[ A week later at the Bloodfang pack]
Moonlight bathed the little balcony in silver.
Autumn sat there on the floor, motionless...her knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped loosely around them, her chin resting in silence.
Her hair...ahh, that’s another story.
It was no longer wind blown silky. It was now cropped short. Jagged, uneven, as though cut in anger. So many rough days as a rogue, so many rough nights without a roof.. Yet she had treasured her hair. The same chestnut colour like her mother... the same colour as her wolf. It was who she was... the remnants of it.
But now...(Flashback)
It had been just days ago.
She had stood before the cracked mirror in the old chamber Velor had locked her in at first. No guards, no restraints... but no freedom either.
He had said Kieran was going crazy looking for her... that his men were in the Bloodfang, looking for her.
Bullshit! He had probably snapped because he didn’t expect her to run away. Thought she would be at his feet forever?...or did he find out about the children?
No!!! They were hers...only hers alone. She had tried to love him despite everything... illogically... despite the best of her judgements... yet he humiliated her in every occasion... every single one... he had no more hold on her... none... fuck that mate bond... fuck Alpha Kieran.
With trembling fingers, Autumn had gripped the blunt shears in her hand. Her tears had dried hours ago.
A long dark strand fell to the floor.
She didn’t stop, didn’t blink, didn’t care if it looked wild and uneven. The girl in the mirror was a stranger now. Her eyes were rimmed red, her mouth a tight, cold line.
When she was done, she dropped the scissors and stared at her reflection. "You can’t be hurt if you don’t care," she whispered to herself. "You can’t be broken if there is no attachment left."
And just like that, the old Autumn died a little more.
( end of flashback)... Back to the present.
She didn’t flinch when the night breeze tugged at her sleeves or when the distant howls of rogues echoed faintly from the forests beyond.
Her face was a canvas of quiet defiance. Her eyes stared blankly outward, unfocused, as if trying to look past the mountains... past the sky... to a life that no longer existed.
Autumn blinked out of her reverie as Rory burst onto the balcony, grinning ear to ear, holding something delicate and golden in his hand.
"Don’t sneak up on people like that," she muttered,not glancing at him.
He held out a sugar candy art triumphantly...a delicate sculpture of a phoenix made entirely from spun sugar, perched on a stick. "It’s for you," he said. "I nearly tackled a pup to get the last one."
She stared at it for a beat before slowly taking it from his hand. Her lips didn’t smile. Her fingers trembled faintly.
Rory watched her expectantly. "Come on. Just one bite? Please? For me?"
Autumn hesitated. Then, as if humoring him, she took a small bite from the phoenix’s wing.
The sweetness hit her tongue like a forgotten melody.
Another flashback hit her square in the chest ( start of flashback)
She was tiny...maybe four. Lyla beside her, squealing with laughter as their mother laughed and held both girls on either thigh. The sugar candy was the size of her face. Her mother had said, "Only one, you two have to share!"
They had leaned in, biting from opposite sides, their noses bumping, giggles spilling. Their mother had kissed their heads, one after another.
"My little phoenix princess," she had called them. "Born from fire, destined for more."
They still giggled as they tugged at the same sticky sugar candy. "Slow down, you little monsters," she teased, wiping syrup from their chins. "There is enough for both of you."
( end of flashback... back to the present again.)
Autumn blinked, her jaw tightening as she quickly wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. She scoffed, trying to cover it up.
"Do you ever wonder," she said bitterly, "who you really are?"
Rory blinked. "Of course I know who I am.I am Rory Curzon! "
She snorted, "Idiot." But her lips twitched.
Rory grinned. "Ha! There it is. Knew I could get you to smile eventually."
The hint of the smile faded quickly when she finally noticed the flurry of activity below them.
Bright paper lanterns floated over the pack’s central square. Stalls with sweets and roasted meat filled the air. Servants scurried, draping red and black silks from every arch. Music drifted faintly from somewhere beyond the main hall.
"What the hell is going on down there?" Autumn asked.
Rory turned and leaned against the railing, biting off a wing from another candy he had snuck in for himself. "Oh. Right. The party."
"Sorry, forgot. You have been hiding up here like a broody bat. Alpha Velor’s throwing a massive party tomorrow or maybe the day after...not sure. It’s like, royalty level fancy. Rumor says some big shot Alphas are coming. Maybe even a Luna or two."
Autumn’s fingers tightened on the railing. "Why?"
"I don’t know. Maybe some diplomatic thing. Something about welcoming new allies, maybe flaunting some power, probably just an excuse to wear ridiculous clothes and drink blood wine until people start fighting over who has better facial hair or woman...that’s how these parties usually are. Aren’t they? "
Autumn turned away, her gaze drifting back to the horizon. "Not interested
"You are not going?" Rory asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I couldn’t care less about what’s happening in the world."
"You say that now," he teased. "Wait till you see Velor’s cape. It’s made of, like, twenty different wolf furs stitched together. The man walks like a living sofa."
Autumn didn’t respond. She stared out at the rising moon again, her mind far, far away.
Rory hesitated before asking softly, "Are you...okay?"
"No," she answered honestly, voice quiet. "But I will be."
He nodded slowly. Then added, "Want me to stay with you a while?"
She didn’t reply...but she didn’t ask him to leave either.