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An woman who couldn’t be older than forty raised her hand. I nodded. “Connect with everyone and let them know the plan. You do not need to listen to any complaints or arguments, because we don’t have any time for those. Got it?”
She nodded, her jaw setting and her eyes hardening. I cleared my throat, viewing the rest of the women. “The next thing is we need fighters on the front lines, on the south side of the pack lands. I need each woman to run along the border of town and replace each man that’s standing guard right now. We can’t afford to leave any part of the border unprotected. The rest of you head straight to the fight - I’m going to let you all choose who goes where and does what. You know your strengths better than I do.”
The women started organizing themselves and heading out of the building, executing the plan I had put in place. The woman who was communicating the plan to everyone had her face scrunched up, obviously trying to manage the arguments and complaints of the rest of the pack. I went over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and waited for her to look up at me. “Shut the connection down.”
She nodded, closed her eyes, and then opened them a few seconds later, her shoulders lowering as she shut the connection down. I nodded at her and she headed out the door. I shook my head, truly hoping that this was a good idea. I put the doubts about the plan out of my head - it was too late to worry about it now - and headed to where the main fighting was taking place.
27
Amara
My life had ceased to exist. The only thing in my life that existed was pain. I couldn’t feel anything else, I couldn’t think about anything else, I didn’t exist beyond anything else. Pain and I were best friends. The man who was administered the pain seemed to enjoy it - I could understand why. It was such a prevalent and consuming thing. I certainly had learned so much about it in such a short time. The man kept asking if I was ready for death, but I didn’t know what he meant. There was nothing beyond this.
“Amara, my sweet. I can’t believe how much fun you’re making this for me. You’ve surrendered to me completely. You’ve allowed me complete control over your life and I cannot tell you how humbled I am by this,” The man said, speaking in a bubbly voice. His eyes seemed to shine like dark diamonds in the night sky and he smiled as he worked, humming a soft tune. I wanted him to be happy, but I didn’t know how to tell him that he was wrong - he would feel the pain soon enough and understand exactly what I had already learned.
“Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to spend much more time together. Death is almost here and he is desparate to meet you. I can’t deny what he wants. I cannot keep you from him - you are my ultimate present. I’ve never sent anyone so willing and eager to meet him.”
I blinked up at the ceiling, sucking in a shuddering breath, trying to keep my body from moving too much. The pain seemed to increase every time my body moved, so I tried to stay as still as possible.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” The man said, rubbing his hands together in glee. He moved back to the table full of his tools. I hated that table. He turned back with a simple knife in his hand. I frowned, not understanding what was so impressive about this knife. He had been using knives that were much more impressive than the one he had in his hand now.
All of a sudden, there was a loud boom that echoed around us. A blast of wind blew through the room, the force of it so rough that it pushed the man a bit. He blinked, looking surprised and then turned around to look out the window. I felt a rush of warmness building in my stomach, then it spread throughout my entire body.
I blinked, looking down at my body. The blood seeping out of my wounds stopped flowing. The cuts started to close at an extraordinary rate. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. The pain that had become my entire identity seemed like it was receding. I had no idea what was happening, but all I knew was that I was finally able to think beyond the pain that was ruling my world at the moment.
“What the fuck was that?” The man asked. I looked up at him, his name finally coming back to me. I frowned, starting to shift on the table, trying to take the cuffs off of my wrists. I just wanted these damn things off. All of a sudden, my arms were able to move. The cuffs had come off and I sat up slowly, looking around, not quite understanding what was happening, but not taking it for granted. The major cuts on my body were just about done healing and I pulled the cuffs off my ankles, swinging my legs off of the table.
Jack was still looking out the window, a knife in his hand. He shook his head, turning back around to face me. His eyes widened, his head drew back quickly, and he stumbled backward, hitting the wall as he tried to get away from me. I tilted my head, regarding him silently. “H-how are you standing right now? Y-you’re supposed to be near death.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Jack. I’m feeling more alive than I’ve ever felt,” I shrugged. Jack frowned, then glanced down at the knife in his hand. He seemed to think through his options, but he didn’t seem to understand he didn’t really have any options. I turned on my heel and walked toward the doorway.
Jack yelled and threw the knife at my back. I could see everything happening in slow motion and flicked a hand, letting my intuition and feelings run the show. A flush of warmth ran down my arm and out my hand. I turned around and looked at what was happening behind me. The knife was frozen in mid-air and Jack was staring between it and me, looking completely freaked out. I smiled, flicked the knife hilt so that it flipped around and then snapped my fingers. The knife unfroze and immediately went shooting toward Jack.
He yelped and ducked, the knife hitting centimeters above his head. He fell on his ass, looking up in disbelief and then back at me. I shrugged and turned on my heel again, pulling the door open and strolling out. I heard Jack shift into his wolf and start to come after me. I snapped my fingers again and the door slammed shut in his face. I heard his wolf yelp as he hit the door at full speed.
I smirked, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. I walked out of the building, closing the door behind me. I took a look around and barked out a laugh. I smiled and stuck my hands in my pockets, strolling along the dirt path that led me through the town. I started to whistle, feeling so at peace with myself. I had no idea what this feeling was, but I never wanted to let it go.
The sound of glass breaking from behind me came and sighed heavily. I turned around and folded my arms, tapping my finger on my arm. I was really getting tired of Jake. He was ruining everything. A mangy, brown wolf jumped out of the window and started sprinting toward me. His lips were pulled into a snarl and he jumped at me.
I sighed, shaking my head. I flicked my wrist and he went flying back. I smiled patiently, waiting for him to get back on his feet and charge back to me. He didn’t disappoint, picking himself up and running toward me again. “Jack, you need to stop. You’re not going to win this.”
He snarled again. I shook my head and turned on my heel, walking down the path again. The sounds of fighting came from my right and I passed by a building to see wolves tearing into each other. I tilted my head, watching a few of the smaller, scrawnier wolves get pummeled into the ground. The bigger wolves ripped their throats out and left them bleeding out on the ground. I closed my eyes, dread causing my stomach to drop.
“A-Amara?” A voice called out.
I turned around and saw Jake running toward me. I gave him a small smile, waiting for him to get to where I was standing. He wrapped me up in his arms, squeezing me in a tight embrace. I hugged him back, my smile widening when he released me. “Hey, Jake.”
“Hey, Jake? That’s all you have to say to me right now? Where have you been? Are you alright?” Jake spit out. I raised a hand, waiting for him to take a breath.
“I’m fine, Jake. Well…now, I am. I’m not sure how or why, but I’m pretty much back to normal,” I shrugged. Jake frowned, scanning me. I sighed as I heard Jack sprinting back up to me. Jake turned toward him, baring his teeth. I flicked my hand, making him fly back again. Jake frozen, then turned slowly to me.
“Amara?”
“Don’t ask. I have no idea what that’s all about, but I’m not questioning it right now. Oh, also, hold on. I need to do this,” I said, holding up a finger, causing Jake to close his mouth. I turned around and waved my hands up in a big arc. The barrier started to lift up, shimmering as it built up and ended up completing at the top of the dome. I then turned to all of the wolves who were still killing each other.
I clapped my hands and all of the wolves were pushed away from each other. I nodded, satisfied that they couldn’t tear each other’s throats out while I caught up with what was happening. I turned to Jake. “Alright, catch me up on what exactly is happening. Why are they killing each other?”
“Amara!”
