Rise of The Phoenix Alpha

Footage

Axton

I stare down at Dad holding Reyanne with horror. Her lifeless eyes looking out over his shoulder as he cried softly. Evan grips my hand tightly as we watch and wonder what to do. I don’t dare approach him yet. Wolves go feral in grief and will lash out at anyone if they are not ready.

Alpha Jacob crouches down “Xavier…” Dad doesn’t answer him. It takes him calling him two more times. He looks up like he forgot where he was. “Do you want to move her somewhere more private so you can grieve?”

He looks down at Reyanne and slowly shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to move now.” We stand in silence with him for almost an hour. He looks up suddenly and gestures for Evan and I. We crouch down and he pulls each of us in for a hug. We stay with him for a while until he nods and says it's time to move her. He doesn't want everyone gawking at her body. Alpha offers to have warriors escort him and he accepts. Evan and I follow him. Bellamy steps in with all of us and I whisper to her since we are in the back. "Which direction did you see them come from?"

"Northern border. Straight shot from where her body was." Where my camera is set up. I might need to install some all over the pack.

I put my hand on Bellamy's arm and slow her down. "Hang back a little. I want to know what you witnessed."

She starts telling me. "Wait you said she held her arm up how to that large wolf?"

She demonstrates, fingers held up with palm out, wrist slightly bent upwards. "It was like she was going to touch his nose Ax."

"Or she was pleading with him to stop." She might have known him. I think back to her lover the other morning. Yarrow smelled like bananas from my time in the forest before my last death. That guy had smelled like pine. And I don't see Yarrow calling anyone cupcake. I shudder again at the memory.

Reyanne is taken to what we call our mourning center. It is equipped like a large morgue to hold our fallen until it is time to cremate them. It’s fairly large since pack battles can leave many dead. We watch Dad place her on one of the steel beds. He asks if we can all leave him for a few minutes.

In the waiting area, Alpha asks me to see what I can find out about the attack. “Evan can remain here with your father. But we need answers sooner rather than later in case they plan to return.”

“Yes Alpha.” I am anxious to get back and check the footage on my laptop. I met up with Evan right after talking to Mimi. We had scented the rogues leaving the packhouse and gone chasing toward the smell but had been too late. They were already out of the pack and you never continue to give chase out of the borders. That's asking to be ambushed. I hurry home and open the security footage. I rewind to almost two hours before the attack. As it runs, I lean my head on the counter for a minute. This has been a busy day and it's no where near over.

I wonder why they showed up today. This is much earlier than the last time.

Then I need to find out who and how someone used my face to walk through the forest to meet with this Yarrow guy. I find where they first show up on the video and hit play. He gives them instructions it appears and points toward the direction of the packhouse. But then he also points to his right and two wolves take off that way. Where are they going?

He continues to talk to the group with him and I see them all begin to shift. They move over the border and creep in slowly. Hmmm that's odd. I would take off so I could make it to my target faster and hopefully without being seen. They fan out a bit and that worries me more. They are looking for someone. Was it me again? This time I had no reason to be there.

They inch closer to my camera and I watch Yarrow. He is sniffing and hasn't shifted yet. He turns and when he does, I freeze the frame. His head....the back of it, he has a scar. I take a still shot and finish watching them. They race off after a few more minutes with Yarrow shifting into his huge wolf. He was the one who killed Reyanne I am sure of it after hearing the description Bellamy gave me.

Now back to the image. I go back to that shot and start enhancing it. Please tell me I am wrong. I manage to clear it up enough that I see the scar on the back of his neck that stretches into his hairline clearly. A line dotted every inch by an almost star like mark. The exact same as the scar that starts at my hairline stretching across to my ear. His is lower but they were made by the same object. As I stare at it, something tickles my mind. I close my eyes trying to remember it. Pieces of a memory come forward.

"I want to go home." Sobs, quiet ones after that.

"I know. We'll go home soon." Another young boy's voice.

"My head hurts. I don't want him to get us again."

"He won't. I'll keep you safe ok."

The quick flash of a face. A little boy maybe three or four. His light brown hair and blue eyes filled with tears. His face was dirty and had tear tracks. Then it's gone. I reach back and touch over the line beneath my hair. I don't remember how I got that. Dad said I got caught in a fence and it went deep. Since I didn't have a wolf at the time it scarred. He told me I was seven.

I groan in frustration. Maybe it happened when our pack was attacked. Could that little boy be from then too? Knowing Dad lied about Mom's death means there is probably more he's not telling.

I look back at the footage. Yarrow has darker brown hair but his eyes appear to be blue. The same scar.....was he that other boy? I need to find out more information on him.

Time to go out to the border and look for more clues. But first I call Mimi.

"Yes Axton."

"Are there spells that can make someone look very similar to another? But you would still see differences up close. I think someone is using witchcraft in this pack."

"Yes, a mimic spell. It doesn't even require much skill to cast that. A very low level witch can cast that. And they only need a photo of the intended look along with the person who will be the mimic. As you said it's easy to see it's wrong when you get within five feet of the person."

"How long does it last?"

"A few hours at best. Depends on the witch."

"Thanks Mimi." I pull up the council's record page. Alpha gave me access to this recently and I haven't used it but it's time to dig.

Trent Yarrow, 19 possibly 20 years old

Three victims all contract hits. Not quite as prolific as my father made him sound. He killed an Alpha and his Beta in one pack and then the head warrior in a neighboring pack over the last two years. His past is mostly unknown which is not surprising if they don't even know his age. I'm pretty sure he's the one who hit me last time. If I have to start this timeline over, I almost need to go meet with this guy. I blow out a breath realizing I am contemplating meeting with a contract killer.

I skim the rest of the surveillance footage around the pack. They knocked over a few benches, destroyed some gardens but nothing major. Just ran out of the east border. Yarrow's wolf backtracked through the north. Probably to make sure they left nothing behind.

He's smart.

I close the laptop and head for my room to grab different shoes. I'm still going to check that border. As I step into my room, I smell something. Bananas.........shit! I spin around looking quick but there's no one here. I go still and silent listening for a heartbeat anywhere. I see it as I spin. A piece of paper on my pillow just below the window which is cracked open. I walk over to it my eyes still scanning the room. I crouch down and look under the bed before I get too close.

The paper is blank and I flip it over.

"A favor for a favor Axton."