Chapter 2 A Legacy in Ashes

Kyla’s POV

"Arghhh!" I gasped, jerking upright in bed, struggling to calm my breathing.

"Shit," I cursed, glancing at the wall clock. It was only 3 a.m. That nightmare again — the one that kept replaying the real events of that night.

I kicked off the blanket, slipped on my flip-flops, and went to the cellar. I grabbed a new bottle of wine, uncorked it, and drank straight from it. The burn helped calm my nerves. After a few more gulps, I corked it and placed it on the bedside stand.

Lying back down, I let my mind drift to the past and how I became who I am today.

Luna made it possible. Too bad she was now lying six feet under.

Let me take you back to how it all started — ten years ago.

Ten Years Ago

"Kyla… Kyla!" Luna barged into my room.

I dropped the novel I was reading and sat up quickly.

"Don't tell me you heard me and decided to snub me," she yelled, walking closer.

I rolled my eyes, threw off the blanket, and stood with my arms folded. "What do you want, Luna?"

"It’s ‘Mother’ to you," she snapped.

"Fine… Mother," I muttered.

"Pack only the things you consider necessary. We’re leaving."

I scoffed. "You’re joking, right?"

"Do I look like a clown to you?" she growled.

"Yeah, because a normal person wouldn’t just barge in and tell me to start packing. Where are you even taking me?"

"You don’t need to know. We don’t have much time. Just do it," she yelled.

"Does Dad know about this? I want to speak with him right now!"

"You can’t," she said. "You’re making things hard for me."

"No, you’re the one making things hard! I want to speak with Dad first!"

"You can’t speak with him. Don’t you get it?" Luna slammed, stepping face-to-face with me. "He is dead, Kyla. Your dad is fucking dead. He was shot hours ago."

The words hit me like ice. I sank onto the bed as cold chills ran down my spine.

"What… what did you say?"

"You heard me. Now get your ass up and pack before I kick it myself." She stormed out of the room.

Tears fell freely as I sat there. Dad can’t be gone…

Right now, we were in a car heading to an unknown destination. A man I often saw with my father sat in the driver’s seat, while another unfamiliar man sat in the front passenger seat. Beside me, Luna puffed out clouds of cigarette smoke.

I wasn’t comfortable at all. The fact that I didn’t get to see my dad or even know if we would organize a proper funeral still pissed me off. Luna hadn’t shown any emotion.

"Can I at least know where we are heading to?" I asked.

She turned to me slowly. "We are going to your dad’s clan."

I scoffed. "And Dad’s corpse? Aren’t we going to bury him? Damn, you’re acting like you weren’t even his wife!"

Luna tilted her head and glared at me dangerously. "The only thing stopping me from slapping you right now is that we’re still mourning your father. Watch the way you speak to me, or I won’t hesitate to give you one."

I sighed and looked out the window. I knew better than to push her when she was angry.

"Your dad’s corpse is already at the clan. We will bury him with the other clan members," she added.

I no longer cared for her explanations.

"And one more thing, Kyla," she continued, puffing a large cloud of smoke directly into my face. "I really hate the way you disrespect me. From now on, I am in charge of the Wolves Clan. You and every other member will refer to me as ‘Boss’."

I turned and stared at her. With Luna now in charge, I knew one thing for certain — my life in the clan was going to be nothing but hell.