A child. There's a child trapped.
"Grandma!" Lila's scream cut through the chaos as she spotted her grandmother disappearing into the wall of fire and smoke without hesitation. "No!"
Harper watched in horror as Evelyn reached the child—a little girl who couldn't be more than six—but the beam shifted as she tried to lift it. The matriarch's leg disappeared beneath the heavy timber with a sickening crack, trapping them both in a pocket of space that was rapidly filling with smoke and flame.
They're going to die.
Harper met Lila's eyes across the chaos, seeing her own desperate determination reflected in the girl's face. Neither of them spoke—there wasn't time for words or plans or rational thought.
They simply ran.
Harper's bare feet slipped on the debris-strewn floor as she sprinted toward the collapsed section, Lila matching her stride for stride. The heat intensified with each step, turning the air into something that burned her lungs and made her eyes stream. Through their mate bond, she felt Dorian's fury and determination as he battled outside, his focus absolute even as some part of him sensed her danger.
Stay alive,she projected toward him, hoping he could feel her love through their connection.I need you to stay alive.
They reached Evelyn and the child just as another section of ceiling crashed down nearby, sending sparks and burning debris raining around them. The little girl was conscious but sobbing with terror as she pressed against Evelyn's protective embrace.
"The beam's got my leg," Evelyn said through gritted teeth, her face pale with pain but her voice steady. "I can't lift it alone."
Harper didn't hesitate. She grabbed one end of the massive timber while Lila took the other, both of them straining against its weight. The wood was already burning in places, the heat searing their palms, but they held on.
"On three," Harper commanded, falling back on her crisis training. "One... two... three!"
They lifted together, their combined strength barely enough to raise the beam the few inches needed. Evelyn immediately pulled her injured leg free, her face contorting with pain as she gathered the sobbing child in her arms.
"Lila, take the girl and get out," Harper ordered, already moving to support Evelyn's weight. "Now!"
Lila didn't argue. She scooped the little girl into her arms and ran toward the nearest exit—the main door that Dorian's battle had finally cleared of Ronan's wolves.
Harper wrapped her arm around Evelyn's waist, taking most of the older woman's weight as they stumbled toward safety. The matriarch's leg was clearly broken, her formal dress torn and bloodied, but her grip remained strong as she leaned into Harper's support.
"You're going to be fine," Harper promised, even as the building groaned ominously around them. "We're all going to be fine."
Through the smoke and chaos, she could see the exit—and beyond it, the clear night air that meant survival. Seconds later, fresh mountain air struck Harper's lungs like salvation as she and Evelyn finally stumbled free from the inferno consuming the town hall. The contrast between the toxic smoke they'd escaped and the crisp night breeze was so stark it made her dizzy with relief. Behind them, the building groaned and crackled, flames reaching toward the star-filled sky like desperate fingers.
But the momentary peace shattered as the sounds of brutal combat reached her ears—snarls, howls, and the wet impact of flesh against flesh that made her stomach clench with terror.
Dorian.
Through the mate bond, Harper felt his fury blazing like a second fire, but underneath that ran something that made herblood freeze. Pain. He was injured. Not critically, but enough that every protective instinct she'd developed screamed at her to get to his side.
The battlefield stretched before them in the flickering orange glow of the burning building—a chaos of massive wolf forms locked in deadly combat. Harper's eyes immediately found Dorian's distinctive black coat with its silver threading, and her heart nearly stopped at the sight of him.
Blood matted his fur along his shoulder and flank, dark stains that caught the firelight as he circled with Marty and several other pack wolves against what had to be Ronan's forces. But even injured, he moved with lethal grace, every muscle coiled for the kill.
"Thomas!" Harper called to a pack member she recognized from the dance preparation, her voice hoarse from smoke inhalation. "Take Evelyn to get medical attention now. Her leg's broken."
The burly man rushed over without hesitation, carefully lifting the pack matriarch into his arms despite her protests that she was fine. Harper squeezed Evelyn's hand once before letting her go.
"Be careful, dear," Evelyn managed, her blue eyes full of concern. "My grandson needs you whole."
Harper nodded, already moving toward the side of the building where she could hear voices calling for help. She found Lila there, her formal dress torn and soot-stained but her face set with determination as she helped evacuate the last stragglers through the shattered windows.
Look at her,Harper thought with fierce pride, watching the girl she'd come to love coordinate the rescue efforts with natural leadership.She's not the broken victim anymore. She's a fighter.
"How many more inside?" Harper asked, immediately falling into step beside Lila.
"Just a few," Lila replied, her voice surprisingly controlled despite the chaos around them. "Ben's doing a final sweep to make sure everyone's out."
