The Fire Seer

Prologue

The day had started as wicked as all the rest. I sat up in a bed of harsh corduroy covers and down pillows that never kept their edge, stretching into cold air that nipped and beckoned me back to the covers, blinking away the sleep I wish would overcome everything that needed doing so I could claim it again. I pushed my limbs into motion as I stood. The cold wooden floors bit into my feet, radiating a chill up my calves that sent goosebumps across my arms and legs. I hug myself and walk to the window, looking out the attic of the pack house to the city-town beyond.

I was born here in the city of Redfield twenty-two years ago--a city nestled in the dense Appalachian woodlands of North Carolina, far from the seaboard and brimming with wildlife. The Ironfang Pack was a small but ferocious pack of werewolves that had held power over the entire state for four generations of Alphas and saw no signs of weakness to exploit by outsiders. Six years ago, my parents died in a battle against rogue legions who sought our resources and our land. Unlike most packs who mingled their territories with humans, our city was entirely wolf, and we kept it that way to keep our allies close to heart. Looking over the scope of it now, I wondered when the town got so big.

Turning, I looked across the room at a full-length mirror that reflected my body back at me, and I looked away as my eyes caught the wildness of my red curls and bright eyes. I got it all from my mother and her Scottish charm, her mother having come from across the sea with her pack some forty years ago, swollen at the belly with my mother and dreaming of a new world. I wondered often if she ever found that world she was looking for here.

After a long time of reminiscing in the cold, I moved, slipped on a long coat and combat boots, and brushed out some of the curls to get rid of knots before opening the hatch of the attic and crawling down. My fingers had gone numb, and it took some concentration to lift the hatch and descend the stairs without slipping. Landing with a thud of my boots to the wood, I flipped the ladder back up into the attic space and stuffed my hands in my pockets to warm before heading down the hall. I dodged as two kids laughed and slipped past me as I descended the fourth story staircase down the way to the first floor.

The house bustled with activity as cleaners moved to and fro with their duties and pack members meandered. On the first floor, the building burst open into a large commonroom that held hoards. Breakfast was being served, and hefty wooden tables carved from birch and oak nestled throughout the cafeteria space of the expanse, housing dozens of pack members and their families. Saturdays were always communal days, spent in the pack house before the Alpha's weekly debrief.

I took a breath and found it no longer fogged as it did in my room. At least here, for the normal members, they allowed a heater to warm their cold hearts.

"Look who decided to make an appearance," a voice called, and I didn't need to look to know who it was. An arm wrapped around my shoulder before I could comprehend it. A face whirled towards me, crushing their lips into mine, and I cringed and pushed and pushed, but they wouldn't budge. Finally, they drew back, and the smell of alcohol curled up my nostrils. "Mornin, pumpkin," a gruff morning voice said, and my eyes teared with the disgust and humiliation of it as I wiped my mouth and several onlookers jeered. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Seeder?" I asked, spitting on his feet to get the taste off. More laughter from around as eyes turned on my now-announced arrival. Rufus Seeder was pack Delta heir who would one day be two steps below Alpha in power, right after Beta. His father Anthony held the role now, mostly leading the border patrols and facilitating the members of the pack on a more general basis. Rufus, however, was scum, and he took advantage of any girl he could find to mess with. I was a prime target.

Rufus sneered, shoving me to the ground. I landed on my ass, my wrist going back to catch me and making a horrible crunch as it did so. I whimpered, pulling my wrist to my chest to nurse the wound, but before I could, Rufus reeled back and sent a kick into my face. I hit the ground, blood blossoming in my mouth as I used my good hand to hold my face. My jaw was still intact, but I spit a molar. My ears rang, but through the adrenaline, I heard silence, as everyone fell quiet to watch the spectacle. Looking around with bloodshot eyes, I found women, men, children, elders, all looking at me with adversity or pity or both. My heart lurched. I should have stayed in my room today instead of listening to orders. Just because pack meetings were mandatory for me didn't mean I had to listen. Who would have noticed anyways?