Chapter 4: Soul on Fire

**Jake**

I run as fast as my feet can carry me, wind and rain battling me as I surge forward. I can already smell the fumes, the stench of burning wood and chemicals. I cover my nose with a hand, trying to shove past the crowd already gathered there.

Red and blue lights flash across my vision, hindered only by the pouring rain and smoke billowing out of the building.

Someone is speaking over a megaphone, advising people to stand back, to make clear for the firefighters as they plow through the debris, battling the flames. I hear screaming somewhere in the distance, but my mind is focused on the burning inferno before me.

What was once an office building, one of many my father had owned, is now nothing more than a torch in the night. It wasn’t a vital part of our business, but it was meaningful, at least to me. This is the same building my father had started his empire in.

It’s also where he proposed to my mother. It’s where he showed me how to control my abilities once I came of age. It’s where his main office was kept, the one place where he could go for solitude and where he made his most important decisions.

Now, it’s all gone, reduced to charred wood and ash.

Nathan, my second Nathan, stands just inside the police perimeter. He’s wearing his usual faded jeans and dark leather jacket, but his eyes are focused on the fire that still spreads with living energy.

I run up to him, panting from the exertion.

“What happened?” I asked loudly over the noise of the crowd.

He shrugs his shoulders, not looking at me. “They don’t know for sure yet. Could be a ruptured gas line. Could be someone left a cigarette out. Could be a number of things.”

“But...?” I say softly, knowing there is more to what he says.

“But,” he continues, “we have a witness who caught two men coming out the back exit. Cameras caught them mid-flight. They were wearing red jackets.”

My face turns grim as I look on at the dissipating flames. Red jackets. That could only mean one thing. The South Pack has decided to turn up the heat on the territory war through more than just a metaphor. They’ve attacked the one place they knew meant the most to me.

“How did they get in?” I ask Nathan.

He shakes his head. “My guess is through the sewers. There is a port near the back exit, but as to how they actually got inside the building, I couldn’t say.”

“What about the guards we had posted? Where were they?”

“Right where they should have been. Nothing was left unaccounted for. And the witness who saw the men flee the scene was the only one who saw anything, and that was just pure luck. She said she wouldn’t have even noticed them if it weren’t for her missing keys.

“She had left through the back exit intending to look for her keys when she saw the men.”

“Did they see her?”

“No, they were gone before she could get a second look, but she knows what she saw.”

“What about everyone inside? Did we lose anyone?”

“No, they all got out safely.” He motions to our right, where a group of people sit huddled next to an ambulance, all looking shocked and battle-worn.

I nod. “Good. That’s good.”

“But everything else? The books, papers, all documents, and data are gone. We’ll see what they manage to pull from the wreckage, but by the looks of things, whoever started the fire did their job well. I don’t think we’ll be able to save anything.”

“Sh*t.” I rub a hand over my chin, the stubble there becoming more annoying by the second. The smoke seems to be clinging to my skin despite the constant downpour. I want nothing more right then than to take a hot shower.

“Sir,” I turn and see a police officer coming up to me. They’re wearing the usual blue and black uniform, but the darkness makes it too difficult to see a face.

“Are you Jake Cunnington? Owner of this building?”

I nod to the officer. “I am,” I say, my voice tight.

The officer takes out a notebook. “Any idea what might have caused this fire?”

I shake my head after giving Nathan a brief glance. “No, I just arrived. This building was supposed to be closed for the day. The only people in it were my security.”

The officer jots down my words and clicks the pen. “Alright, Mr. Cunnington. I’m sure the department will want to get back to you once we’ve completed our investigation. For now, I would suggest you go home and get some rest. We’ll take care of the rest here.”

“Alright, thank you,” I tell them and turn back to Nathan. “Let’s get back to my office. I think it’s time to call for an emergency session.”

Nathan’s face turns pale. “You really want to do that, Boss? I mean, the Council won’t like being woken up this late.”

I scoff at him. “I’m their Alpha now, whether they like it or not. First, I found my father dead in our house this morning, and now I find his office in flames. That cannot be a coincidence. The South Pack has to be behind this. I can feel it.”

Nathan nods once and takes out his phone. “Very well, I’ll make the calls.”

A few moments later, my car pulls around, the driver sitting in the front seat. I climb into the back with Nathan right behind me, still on the phone.

“Take us to my office,” I tell the driver, who peels away from the ruined building, police lights and fire truck sirens fading into the distance.

Nathan shuts off his phone and lets out a deep sigh.

“Are they coming?” I ask him.

“Yeah, they’re coming. But they ain’t happy about it.”

Nathan’s southern drawl comes out here, reminding me yet again how different he is.

“They’ll just have to deal with it. I should have called this meeting a lot sooner. Maybe then, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Which part? Your dead dad or his destroyed office?”

I look at him, the obvious distance on my face.

“Sorry,” he says. “But you aren’t the only one experiencing a loss here. I was your dad’s second for less than a month before he died. That doesn’t leave a guy with a lot of wiggle room.

“And the Council have known your dad as Alpha their whole lives. How can you expect them to accept you just like that? You have to give them, us, a chance.”

“That just proves my point, Nathan. I am Alpha now. My father chose me as his successor, and the pack's allegiance has already shifted toward me. Calling this meeting will help me gain the respect that I need to succeed as Alpha.”

Neither of us wanted to mention that any of the Council could object to the transfer of leadership if they felt I was not fit for the position. But I can already feel their connection. They do recognize me as Alpha, though I’m not sure for how long.

We pull up to the curb just outside of Cunnington Tower, a massive skyscraper with black reflecting glass going all the way up to the top, which held the pointed pyramid of our family’s crest.

A series of guards spill out of the entryway and open my door. Ignoring the pelting rain, I get out and run inside with my guards and Nathan behind.

The main lobby is packed with people running this way and that, all on phones, trying to get the word out to the rest of the pack.

Cunnington Tower was built to host the majority of the pack and provide them with jobs when needed. This is where we can all meet and make pack decisions.

Some packs preferred the solitude of the woods. We, on the other hand, have flourished under the scrutiny of society’s eyes.

Under this beautiful establishment is an underground arena built to provide a place for pack members to shift safely when needed. It’s a place where we can unleash our inner animal outside the media’s gaze.

We have hidden within the world of humanity and are thriving.

Nathan leads me to the elevator doors, where a group of people is waiting to ask questions. The guards fend them off, allowing me to get on the elevator and ascend twenty floors to arrive at my office.

Down the hallway and past rooms filled with frightened faces, we enter the conference room, and there, with begrudged faces, sit the members of the Council, also known as my family.