Chapter 6 Ash
Ash
I pat the white bark of the birch tree gently as I let it tell me what ails it. As a tree surgeon, I have a certain way with trees, and that’s knowing when they need their branches pruning.
Sometimes, they tell me when it’s their time to go, and then I get out my chainsaw, hacking them down. I always have a lump in my throat when that inevitability happens—having to fell such a beautiful, living, breathing tree… it’s unthinkable.
But I have to uphold the family tradition.
Our grandfathers tended to the land before us, but Rowan would rather stare at spreadsheets all day long or attend important summits in New York City, while Briar doesn’t know what he wants to do with his time lately. But he likes art. And making cocktails.
He’s also really into his bike.
So, I pick up my ladder, propping it against the trunk of the tree as I climb the rungs. And then I start removing bothersome branches with my pliers.
As I ascend, I come face-to-face with an adorable squirrel. “Why, hello. Lovely spring weather we’re having today.”
The rodent chitters, flicking its tail. But I laugh, running a hand through my thick blonde hair. “Don’t worry. I won’t be cutting down your tree today. You’re safe.”
The squirrel’s whiskers quiver as it keeps gazing at me with its beady eyes, and then it zips further up the tree.
Once I remove all the offending, dead branches, I step back down the ladder, turning to face my twin, Briar.
His sunglasses are askew on his face as he ties his hair back lazily into a messy ponytail. A cigarette sits unlit in his mouth, and I hope I really don’t have to warn him about the dangers of lighting one up in a wooded area.
The weather has been rather dry lately, and there are branches everywhere.
“Who were you talking to?” he asks with a smile in his voice.
I roll my eyes, stuffing the branches into a black trash bag. That will be going into the recycling chute later.
“I was talking with one of our resident squirrels. Why?”
My brother raises his brows as he regards me strangely. Then he snorts, pulling a lighter out of his jeans pocket. I have to yank the thing out of his hand before he does something stupid. “How many times do I have to tell you, Briar?”
Seriously. How are we even twins?
He sighs, rolling his eyes. “Relax. I won’t burn down your squirrel friend’s home.”
“Like hell you won’t.” Now I slip the lighter into my own jeans pocket. He groans, making a move for our country house.
Just as we cut across the green where our gardener works at the hedges, Briar tells me, “I just got a text from Rowan. He’s on his way home. He’s got something to tell us.”
Something to tell us? I hope it’s not too ominous.
I don’t think much more about the peculiarity of the moment as I move straight for the fridge. I grab a cola, tossing one to Briar.
Just as he opens the can and it fizzes all over his shirt, Rowan enters the kitchen. He drops his laptop bag on the sideboard like he’s seen a ghost. He’s paler than usual, his gaze wide and glassy as dark circles hang beneath his eyes.
Briar guffaws, lighting up his cigarette with another lighter. “What happened to you?”
I glare at the serpentine smoke that curls from his cigarette, opening a window. Our sweet grandmother would be turning in her grave if she saw him smoking that atrocious thing in her beautiful kitchen. If he’s not careful, he’s going to turn her pink floral wallpaper yellow.
Rowan barely looks at our brother as he tugs out a chair from beneath the table, falling down into the seat. “I need a drink.”
I move to the drinks cabinet, reading out the selection. Of course, he goes for one of our grandfather’s aged whiskies.
I pour him a glass. He downs it instantly, demanding another. When he’s had three, he runs his hand through his black hair, ruining his slicked style.
Briar and I regard him at the table for a while. In the end, Briar loses his patience, putting out his cigarette in one of our other grandfather’s crystal ashtrays.
“Seriously, Rowan… What is it?”
Finally, our older brother lifts his face, and there are red veins in the whites of his dull eyes. The ice seems to have thawed.
“She’s back…”
Just two words, yet they make my heart shudder and my palms sweat. I ball my fists. He doesn’t even have to say her name. Because it’s one I’ve never forgotten.
I thought I got a whiff of May-blossom on his suit the moment he walked into the kitchen. Not even Briar’s cigarette could mask that perfect scent.
“Who’s back?” Briar whispers, his face ashen.
He knows, too. We don’t normally speak of her, as we’ve all just tried to move on from what was the biggest mistake of our lives.
Lately, her face has been visiting me in my dreams. She stands beside our recently departed mother. Mom will smile at me sadly, reaching down for Daisy’s hand.
I don’t know what it means. But both Omegas have been haunting me.
Deep down, my Alpha fears that Daisy may have met the same fate as our mother. That she never survived our brutal rejection, just as our own mother never survived our father’s.
It’s baffling. How anyone could be capable of such cruelty…
We are not good Alphas. Period. Yet we were still there for our mother in her final years. Her own parents were already dead by that point.
We were all she had…
A small penance to pay for what we did to Daisy.
Rowan sighs. “Daisy Rose.”
It’s as if someone tied a millstone around my neck as I sink to the deepest depths of the earth.
I knew it.
How different life would be right now if we had just accepted her cheesy declaration of love and devotion that day in the school gymnasium. It takes real guts to do something as bold as that.
And yet, we still rejected her.
Even after all these years, I’ve never forgotten her beautiful voice. I don’t care what anyone says, Daisy was the prettiest girl at that school. No other woman came close to her gentle grace.
“How was she?” I ask before I can stop myself.
I just have to know… that I didn’t completely break her.
Rowan narrows his eyes as he thinks back. “She… looked beautiful. Radiant. Strong.”
I sigh with relief. Thank goodness.
Silence drifts around the kitchen as we all reflect on the past. Then Briar speaks, shrugging his shoulders. “So, what? We try to make amends?”
Rowan rolls his eyes. “I think that ship sailed long ago, Briar.”
My heart sinks as his words ring true. He’s right. She would never want us back now. We missed our chance.
Besides, it seems she’s doing just fine without us.
And I’m happy for her. Truly.
Briar narrows his eyes. A slight smirk curves his mouth. “Well, did you see a bite mark on her neck?”
Rowan glares at him. “No. Regardless of whether she’s claimed or not, Daisy will never be ours. And I hope I can trust you both to leave her be.”
Briar sighs, leaning back in his chair. “Some things never change…”
Rowan growls. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I come between them, eyeing Briar. “Careful, Briar.”
Briar scoffs, getting up to leave. “I’m just saying that I’m getting sick of him making all our decisions in this pack. Perhaps for once, I should do the opposite of what he says.”
Rowan scowls at the door long after Briar leaves. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, Briar, then stop. These things require a certain finesse. Don’t you mess things up further.”
But he’s already vanished. Rowan turns back, looking up at me this time. “Well, what do you think?”
It takes me a moment. In the end, I meet the thawed ice of his eyes. “I think we hurt that girl enough.”
I don’t say any more. It’s just a small thing, but I think my brother’s hardened mask cracks ever so slightly as I turn my back on him, moving straight towards the trees where I feel truly at home.
Despite how regretful I am, a smile still takes over my face.
It appears we didn’t break her after all.
Daisy survived…