Fire

EVERETT

Nickolas and Victoria have their teeth in me.

I scream out in pain, howling to the moon, wishing I could get them off for just a second so I could shift too.

They’d be no match for Chaos. He’s snarling in my mind but I can’t concentrate long enough to draw him out.

I’m in too much pain.

My blood is pooling beneath me on the tarmac, and ahead the gym blazes. Rory is in there. I’ve failed to keep my promise to keep her safe.

“Everett!”

Is my mind playing tricks on me?

I think I can hear Rory calling for me. Maybe I’m hallucinating. Maybe as I die I’m imagining the sound of her voice one last time.

Or maybe it’s the mate bond. Maybe she is calling out for me, which would mean…she’s still alive.

If there’s even a chance I can save her, I have to fight!

Gathering all of my strength, I roar and throw my arms out wide, tossing Nick and Victoria sideways.

They roll away on either side of me. Nick crashes into the side of a red sports car with a thud.

I scramble to my feet and take off running. Smoke is rising from the gym in a plume that looks like a cyclone. I can feel the heat from here already.

I’m coming, Aurora!

I don’t get far before I hear their snarling behind me and the snapping of their jaws.

But I’m fast and now I have the upper hand.

I reach the edge of the inferno. Flames flicker like reaching hands from a hole in the gym wall.

Feeling the hot breath of the fire on my face, I turn. Nick leaps at me and I swipe with my claws, slicing through his neck.

Blood spurts across my face as I tear through the skin. Victoria watches in horror as Nick falls limply to the ground.

Then she pounces.

But she’s jumped too high. I jam my claws into her abdomen as she flies over me. She howls in pain, continuing her trajectory, arching over me toward the fire.

My claws slide free as she is flung into the blaze, and I listen to her cries as she burns.

Nick is huffing and trying to stand; he makes one last attempt to clamp his jaws around my neck, but I twist, sending him flying to meet his mate.

I look away as they’re both swallowed by the fire.

I am not a fan of unnecessary death, but these two have tried to kill my mate and me enough that I don’t feel bad.

“Everett!”

I hear her call once more and know that I can’t waste any more time.

~“I’m coming, my love!”~

RORY

“Everett!” I cry again. I pull with all my strength, trying to free Freya, but her legs are trapped beneath a fallen basketball hoop.

My stupid clumsy curse isn’t helping either. My fingers keep slipping and I keep falling backward.

The smoke is so intense I can’t stop coughing—I can barely keep my eyes open.

But I won’t leave my friend.

I slip once more and fall flat on my ass.

“Rory,” Freya says weakly.

~She’s alive! Thank Selene!~

“Freya, I’m here!”

She starts coughing and doesn’t stop.

“I’m going to get you out,” I say, and get to my feet. “Can you move?”

Steam rises from my hands as I grip the edge of the hoop; it’s red hot and burns my skin, but if I can just lift it maybe Freya can crawl out.

Crying out as my palms burn, I lift with all my strength. Somehow, I’m able to lift the hoop—not much, but enough to lift the pressure off of Freya.

Grunting, she manages to claw herself forward.

The glass backboard smashes as I drop the hoop and rush to Freya.

Kneeling beside her, I’m forced to shield my eyes as the flames burn higher.

“Can you stand?” I ask.

She tries but cries out in agony and slumps back to the gym floor.

Her legs have been crushed; there’s no way she can put weight on them. And there’s no way I can carry her out of here.

I twist my head frantically, trying to spot the exit, but we’re engulfed in flames and smoke.

I can feel the heat closing in on us.

I wonder if I’ll come back this time…

“Rory!”

Just then I hear Everett’s voice. I turn to see him bursting through a wall of fire, his hand covering his eyes.

“Everett! It’s Freya, she can’t walk!” She’s staring up at us with desperate, pleading eyes.

“The fire is getting too intense, you have to leave her,” he says.

“No, Everett…”

“Chaos can handle the heat but you have to run.”

“No, you’ll burn.”

“Our wolves have thicker skin than our human forms. I’ll be fine, but you have to go, now!”

Before I know what’s happening, Everett is shifting. His clothes explode off him as he falls to all fours.

He grips Freya’s dress between his teeth and begins to pull.

Chaos grunts at me, telling me to go. I trust him.

I know Freya will be safe with him, so I run.

Coughing and spluttering, I emerge from the gym into the cool air. But I don’t have time to feel relieved. Everett and Freya are still inside.

I stand on the grass, close enough that the fire still feels as if it could burn me, and wait.

Finally, I spot Chaos, pulling Freya from the blaze.

I hurry to them and help him get her to a safe distance.

When we’re far enough away, Chaos lets go of Freya and she lies on the grass looking up at us.

She’s badly burnt, her skin is covered in raw exposed patches. Her legs are a mess.

I reach out to touch her, but Chaos barks.

He and Everett are worried; they think I may have lost my ability to come back. Ever since we learned the protective spell had been lifted from the rogues they’ve been concerned.

But I don’t have time to worry about that right now. My friend needs me.

If I can’t use this power to help the people closest to me, then what’s the point in having it?

Chaos whines, but I ignore him and reach out to place my hands on Freya.

Golden energy flows between me and her. Instantly, her burns begin to shrink and the skin begins to heal. Her legs straighten and crack back into place.

But she was too close to death, too far gone, and I realize I’m leaving this plane.

I close my eyes and when I open them…

I’m surrounded by a white mist.

Back on the plane between the world of the living and the dead.

It’s so much cooler here than it was. I feel rejuvenated. All the energy I spent trying to save my friends has returned.

My burns are gone, my lungs filled with fresh air.

There are no more crackling flames. Instead, there are the gentle whispers of souls reaching out to me.

I no longer fear these voices. I know they are my ancestors, gentle souls, those who have passed acknowledging my presence.

They mean me no harm.

A familiar green glow spreads across the horizon like a rising sun.

I walk toward it. I love how it feels to walk while I’m here.

On this plane, the clumsy curse can’t affect me, and I feel at one with my body. My limbs and mind work in perfect unity.

The door is open and waiting for me to pass through, and I’m about to step back into the land of the living when I hear a new voice breaking through the din.

“Aurora… Aurora… I hoped you would come…”

When I turn, there’s no one behind me, just cotton-candy mist drifting and swirling.

“Aurora…”

“Achlys?” I ask, wondering if my old friend and protector is still here.

“Aurora…,” the voice responds, and I know I was mistaken. This voice is unfamiliar.

And yet it echoes right down to my soul—as if it’s reaching inside of me and telling me…, “I know you.”

I shake my head in disbelief.

“Who… who is that?” I ask, calling out into the void.

“My darling…”

“Is it…” Tears well in my eyes and fall to my cheeks. “Is that…”

A wolf’s howl pierces the quiet, and I turn back to the door.

Chaos is calling me. I can’t stay any longer.

Desperately, I search the mist one last time for any sign of the mysterious speaker, but there is no one there.

Finally, I step through the door…

Brilliant light blinds me, and I slam my eyes shut.

I wake up on the grass.

The orange glow of the continuing fire to my right, and Chaos’s face just above mine.

I reach up and run my hand along his muzzle.

“I’m here,” I say. “I’m back.”

He sighs with relief, and suddenly I remember my friend.

I’m back, but is Freya okay?

I lurch up. She is lying next to me with her eyes closed. She looks peaceful, as if she’s asleep.

On my knees, I shuffle across to her and run my hand across her forehead. All of her burns are gone. She looks perfectly healthy.

Chaos joins me, and we both stare down at Freya, my sleeping beauty. Gently, I shake her by the shoulders. Drowsily, she opens her eyes.

“Rory?” she asks. “Did you save me?”

“It’s okay,” I say, stroking her face. “You’re safe now.”

But her eyes move from me to the wolf at my side and then shoot open with fear. She clambers backward on her elbows, trying to get away.

“Wait, it’s okay!” I say. “He’s not going to hurt you!”

“Rory, that’s…a wolf! Get away!”

“It’s okay, just look.” I glance at Chaos, who shakes his head. “Please, she deserves to know.”

Reluctantly, he begins to change. Chaos disappears and Everett emerges. Naked and glistening with sweat.

He covers himself, blushing slightly, and shrugs.

Freya’s eyes look like they’re about to pop out of her head.

“Did your boyfriend just… Was that wolf your boyfriend, Rory?”

I nod, but it’s all too much for Freya. Her eyes roll back in her head and she faints, landing softly in the grass.

I turn to Everett, whose embarrassed blush has vanished, replaced with a look of grave concern.

“I guess the secret is out.”