stark grief and burning anger. They didn’t deserve this. My parents never hurt anyone. Yet they were killed in their home. The place where they had peace and comfort. Where they raised their family.
It’s here I vow to find my brother and those who killed my parents. I’m going to make them pay for what they did. I’m going to torture them. Make them wish they died long before I got my hands on them. Whoever it is, they took everything from me.
There’s a part of my mind wondering if Caid ran. If he got away and wasn’t kidnapped, but Irus looked. He combed the area before coming to find me. There were no clues as to where Caid might have gone.
Outside the home, Irus casts a protective ward around us and the structure. We don’t want anyone to see the fire and alert the authorities. We don’t need an audience. Don’t want to explain to humans why the house is on fire or that there are two dead bodies inside.
Then he casts a spell to conjure fire. “Are you sure?” he asks me.
I nod. There’s nothing left here. My parents are gone. Only their bodies remain. And Caid is nowhere to be found.
Irus steps up to the home and places little balls of fire around the house then steps back. We stand side by side as the fire quickly engulfs the home. I have no doubt Irus added an accelerant to it to make that happen. He knows me well. He knows I don’t want this drawn out. There is no bringing them back.
I’ll never get another hug from my mom. My dad will never ruffle my hair like he’d done most of my life. There will be no more of the cookies my mom would make every time I had my heart broken. Or when she packaged them up for me when I finally moved out. It’s all gone. I’m left with nothing but memories.
Caiden is out there somewhere. I’m not sure where, but I won’t stop searching until I find him.
1
Camden
Roughly a hundred years later…
“If you don’t get your hand off me, I’m going to shift and sever it,” I growl.
Dathan scoffs. “Like I’m scared of you. It’s as if you forget who I am and what I’m capable of.”
“Thay, man, leave Cam alone,” Echo states.
“Why the fate would I do that? We’re training. He needs to learn to deal with distractions out in the field.”
The building we’re training beside is missing a roof. There are no doors or windows. Just the stone structure with outlines of where the objects used to be. And out there somewhere are Aries, Sevan, and Sawyer. Austin is perched in a tree with Desmond. The eight of us make up the Avynwood Rescue Team. Those in our pack started it and the three members of the Quivakond joined later.
Keeping my anger in check is something I’ve been working on. I have a hold on it most times. There are others where it gets the better of me. But the males on this team have been putting up with my attitude for almost two years now. I think a lot of my anger comes from missing my brother and not finding him, no matter how many leads I follow.
Just the thought of Caiden sends a knife through my heart. He’s still out there somewhere. I’m not sure where. It’s so damn hard to try and live a full life when part of you is missing. I haven’t felt whole since the day my parents were killed and my brother disappeared. I’ve come close. Like the day I joined the Avynwood Pack.
Aries and the team were out on a mission when we crossed paths for the first time. We were checking out the same group of underground paranormal traffickers. We ran into each other and didn’t realize at first we were on the same side.
Words were said. Fur was ripped out. I didn’t know them and they didn’t know me. But then Thay read my mind and told the team what I was doing there.
I was asked on the spot to join the Avynwood Pack since I had no pack of my own. They told me what they could offer. Explained that not only would I have a pack to be part of but others to help me find my brother. Once I accepted, I was asked to join the rescue team. Of course, that’s not the story the pack knows. They think