“Me?”
“You’re closer.”
I grunted. If tonight was anything like every night from the past week, we weren’t going to sleep much, anyway, just lie here in silence, thinking about everything that we didn’t understand.
I couldn’t stand that. “Did you know that I wasn’t born in this territory?”
Jasmine opened her eyes. “You weren’t?”
“My parents were both from here, but they were living in the city before they got together. From what I understand, it was rather tumultuous. We lived in the city for a couple of years after I was born before they returned. I think they were trying to get a new start.” I stroked down Jasmine’s back absently. “They didn’t like each other.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “In fact, sometimes I thought they hated each other. I know they resented me for binding them. That’s not to say they hated me. I know they both loved me. But I knew both of them longed for the life they could have had if I hadn’t been born.”
Jasmine kissed me lightly. “I’m so sorry that you were made to feel that.”
“It wasn’t so bad. Not like Owen’s home life,” I muttered. Even though I had resentments of my own, it felt like a betrayal of the awful stuff he’d gone through to complain.
Owen lifted himself up slightly. “Just because my father was overtly abusive doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your family. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t belong, and not being able to talk about your experiences…I know I have a way of overshadowing people.”
“A meth-addict father will do that.” I let out a soft breath. “Right. Well, I suppose there’s not much to tell. They never had any drag-out fights, but small, constant arguments. Bickering over stupid things. And always so many rules.”
“Rules? I bet that was difficult,” Jasmine teased.
I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. That could very well be why I was so rebellious. “As a small child, I didn’t feel like I had a choice in anything. And I was obedient, at least as much as kids can be. Everyone talked about how well-behaved I was.”
“You?” Jasmine asked doubtfully.
“Me. But my parents always wanted something more. I wasn’t performing quite right. It wasn’t enough that I ate my broccoli; I had to cut it into smaller pieces. It wasn’t enough to cut it into smaller pieces; I needed to eat it before my potatoes. Not only did I need to eat it before my potatoes, I shouldn’t putsalt or pepper on it. I should smile more when I thanked them for it. I realized that the goalposts were always changing, so I stopped trying to be a good kid and just did what I wanted.”
Jasmine’s arms wrapped around me. “You deserved better than that.”
This time, I smiled. “I do have better, now. I have you.”
***
An alarm jerked me awake. I twisted in the blankets, trying to detangle myself from Jasmine. Beyond the window, the world was still dark, but that alarm kept ringing. I stumbled out of bed, my mind working to interpret the alarms. That wasn’t an invasion siren.
Fire alarms.
“Fuck,” I breathed as I scrambled for my clothing. My boxers bunched up when I yanked on my jeans. Owen scrambled to change from his pajamas, and Jasmine pulled her nightgown off as she made her way to her dresser.
My phone started to ring, and I grabbed it, answering. My second was on the other end.
“We need you and Alpha Owen right away,” he growled, sounding stressed. “The grasslands are on fire.”
***
The smell of smoke lingered in the air, even though the last flames had been smothered hours ago. It had taken us a whole day of constant work to put out the fires. The grassfire had spread to the forest, and it had quickly become a danger not only to our territory, but also to our neighbors as well.
Now, we still had a handful of people at the site, making sure that everything stayed put. Fires were tricky that way. The rest of the pack was gathered at the old college, nervous and waiting for us to reassure them.
Several of the warriors were starting to blame other packs and wanted to take revenge on them without any proof of who they were.
“We have to tell them something to stop this,” Owen said.
Jasmine, the priestess, Owen and I all stood just inside the college. I couldn’t help but feel like we’d have better luck with all of this if we had the shrine back in proper condition.
