Rise of The Phoenix Alpha

Pick Up…

Axton

“Come on Bells, you should be home by now. Answer your phone.” I mutter. It goes to voicemail again and I leave the fifth message in the last hour.

“Bells call me please. I want to make sure you and Mimi made it home safely. Don’t care how late it is.”

I set the phone down trying not to panic. Maybe her dad is talking to her about why she left. And she’s telling him about the things she saw.

By dinner, I’m almost snarling. Phoenix is so angry. We know deep down something is wrong. I link Lane and ask if he can contact his uncle, Bellamy’s dad. Find out if they got in.

Twenty minutes later, he links back. “No. Uncle Michael has been out searching for them. He hasn’t heard from them since they left.”

No….

Phoenix roars. “We need to go search for them NOW!!

“We’ll need help Phoenix. Maybe Corbin could come with us. Evan should stay here.”

I link Corbin. “Bellamy and Mimi never made it home. I’m leaving to go search. Want to tag along?”

“Shifting off into danger? Sounds perfect for us. I assume we are driving because running that far in wolf form will be tiring especially if there’s a battle at the end of our journey.”

He’s perceptive. “I’m driving. Meet me at my place in fifteen minutes.”

Evan is as worried as I am once I apprise him of the situation. “I’ll remain here with Dad. Go and find them.”

Corbin shows up with a duffel bag and a cooler bag that rivals the size of his clothing bag.

“Mom sent snacks.” Despite the direness of why we are leaving, I smile a little at his mother’s thoughtfulness.

“They were taking the scenic route.” I warn him as we reach the highway we need to follow. It seems like we’ve been driving forever when Corbin points out his window. “Their car….”

I park next to it and glance around before we exit. Corbin does the same. “Coast seems clear.” We get out cautiously and walk around the car. “You smell that?” Corbin asks as his nose turns toward the white rubble.

“Yeah I do. Like rotting flesh and then something very fruity.” It’s not pleasant.

Keeping our heads on a swivel, we follow our noses. I brought a flashlight even though our vision at night is not a problem. But it can be helpful to blind another wolf or for small items. “Ax, shine the light over here.” Corbin is circling around something. I do and we see this strange silvery dust almost. “It smells like a combination of a watermelon and sulfur. Very strange.” He wrinkles his nose.

I detect a faint hint of Bellamy’s scent. I spot a shoe and lift it. “This is Bellamy’s shoe.” I say grimly.

“Which means something happened right here. They were taken.” Corbin continues to skirt around checking for any other clues. That rotting flesh scent hits us hard and we turn to look for the source.

“Do you see what I see?” Corbin whispers with shock.

I nod unable to speak as I watch the almost scorched silhouette of a man floating our way. His eyes blaze red and gold and he opens his mouth to snarl. He comes forward and attempts to grab my throat but his body only freezes up as if there is an invisible barrier around me. “Damn you. I will kill all of you!” He screams his voice sounding hollow and unreal. He spins to attempt the same thing on Corbin but it is unsuccessful also. His entire body seems to glow with the unbridled fury that rolls off him.

“Wonder who this is because it is not Casper the Friendly Ghost?” Corbin jokes now that we are safe from him.

As I stare at him, his face comes back to me. “Nathaniel Storm….”

Corbin looks him up and down. “The guy that Princess Constance scorched alive slowly? Like over a year for his crimes.”

I nod as he stares at us with hatred. “Where are the women who were in that car?”

He glances behind me before shrugging but I see the slight twitch into a smirk. “Where are they asshole?”

“Why would I say a word? Leave!” He tries to turn away and in my desperation for answers I reach out to grab him as Corbin says my name with a warning. To my surprise and his, I am gripping his arm.

“You can touch him?!” Corbin is shocked. Nathaniel looks down at my hand but I don’t give him any time. I grip his throat and watch as his eyes widen in fear. Why does a ghost feel threatened by me?

“Corbin see if you can touch him.” He reaches out and to his surprise he can also. He grips his shoulder.

“f*****g hell….” He mutters as Nathaniel looks between us.

“Now how about you answer us.” I have no idea if we can hurt him or not. I extend a claw and slice along his neck. He tries to move his head away. “Appears I can cause you pain. Where are they?”

“He took them home. The little fairies. My great great grandson intends to turn them over to the hunters.” At the sneer on his face I can already guess. “Tylen is your grandson.” Corbin is staring at us speechless. I probably should have told him they were fairies.

He stares back with surprise. “You know who Tylen is. Surely you’ve never met him.”

“So you had a child some time on the run from Constance. How did you know they were fairies?” I growl.

He writhes in pain as I squeeze his throat. He isn’t breathing so why is he in pain? “The legend….”

“Which legend?”

He’s desperate to get out of my hold. “The Phoenix Alphaaaa.” He says quietly as he trembles. Corbin clamps down harder and he tries to move away from him too.

“Enlighten us murderer. What does that legend say about a fairy?”

“That a hybrid unseen in over a hundred years would return to the ruins. She was summoned by the fire witch before she was ever a thought in this world.” I watch him trying to wrench free of my hand. He’s no match for my strength.

“Is that it?” Corbin asks menacingly as he holds him still.

“Her very existence will ruin us. Tylen will correct the balance. He will give her to the coruscent.” He says it almost reverently.

Corbin snarls. “The coruscent venator?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer. “They kill fairies for sport. Trapped some of them years ago and turned it into an exhibition hunt.”

“You are too late.” Nathaniel adds as he manages to wrench loose and melts away. “Give my regards to the Moon Goddess Axton.”

“What the hell?! How did he do that?!” I growl.

“Axton we need to rescue Bellamy and Mimi quick before those hunters collect them.”

“Then we need to go to the Opulence Pack. Let me call for backup.”

We’re driving and no one will answer us. Alpha Jacob, Evan, Lane…in desperation I even tried my father. I texted Evan repeatedly to no avail.

“We’ll keep trying Axton. If not we can go in alone.” Corbin reassures me.

I shake my head. “We’ll need help Corbin.”

Tylen

It’s almost two in the morning and I can’t sleep. My wolf is restless. I sit looking down at the female in my bed. She’d been fun but I can’t shake the sense that I should kick her out.

I decide to go for a walk. I can go visit our newest guests. The old lady was still locked up in that hunter trap. But the pretty little redhead was feisty.

The coruscent will be here in two days to take possession of them both. They’ve offered a very large sum of gold for them. I’d been almost frozen with shock at that apparition’s claims yesterday. He’d been right about it all though. And after digging through our old family records I found his name. He was my great great grandfather. He’s part of the Phoenix Alpha legend. Too bad he killed off the bloodline that would have produced that specimen. It isn’t me.

As I step into the dungeon, the most delicious scent wafts to my nose. Like freshly baked bread I wander in trying to catch who has that as a snack. My nose leads me to her cell as I hear the low rumble in my head, MATE!

My mate is the hybrid fairy. This day is becoming more and more providential. I smile as she sniffs in her sleep. “Oh little mate. We are going to have so much fun.”

I almost unlock her cell and take her upstairs. But the. I remember the coruscent are coming. I need to stop them. I’m not handing her over. Not a powerful rare hybrid like her. I spin around racing upstairs to my office. I’ll call them and say the hybrid escaped. They can have the old woman. I let it ring uncaring of the time. “Come on, pick up.” I mutter.

If they are not forewarned there will be hell to pay and I don’t want to write that check. I finally leave a message. I will try again in the morning. Now I need to figure out where to hide her.