Chapter 223

Agnes

I was running through the forest, branches whipping past my face. The trees were watching me, their bark peeling away to reveal eyes—hundreds of eyes, all following my every move. I could hear Elise’s voice, carried on the wind.

“The trees remember,” she whispered. “They were there when it happened.”

I tried to call out to her, to ask what she meant, but when I opened my mouth, it wasn’t words that came out—it was fire. It licked up the tree trunks, ignited the brush, engulfed everything around me. The trees’ wooden eyes melted, red sap dripping like bloody tears down their trunks.

Gasping, I turned, only to find that the fire had surrounded me. “You have the gift,” Elise’s voice whispered. “They’ll come for you. Run, Agnes. Agnes!”

“Agnes! The sheets!”

I jerked awake with a gasp, the smell of smoke immediately filling my nostrils, and looked down to see flames licking up the side of the bedspread, orange tongues of fire dancing dangerously close to my legs. I scrambled backwards, falling off the bed in my haste to get away.

“Shit!” I yelped, staring at my hands. They weren’t on fire, but heat was radiating from them in visible waves, like the shimmer above hot pavement in the summer.

“Get in the shower,” Elijah ordered, already grabbing the ice bucket from the mini bar. “Cold water. Now!”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I bolted for the bathroom, nearly slipping on the tile in my panicked state, and threw myself into the shower stall without even taking off my nightgown. I cranked the cold water on full blast, gasping as the icy stream hit my overheated skin.

Through the open bathroom door, I could see Elijah dumping the ice bucket onto the flames, then grabbing a pillow to beat at the remaining embers. The fire wasn’t huge, but it had done enough damage to ruin the bedsheets.

As the cold water ran over me, I focused on my breathing, trying to calm the pounding of my heart. That was close. Too close.

Once I was sure the heat had dissipated, I shut off the water and stepped out, dripping onto the bathroom floor. Elijah appeared in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded and reached for a towel. “I think so. The sheets?”

“Ruined. But I got the fire out before it spread.”

I wrapped the towel around myself, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I’m sorry. I was having a dream and—”

“Don’t apologize,” Elijah cut me off, moving to wrap his arms around me. “It’s not your fault. We knew this might happen while we’re trying to figure out the whole… unmarking situation.”

I leaned my forehead against his chest and shut my eyes. “I dreamed about Elise. And trees. And burning.” I looked up at him. “I think all this talk about people going missing in the woods is getting to me.”

Elijah brushed my wet hair back from my face. “Once we get home, we’ll focus on finding that relic Olivia mentioned. We’ll get your wolf unmarked and your fire under control. I promise.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I just hope we can do it soon. Before I burn down the whole damn pack.”

We managed to get back to sleep eventually, after stripping the charred sheets and replacing them with the extras from the closet. I didn’t dream again, or if I did, I didn’t remember it when morning came.

We made it through the final meeting without incident, although I caught myself nodding off a couple of times from lack of sleep. Elijah kept nudging me awake with his elbow, earning us a few curious glances from our neighbors.

At lunch, I was busy picking at a salad when a shadow fell across our table. I looked up to see Richard standing there. He took a seat.

“I heard there was a small fire in your room last night,” he said without preamble. “Is everything alright?”

My fork froze halfway to my mouth. How did he know about that? We hadn’t reported it, not wanting to draw unwanted attention. But he was the Alpha of this territory, I supposed. Someone must have noticed and reported it to him.

Elijah stepped in smoothly before I could stammer out a response. “Just a bit careless with a cigar,” he said with a rueful smile. “Nothing serious.”

Richard raised an eyebrow. “Smoking in bed? That’s a dangerous habit, Elijah.”

“Hence the small fire,” Elijah replied with a self-deprecating shrug. “Lesson learned.”

Richard didn’t look entirely convinced, but he let it drop. “Well, I’m glad it wasn’t worse. But you should know better.” He cleared his throat and went on, “Henry and Krystal are still absent, by the way. This is becoming quite unprofessional.”

“Maybe they had an emergency back home?” I suggested. “Pack business can be unpredictable.”

“Perhaps,” Richard conceded. “But the proper thing would be to inform me or one of my Betas. We’ve received no word from them.”

“Would you like me to check on them after lunch?” I offered. “I’m heading back to the room to pack anyway, since we’re leaving in the morning.”

Richard considered this for a moment, then nodded. “That would be appreciated. Thank you.”

After lunch, we parted ways—Elijah to a final meeting with some Alphas, me to check on Henry and Krystal before packing.

I couldn’t deny the relief I felt knowing we’d be heading home tomorrow. As much as I’d enjoyed the progress we’d made with the Lunas, the conference had taken an uncomfortable turn, and I wanted nothing more than to get back to my own home.

And to Thea, of course. Even though we’d only been gone for a couple of days, I missed her terribly. I wondered how she was getting along with Lena—the nanny was excellent with her, but Thea was still adjusting to the idea of us being away.

More importantly, though, I had to get a handle on these fire abilities. Soon. Before I burned down the hotel, or worse, hurt someone I cared about.

James hadn’t found any information on the relic yet as far as I was aware, but I was hoping he’d have news by the time we got back. According to Olivia, the relic was the key to breaking the curse that bound my wolf. And maybe once my wolf was free, these fire outbursts would be easier to control.

I found myself in front of Henry and Krystal’s room, the “Do Not Disturb” sign still hanging from the doorknob. I frowned. It had been there for nearly two days now. Either they really didn’t want to be disturbed, or…

I knocked firmly, louder than I had the night before. “Henry? Krystal? It’s Agnes. Richard wanted me to check on you.”

No response.

I knocked again, even louder. “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

Still nothing.

A maid was pushing her cart down the hallway, replacing towels in the rooms that were vacant while their occupants attended the final meetings. I waved her over.

“Excuse me,” I said, “I’m concerned about the guests in this room. No one has seen them for two days, and they’re not answering.”

The maid looked at the door and frowned. “They’ve had the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign up since yesterday morning. We haven’t serviced the room.”

“I understand, but Alpha Richard has asked me to check on them. Would you be able to unlock the door? Just to make sure they’re okay?”

The maid hesitated. Finally, she nodded and pulled out her keycard. She swiped the card and pushed the door open, stepping aside to let me enter first.

The room was dark, the curtains drawn. I reached for the light switch and flipped it on.

The room was empty—empty of intelligent life, anyway. The bed was unmade, as if its occupants had just woken and walked away. Henry and Krystal’s things were still scattered around; a bottle of perfume on the vanity, a makeup bag, a pile of clothes in the corner, even their suitcases were sitting open on the floor.

It was clear that Henry and Krystal hadn’t moved out and returned to their pack in the middle of the night. But they weren’t here.

Almost as if they’d just… left everything behind.