Chapter 6.1

"I want some ice cream." 

Serena whispered against Rooka's neck. Eyes closed, with an occasional sniff, it took her more than an hour to cry her pain. He knew it wasn't over yet, and the bravery she was showing was good. He looked at the house. It was slowly burning down to ground zero. Even the concrete walls crumbled. It was a testament that Rena's flames were hot, it even melted the metal support of the house. 

"Strawberry ice cream?" He asked. He felt her nod in agreement. She was moving a bit making Rooka close his eyes, counting in Arabic. It was not time for his body to react to his mate's shifting motions. When he heard a clinking of glasses, he looked down and saw her holding five empty vials. He gently draws her face away from his neck, tilts her face so he can look at her. He raised his eyebrow in question.

"I need to fill these with ashes," she looked at her house. And fresh tears started to fall, the same time new flames began to burn. "I'm making the flames, aren't I?" She felt him nod. She took a deep breath and suddenly, the remaining post on the house was covered in flames, and in minutes, the whole thing turned to ashes. 

"Do you want me to fill those for you?" Wayne asked considerately. To say he was terrified, was an understatement. Pyrokinesis and from the way she turned the post to a pile of dust, meant she has complete control of a power she never knew. 

"No, I'm good," she gave him a watery smile. "I need to do this."

Serena stood up and slowly walked to the remains of her old house. Then the weirdest thing happened. Once the cork of the first vial was opened, the rest followed suit, then each was magically filled with the ashes. A bear, a wolf standing on a dune, a temple with a mountain in the background, a castle in the middle of a lake, and a DNA strand?

"It's for you to keep," Lem said, as he sat on her shoulder. "The DNA strand represents the Alter Beings. And your family is the first one of its kind."

"Lily!" She called.

"Yes, princess?" Lily's eyes were green, while Lem's were yellow, Beth was orange, and Mac was blue. "Keep this." Giving the vial to her. "Zahir will be here, and I know you want to be with him, rather than be dragged along with us."

"Princess,-"

"It's okay. He needs someone to tell him what happened. Before and after, you love mom like a sister, and from mom's memories, he only trusts you."

There was a faint blush on her cheeks and Rena patted her on the head. "Stay, and tell him what happened. My connection with the four of you is strong. You can sense where I am, and vice-versa. Zahir needs you, more than me." 

She gave a tiny nod and hugged the vial. Lily always felt that something was missing, it never occurred to her that what she needed is a Keeper of her own. The day she saw Zahir, everything changed. Since she was bound, there was nothing she could do. Celeste was a good Keeper, and she knew what she needed. She remembered the times when Zahir would visit. They were rare, but it was the best moments of her life. As beings who live forever, best memories were far in between.

"She never judged me, princess. She was always there when I was so down when all I wanted was to be with him," small droplets of tears were falling, Rena held out her hand, Lily landed on it and cried. 

Rooka silently stood behind her. While Wayne and Megan were a few feet away from them. All of them could hear the wailings of Lily. Megan who was trying so hard not to cry sniffed, and tears began to gather in her eyes. A handkerchief was suddenly in front of her face. "Here, use this," Wayne's gruff voice made her study the man.

He was a lot more buff than Rooka, although their height was the same. Deep-set amber-colored eyes, set in an angular face with a few days growth of beard. The scar on the left side of his face added a dangerous look. Wayne was like one of Death's General, and the sudden action was contradictory. 

"Thank you," she said. "I have known Rena for a long time, and seeing her like this? I'm amazed how she can still stand up. I have seen her happy, having fun, get mad, and go crazy, but not like this." She watched as her friend unconsciously leaned her head on Rooka's chest. The man, however, clenched his fist and she could see the tension all over his body. 

"It's not easy for my brother, too. We all thought she died. I wasn't there the frist time they met. I had to complete a test to be his Beta. When I came home two weeks after my test, he was not the same guy I knew."  Wayne closed his eyes, remembering what happened to his brother years back. "They call him the Death Alpha, he would kill without any shred of remorse, and judgment would always be quick, and unmerciful." He opened his eyes and looked at her hazel brown ones. "Looking at him, the old Rooka is slowly coming back…"

"But the darkness within him will never go away," Megan stated. She understood what he was saying, but the word 'died' caught her attention. "Died? What do you mean? She never died, she was here." 

"Yes, she never did, but up until two days ago, we knew she was dead. That is why Rooka hasn't felt her side. He is afraid that he is just dreaming and Rena will be just a figment of his imagination."

"Why is he like that anyway?"

"They are -"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" 

There was a shout from above and Nuru dropped in the space between the two couples. Layla was shouting, but the rotating blades of the helo and the distance made it impossible to hear what she was saying. All of them followed its movement as it safely landed a few meters away from the house. Since most of the surrounding area was grassy, it was easy to look for a landing point. 

Kaz got out of the cockpit while Layla jumped out of the side. It didn't take a genius to see how mad she was. Wayne made sure that Megan was out of the way, but before she could do anything, a wall of white-blue fire surrounded Nuru. 

He yelped in surprise and tried to touch the flames, but his space got smaller. "Hey, guys? Umm, a little help here?" The air inside the circle was hot, and yet the grass where he was standing remained green. 

"Baby," Rooka said, "you have to stop that."

"Only if he stops being a daredevil," she replied. 

"Serena, Nuru IS a professional daredevil. He does these things for a living. Layla makes sure all his stunts are safe. He would never do something that will harm himself…" Rooka remembered the time, he ate a gallon of scorpions, just to prove he was immune. " Okay, I take the last part back, but baby, try not to fry him."

She sighed and the flames vanished. All of them looked at the ground where Nuru was standing, there were no burn marks. The grass was still green. A smile broke out of Nuru's face and before he can say anything, his alpha beat him to it.

"No," he said in a commanding voice. "You will not be conducting ANY experiment nor ANY stunts with her." He looked down at his mate and he can practically see the gears turning inside her head. "The same goes for you and Megan -" 

"Hey!"

He raised his eyebrow in her direction, daring her to contradict his words, all he got was a sheepish smile. He looked back at Rena to find her looking at him with puppy sad eyes. "No, Serena Daire. You will not be doing ANYTHING with that fire of yours. You may use it to defend, but for the sake of my sanity, do not encourage Nuru. Do we understand each other?" She just gave a wide smile...but her eyes were full of mischief. 

May Allah gives me the strength whatever these three people are planning to do in the future, he prayed. Somehow, he knew his words were heard, the issue is...will it be obeyed?