I was desperate to find my wolf. To see Rand, and figure out how to make things right.
25
RAND
I’d promised the guys I was fine, swore I was going back to my cabin, but as soon as I got there, I’d stripped all over again, shifted and ran for Natalie’s place.
Yes, I was violating pack law by being on human land, but this was Sheffield land. This was my mate’s land.
And I didn’t give a fuck.
I stopped on the ridge above the waterfall that cascaded into Natalie’s swimming hole and lifted my nose in the air. The sky was dark, darker than the last time I’d been here. I swore I could smell her, again, just like last time. My wolf hearing didn’t pick her up though. Natalie wasn’t here, and it was probably my mind conjuring her scent.
Wishing she’d appear.
I stilled. Sniffed. I also caught a scent I didn’t like. A scent of danger that had my fur standing up around my neck. Ruffled down my spine.
A scent of… was that… lighter fuel?
My head snapped up toward Natalie’s house and could see the orange clearly.
Flames!
No! Fuck, fuck, fuck. No!
I was running before the thought had formed, racing down the side of the ridge, taking the back way to Natalie’s house.
Her burning house.
Fates, that place was a tinder box to begin with! Sure, there were fucking smoke alarms, but it was going to catch, and there was nothing to stop it. The volunteer fire department this side of the mountain was tiny. There weren’t any fire hydrants out here. Only well water, and even if they had a filled tanker, would it be enough to put out a house of her size?
I didn’t give a shit about the house. I cared about Natalie. Was she inside? What if the smoke alarms didn’t work? What if the fire was too quick for her to get out? What if I couldn’t hear her over the alarms?
I was sprinting as hard as I could, my mind coming up with the worst.
The closer I got, the stronger the acrid smoke. Glass shattered as the fire sucked air in through the open windows. The downstairs was fully engulfed, the flames licking up the walls.
I skidded to a stop and shifted, then yelled for her.
“Natalie!”
I ran around the house, barefoot and naked, looking for her. Her truck was out front, which only made me panic more. She had nowhere to go but here, as I’d practically driven her back to this firetrap.
“Natalie!” I bellowed.
Fuck, I wished I had a cell to call the others, to get them here to help. But I thought I heard faint shouts from Wolf Ranch. They’d be here in minutes, too.
I stilled my heart. Listened. I couldn’t hear her over the raging fire. I had no idea it made so much noise, that it was so hot even thirty feet away. My mate was in that house. I had to save her. I couldn’t wait another second.
I had to save my mate or die trying because a life without her wasn’t worth living.
26
NATALIE
Rand wasn’t at the swimming hole. I stood there a moment listening, hoping to hear his howl again. I turned in a circle.
And then I saw it.
A red glow coming from the direction of my house.
What the fuck?
It took a moment for me to really believe what I was seeing. The house was on fire. My house was on fire!
I debated for a moment whether I should run to Wolf Ranch for help or go back to the house to see if I could get anything out before it came down, when I heard Rand yelling my name.
From the house.
Oh God.
Still out of breath from running here, I took off the way I’d come, racing back.
“Rand!” I yelled back. “I’m here.”
I could see the silhouettes of people running for the house. The flames were too bright to make out who they were, but I guessed they were all from Wolf Ranch. It was close enough for them to see the fire from the main house. God, with the way it was burning, the fire shooting from windows on both the first and second floors, it could probably be seen for miles.
“Natalie!” This time it was someone else calling my name.
“Rand!” I yelled although I was breathing so hard from running all the way back from the swimming hole. I looked for his head in the group but didn’t see him.
“Natalie!” Several heads turned as I ran up, and Nash dashed over to me. He was soot streaked and sweating. Everything smelled like a campfire, and the heat was impressive. His hands settled on my shoulders, and he looked at me with wide, wild eyes.
“God, are you all right?” he shouted over the hiss and crackle of the fire.
I nodded, licked my lips. “I’m fine. I was up at the swimming hole and saw it.”
“Rand! She’s here!” someone shouted.
“We thought you were in the house.” Frowning, he threw another wild glance over his shoulder. “He thought you were in there.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Rand? No! He can’t be inside?” I ran toward the house. “Rand!”
Rob and Willow headed me off, Nash right behind me.
“Tell Rand she’s here,” Nash shouted. I heard a different tone to his voice—fear.
Rob’s whistle pierced the night, making me jump. The others rushed over.
“Are you sure he’s in there?” I shouted, desperately clinging to any option other than the one I couldn’t accept. “It’s getting worse!”
Rand was in the middle of that fire. Looking for me.
“I heard him calling your name and saw him going in the kitchen door when we were running here,” Rob said, his voice grave.
No.
No!
I ran toward the house, but someone caught me around the middle, pulled me back and into him. My feet came off the ground, thrashing. “No. You can’t go in there.” Rob. His voice was deep. Commanding.
I didn’t give a shit.
“Rand’s in there! He’s my mate. We have to save him!”
“I’ll go in,” Nash yelled.
“You can’t,” Rob shouted. “There’s no way in, and it’s going to collapse soon.”
“No! Rand!” I screamed. “He’s mine. I love him, and I didn’t tell him. He needs to know!”
I started to sob in Rob’s arms as I watched my house burn. I couldn’t imagine Rand inside. Needing help. Unable to escape because of the smoke. Or already burned. Dead.
“I have to help him!”
“You have to stay here. Safe. That’s what Rand would want.”
“Save Rand! We have to save Rand!” I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks. I fought to get free of Rob’s hold. “What am I going to do without him?” I sobbed.
Cars were pulling up in my drive, more people piling out all around us.
“It’s not over yet. He’s a shifter,” Rob said, still holding me back from surging in. “We’re hard to kill, and we heal spontaneously. But the same isn’t true for you. Do you understand? You can’t go in there.”
I looked closer and realized the other shifters were trying to get in. They’d circled the house and were yelling to Rand that I was out.
“Is he still alive?” I sobbed.