I punched in Corvin’s number, and he answered immediately. “Darius, the bond is going crazy—what’s wrong?” I tried to keep my voice steady as I told him about the wildfire. About Kitten being out there, and about possibly evacuating the Sanctum.
I needed Kitten to be here with me right now. I needed her close and safe.
Corvin swore softly under his breath, though he sounded entirely calm when he said, “It’ll be okay, Omega. Stay there at the Sanctum, and leave with Bonnie if you have to, okay? I’ll check everything out, and if I can, I’ll come and get you. Don’t do anything dumb. I’ll find Kitten and bring her home, but you have to protect the cubs first and foremost, Darius. They are your focus.”
“Yes.”
“Good Omega,” he purred down the phone. “Now, take care of your charges and I’ll keep you updated. I’m ringing Cooper and Beckett now. If I can, I’ll send Cooper to you.” He paused. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Then he was gone. Beckett would have to evacuate the school kids if it came down to it, and I knew that was why Corvin would only send Cooper to me, but selfishly, I wanted them all right here.
Instead, I got back to work. I started with the blankets, taking them out to the Sanctum van and laying them on the floors. Now that I was outside, I could smell the smoke and see it in the distance. It was close, but didn’t seem too threatening. But the heat of the day was already unbearable, and a breeze was beginning to pick up.
I began loading all the supplies, glad the children were still sleeping so I could let my panic run free for a little longer before I had to be someone else's rock.
Bonnie was off the phone, and she looked as freaked out as I felt. “Courtland confirmed it. He said the fire’s growing and almost inaccessible by land at the moment. We have to wait for the humans to mobilize their resources, because we can’t get water to it from the ground. He said we should prepare to evacuate. He’s sending over Dominic now.”
I wanted to tell her that I was scared too. Scared for my brand new Pack, for my cubs, and for the woman I might lose before I even had a chance to love her properly. I hoped Merrick or Murphy had manhandled her back to town, because I knew Kitten. The cabin would be the first thing to go if that fire started moving toward Maxton. She’d fight it with a bucket and her bare hands if she had to.
“Let’s get the kids back from school if we can,” I told Bonnie, kicking us both back into gear. I picked up the phone and called Beckett. There was no time for panic now.
37
KITTEN
For the first time in my life, the Beast who shared my soul roared in frustration that I couldn’t shift. If I were Beast, I could run faster, be more protected, bemore.
“Kitten, where the fuck are you going?” Murphy shouted from behind me.
“Wildfire!” I yelled back, pointing at the haze to the west of us.
Murphy sprinted a little faster, getting in front of me so he could run backwards, looking at me. I took back all my good opinions of the man. Fucking showoff.
“Are you sure?”
This time, I stopped dead. Murphy tried to brake, but stopping suddenly while running backwards was harder than it looked. He stumbled backwards and landed on his ass. Merrick caught up, and didn’t even laugh at the fact that Murphy had just gone head over heels in the dirt.
“I’m sure. Smell the air? You can taste the smoke. Feel it. Hear it. The animals are disturbed—they’re running to find shelter already. That hot wind? It’s going to pick up this evening, or maybe even sooner, and with it the fire will rage.”
Merrick nodded. “I believe you. But what are you going to do running toward it? We have no water, nothing we can use to put it out.”
I shook my head as my heart raced. “The kids are out here with the goats. It’s their third day as goatherds. They should be in the western quadrant.”
Murphy swore. “Let’s go. Merrick, call the Alpha General,” he grunted, and we started running again.
Ten minutes later, I stopped, looking for the telltale signs of a large herd of goats. “We’re in the right place, but they could be anywhere within a six mile radius. ROSA! ERIS!”
A shout sounded in the distance, and we took off in that direction. The smoke was getting thicker, and my heart began to sink. I was still hoping that we could maybe figure out a way to put out the flames. But the thickening of the smoke meant it was picking up speed and burning harder.
“Over here!” Eris yelled again.
We raced toward the sound of his voice, and soon enough I could see the red of his shirt. The world went silent as I saw the unconscious girl in his arms. Around him, one or two goats lingered, but there was no sign of the rest. Too close, I could hear the crackle of fire. Birds were fleeing overhead, and I could see deer scattering through the trees.
Merrick stepped close to Eris, who was pacing and pale. Merrick’s Alpha power swelled until it encompassed us all. “Be calm. What happened?”
“It was an accident. Everything was fine, we had lunch, and then walked the goats a little further into the woods, but when we came back, all our stuff was on fire. I don’t even know…” He trailed off, shaking his head over and over again.
