Rising from the Ashes
Chapter 10

The moment Mia had walked through the door, Elenora had meant to tell her everything she hasn’t mentioned over these past days. Her excuse had been ready at the tip of her tongue. There was no time. You were busy with work. I was busy finding work. That was what Elenora had meant to say. “You look happy.” It slips out before she can stop it. Mia smiles a bright happy smile and for a moment Elenora tells herself that telling Mia everything isn’t right.

It’d just ruin her good mood. Her problems are her own. Except that feels so wrong. They’ve been through hell. Doesn’t Mia deserve honesty? Mia’s spilled her guts more than a couple of times. She spoke of things that hurt her just as much. They’ve held each other through episodes, outburst, and the freezing cold winter storms. Mia has had her back on more than one occasion and she’d want to know “I am.” Mia tells her before plopping down right next to Elenora and resting her head on her shoulder “At first, I swear I was never going to forgive you for bringing me here. I know it was for my own good but damn...”

“Pack life.” Elenora finishes for her “You weren’t sure if you were ready.” Mia doesn’t have to say anything. Elenora knows. She more than just knows. She understands. After everything packs put them through, they swore them off for life. Mia’s happy though. She belongs in a pack. She’s good at living in them too. Personally speaking, she doesn’t really know what to do. Sometimes it feels like a trap. Alpha Scott is a good man but sometimes she fears he might lock her up just like Vermont had. It’s a silly reoccurring dream of hers. “I’m still not sure I am.” Elenora admits. She whispers it, turns her head just in time to see Mia’s smile fall “We always talked about finding our mates.” Elenora swallows, closing her eyes “Do you still want that?”

Mia is silent for a little while. That’s alright with Elenora. If she had to choose between drowning in words or drowning in silence, she’d take the silence any day. Words hold emotions and admissions. They hold vulnerability and anger. Words hurt. “Sometimes, I think I want to find my mate. I think it might be nice you know?” Mia asks and Elenora nods. Alpha Bardrick is nice sometimes. Sometimes. Most times it’s crazy because she feels like she belongs with him and yet she has no clue who the hell he is. “Other times, I think it might hurt to meet him and be turned away because I’m rogue.”

“That won’t happen.” Elenora turns to face her “Not to you.” But isn’t there a strong chance it might? Doesn’t it happen all the time? People find out their mates are rogue and they turn away. It happens. It could happen. Mia only sighs as if knowing exactly where her thoughts had gone “You’re too good.” A gift. She was a gift to Elenora anyways. The only reason Elenora survived so long-with a conscious that is- is because of Mia. She was a blessing.

“It does happen. You know that.” Mia tells her and then another thing Elenora didn’t want to blurt out comes right on out. An admission.

“Alpha Bardrick is my mate.” Mia pauses. Freezes. Stops. Doesn’t breathe. “We both decided that it can’t possibly work out. Not between us. Too many different opinions.” Mia breathes. Smiles. Hugs her as if she said something completely different.

“I’m so happy for you! Really.” She tells Elenora “Now I’ve just got to wait for both of you to admit you’re wrong. That could take forever but I’ll wait.” What the heck did she just say? Wrong about what? Hating Alpha’s. That’s not wrong. What’s not to hate about an ill-tempered bastard? With the exception of Alpha Scott of course.

“Wrong? about what? Hating Alpha’s? He’s wrong for hating rogues as he does, he’s wrong in the way he kills.” Elenora growls, Mia looks at her for two seconds and it’s enough to have her temper flying out of the window. “It could never work out, Mia.” Elenora tells her

“Could is a possibility.” Mia shrugs. Elenora merely narrows her eyes. Those are her words and she really doesn’t appreciate them being used against her. It’s the same words she used on Mia while teaching her to fight.

“Would. Will never work.” It’s the same words Mia had told her and yet Mia can fight better than most now. That’s how far she’s come and so can it really work out between Alpha Bardrick and I. Probably not. Probably. Still, that isn’t all that’s wrong in life. There’s worse things, far worse. Like Vermont being alive. Shouldn’t that be top priority. It is. It really is so she just needs to tell Mia about Vermont. Now. “I’m leaving for a couple days.” She starts “I will be going to visit the Stonebridge pack, I’ve something to check out there.” She tells Mia instead. Mia is quick to stand.

“I’ll pack a bag.”

Elenora is just as quick to deny Mia of her willingness to go everywhere she does. Mia has a life, a fine life in where she is happy and safe here at the Bluemoon pack. She should stay. “No, you are to stay. I’m not leaving permanently. I’m just visiting and picking up Charlotte. It’s time.” Mia should know about Vermont. She should but the thing is, Elenora doesn’t feel like talking about it. Not now. Not when it’s fresh. Another time. “In the meantime, I’d love to catch up with my best friend. Tell me about work and all the cute guys flirting with you.” Her face goes red at the mention but she doesn’t deny and so Elenora grins “Tell me everything.” Mia does.

It’s not a lot. Just a cute single father with the cutest little girl. His mate passed apparently, he didn’t say much more about it but he asked Mia if she’d like to have a coffee and Mia didn’t say no. However, she didn’t say yes either. Still, the man had come back with flowers and his cute little girl of three years. They talked after work and Mia got to play with the kid which for Mia, is a dream. Mia adores kids and for the last three years of her life, all they’ve done is run from her.

When it’s Elenora’s turn to spill, she does so reluctantly. Though talking to Mia always helps, in the moment it always feels like ripping your heart out and letting it speak all the things you haven’t until this moment. “Today I went to Elder Thomas and fond out that Vermont killed my parents and stole me.” Mia listens, her emotions on display and those emotions show pain for her. That’s the thing about loving somebody else. Their pain is yours. She’s my sister. Not by blood but she’s my sister. “Then I went to interrogate a rogue who told me that not only is Vermont alive, but he knows about Charlotte.” There it is. The truth. An ugly beast. Mia listens. She doesn’t even attempt to say that maybe it’s wrong, maybe the rogue lied. She knows I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I did not know.

“I ended up spending the day with Alpha Bardrick who offered me a job, or a man named Fergus offered me a job anyways.” Elenora manages a laugh, small but there “I’d be making remedies and helping people.”

“Good. That’s what you’ve always wanted to do. help people.”

That’s true. Its been her dream for as long as she can remember. Rogue life had all but told her she never could and now here lies the opportunity “I’m not sure if I’m going to do it. I’d be working in Alpha Bardrick’s pack. The Bloodmoon pack. They hate rogues more than anybody.” With the exception of the King of course.

“Oh?” And Mia flashes the look. The look only a best friend can pass you.

Oh what? “Don’t oh me. Oh what?”

“I just didn’t know you’ve met everybody in the Bloodmoon pack to know they all hate us. My mistake.” Elenora narrows her eyes at Mia. Just why, after three years of this, are they still friends? With a groan, Elenora kicks her feet up on the coffee table.

“You suck. Really.” Elenora tells her and she tries to sound as bitter as she possibly can, maybe even as angry as she can as well. Of course, that doesn’t really work out because Mia laughs and grabs the remote from the coffee table

“But you love me anyways. On a serious note though, you should take the job. Forget about the pack. Think about the job in itself. Do you want that?” Yes. Of course she wants it! Elenora doesn’t tell Mia this. She doesn’t need to. Mia knows and as a way to end the conversation, she turns on the TV so they can continuing watching whatever it is Mia chose out. Basically it’s about a large group of people who hop on a plane and hop off the same plane five years later, not aged a day and believed to be dead. The group of people now have the ability to see the future. Though Elenora should be getting ready, she quickly decides that it can wait. She’ll leave tonight. Right now however, will be spent enjoying the time she has with Mia.

Leaving tonight seemed like a perfectly good idea until Alpha Bardrick showed up with his bag in hand. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Elenora whispers, eyes still stuck on his bag

“I’m going with you.” He tells her. Calmly. It’s like everything he does is done in a calm manner. Elenora hopes something ruins that calm behavior because it’s damn annoying. Please lord god if you exist up there like Grandmother May insist you do, let something completely destroy everything he thinks he knows.

“No. You’re not.” With that Elenora closes the door. She locks it for good measure and turns around only to jump ten feet away when he’s there. Elenora is quick to find the open window and quicker to notice his red eyes. She remembers him telling her that when he uses his vampiric abilities, his eyes flash red as a tell.

“You couldn’t stop me if you tried. If Vermont is as dangerous as Alpha Scott tells me, you shouldn’t be going alone.” Elenora holds out her hand and with a flick of her wrist, sends fire shooting right towards his shirt. She doesn’t wait to see how long it takes him to get rid of it, Elenora merely starts her walk towards her room so she can finish packing.

“Vermont knows of your abilities Elenora.” He tells her not the least bit bothered. Elenora scowls at her suitcase and continues packing her clothes into it. She will not be gone for long but it will be nice to look somewhat decent when she shows up. “He will have somebody capable of defending themselves against your fire. You’re a fool if you don’t believe that.”

“I do not want you with me and you cannot afford to leave your pack vulnerable during these times. You should be there, with them.” Of course, in these times his Beta is more than fitted to watch over the Bloodmoon pack. In fact, he’s trained to step up if anything happens to Alpha Bardrick. Without a word Alpha Bardrick grabs her bag and starts walking out with it.

“You are a smart woman, Elenora. You can cut traveling to the pack in half with me at your side. You’d be able to walk right through any pack. You’d have a car more than fit for travel and somebody to pay for any room you might dream of having.” Elenora has a room set up and she can ask Alpha Scott for a car. She doesn’t need him. Not in the very least. The reasonable part of her whispers that she’ll get to Charlotte faster. The stubborn part of her tells her that she has never needed help before, now is not an exception.

Reasonable wins out when she thinks about Charlotte’s safety. “You’re paying for my hotel room.” She tells him before yanking her bag from his hands and walking out with more attitude than necessary. Especially because he is helping her. She opens the back of his car and tosses the bag on the backseat before opening the passenger door and climbing in. The first thing she does is adjust her seat to her liking. The next thing involves telling him of the game she was taught years ago, only her version is a lot less painful. “Lets play a game. Who can stay quiet for the longest?”

Alpha Bardrick merely nods and starts his fancy looking car without complaint. Apparently, he prepared for how rude Elenora might be during this trip. Prepared and expected Elenora would assume. Doesn’t matter. Elenora is prepared to be as bitchy as she can manage if it means getting him to hate her as much as he hates any other rogue. Mia is wrong. A bond between them will not work. It can’t. It’s bound to end up with somebody hurt. Especially with Vermont alive. She has too many people she’s beginning to care for and Elenora is certain Vermont will find all of them if she’s not careful.

That’s what happened to Anthony. That’s what happened to Grandmother May. She’ll be damned if it happens again.

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