𝙆𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝘽𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨

I could hardly believe it when Kaden Bowers stepped out of the woods. The same floppy caramel blonde hair, the same light brown eyes with flecks of green, the same warm smile — and though nothing could ever be the same again, my heart still skipped a beat when he said my name.

Kaden Bowers was dead — or at least he was supposed to be.

"Kaden," I breathed, "After..." I swallowed away the lump in my throat, remembering what had to have been one of the worst days of my life. "After what happened that day at the lake, I... We all thought that you—"

"Ember, it's okay. I'm here now," he smiled softly, dropping his duffel back to the ground and enveloping me in a hug, the scent of pinecones surrounding me.

"Ember?" Theo said, breaking the silence that had been hovering in the air.

"Hmm, yeah?" I raised my eyebrows, turning away from Kaden and toward Theo. I pushed down the blush that threatened to rise as I remembered how we'd been a few moments before — me flirting daringly with him, our faces so close we could've kissed, the rush of fire burning through me.

He signalled for me to come closer and when I was close enough, he whispered, "What's going on?"

I glanced back around at Kaden, who was leaning against a tree facing away from us. Theo deserved to know the truth; what was going on must've been confusing as hell to him. Well, it's confusing to me, and I know the truth — or part of it.

"Kaden Bowers is supposed to be dead," I told him, lowering my voice so Kaden couldn't hear. "It happened in the summer, a couple of years ago. It was a school trip to Lake Oldoy, and we were rafting on the lake. As stupid 14-year-olds do, we were daring each other to see who could get closest to the rapids at the far end of the lake."

I pointed to the other side of the lake, and from there we could see the deadly white-water rapids churning up the edge of the still lake.

"Kaden got cocky and said he could raft down the river, past the rapids, to this big rock and back. He never made it back," I finished.

"Crap," Theo simply said, before adding, "Was he always a werewolf?"

"What?" I exclaimed, "How can you tell?"

"It took a while to get past the scent blocking that he's got going on... But for some reason, I've encountered his particular scent before. That's how I recognise him," he tapped his nose knowingly, "That's how I know he's a werewolf."

Overwhelmed, I shook my head. "He wasn't a werewolf when he went off those rapids."

Theo grabbed my arm and led me a little further away from Kaden. "It's possible that he was moments away from death when he was bitten and transitioned. That would have... brought him back, I guess." His mouth twisted in hesitation.

"What else, Theo?"

"Ember, you need to be careful around him. He came back from the brink of death, so it's possible that in exchange for life, Death took something from him — or left him with something."

Confused, I frowned, "I... I don't understand."

"God, Ember it's not that hard," Theo sighed exasperatedly.

"Well, explain then." I shrugged, "If it's so simple."

He grabbed me by my wrists, and hissed under his breath, "He's not fully human!"

"Yeah. And neither am I, and neither are you." I frowned again, pulling my wrists away.

"Ember," Theo sighed, "You and I, despite being what we are, are more human than him."

"So, he'll never be able to be human or at least more human again?" I asked, grief washing over me.

Theo shrugged, "It would take a lot to reverse that sort of power. Death isn't exactly supposed to work backwards, only forwards. There'll always be a darkness around his heart, around his soul..."

I gulped, "Does he know any of this?"

He shook his head, "He knows he's a werewolf, obviously, and he knows that how he survived must've been a miracle... As far as he believes, he's as human as you and me."

Glancing back towards Kaden, who had his head buried in his hands, I asked, "Can we tell him? And, I mean, if he's a werewolf, won't he have heard all of this anyway?"

"No, we can't tell him, he'd spiral out of control if he knew. He could get violent, dangerous... And he hasn't heard this conversation." Theo dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, showing me the screen, "I've been playing the radio at an extremely high frequency, so he won't have heard, the sound will be giving him a nightmare of a headache."

"What about you then?" I asked, concerned, "Won't it hurt you?"

"It has been," he replied, turning it off, "That's how I know he'll have a nightmare of a headache, that's continuing now, even though it's off."

That explains why he had his head in his hands, I thought.

"I—" I began, touching Theo's arm lightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about the curse on that tattoo on your back."

"It's fine; I'll be able to deal with it," he replied, shrugging, though I wasn't convinced.

"We should go back," I said and walked back through the woods to the bench and Kaden. "Hey." I smiled at Kaden, concealing what I now knew.

"Hey," he replied, lifting his head from his hands.

"What's up?" I asked, knowing what was up. He's not fully human...Theo's words echoed in my head. Yet I knew I had to act like he was human, I couldn't give anything away.

"I'm just trying to adjust to being back here, to be honest."

"So, you've not been back to Lake Oldoy since what happened...?"

"How could I?" He frowned at me.

I frowned back at him, "How could you not? Everyone thought you were dead, Kaden, doesn't that mean anything to you? Your parents were distraught... and they left Lake Oldoy as soon as we had your funeral."

Disbelievingly, he asked, "You had a funeral for me?"

"Why wouldn't we? Though, I must admit it was an empty coffin..." I trailed off, the memory of that day lingering in my mind, leaving behind that cloying sorrow.

"Look, Ember," Kaden said, making me turn towards him and away from the lake, which I'd just been staring at. "It's easier to be on the run when everyone thinks you're dead."

"We were 14." Narrowing my eyes, I asked him, "Why would you need to be on the run from anyone? And besides, with your family being travellers, you were always on the move anyway—"

"We weren't on the move enough," he cut me off harshly, and I noticed that his usually light eyes had become dark and shadowed.

"What... what happened to you?"

He looked away, giving me the chance to glance back at Theo. Theo had been watching me because as soon as I turned around, he mouthed 'Be careful!' at me. I was trying to be careful, but at the same time, I wanted to know the truth.

"Ember, there's something I need to tell you," Kaden admitted, facing me. "And the only reason I know I can tell you is because I know what you and him," He nodded towards Theo, "Are."

"Kaden, what do you mean?" I asked, trying to play it casually.

He looked at me, rolling his eyes, "Come on, Ember. I know that you know the three of us are all supernatural."

I bowed my head, "Yeah, we are."

"So that's his name...?" Kaden mused.

"So, what are you then?" I asked, pretending I didn't know.

"I'm a werewolf, and so's... Theo, and you... I have no idea what you are." He laughed slightly, curiously, the question clearly at the tip of his tongue.

"I'm... one of a kind," I replied. Declaring my being a Phoenix felt too bold and too brash; too much of a power move when at that time, I barely had any more power than an average non-supernatural person.

"You can say that again," Theo said, sitting down next to me. "I'm Theo Aquila." He held out his hand to Kaden, who shook his hand.

"Kaden Bowers," he responded to Theo, before asking me, "So what are you?"

I sighed, "I'm a flame shifter."

Kaden's brow furrowed in confusion.

Theo cut in, "She's some sort of Phoenix, given to her by her mother. She has some sort of voodoo 'Sight' that her friend gave her, and she is one hell of a handful to deal with."

"Thanks, Theo," I said bluntly. "Clearly, I don't need to say anything now, you can tell Kaden my entire life story if you want."

I got up and stormed off into the woods, grabbing my school bag as I passed it. Even though I'd been trying to help him, Theo sure knew how to get on my nerves and piss me off.

Kaden was just another complication that I didn't have the time or energy to consider. He was back from the dead, though not fully. His soul had been fractured by Death... and Theo was there telling him almost everything that he knew about me. And Theo was the one telling me to be careful.

Shoving past branches and bushes, I pushed on deeper into the forest. There was a high chance that I'd get hopelessly lost in the unkempt wilderness, but I didn't care anymore. Every step freed me a little more, every branch I snapped released a little more anger, and every bird I saw reminded me that these woods were my home, and I felt safe.

The anger had diminished, and I was free once again.

With a jolt, I remembered the vial of my scream that Al had captured for me and had been tucked away in my blazer pocket for some days now. Considering I was now in the middle of a forest, I could release it. I stopped walking and took it out, still mystified by the way the pearly, silvery substance was seemingly suspended in time.

Did Al tell me to smash it to release the sound? I tried to remember, but my mind was just as clouded as my vial-captured scream. How else am I going to release the sound?

I was convinced that if I pulled the stopper out of the top of the vial, nothing would happen, and the substance would remain hanging in the vial. Taking a deep breath and hoping I was right; I placed the vial on the ground before smashing it under foot.

Instantly, a piercing scream resonated through the woods around me — startled, I looked around for the source, before looking down at my feet to see the mist escaping the fragments of the vial and spreading out around me in the forest.

"Damn it," I swore, yet my words were inaudible in comparison to the — my — scream, echoing through the woods.

Dropping to the earth, I desperately tried to press the mist into the ground, trying to mute the sound. But as if the mist had a mind of its own and, sensing my attempts to diminish it, intensified the sound, causing me to swear again. The noise was horrible, and the more it seemed to go on, the less human it became, the less it became my scream... It became more like the song of some sort of bird, a beast... the Phoenix.

I don't know how long it lasted before I glanced down to see my palms alight with dancing flames.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I began freaking out, only causing the flames to grow.

Control, I tried to remind myself — it's all about control.

By now, the sound of my scream had died away — leaving me breaking down, and no one in sight.

I could no longer control anything, it seemed. My heartbeat and breathing had both gone haywire. I was barely standing, leaning against a tree, palms burning with an irrepressible conflagration, and a feeling of utter distraught lodged deep within my soul.

With a sickening jolt, I realised that this was the first time my actual body had been on fire; in the past, it had been solely outside of my body, like when Wednesday's painting caught fire because of me, like when I set fire to the tablecloth at Ashley's...

But does this mean I'm losing control... Or gaining it?

The thought both terrified and excited me, but I couldn't focus on any emotion for too long. My vision blurred, sending the world into one swirling mass.

"EMBER!" I heard a voice bellow through the woods.

"Theo..." I tried to reply, somehow knowing it would be heard, but it barely came out as a whisper.

I struggled to stand from the trees, and the world lurched again — I trusted that Theo would be able to hear me, so I breathed his name again, incapable of doing anymore.

Is he nearer now? I thought I could hear snapping branches. I couldn't tell, but as soon as I saw him appear from the trees, my heart skipped a beat — or maybe it was just my delirious state.

"Ember..." He exhaled, crouching down and was now right in front of my face, "I came as quickly as I—" He cut off, evidently having noticed my hands were on fire.

"They don't hurt." I showed him my palms and smiled in what must have been a deranged way.

"What've you done?" He asked, shaking his head as if I was the one to blame; I couldn't control it.

"I'm fine." I frowned and stood up as steadily as possible. Smirking at him, I said, "See."

Concerned and unconvinced, he held up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up then?"

I replied nonsensically, "Three-four."

"Not even close." He shook his head. "But hey — don't look now — but your hands are burning a lot less." He smiled gently and steadied me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Where's Kaden?" I asked, and his smile dropped slightly. I looked down to inspect my hands, which were completely unscathed — as if the fire had never happened.

"He freaked when we heard... Well, when we heard, then ran off." Theo shrugged. "I'm here though, right? Or would you rather him be here?"

Suddenly brazenly honest, I told him, "Theo, why would I want anybody else when I've got you?"

My hands had stopped burning by now, though my delirious state of mind was nowhere near gone.

Theo rolled his eyes. "Have you been drinking or something?"

"Why don't you have a taste and find out?" I asked, daringly, dangerously, before I surprised even myself and pressed my lips firmly against Theo's.

Electricity tingled and heat rushed through my body when our lips touched. His lips tasted wild and untameable, like him, I supposed. He tasted the way that firewood and wet earth smelt — seductive yet suffocating.

I only noticed when I stepped away from him and broke our kiss apart that my arms had been around his neck and his hands had been in my hair. On any other occasion, I would have blushed, but the intense sense of confidence I was experiencing meant that didn't happen.

"Well?" I asked, arching an eyebrow, "Do I taste drunk?"

Theo arched an eyebrow back at me, "No... But why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" I dared, eyes flashing as I bit my lip. Theo cleared his throat and looked warm.

Getting up off the floor, I leaned against a tree — what the hell is getting into me? Whatever it was, I liked it... And judging by the look on Theo's face, so did he.

"Come here," I insisted, and as he stepped forward, I rapidly twisted forward, hooked my fingers into his belt loops and pulled his body mere inches away from mine. The static energy between us was almost tangible.

"Hi," I said to him, smiling teasingly.

"Hmm, are you sure you're feeling alright?" He asked again, trying to lean back to test my temperature on my head before I yanked him closer.

Theo cleared his throat in surprise and swallowed, "Now I know you're not alright." He tried to frown but the grin on his face easily overpowered it — I was overpowering him.

This time, it was him that kissed me; the sense of his control made me crave him even more.

His lips were pressed against mine, though it wasn't long until our mouths were fully interlocked and moving in synchronisation. When his tongue slipped inside my mouth, my stomach fluttered in exhilaration and my body yearned for him.

While our hands roamed, our kiss deepened even more, and he pulled my body even closer to his. Then he moved away from my lips and kissed down my neck — leaving me gasping for breath, chest heaving, heart racing.

Grabbing onto my thighs, Theo lifted my legs, wrapped them around his waist and pressed me against the tree.

He stopped kissing me and looked up at me to ask, "Is this okay?"

"This is more than okay," I told him and then began undoing his shirt buttons. "Is this okay?"

"More than okay..." He replied, barely a whisper.

Okay, so I'd seen him shirtless twice before, but there was another reason for that. And, besides, every time I'd tried to look away... But this time was different — this time I wouldn't look away.

With all his buttons now undone and his shirt shrugged off his shoulders, I could study him.

There was no denying that he was stunning, though not without flaws. As I traced his skin with my fingertips, I could feel the slight ridges of scars left behind from wounds. His chest was perfectly formed, and I could've counted his abs if I wanted to. His body was built almost perfectly, as far as the eye could see.

I left a trail of kisses down his neck and across his collarbone, moving my body against his as I did so, my hands firmly pressed against his chest. My lips found his again and his hands found my chest.

Involuntarily, I let out a soft gasp as he squeezed me. So many sensations were rushing through my body. Thoughts were irrelevant; actions were essential.

"Theo," I whispered, and as soon as he was facing me, I crashed my lips onto his again. I unhooked my legs from around his waist, sliding my feet gently to the ground.

Theo's hands were now clasped around my back, pulling our bodies together. I was pretty sure whatever I was doing was right; his attraction to me was undeniable — he couldn't hide it.

"Theo," I said, not wanting to ruin this, but I had to tell him, "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" He said and I had his full attention now.

"Theo, I—" I began but was cut off by a crack of thunder above our heads. "Shit," I swore — before a bolt of lightning struck a tree a few feet away from us.

"Ember, whatever it is, tell me later. We have to go now," he insisted, trying to remain calm, but barely doing so.

"Why, what's the problem?" I said, slipping back into a delirious state, "Don't you want to put your hands all over my body?" I asked, grinning, leaning back against the tree, pushing my chest forwards.

"I do. Trust me, I do." He cleared his throat and struggled to focus on my face. "But not now." He looked nervously back into the sky, thunder boomed, and a bolt of lightning split the air once more. "Ember, listen to me," he told me, taking my hands, "We have to get out of here – it's not safe, for either of us."

"Why not?" I frowned, and it felt like I was sobering up, reality sinking back in.

"If I get struck by lightning, there's a good chance I'll involuntarily shift, which means I'll have no control over the wolf." He looked around us and started buttoning up his shirt, "And I have no idea what happens with fire and lightning, but it won't be good. So, we've got to go."

"Fine," I huffed, seizing the moment to intensely kiss Theo one last time before beginning to gather my belongings.

"Where can we find shelter from here?" He asked, eyes scanning around the woods.

"My house isn't too far if we run." I shrugged.

"We'll run then," Theo said bluntly, barely even looking at me.

I sighed as I shoved my blazer into my bag. "Let's go."

We both ran through the woods, me leading the way; I'm pretty sure he wanted to run faster. I'm totally sure he wanted to run away. And besides, it wouldn't be the first time he did it.

What is it with Theo and running away? I asked myself but figured out the answer pretty quickly ; running away from your troubles is easier than facing them and dealing with them.

Although making out in the woods shouldn't exactly be something that you'd want to run away from. Unless you regretted it, of course.

Frustration was boiling through my veins by the time we arrived at my house – how can he act as if nothing had happened?

"See you tomorrow then," he said, before sprinting, undoubtedly, back to his house in Saint Francis.

"Bye, then," I grumbled, confused and annoyed.

I slammed my way into my house, then my room before collapsing face down on my bed.

And they say girls are confusing. Wait 'til you meet Theo Aquila, I thought venomously, he'll confuse you alright. Turn you on one second then ditch you the next.

I grabbed my pillow, buried my face in it and screamed as loud as I could, wishing I could drown out the last hour. Why had I been so stupid as to trust him? It seemed like he only existed in my life just to mess around with me and my emotions.

But no more. I was so done letting him screw around with me.

That boy is playing with fire; he'll get burned.