AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What? Where are you going?” Maren demanded.
“I’ll meet you there,” I told her again. “You have to trust me. Go now, Maren.”
Locating a throw blanket from the sofa, I tossed it toward her and threw open the door to the unit, looking for Drakias. I paused to look back and ensure that Maren was doing what I had instructed her.
With a final look at me, she hurried toward the balcony doors, her naked body shrinking to reveal her stout, feathered form, and in a flash, she was off into the night.
The guard remained at his post, but I shouted at him to clear the floor and get out himself.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Knock on all the doors and then go. Don’t endanger yourself, Drakias,” I warned, before morphing into my wolf form.
Muscles rippled as I bolted through the corridor, the smell of smoke now pungent in my nostrils with my lupine sense of smell.
Where is that coming from?
Intuitively, I followed my nose, winding down the stairwell and pausing to sniff under the doors until I landed at the lobby, where panic had broken out.
Residents screamed and rushed off in all directions as the concierge tried to keep everyone calm.
“Please! Don’t panic!” he begged.
I released a loud howl, and for a half a second, everyone stopped to look at me.
“It’s the king!” someone cried. “Follow the king!”
Smoke billowed from the mail room and seemed to be spreading wildly.
What are the chances that this is an accident?
But the cause was really the least of my concerns right now. I had to get these faeries out of here and ensure the fire didn’t spread any further.
Outside, the scream of sirens told me that emergency crews were on their way, and I led the tenants to safety through exits, nudging the discombobulated or slow-moving ones with my snout.
“We’ve got it from here, Alpha,” one of the firefighters called, rushing through with a hose, but I ignored him and retreated back through, hearing something that he couldn’t—someone was trapped nearby.
“Help me! HELP!”
Adrenaline kicked in, and I sprinted back, following the horrified cries, getting closer until I found myself on the second floor.
“Hello? Is anybody out there?”
I stood in front of the closed door to the billiards room, a chill spiking down my back.
“I can sense you out there…” His voice was ominous now, no longer in need of help, taunting. My ears and tail flattened as I backed away nervously, tongue lolling out.
“Hel-lo?” He wasn’t panicked at all. He was mocking me. “Is that you, Nyx?”
My pulse roared in my ears.
“What’s the matter, stupid? Don’t you recognize your father’s voice when you hear it?”
The world around me went black, and I struggled to open my eyes, blinking against the flashing light and din.
“Alpha? Alpha, can you hear me?” A flashlight shone in my eyes, and I sat up, the foil emergency blanket that had been covering me falling away.
“Oh, thank all the gods, he’s okay!” one of the healers sighed, falling back on her haunches.
