Fire and death.

My knees were weak, facing me to len further on Ollen.

I didn't want to escape his arms yet. Heck, if it wasn't so forward and out of character for both of us, I would have asked him to let me sleep in his arms.

That was how much I craved his presence and how much I liked the comfort he provided.

I could only hope that he felt even a fraction of what I was feeling.

But of course, we had to pull away sooner or later.

"Get some rest." He said, giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze. " You probably need the rest more than you think. I'll call you once lunch is served."

"Okay." I whispered, stepping back and turning around to enter my bedroom.

I closed the door and felt something stirred with me.

It wasn't my wolf. It was a foreign feeling I was not sure I would ever get used to. It was warmth that melted my heart within seconds.

I did as Ollen suggested and took a nap. I definitely needed it.

The conversation I had with the Luna's kept popping in my head. The voices sounded so clear that I almost thought I was back in the woods.

Even in my sleep, they kept paying me a visit.

They said the option to heal the pack through a Luna was impossible since the pack didn't have any elders that could train me on how to use the Luna powers. Maybe we could bring someone in the pack who could train me to be a good Luna.

My mind ran a million miles persecond until I finally fell asleep.

Ollen was right. I really did need all the rest I could get after my encounter in the woods.

I only woke up when a knock on my door disturbed the silence.

It was Mavus, who was sent to wake me up for lunch. I wanted to sleep more. In fact, I wanted to sleep the entire day and then the entire night.

But I forced myself up and told her I would be there in a few minutes.

I looked down at myself and realized that I'd slept without even changing out of my bloody clothes.

So that was the next thing I did. I took a quick shower and changed into cleaner clothes.

With the Lunas comment still echoing in my head, I left my bedroom and made my way to the dining room.

Everyone was already there, eating in absolute silence. My eyes were planted on Ollen as I walked to sit next to him.

I trusted that he kept his promise, that he did not, and will not, tell a single soul about the easy way out of the curse. So, I had to force myself to believe that the tense silence was caused by something else.

I sat next to Ollen.

"Did you have a good nap?" He asked, but no one except for me heard him.

I could feel his presence in my mind as we spoke through our mind link.

"I did." I replied, glancing at him sideways and watching the calm and collected way he ate his food.

"I didn't tell anyone. If that is what's worrying you." He added against speaking to just me through the mind link.

I let put a small sigh without even meaning to.

"I trust you." I replied.

We continued eating in silence, and even though we were no longer communicating through the mind link, neither one of us broke it, swimming free in each other's mind.

It felt like the most intimate thing to do, like holding hands under the table, touching knees just to feel each other's presence, a secret glance only the two of us were aware of.

My heart warmed at the though, feeling content with being that close to Ollen even though I keep telling myself I shouldn't get attached too much, that the fall would be harder if or when he finds out that I was not his actual mate, that I came here in my sisters stead.

The silence was broken when someone screamed from the outside. It was so loud and gut-wrenching that we instantly dropped our utensils and stood up.

"FIRE!" The person screamed.

The legs of the chairs scrapped against the floor, and some fell down as we pushed our way out of the dining room.

"Where is it?" Ollen asked, his voice loud and filled with unease and stress.

The second we stepped out of the main pack house, I saw it.

I smelled it, too.

There was a raging fire in one of the warehouses, people running towards it with buckets of water.

"It's the food storage." Someone cried out.

All hell broke loss as we ran around, grabbing jericans of water that were kept for drinking and trying to stop the fire.

It seemed like nothing was working. I didn't know which one I should do, help other try to stop the fire, or keep my eyes on Pllen, who was recklessly stepping closer and closer to the warehouse, taking buckets of water from the line behind him and throwing it at the fire.

"Step back." I snapped at him through the mind link, but he refused to respond, and he refused to step back.

I had to stand closer to him to make sure he wouldn't take another step towards the burning warehouse, the heat of the fire slapping my face.

It was the first actual heat I felt in over a month since I came here. It was sad that the source of the heat would soon leave us starving.

It took over two hours to stop the fire, but by then, all of the food stored within was burned to crisp, and the warehouse itself barely stood, nothing but a skeleton of woods from the foundation of the house that managed to survive till the end.

When the last bit of fire died down and smoke rose to the sky, everyone fell in silence. The silence felt like there was not a single soul lived in the pack.

Everyone looked at the leftover, some holding their kids to their chest, others holding on to each other, watching their hope disappear from their eyes.

"How bad is the damage?" Ollen asked, his voice booming in the area, magnified by the devastating silence.

There were a few soldiers walking around the warehouse, some covering their voice and mouth, walking into the remains to see how bad it was.

It was obviously bad.

"There is nothing left, Alpha." One of them replied from within.

I felt Ollen tense. I could see his jaw working.

"Who was guarding the warehouse?" He asked, but no one answered right away.

"Who was guarding the warehouse?" He asked again, his voice sharp, his aura dangerously rasing.

"I believe it was Hameg and Ruth." Sam replied from the crowd.

"And where are they now?" Ollen asked.

Everyone looked around, but the ones we were looking for didn't seem to be a part of the group.

Ollen stepped forward, tilting his head back to snif the air. But the air was filled with smoke thay I doubted he would be able to snif them out.

He tried calling out to them through their mind link without breaking the one opened between him and I.

But there was no response.

Ollen ordered Sam to gather up a few men and begin a search. He wanted the two found, and I wasn't sure if he thought they were responsible or if he was worried they got hurt.

"Mini..." He called out. "Check our supplies storage and post guards around it right away. Report to me when you're done."

Mini sprung into action, running out of sight within seconds.

"Arthur..." Ollen called out to one of the men, who I assume was in charge of the products they produce to sell to the human town. "How many products have been produced?" He asked.

"Two tables, 2 sets of six chairs, and about fifty slammed kitchen items, cutting boards, a few sets of cooking utensils, a few bowls and wooden gadgets... I've counted a little over fifty in total." Arthur replied.

Ollen, who was listening attentively, nodded his head.

"Does everyone have food in your houses that will last you until the end of the week?" He asked.

The people murmured a bit.

"I believe so." Mavus was the one to voice everyone's answers.

Ollen remained silent for a few seconds, and I could see the weight that was pressing him down.

"Everyone, return to your home. Ration your foods till the end of the well. Well, sell what we have and stock up first thing tomorrow morning. And keep your doors locked. Arthur, come to my office." He ordered, turning around to walk back to the main pack house.

I followed after him, falling behind his steps. I followed him to his office, where he slowly sat down.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

A slow sight escaped his lips as he ran his hands down his face. The smoke had clunged to our clothes, leaving a scent in his office.

"No, Joyce." He replied, dropping his hands to the desk. "I'm not okay. None of us are. We just lost food that was supposed to keep us fed for a while. We were supposed to purchase supplies with the money earned this time. Buying food means we won't have anything to build and sell again."

I was about to give him a solution, one I wasn't sure he would like, when Arthur walked into the office. I sat on one of the chairs, and Arthur the other, as I watched the two men talk about how they were going to seek.

"I don't think we've made enough. We still have a few more days to fill the truck." Arthur commented.

"Ae need to stock up as soon as possible, Arthur." Ollen replied. "We need to sell what we have right away. Or else, we're done for. The people will starve, and that is not something I will stand by and let it happen."

Arthur sighed in defeat.

"I understand." He nodded his head. "I'll contact our human buyers right away and ask how much they can give us on short notice."

"Good. When you go to the human town, take Mavus with you. She knows better which food to stock up on." Ollen ordered. "And get fertilizers, seeds, and anything else we need to prepare pur soil." He added.

"Yes, Alpha." The man nodded before he stood up and left.

"Do you think the land is ready to plan?" I asked. It's only been days since I became the Luna. And with the conversation I had the previous Lunas didn't make me much optimistic about anything yet.

"Well, I have to try everything we can." Ollen replied.

"Maybe I can help in other ways." I commented, grabbing his attention.

"In what way?" He asked.

"My previous pack... I'm sure if I ask my father and mother, they will send us the food and supplies we need." I replied.

Ollen stayed silent for a while. I knew he wouldn't be happy to hear my comment since he had already told me that he didn't want his pack to be indebt to anyone else, that he didn't want their weakness to be held over their heads everything the helping packs wants something in return.

"Ollen." I called out.

"I've already told you how I feel about that kind of aid..." He mumbled.

"I know. But this isn't any other pack. This is my previous pack. If I ask, then they'll send help without wanting anything in return." I replied.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked.

I opened and closed my lips, knowing damn well that I wasn't a hundred percent sure.

"No." I sighed.

I didn't know my parents on a deeper level to say that they wouldn't want anything else in return. I didn't know them like Jenny did.

"We'll buy our own food and plan some seeds. We'll see how it goes. And if it doesn't work, then we'll consider your offer again." He said.

At least he wasn't sitting me down completely. That felt enough for the time being.

"Alpha?" Sam's voice rang in my head.

Because Ollen's and my mind mind link was still there, I could hear people trying to speak to him as well.

"What is it?" Ollen asked.

"We found them, Hemeg and Ruth." Sam replied. "They're... they're dead, Alpha."