Bitter Ashes Chapter 1
Alina woke to raised voices, and instantly recognized whose they were. It was the pack leader speaking at the moment; his tone was soothing and calm. Trust the pack leader to be a rock when the pack needed an anchor. The next voice she knew as well, it was Vichol. Vichol was the 'cub trainer' he taught the young ones how to fight with weapons and tooth and claw. He was also the father of a quarter of the cubs in the pack. He sounded anxious, and thoroughly upset. This was bad, it took a lot to upset Vichol. The third voice took only a millisecond longer to identify. It was Shira; she cared for orphaned pups and those who were new to the ways of the wolf. Getting up Alina blinked gray-blue eyes and stretched, yawning widely. As she walked to where the adults were she tried to make as little sound as possible, she was the best in the pack at doing so, save the leader. When she got within a few feet of them the pack leader looked up, gray eyes looking at her. The glasses that sat in front of them glinted in the light that filed through the glass. Giving her a look that told her You may listen if you like, but only listen, he went back to speaking with the others. It was only then that Vichol and Shira noticed they had an audience.
Turning on his heels Vichol spun to look at her. His hazel eyes surprised. "Alina?" He looked at the pack leader then to Shira, then back to Alina. "Come here my cub. You may as well be part of this."
Alina approached slowly, watching the leader as she did. Since he made no move to stop her she relaxed slightly. Listening intently she felt her jaw drop as she heard the reason for the meeting. Shira started the conversation where it had left off. "My poor little Achir, who could have been so cold as to kill him? Vampires?"
Vichol shook his head. "Achir was killed when his neck snapped, and he wasn't drained if blood. It couldn't have been vampires, besides; vampires don't leave ash at the killing site." Alina went pale, Achir? Dead? How did this happen? How could it have happened?
The pack leader placed a gentle hand on Vichol's shoulder, his eyes kind. "Vichol, I know this must be hard for you and Shira but-"
Vichol cut him off sharply, something that he never would have done with a level head. "Luke, we need to find the monster, and we need to destroy it!" He growled, his eyes growing wolfish. Shira rested a hand on her mate's arm, cooing to him as if he were a cub, eyes soft.
Alina couldn't take being silent any longer and blurted out the question that bugged her most. "What do you mean, ash at the killing site?" All three adults flinched, as though they had forgotten she was there. Looking the three of them in the eyes she said, "Show me."