Bathing in Shadows

All she could see was fire. The screams of her pack mates made her ears ring, as the heavy smoke filled her lungs and made her dizzy. Staggering away from her bedroom, she lunged for the door to the room across from hers. The one where her younger brother slept.

Lucien was huddled up in a corner of his room, crying, terrified as he was trapped by the fire. He cried out and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to curl up away from the flames that tried to lash out and lick his skin. Suddenly, he was lifted. He could feel strong, slim arms cradle him as a soft voice cooed in his ear, drowning out the ringing. Lucien knew who it was by her scent, and he immediately relaxed into her body knowing that he was safer than any pup so long as he remained where he was.

It was his sister who had grabbed him up and hauled him out if his burning bedroom. Soon he felt a rush of cool air fill his lungs and he breathed it in greedily. Just as soon as he began enjoying the cool air, his face was turned into his sister's neck, her hand firmly pressed against the back of his head. She acted in an urgent manner as if she was shielding him, almost like she didn’t want him to see something.

Aveline turned around, looking at everything she would not let young Lucien see. She knew he could faintly feel the pain but because he was so young, he would not understand it, nor feel it the way she did. So many ties to pack mates were being torn and cut off, ripped away from her like strings with barbs being plucked from her heart. Hissing out a breath of air, she continued her search.

Everything was engulfed in fire. And as she looked at what was once their home, she felt pain bloom in her chest at what lay before her eyes. It reverberated inside of her, echoing and eventually dulling as she gasped for air. She could no longer hear their mother and father through the mind link, in fact, she couldn't feel them at all. They were gone. The urge to howl and cry out overcame Aveline, but she held it in, willing herself to stay quiet and think. She had to be strong for Lucien so she could get them out of this.

Gritting her teeth, Aveline shifted Lucien to her back, his little arms wrapped around her neck and his feet dangling around her sides. Turning to face the dark woods behind her, she took off in a dead sprint, not once letting up her pace as they made a quick escape. The image that burned into her brain was that of their parents laying in the grass, blood pooling beneath them, and howls of victory ringing in the air...