Chapter 9 – Flames
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening down in the laundry room washing, drying, folding and Ironing clothes for everyone who lived in the pack house. The storm continued to pour down, which means that most of the pack members were home all-day eating. There would be no scraps or leftovers for me today. They were having roasted chicken, potatoes and vegetables for dinner tonight, it smelled mouthwatering.
I heard the basement door open and close, perhaps I was wrong? Maybe Ursa put some food in my dog bowl by the stairs after all. She never gave me food on a plate or silverware, she just dumped whatever scraps I was lucky enough to get into a dog bowl by the stairs.
I looked towards the stairs and saw Ranger walking to the Laundry room in my direction. The closer he got the stronger his scent got. He's holding a duffle bag in his hand and I assume he's got laundry for me.
"You can leave the laundry on the ground Alpha, I'll get it." I called out and turned my attention back to the socks I was matching and rolling.
"I wanted to deliver this load of laundry personally." He stared intensely at me.
"No need to trouble yourself Alpha, you could have just dropped it in the Laundry shoot to me."
"Oh, but this is a special package Lucy."
"Then I'll be sure to take extra care when handling your special laundry Alpha." I said with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. What the hell did he have, a silk Armani shirt?
He opened the bag and pulled out a set of sheets. I caught a familiar scent from them and saw dried blood on the sheets. They were his sheets from the cabin, the loss of my virginity stained on them.
"Proof that you belong to me Lucy. That you willingly gave yourself to me." He threw the sheets at my feet.
I stared down at them for a moment and slowly lifted my eyes to meet his "You rejected me. I belong to no one."
"I need a strong Luna for the pack Lucy, but that doesn't mean I can't have you as a mistress."
I could hear Lia growling with anger.
"I'm nothing more than a weak slave to this pack, would the Alpha actually stoop so low and share my dog bed on the cold cement floor?"
"I will give you a bedroom upstairs."
"Your father gave me a bedroom upstairs. You let Ursa take it away. I will not whore myself for a bedroom!" I snapped.
A look of hurt flashed across his face as we stood staring at each other. A moment later we were standing in complete darkness, the power had gone out. There was a lot of commotion going on upstairs.
"The storm must have caused a power outage." He said.
I moved slowly out into the basement storage area and reached for a shelf. There was a box of glass jar candles on the top shelf. I stood on my tippy toes, but I was only five foot, three inches and couldn't reach them. Ranger pressed himself up against my back and reached up over me to bring the box down. I could feel the warmth of his body and the tingles shooting inside me as his arms brushed against mine.
"Thank you." I whispered.
I removed a big candle and a book of matches, then I lit the candle. "You should take the rest of the candles upstairs, there's another box on the shelf if you need more." I told him. He stared at me for a moment with a soft look in his eyes, then he nodded and left with the box of candles.
I went back into the laundry room with my candle and set it on top of the dryer machine. They had all stopped working when the power cut out, but they were dry, so I started hanging and folding them. I silently prayed the power would come back soon, so I could keep the room warm by running the dryers.
An hour later, I heard the basement door open again and thought it was Ranger. I looked at the figure approaching me and saw my favorite smile. It was Max.
"Are you okay Lucy?"
"I am now." I smiled back.
"The power is going to be out most of the night, a truck hit a major power line, everyone North of town is without power." He explained to me.
I sniffed the air, something smelled different about Max. I inhaled deeply, it was garlic, ginger and soy sauce. He smiled at me and removed a takeout carton of Chinese food hidden inside his jacket and some chop sticks.
"Chicken and vegetable chow mein." He grinned. And for dessert, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out an apple and a bag of M&M's.
My stomach growled. "Thank you." I hugged him.
"Enjoy, I'll see you in the morning." He said as he quickly slipped out of the basement before anyone caught him down here.
I hid the apple and M&Ms in my plastic tub under some clothes. I placed the candle on the floor and sat on my bed in the corner of the laundry room to eat my chow mein. The last time I used chop sticks was when my dad took me to have sushi for the first time in the city. My dad was amazing, he use to take me out for father daughter days. He was always, kind, patient and loving. I never understood how the Moon Goddess could pair him with Ursa after my mom passed.
I lifted a big piece of chicken from the chow mein and stuffed it into my mouth, this was delicious. I sat quietly enjoying the food by candlelight and listening to the rain outside. I don't think Max will ever understand how much he's done for me, I thought to myself. Too bad he wasn't my mate.
"Our mate doesn't deserve us." Lia said.
"Lia, do you think the Moon Goddess made a mistake?"
"I don't think she made a mistake Lucy. I think you do not understand how powerful and strong you really are."
"What do you mean, I never learned to fight, hunt or train." I told her as I chewed on a large piece of broccoli.
"There is more than what is at the surface Lucy."
I was chewing on long delicious noodles, lost in thought. I stared at the flame of the candle flickering before me feeling full and content. The flame attracted me to it, as if calling my name.
I moved my hand towards the candle and saw the flame grow six inches high. That's strange, I thought and pulled my hand back. Maybe I just imagined that? I tried it again and the flame rose ten inches high from the candle.
"Picture the flame in your hands Lucy." Lia called out to me.
"It will burn me." I told her.
"No, it won't, you have a golden wolf, Lucy." She said with great pride.
"Golden wolf? That's a myth!" I told her.
"Then you're talking to a myth." She pushed me again. "Imagine yourself holding the fire and controlling it."
I stared at the flame for a moment and set my food down. It was calling me. I held my hand out and pictured a flame in the palm of my hand. A small flame jumped up from the candle and grew into a big ball in my hand!
"How is this even possible?" I said out loud in shock.
It didn't burn or hurt me in anyway. It felt comfortable and warm and radiated power through my veins.
I imagined the flame moving to my other hand and suddenly I was holding two big balls of fire.
"What do I do with it now?"
"Imagine them burning out." Lia told me.
I did what she said and suddenly the flames were gone. I sat quietly in the dark for a while, with nothing but a single candle burning. I was wondering if this was dark magic or a curse. Maybe I was part witch? Both my parents were regular wolfs... I think.
"Lucy, you have been blessed by the Moon Goddess." Lia told me.
And to think, the only blessing I really wanted from the Moon Goddess was a loving mate. I wasn't sure what to do with this power or how to control it. If anyone finds out, I could be seen as a threat and possibly hunted down. Why would I be blessed with such a gift? Maybe I could sneak into the pack library and find a book on wolf legends to try and figure this out.
I wasn't sure what time it was, but I needed to take a shower before going to sleep, so I took the candle into the bathroom with me. I turned on the water and stripped off my clothes. There was a comfort in the candlelight as the flame flickered. I washed my hair, then my face and finally my body.
I was deep in thought and taking a final rinse when the shower curtain was yanked off the shower rod. I was so startled I screamed. Ranger was standing there, holding the crumbled shower curtain in his hand. His eyes roamed my body as they turned darker.
I shut the water off and grabbed the towel to cover myself. Ranger let out a growl and lunged at me yanking the towel away. He started kissing my neck and trailing his hand on my body, he was still holding the shower curtain in his other hand. His roaming hand reached between my legs and forced two fingers inside me. My body wanted to betray me, it yearned for him and his touch. I did the only thing I could think of.
I imagined the flame from the candle catching the shower curtain on fire that he was still holding. In an instant he let me go and was trying to stomp out the fire on the burning curtain. I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my body. "You should be more careful around candles Alpha."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his thick black hair. He stared at me and I could sense the internal struggle he was having with his wolf. "I came down for the other box of candles." He said as he walked away.