Chapter 6 A Life For A Life

• The flames are wild and untamed, an unforgiving inferno.
• They lick at the walls, the curtains, the furniture, mercilessly devouring anything and everything in their path.
• I have no idea how it’s happening. I don’t understand it. All I know is that my fear and anger just keep pouring out of me in waves, fueling the inferno and I cannot stop it.
• The heat is unbearable, but I don't feel any pain, only a terrifying, consuming power that wrecks me from within.
• The flames are closing in, Alpha Rich screams, a pained shriek...it is a sound that will haunt me forever.
• He stumbles toward the door, a final attempt at an escape, but the flames are faster.
• They engulf him, and he writhes, his shrieks becoming soundless, before he collapses into the growing inferno.
• Fire alarms blare all around the estate, piercing through the chaos, and I hear distant shouts as the mansion awakens to the disaster unfolding within its walls.
• "Help!!! Somebody help!!!" I scream as loud as I can, my voice raw with desperation.
• But even I already know no one can reach me, not through this hell of flames and if they do come, they will not be here to save me from the inferno I created.
• The flames continue to spread, the entire room is engulfed now, there is no spot left untouched. The heat is so intense that the edges of my vision blur.
• I finally break out of the haze that kept me rooted in spot all the while and the surging power within me recedes, but the deed is already done, the flames now have a mind of their own.
• I stagger backward, gasping for air, my body trembles with shock and horror The reality of what I’ve done crashes over me strongly, devastatingly.
• Alpha Rich is dead...burned alive by my own hand. And the fire… it’s mine. I made it.
• I don’t have time to process the guilt or the terror. I know what fate awaits me if I'm caught.
• My eyes quickly scan the room, settling on the balcony doors. I make a run for them and stagger to a stop, stumbling backwards as those very doors burst open.
• Tyler appears, his face a mask of panic and fury. The balcony was yet to catch on fire but it would not be long and Tyler knew it too, but he had still come.
• "Kyra...you...are unharmed..." Tyler's panicked gaze converts to surprise.
• 'Tyler had come for me?' I wonder.
• Repeatedly, Tyler has shocked me by constantly choosing to aid me.
• It was the last thing I expected and my heart aches to know whatever fondness he holds for me will be gone once he discovers the truth.
• I pick up on sounds from a distance, attempts to put out the fire perhaps. But the fire is alive, wild and feeding on everything it touches, it was all futile.
• "Kyra!" Tyler's voice cuts through the chaos, sharp and biting.
• He lifts a hand to shield his face from the heat but strides towards me, pulling me with him to the balcony.
• I trip over my own feet as I follow blindly, but Tyler holds me up.
• "Get it together, tell me what happened here." Tyler asks urgently.
• "This was not my intention... I swear it! He tried to force himself on me, I only wanted to get away! I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" I sob out.
• Tyler's eyes widened and I see the moment he realises the truth and the reason the fire did not harm me.
• "The fire did not just happen, you...are the cause..." Tyler mutters in horror.
• My heart sinks and I wait for the wrath that I know will follow but instead, Tyler's gaze softens.
• "Kyra...you have to run..." He says to me in a serious tone.
• My eyes grow wide and I stare at Tyler in disbelief.
• "Mikos will never let you live! You have to get away from here, as far as you can go! Now!" Tyler hisses, scanning the parking lot.
• "But..." I began to protest.
• "Now, Kyra! Before anyone realises what happened here! Go now!" Tyler snaps, shoving me towards the balcony edge.
• The authority in his tone leaves no room for argument. I turn and hesitate for a moment.
• "Will I ever see you again?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
• "It is best not to. If we meet again, I will have to perform my duty as Beta. So run Kyra...do not look back and do not think of Everdale...ever again!" Tyler instructs firmly.
• A sob is caught in my throat as I leap over the balcony edge. My legs barely support me to make a safe landing and a sharp pain shoots up from my ankle, but I push past it and flee.
• The parking lot is complete chaos, pack members shouting and rushing to contain the fire, I blend in easily, appearing to be just an innocent victim seeking refuge.
• Smoke fills the air, making it hard to breathe, but I push forward, my mind racing.
• I don’t stop until I’m outside the DA's estate, the cold night air is biting against my skin.
• And I pause for a moment, grabbing hold of a lamp post, I hurl the contents of my dinner to the ground.
• Collapsing to the grass, I gasp for breath, my body trembles uncontrollably and my heart is completely shrivelled up in terror.
• The mansion looms behind me, flames licking at the night sky, the smell of smoke and ash fills my nostrils even this far out, an indication that the flames still grew.
• Sirens wail; the human law enforcement agencies arriving. The police and fire department alike, it was a complete shit show.
• The weight of what I’ve done crashes down on me. Alpha Rich is dead... perhaps others too.
• The mansion is in ruins, humans have been attracted and may grow suspicious. And the pack… they are sure to know.
• They are sure to know I am the last to have seen Alpha Rich Landry... they are sure to know he died at my hands, they will come after me...
• And me? I would either be caught and made to pay for Alpha Rich's life with my own, or be on the run for the rest of my life.