh and a yelp of pain, followed by rustling before Millie’s voice returned. “As you can hear, he’s alive. For now.”

  “What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing he didn’t deserve.”

  “If you hurt him, I swear I’ll—”

  “Your threats are hollow, Adam,” she said, voice cold and cutting. “I hold the power here. Meet me at our spot.”

  She didn’t leave any room for argument, speaking with a clear demand and an easiness that came with the knowledge that Adam would follow through with her demands. She hung up before he could answer, and Adam heard his phone screen crack as he squeezed it too tight.

  The rooftop was at the edges of downtown, close enough to see the rest of the tall buildings of the skyline but not close enough to be overshadowed. It was near the far reaches of their pack’s territory, close to the neutral ground that cut through the city and split it in half. It was close to the city without being in the center, lying in a comfortable medium.

  The building itself was a general commercial office building, and different businesses rented out different floors. It was one of the pack-owned buildings that the previous generation had bought, and the proceeds went to support pack funds. It had once been a thriving business center, but at the moment, only the bottom few floors were occupied, leaving nearly seven empty floors of wasted space.

  When they had been younger, he and Millie had gone there all the time. Her father had been one of the pack’s accountants, so he’d known all the codes that would let them into the their buildings. Millie had picked this one because it was so far removed from everything and was less used, and they had used it as their escape.

  Whenever life got to be too much, they would come here. Whenever they stole some alcohol or wanted to get fucked up alone, they would come here. They would sit on this rooftop and watch the sunset, sharing their thoughts, their aspirations, and their fears. They would rant about the pack, gossip about the others. Sometimes, they would talk throughout the night and watch the sun rise again. They counted stars and found constellations, threw rocks off the roof and tried to see if they hit anything.

  It was their spot, untainted by anyone else.

  It was where their friendship had solidified.

  It was where they’d opened up to each other.

  It was where Millie had finally confessed that she wanted to be his mate.

  It was where Adam had turned her down as gently as he could, and then more brutally when she wouldn’t let the subject drop.

  He’d left her on this rooftop that night, and he hadn’t been back since.

  Until now.

  “You know this is a trap, right?” Tom said, his hushed whisper strangely loud in the silence that had settled between them. They all stood outside Karen’s car, staring up at the building. It rose, tall and intimidating, windowed walls reflecting the orange and red glow of the setting sun like a pillar of flame. He heard a muffled slap and Tom’s indignant yelp. “What? I’m just asking! I feel like we need to get that out in the open!”

  “Yes,” Karen hissed, exasperated and frustrated and on edge. It was how they were all feeling. “We know it’s a trap. We all know it’s a trap. It doesn’t need to be said aloud.”

  “I think it needs to be said aloud...” Tom grumbled, rubbing his arm.

  “It doesn’t matter that it’s a trap,” Adam said, voice oddly emotionless, even to his own ears. His head was tilted back, gazing up the length of the building. “We knew there would be a trap the moment they took Josh. But it doesn’t matter.” He put his back to the building and faced them—Karen, Tom, and Ben, all side-by-side, watching him, expressions a mix of nervous, angry, and determined.

  It had taken some convincing, but they’d gotten Nadia to head back to her place on her own. She hadn’t wanted to go, insisting that she could help, but they had assured her that this was wolf business. She hadn’t liked it, but she had finally given in.

  He made solid eye contact with all of them. “I don’t expect any of you to follow me. You’ve stuck with me this far, and that’s all I can hope for. I’m not going to ask you all to walk into a trap with me for my mate. This is my fight, and I’m willing to take it alone. Once we’re up there, I can’t guarantee your safety. I’ll understand if you want to turn back now.”

  It was their last chance out. He wanted to give it to them, let them leave guilt free if they wanted to. This was his mess, and he hadn’t meant to get his friends wrapped up in it.

  Karen stepped forward first, without even a second of hesitation. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re right here with you.”

  Ben stepped forward next. “Damn straight. You’re family, Adam. You’re pack.” He pointed to the roof of the building, nev
er breaking eye contact. “He is family. Josh is pack. We’re getting him back.”

  Tom crossed his arms over his chest, weight lazily listing to one side as he smirked. “Sorry, dude, but you can’t get rid of us that easily.” He shrugged, holding his hands out in a defenseless gesture. “It’s ride or die. We’re in it together.”

  Adam gave them a genuine smile. He couldn’t find the words to express his gratitude or the warmth blooming in his chest, fueling his rage and chasing away the numbness of fear. So instead, he just nodded. “Let’s go get my mate.”

  He led them inside and to the stairwell in the back. It was code-locked and private, keeping average customers out and restricted to the main stairwell and elevator. The code was something he’d had memorized for years, and it was still unchanged. His fingers moved over the buttons out of habit, and his heart rate picked up as the lock clicked.

  He stepped through and let the others follow before letting the door swing shut. “This stairwell will lead us to the roof,” he said, already moving toward the stairs. Beneath the smell of dust, concrete, and stale air, was the scent of pack. It was thick and strong, touching every surface and hanging in the still air. Millie’s scent was strongest, commanding and undeniably Alpha.

  They climbed the stairs quickly, anticipation growing with each level. His knees were shaking as he climbed, but it wasn’t because he was tiring. None of them broke a sweat from the climb, and none of them was breathing heavily as they reached the top. If anything, they were all eerily calm. They stood before the door, knowing what would face them on the other side. They made eye contact, nodding silently to each other. Each still as stone, calm and controlled. Even Adam’s heart rate calmed, despite the adrenaline in his veins.