Where The Rivers Meet The Falls

Chapter 26

A weight crushed the air out of my chest. My knees gave way. The ground cold, dead underneath me. My heart beat, so loud in my ears. Hands, arms, were touching me. All I could see was my brothers eyes. Hollow, pained, reflecting the worst memory we both held.

I wake up to screaming, orange heat flickering through the dark night. Fire. Danger. Alone.

"Mommy! Daddy! Derek!" No one answered, only the howls of pain in the distance and creaking wood beams as the structure of the house grew more unstable.

I climb out of my bed and clutch my teddy to my chest. My small body begins to convulse as the thick smoke that has now reached my height attacks my lungs. My eyes burned worse, tears of pain adding to those of fear. My pleads for my family turn into sobs. I try to open the door but scream as the burning metal leaves blisters on my skin.

Derek bursts through my bedroom door. "Belli, we have to go through the window okay? I'm going to lift you out first then follow okay?" His voice was raspy and strained from the smoky air that was only getting thicker.

"Mommy's locket! I need Mommy's locket!" Derek scooped up the locket from the nightstand and clasped it down into my small hand.

Derek opened my window and lifted me through it before setting me down on the other side. Derek climbed through the small opening and dropped to my side just in time before a large explosion of fire and glass destroyed my room. Derek scooped me up into his arms. My small five year old body was only dressed in one of Daddy's old t shirts and my favorite powerpuff girl undies. My teddy slipped out of my arms as I held onto Derek's neck, clutching the locket with all of my heart.

I watched my teddy disappear and burst into flames with the rest of my home as Derek ran us far, far way.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy? Why aren't they here?"

"They're fighting the bad rogues Belli, they're going to keep us safe. They sent me to get you from the fire."

"Can we go see Mommy and Daddy?"

"Not yet, we're going to get you to the safe house and then I'll go bring back Mommy and Daddy after we beat the rogues."

My big brother, my protector. He would keep me safe. He wasn't scared. But he was, more so than me because he knew what was going on and didn't have someone protecting him. But nothing could protect either of us from what we saw. A wolf was thrown into a nearby tree so close Derek had to stop. So close that we could recognize the wolf as our own father. When he hit the forest floor he shifted, his neck bent at an awkward angle and bleeding everywhere.

"Dad -"

"Shh Belli. Don't make any noises." Derek's hand trembled as he held it over my mouth.

My tears flooding over his hand and I knew he was fighting crying too as his whole body convulsed in painful gasps. The rogues killed our Daddy.

Mommy's scream broke our blurry visions of Daddy's twisted body to see her dangling in the air in her human form by her neck. THe dark figure strangled Mommy until her body went limp, then he snapped her neck and let her drop to the ground.

Derek collapsed then, both of us forgetting that we should be quiet as our despair overpowered us. The dark figure looked at us once just before the other members of the pack finally showed up to fight and killed all of the rogues and run off to find more.

My Mommy always told me that no matter what, as long as I had that locket, the one with her and Daddy's picture from their wedding, I would always have them close to my heart even when they had grown old and wrinkly and then when I would grow old and wrinkly. But none of us were old and wrinkled now. No, Derek was only fourteen, I was only five but my parents were gone, dead. And as I lost grip of the locket and would lose it forever, I had lost them forever.

"Arie baby, please, please wake up. Tell me how to take this pain away and I'll do it!" Graham's voice came from the large man looking over me.

"That's a hole in my heart that can never be healed."

My voice was dry, cracked, and painful from lack of use. How long had I been out for?

"Three, incredibly long days. you're projecting your thoughts my sweet." Graham murmured with a pained look in his eyes as his fingers stroked my face.

I tried closing off the mindlink with everyone in the pack but I was too weak. It was like I had relived those moments. The memorizes I had suppressed deep into my subconscious. I felt as weak and useless as I had been that horrible night when I was only five. It didn't help that I could practically feel every member in the packs thoughts and worries screaming for attention in my head.

Suddenly all the noise stopped and I peered up at Graham who had worry etched deeply into his features. I quickly released of of his hands that I had been holding in a vice like grip as I had been gripping the white sheet that surrounded me. I guess I was in the infirmary.

"I told them all to stop contacting you until you felt better. But the doctor does need to check up on you."

I only gave him a nod and Dr. Blake came through the door. It was funny how he patched me up the first time I showed up at NIght Shade. He w checked all of my vital sand removed the IV from my arm. Soon he allowed me to leave, Graham of course nearly carrying me.

We had excited the infirmary and Graham had decided just to scoop me up. "Where is Derek? Is he okay?"

"He's staying at our house but right now they're in one of the board rooms. I'll bring you to him."

When we got to the board room Graham set me down before opening the door for me. Valentine, Damien, Zane, Cat, Alethia, Jonathan, and Benji all sat around the table while Derek stood at one end. He would have made a great Alpha.

"Belli, you're awake." Derek came over and hugged me. "How are you feeling?"

"Like Kron needs to die." I grumbled and Derek only took a deep breath before sighing. "While you were out we were discussing that."

"I want to do it. And Graham look, I know we've been going back and forth on this but-"

"I know Arie, I saw your memory." Graham paused. "I had to tell everyone to block you out."

"We all support you. Things can't continue like this." Benji rubbed his forehead, like he was trying to forget.

"Everything is planned, down to the exact rooms and times of each step of the plan." Jonathan added.

"Ariabella, Derek and I decided you should have this. It's about time it returned to its owner."

Valentine placed something small and cold in my hand. Tears formed in my eyes as I look in the small piece of metal and opened it to see my mother and father on their wedding day smiling at me.

"I found it in Kron's house. That sick son of a bitch was keeping it like a trophy. He was the one that killed them, I thought he was killed by the other members of our pack but he got away. They let him get away."

I clutched it tightly in my fist and looked around at my family before holding Graham's hand and looking back to Derek.

"For Mom and Dad."

He gave me a single nod. "For Mom and Dad."