SEVENTY-NINE | FLAME

*-It's cold. Everything's this roiling iciness and emptiness. I grind my teeth together, watching the sun rising over the trees, turning the rosy hues to an illuminating greyish white. Snow's crunching under my feet as I shift in anticipation. I'm outside the greenhouse, impatiently waiting for something. Anything. To happen. I've been out here since midnight, each passing second has felt like an eternity.*

*Mom's inside, undoubtedly still asleep, though after the last surprise attack just last night, I'm sure she's going to sleep in. Thirty members of the Pack died, many more were injured, and are still being recovered, I'm sure. I haven't heard back from anyone yet, though I know I'll probably be the last one to be notified since I'm still not part of the Pack and the Coven bond isn't like that of Wolven bonds.*

*I let out a breath, half-expecting it to cloud in front of me. It doesn't.* This is new.

*"Cousin," Paris is suddenly in front of me, her dead eyes cold as ever. I watch her silently, the tension between us thick and heavy. Deep inside, I feel the Pack bond stir. Such a simple thing for me to have ignored all this time, I hadn't even realized it was still active in me. It rises from the deepest recesses of my mind and comes alive as strongly as it always had been.*

*A lone howl rises from the forest behind Paris, then another, and soon a cacophony of cries. Hundreds of reflective eyes are there - without warning, blinking at us. Emotions - like a cloud - fill me and solidifies in the back if my head. Snarls of disgust and triumph from voices both recognizable and foreign have me taking a staggering step back*.

*A shiver of understanding rolls over me as I realize this. I've been like a one way mirror this whole time. Every move, every thing I've seen over these last months, was available to the Reiniers. Every conversation could have been listened to*.

*Grandmother steps out from the trees, holding a large bag in her hands. Her hands are dripping bright red, all the way up to her elbows, each step she takes leaves a bloodied print. My stomach churns as the scent of pine and blood fills the air. Fear, like nothing I've ever felt, tears through me as I name the scents coming from the stuffed sack - dripping red onto the snow*.

*I'm on my knees now, Paris silently watching me as Grandmother stops before me. Without a word, she drops the sack and-*

*I fight a wave of nausea and pain as I recognize the faces on the bloodied heads that come rolling out. A sob catches in my throat, my hands flying to cover my eyes*-

*But it's too late. I've seen their face. Each face of those I've come to cherish in this new town. Faces of the Alpha, Luna, Mom*-

*I'm screaming as agony tears through the emptiness I've been feeling these last few hours. Only vaguely aware that time's stopped around me and the world's turned that sickly shade of red. Only vaguely aware my screams are unending as I get to my feet, and do what was done to those I loved - to the ones I used to call my family*-

There's blood everywhere. *The scent of sea salt and pine so heavy in the air... and as I look at my hands, hands now gnarled and elongated into terrifying claws...I feel nothing. Thick, black veins are visible under my skin, webbing up my arms - arms coated in blood*. Blood. I need blood. **More blood**.

Happy birthday, Scarlett. *I think to myself bitterly as a sharp pain begins stabbing at my chest. Wracking my entire body. I cry out, the sound oddly musical and terrifying. The sound a Revenant makes*-

- - -

When I come around, Blue's passed out on the cot, his eyebrows furrowed. I'm kneeling beside him, still clutching his hand, though my entire body's shaking. A cold sweat's broken out on my skin, chilling me to the bone and driving the terror of the vision even deeper. I tear my hand from Blues. I stare at them, turning them in front of my eyes to make sure there's no sign of the Revenant's signature gnarled and twisted appearance anywhere.

I'm crying, tears pouring from my eyes as my whirling mind's doing all it can to stay sane.

I'm on my feet before I know where I'm going, running from the infirmary. My mental compass is guiding me, though there seems to be a disconnect from my feet and brain as I run. All I know is I need to get as far away from here as possible. But I can't run from the future. A future less than four days away now.

It's not what we've been seeing these past few months. Not bliss and happiness or things that can be reversed. Something's changed. This one was more like a self-directed warning. Sharp. Distinct and devoid of hints. Well, all but one. It happens the night before my birthday.

A clock begins counting down in my head.

Three days. Seventy-two hours.

It's night right now, the vision must have robbed me of precious hours. So, not like the other ones, then. The knowledge doesn't bring me any comfort as I continue to run. Then I'm suddenly standing in front of the doors to the Coven. They swing open, as if the gatekeepers were waiting for my arrival or sensed me.

Without a word of greeting, the Gatekeepers nod to me and allow me to rush past. I'm running up the stair before I know exactly where I'm going. But the second I stop on the fifth landing, I know. The door is open.