/Ember’s POV/
I found myself back to that day. The clear skies, subtle laughter of the adults, happy cheering from our friends while the lush green leaves of the forest welcomed our presence. How could I ever forget how wonderful the air was? The happy wind graced our presence as we prepared to have our first shift. The princes of the Crescent Knight pack or so they call us. Nothing could have been more beautiful, a time when my life was truly perfect.
“Stop” The young soft tender voice of the blind witch girl vibrated through the air garnering everyone’s attention and startling even the adults. Amber and I always pass by their house, she was nothing special. We had just finished shifting and were about to have our first run. I remember the floral armless yellow dress she was wearing, which gentle designs were embellished by the white turtle neck she had under that dress. Maybe it’s the freckles that lined over her fair nose, or the dainty pearl necklace that adorned her neck or the soft feel of her bright ginger hair or probably her beautiful baby blue eyes that unfortunately couldn’t see, she stood out like a sore thumb. “You can’t go” she shouted in her tiny voice that made people smile instead. No one took her seriously, not even I. I wish I did….maybe I wouldn’t have resented myself so much, I wouldn’t have blamed her either.
“Daisy come here” Jake, a friend of my mom and a respectable person of the pack said. I remember him walking over to her and lifting her into his arms like she weighed nothing even though she was 14, well she did have a rather small stature for a 14 year old, or maybe it was her inability to see that made Jake carry her back then even though she was way past the age to be carried so casually.
“I’m really sorry…Alpha” The earnest apology of her dad was comforting but still, everyone wondered why she did that well until she announced it herself.
“Dad, you have to stop him, he’s gonna die” I remember flinching so hard at her words that felt like a curse placed on us. Well, she is a witch…though young she is still a witch.
“You can’t say that, that’s wrong” Maybe we should have listened. Jake had scolded Daisy so badly as he led her away from the training grounds where we had shifted.
“Don’t let them go please” I could remember her pleading and her voice and face faded into the eager crowds surrounding us, my attention was brought back to the task at hand which was to have our first run.
“Are you excited?” My twin brother had immediately asked me through the mindlink after Daisy was led away, he was rather shy and gentle but on that special day he was as enthusiastic as he could be.
“A little” I remember telling him. Amber and I are pretty identical, in hair, face, nose everything but surprisingly we have different fur colours. While my fur was radiant like the sun, very light brown almost golden his was dark as night. Mom’s fur colour but I took after my grandma’s fur colour, strangely, I was envious, his fur was beautiful, and I could only wish I had gazed more upon it without worrying I’d be caught staring.
“Race you there” I remember the excitement in his tone as his paws hit the soil and before we knew it we were racing past the trees and crushing the dry leaves with our paws.
“Wait up” I remember pleading but he was fast, free like the wind…the sight was beautiful and warm. A feeling I could never forget, I felt on top of the world, unbound and content until Amber couldn’t stop himself properly with his speed, he tried to stop and turn as fast as he could before reaching the end of the cliff mom had warned us not to go but it was too late and got fast-tracked over the cliff. I could remember him whimpering and struggling to hold on for me to get there and help, it took me a few minutes and when I eventually did, my thoughts were too clouded to shift back, I tried making him grab on my paws instead but it was too late. How could I ever forget his face as he fell?
“Ember” I woke up with a start. I had tears in my eyes and judging from the awful stench and sticky clothes, I probably sweated a lot and that voice. Sound like someone I…”Ember!” Mia called loudly before barging into my room.“What? You’re still sleeping? You’re seriously unbelievable. You were supposed to drop me off at school. I get that you don’t wanna resume early and that’s fine, after all, you’re already part of the student council, I need to show diligence and I can’t do that if I’m tardy-
“No one asked you to fail your driving test” I sassed before getting off bed.
“Ah ah real funny, you think I wanna be stuck with you as well…I’d rather eat Oreo mixed with pickles” I made a weird face to her statement before approaching the bathroom. “Why are you so sweaty? You smell like the guys' gym locker shortly after their morning run?” Mia was holding her nose at this point.
“How would you know that? Have you been sneaking into the guys' locker room?” I glanced in her direction and she rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Oh please, everyone knows what the guys' locker room smells like, it’s an awful stench you can pick right from the hallway” She shrugged but I was rather distracted by the chic dress she had on, and that pose she was making that seem to be straight of a magazine. I guess this is why she’s been watching a lot of fashion shows lately. “Oh, you don’t have to look at me like that, I know I’m pretty” She grinned smugly flipping her hair and tucking a few strands behind her ear.
“Yeah, yeah, just like Mother Gothel” I smirked before I pushed her out of my room and her face went blank.
“What!?” She screamed at the door but since I had it locked she could only banged on it.
“Go away Mia” I shouted before walking into the bathroom. Mia and I are three years apart, which means she’s 17 and will soon turn 18, an event she can’t seem to wait for since she might finally get her mate, while shifting starts much earlier, we still can’t feel our mate until we’re 18, not that it matters to me since I wouldn’t be able to recognise my mate anyway, after all…my wolf went dormant three years ago since I couldn’t bring myself to shift again, so I focus on magic. An alpha without a wolf…how pitiful people say, but it didn’t really matter to me since it doesn’t change who I am.
It’s the start of a new semester and I’m already tired. I just wanna go back to bed. I thought after arriving at the dining table to have breakfast…since I came down late, everyone probably already had theirs. Mom would have gone to the pack house and Dad would probably be on the training grounds. I sighed reaching into the freezer for leftovers, my food as usual was already packed on a plate with plastic over it, I just needed to microwave it.
“Why do you always come down for breakfast so late?” I recalled Amber’s voice. We would always sit across each other during meals since it made gossiping a little easier. It’s been four years since his death and I just can’t seem to stop thinking about it, I can’t stop blaming myself and that girl who should have done a little more to stop us from leaving.
“Ember” I was startled out of my reverie by Mom’s call which had me instantly raising my head to meet her eyes. Her business casual attire made it obvious she had just returned from work.
“You don’t look too good, are you okay?” Her gentle voice was supposed to be soothing but I feel even more miserable, everyone seemed to have moved on, why am I the only one trapped in this horrid past?
“I’m fine-
“You have dark circles, are you still having nightmares?” She worried taking a seat right next to me in the dining.
“I said I’m fine” I shot to my feet slightly pushing the dining chair to the back.
“Ember-
“I’m…I’m gonna go. I’ll go drop Mia for her registration now” I couldn’t bear to look at Mom’s face as I spoke. It was obvious she was heartbroken but I’d rather not talk about it.
“You haven’t even touched your food-
“It’s okay, I’m not hungry” And with that, I exited the house. I wasn’t surprised to see Mia waiting by the car with her new phone in the air taking pictures. ‘For the grams’ She always says.
“Get in the damn car, let’s go” I snapped before walking over to the driver's side of the Lambo my parent’s got me for my latest birthday thinking it’ll make me feel better, then I slipped into the driver’s seat before Mia hurried and settled in.
“What’s with the sudden attitude?” Mia raised a brow but I was uninterested in divulging any piece of information that could later be used against me. The ride was a silent one but it wasn’t exactly awkward since the sounds of her phone camera could be heard clicking every damn minute of the way. Not like I care, but it does bother me that I wasn’t exempted from her photos.
“Isn’t that Jake’s car?” Mia peeped out the window as I drove past Jake's 15-year-old pickup truck.
“Maybe” I replied nonchalantly before pressing down on the gas and racing my way to school which was a little bit far from home. Sure the pack owns it needed to be built outside the pack for security reasons.
“Get out” I instructed Mia who made a weird face before removing her seat belt. I commanded the moment I secured a spot and parked in.
“Okay, you aren’t coming with me?” Mia asked and I raised a brow at her in question. “Fine, I’ll just do it myself” Mia caved after seeing the look on my face. ‘That says you aren’t a kid’. I felt a whole new level of peace with her gone from the car. I leaned into the car seat trying to calm my mind but suddenly I felt uneasy. ‘Something smells good’ I thought sniffing the air as the fruity, pungent scent of crushed berries. So sharp, it stung my nose so I came down from the car unable to bear it. Two cars away from me was a girl standing with her back turned in my direction talking to someone obstructed from my view by the other two cars between us. What had me freezing in my tracks was Aiden’s sudden reaction. ‘Aiden is that you?’ I called out to my wolf that seemed to have stirred inside me but I was met with nothing but silence. ‘What did I expect?’ I thought turning back to leave but that voice…
“Dad…I’m okay. I can do this on my own” That small tender voice. Why does it sound so familiar?
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