The green in his eyes shone like emerald in a royal crown. But as he watched the picture fall from the delicate pinch of her fingers, fluttering toward the floor from her squatted position they darkened. The picture, weighing less than a feather, fell toward the flame next to Lola. She didn't notice, caught up in a whirlpool of pain and suffering she stared mindlessly at the floorboards while the picture landed in the flame and caught fire. The fire spread onto the resting pictures on the ground and they all set aflame like burning domino tiles. Heat quickly swallowed the room and smoke rose around them suffocating the air. The flames spread big and wild around them but Lola sat still, the heat didn't bother her, she barely felt it against the coldness of her skin.
"Lola!"
He grabbed her arms, yanked her up on her feet, and pulled her behind him but Lola jerked away and shook her head.
The golden strands of her hair illuminated under the light of the fire and she shook her head, the curls bouncing in place as she stepped back into the room.
"We have to go!" He says but sees it in her eyes, how his words fall flat before they enter her ears. She doesn't care anymore. Everything she allowed herself to believe in crumbled at her feet and turned to ash by the fire.
The one luxury she couldn't afford was to trust in someone, Melissa was the exception, and yet somehow he persuaded her to gamble. She threw her heart into the pot and went all in on the man swearing his love for her, and now that too is turning into coal in her chest from the smoke she breathed in.
"It hurts." She cried out softly.
Ash looked around at the flames that only grew as they devoured the bed and moved across the carpet.
Curses were muttered left and right as he looked to see if he could stop the fire but the flames had grown too big and taken over too much.
He looks back at Lola, her eyes are red and watery while her breath wheezes in and out from the smoke entering her lungs.
"Damit, Lola." He spat and ran over to her just before her eyes fluttered close. She swayed on her feet, a faint smile of contentment tugged on her lips as she slipped into unconsciousness and her body collapsed.
He put his hands under her legs and her head fell against his chest as he carried her out of the room.
'Fire in the guest room' Ash said over the mind link.
Four warriors came rushing up the stairs and entered the room. Ash cradled Lola closer to his chest and looked down at her face. She looked peaceful and unharmed but he knew better as he remembered the tear falling down her cheek.
He walked with her down the corridor, holding her close and controlling his heartbeat so as not to give anything away.
Her curly hair bounced as he reached out to open the door. He looked down, casting a dark gaze at her broken shell before walking inside.
The deep green wall behind the bed accentuated the calmness of the room. The drapes hung heavy down to the floor and were held apart by the gold-covered chains.
He walked across the beige carpet that was stained with drops of blood from the burns on his arms as he grabbed her.
Ash removed the cover, tossed aside the pillows, gently placed her down, and pulled one pillow under her head. Just as her body relaxed into the mattress and her head gently touched onto the pillow she whined and stirred but didn't wake.
He pulled the comforter over her tired body and graced his fingers over her soft skin.
Ash leaned down, stopping every few inches before pressing his lips on her forehead, feeling her relax under him, and tucked her hair behind her ear clean from her face.
"Rest, everything will be fine, I'll make sure of it," he dragged his thumb across the side of her eyes, "You have my word."
Ash stood next to the bed and watched her. The way that her eyelids fluttered and her lips pulled up, almost as though she was trying to smile and he hoped that she was dreaming of better things than what her reality was made up of.
She was safe in the room, nobody could touch her there and nobody would come looking for her- she needed the rest and the peace. Ash left, he cast one last look at her, watching her lips part softly as she breathed- his fingers tightened around the handle, and he tore his gaze from Lola and closed the door.
Ash walked downstairs. The warriors were coming out of the room behind him and walked past him on the stairs.
"It's done." One said and bowed his head.
Ash bowed in respect and continued walking down while casting worrisome glances at the wreckage above him. He could see through the spring in the door that everything was dark and ashy but the cleaners were on their way to do their part and they would make it seem as though no fire had occurred in the first place. After that, they would buy new furniture, reset the room and the mess would have been swept away.
Ash's eyes narrowed to slits and he stepped up to the warriors.
"My cousin, where is he?"
"In the study." The warrior said. His red hair was covered with ash as he ran a leather-covered hand through it and it fell like snow.
Ash strode down the hallway to the study with steady steps, his fingers coiled up to fists and his shoulders were stiff as he reached the door.
At first, he stood and stared at it. He listened in to see what he could hear.
"Oh please, you know that's not true," he heard Lavina giggle on the other side of the door.
"Isn't it though? Don't you ever think about the past, the memories," Jax said.
Ash glared at the door, he slowly reached out, turned the handle, and let the door fall open on its own.
He stood calmly in the doorframe, watching their sweet exchange of pleasantries.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Jax asked.
He jumped from the seat and walked around the desk. Lavina stood leaning against the bookcase but pulled herself away when she saw the calm on Ash's face.
Calm was not always soothing and peaceful, sometimes, for certain people, it was a mere indication of the rage that lay beneath the thin veil of calm.
They looked at each other, all of them locking gazes for a few seconds and Jax stepped closer, carefully shielding Lavina from Ash.
Ash scoffed, he looked at Jax and paid no attention to the girl behind him.
"There was someone else you shielded like that before. Do you remember her?" Ash asked.
Jax's gaze flickered around for a moment as he broke concentration.
"There was a fire," Ash said.
"I know."
"You know yet you don't check on your wife?"
Jax's nails were pressing into his plans and the blood was forming around his fingers.
"I didn't- I've been busy." He said and looked at the papers on his desk only there weren't any there. There were no files, papers, contracts, or phone calls.
He hadn't been busy with work, there was no excuse as he realized he should've been with her. Instead, Jax turned halfway and looked at Lavina whose chest was rising and falling heavily.
"That's right," Ash said, "but busy with what?" He asked.
Jax's dark eyes narrowed and he felt the anger stir within him as pride rose faster than regret. The drapes were drawn, Ash looked at the window and he knew that the drapes were rarely drawn.
There were two glasses of wine on the bar against the table and two plates with crumbs from the leftover pie they'd had.
Ash could see the flames, they reflected in his green eyes and turned dark as he saw Lola's empty gaze and the pain on her face as she stood in the middle of a burning room.
The plans she'd had for Jax and her, how she wanted to show him that she missed him.
"Where is she?" Jax asked through clenched teeth.
Ash grinned without an ounce of amusement, a grin as cold as the poison that seeped into the words he spoke.
"She's safe."
"Just tell me," Jax said under his breath. He rolled his shoulders back and stepped closer, his eyes softened now that he was being eaten up by the shame he felt.
"I can't," Ash said.
"Why the hell not?"
"Yeah, it's his wife, Ash. Come on, don't be a dick." Lavina chimed in from the back of the study.
Jax visibly stiffened, a muscle in his jaw feathered and he looked back, silently sending a message for her to stand down. Lavina swallowed her pride and backed away, she thought she was helping but her voice held no power louder than a whisper when it came to speaking on matters regarding Lola.
"I can't," Ash said, "because you're the one I'm keeping her safe from. Both of you,"
A warrior came walking into the study through the open door and sensed the tension with the first step. He turned to Ash holding a phone.
"Ash, your father's on the line." He informed.
Ash clenched his jaw and smiled as he looked between the phone and the messenger.
"I'll take it outside." He said.
The warrior nodded and bowed his head respectfully to Jax before he walked out and waited for Ash to join him.
Ash turned around, the fire still burning in his eyes and the rage swirling in his body, barely contained by him and his wolf.
Before he left, Ash turned around, his hand raised in the air and his knuckles landing with perfect precision on Jax's jaw.
He hit an uppercut and Jax went down on his knees.
"What did you just do?" Lavina gasped.
"What the fuck was that for?" Jax growled, his eyes glowing yellow.
Ash stretched his fingers and turned his rings that had shifted upon impact.
He looked with a deadly glare at his cousin.
"You made her cry." He said and left the study.