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EMILY
Lyrica is dead? How and why would I have a message? My head spun with the possibilities, and dread was a dead weight in my stomach. I couldn’t breathe for a few moments and my heart was pounding in my chest. I focused on my heartbeat and sadness soon replaced the dread, it became easier to breathe. I held the phone in my hand and walked on unsteady legs to the cell door.
“Cass? Are you awake? Have you changed back?” I asked. I wanted to cry.
Minutes later the door opened. Cassian grabbed his shirt and stilled as soon as he saw my face. “What happened?”
“I… Your phone kept going off, and I thought it was an emergency so I checked.” I handed the phone to him and he read the text message in complete silence.
He took my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. “We need to go. If this was Kellan’s pack, then we need to find out if they know where you are.”
We made it to the warehouse in record time. The drive felt simultaneously too short and too long. Lyrica’s welcoming smile and friendliness kept flashing through my mind. Her home and the safe feeling it gave off, I never would have expected anything to happen to her. Cassian’s expression was deadpan, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling, but I knew her prophecy played through his mind as much as it played through mine. As for you, Cassian Knox, devastation will follow soon. Was this part of the devastation?
Grace met us outside, her face was grim and her posture was tense. There were a handful of werewolves with her, I recognized Tiny and Gus from New Orleans, Sam was there too. None of them looked like they had slept. Sam sneered at me as we walked up to the group.
“What happened?” Cassian asked without greeting.
“Lyrica sent a message late last night, she was distressed; she kept saying someone was outside. This was during the change so I only got it this morning. I sent Gus and Tiny as soon as they changed back.” Grace looked at the two burly men. “Gents, do you want to explain what you found?”
Tiny stepped forward and nodded at me and Cassian. “Morning, boss. The house was quiet when we arrived, no sign of a break in or anything like that. Gus found the body when we checked the rooms.”
“She was on the sofa, sitting. But her heart and eyes were missing, they were burned out. It was… grizzly” Gus added.
“What about the message?” Cassian asked, his brows knitted together.
Tiny and Gus looked at each other again, something flicked across their faces. Tiny cleared his throat. “It was written on her stomach, like someone had taken a blow torch and burned it into her skin.” Tiny said, wringing his hands.
“It said, ‘Playing with fire will get you burned. Information always comes at a price. I will see you soon, Emily. I’ll show you what family truly is.’ The last part was on her back,” Gus said, he couldn’t look me or Cassian in the eye.
Cassian looked up into the sky. “Thank you for checking it out. Grace, Sam, let’s move to the meeting room.”
Tiny and Gus nodded and walked into the warehouse, straight to the bar. Even though it was early, I didn’t blame them for wanting a drink after seeing what they saw. My skin crawled at the words and I was relieved that I hadn’t eaten anything yet, it would’ve been all over the concrete floor and probably Cassian’s feet. I followed the three leaders into the same room that we had occupied yesterday, the atmosphere was a lot different than yesterday. No more loving hugs from a mother figure or excitement about finding Asena. It was thick with sorrow and worry.
Sam spun toward me as soon as the door closed. “This is your fault! We were handling things fine before you came along and brought all this chaos. Now we are at risk too because the red witch wants you dead!” Sam yelled. “Your kind will always mean the destruction of ours!”
Cassian growled, “Get back in line, Sam.” Cassian stood in front of his beta, and although Cassian was lean, he was bigger than Sam.
“My fault?” Anger boiled in my veins and I could feel the fire waking up inside of me. “You weren’t handling shit! You had no idea how to deal with the curse, and thanks to me, you now know how to end it. I came in here with nothing but respect. I don’t have this stupid hatred between our species. But from the moment I stepped in here, you’d already judged me. I didn’t cause Lyrica’s death, I didn’t cause the chaos, it was already there.”
I couldn’t keep quiet, the guilt and stress and judgment hit me like a ton of bricks and I could feel the flames lick at my fingers. Cassian’s eyes widened when he looked over his shoulder at me, and Sam took a step back. “Breathe, Em.”
“How do we know that you didn’t kill Lyrica? You weren’t cooped up, forced to change last night, and clearly you’ve got the ability to burn things,” Sam sneered again, a little quieter this time.
I gritted my teeth. “And why would I leave a message for myself? Why would I kill the only person who has been willing to give us information. Don’t be stupid!” I wanted to scare him. I wanted to use my flame and scorch his attitude right out of him and by his expression I knew my fire wasn’t just inside of me anymore, it was licking up my arms.
“Control your magic, Em. It’s not helping anyone at this moment,” Cassian whispered again. “Sam, you are dismissed. If you cannot restrain your temper then you are not welcome in this meeting, or any other that involve Emily and the curse.”
Sam opened his mouth to argue but Grace stepped in. “Go scout the perimeter and pull yourself together. Emily is Cassian’s mate, she is family.”
“Not my family.” He muttered as he walked out of the room.
As soon as he left I doused the fire. I was out of breath, and my head pounded, but my temper vanished completely. Maintaining control was becoming easier. I kept practicing when I was alone, and I felt a lot more powerful than I did a week ago. I walked past Cassian, sat down in one of the chairs, and waited for them to join me. I appreciated that Grace defended me, but I didn’t want to just be Cassian’s mate. I was strong enough to take care of myself, and if Sam kept pushing, I would have made him and everyone else aware of that. Violence has never been something I even considered turning to, but what else was there when people kept pushing. I was tired of being meek and quiet. Cassian glanced at Grace before they sat down as well.
“It seems like Samara has made her first move,” I said simply. “I just don’t understand why an all-powerful witch would travel to kill another witch and leave a message.”
“Maybe she is closer than we think…” Cassian added.
“Nevertheless, we need to keep our guard up. If she is targeting people around Emily, then that means she knows where you are and how to find you. Lyrica wasn’t that far away,” Grace said to Cassian, “I suggest asking Tiny and Gus to watch over Emily, you have responsibilities here.”
