Chapter Twenty-Five: Old Friends, New Enemies

Chapter Twenty-Five: Old Friends, New Enemies

The old scar on Ember’s palm was barely noticeable, but it was there. Ember groaned as flashes of images flooded her head and yet she couldn’t make sense of any of them.

In her head, she saw a boy around eighteen who looked dark and mysterious with his jet black hair pooling around his face. His image in her head was hazy and she could not make out his face

The memory of a red signet ring flickered in her eyes, there were the initials C.M on this ring. She remembered that the old scar on her palm had been made by that ring but the memory was all just bits and pieces. Nothing substantial.

On hearing Ember’s screams, Mr Doyle who was already halfway close to his room retraced his steps and hurried back to her. He crouched down beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Ember, are you good? What happened?” He queried, bringing her up to her feet slowly. She shook her head, the fear which gripped her splayed on her face. “I think it might have been a very bad migraine” she told him. It wasn’t exactly a lie because the pain she’d felt almost split her head open.

Mr Doyle consoled her, saying. “You need to lie down. I’ll make you one of your mom’s famous curry stew”. Ember smiled thankfully and allowed herself to be led away by her dad.

Was she still annoyed with him? Hell, yeah. Did she also somehow crave the security of her dad’s presence? Definitely, yeah. She would allow herself to be nursed by her dad and maybe later, when her head didn’t feel like it would split into two, she could go back to being mad at him.

Mr Doyle tucked Ember into her bed and paused as a feeling of warm nostalgia washed over him. He remembered how he used to be the one to put Ember to bed when she was a child. How had things become so strained between him and his only child? 

“Just lie down and don’t try to move,” he ordered gently. Ember pursed her lips and then flashed him a clipped smile. “Yeah, dad. Thanks”. She watched his back as he walked away. Then the thoughts came, flooding her head like a broken dam.

The ring she had seen in her head had the letters C.M engraved on it. Was C.M the initials of someone’s name? Was it the name of the vampire who had taken her memories? She asked herself a lot of questions which she had no answers to.

Her father soon appeared holding a cup of hot coffee and a plate of omelets. He walked slowly, trying to steady the things in his hands and keep them from spilling everywhere.

“It turns out your mother’s curry stew is not the easiest thing on the menu to make” he said as he handed over the meal to Ember. She chuckled lightly. “It’s still nice that you made something, whether it’s a curry stew or not”

She realized that those might be the longest words she had spoken to her dad since her return. She automatically fell silent, the smile dissipating from her face.

Mr Doyle cleared his throat. “It’s good to see you smiling, Ember,” he observed. “I guess the reason for your migraine was because you were stressing over the turn our conversation took earlier”

Ember couldn’t even find it in her to object to his thoughts. If somehow her dad had managed to convince himself that the reason for her migraine had been their little quarrel, then she wouldn’t argue with him.

Sensing that Ember probably needed some time to herself, Mr Doyle said. “Just get some rest, Ember”. He strutted away from her room, leaving Ember’s mind riveting with all the questions she had no available answers to.



The Next Day...

Ember was sitting alone in an empty classroom. In addition to avoiding any contact with Juno, Lisa and Lyra, she had to avoid Pete too. The way she’d been embarrassed by him was still fresh in her memory.

She knew that running away from the mating circle was a shitty thing she had done, but they could work things out. She didn’t think she and Pete had to throw daggers at each other for the rest of their lives.

“Hey, Ember” A voice croaked at her, cutting into her very vivid line of thoughts. She raised her head slightly. It was Jene. Jene had been her best friend when they were kids but somehow as they grew up, they grew apart.

Why was she here now? Hiding her surprise from Jene, she said. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Without waiting to be invited, Jene perched on the empty chair next to Ember. “I heard about what happened between you and Pete yesterday”, she blurted.

That was the last thing Ember was feeling up to talking about, but if she were being honest to herself, they had kind of put up a show yesterday. It was normal that people would be curious.

Ember shrugged. “It was just a little misunderstanding, nothing more”. She replied in an almost nonchalant manner.

“Pete was so shitty for that. I expected more from him, you know?” Jene said, her voice low and conspiratorial. Ember had been half expecting Jene to judge her or try to grill her with questions so she was surprised to hear her say that.

A grin formed on her lips and she smiled widely. “I guess you can say that. I thought he was a really massive asshole yesterday”

A soft laugh escaped Jene’s mouth, her eyes softening as she said. “I know we have not really been in touch with each other for so many years…”

Ember nodded. “Yeah, I was honestly so surprised to see you here”, she admitted. Jene was warmer than Ember remembered, her eyes still held that childlike bliss but overall, she had grown into quite a beautiful young wolf.

gave her a smile as she said. “I know what it feels like to end a friendship, especially on really bad terms”. Ember tore her eyes away from Jene’s feeling guilty.

Without waiting for a response from Ember, she continued saying. “Pete was really upset after everything that happened, but the way he humiliated you yesterday was just unbelievable. Nobody deserves that, especially not you, Ember”

Ember felt her head moving up and down. Her heart was heavy with nameless emotions. She didn’t know if she wanted to break down in tears because of Jene’s kind words or if she wanted to find Pete and lash out at him for practically humiliating her before everyone.

She decided that either of those options would be too dramatic so she sat still, cradling herself. “Thank you, Jene”, she said. “This really means a whole lot coming from you”

Jene flashed her a knowing smile, her eyes crinkled in the corners. “This is just like old times, Ember. Even if we are no longer friends, just know that I’m always going to have your back”

Ember restrained herself from getting overwhelmed by all the feelings that she was feeling. She gave Jene a small smile and watched as Jene got up from her position on the seat.

“By the way”, announced Jene. “I know that it’s last minute, but my mating ritual is on the full moon tomorrow. I really hope you can show up for me”

“Wow!”, exclaimed Ember, genuinely happy for her old friend. “Congrats! Sure, I’ll be there tomorrow”. 

Jene smiled widely and walked away.