He turned back towards the building. The flames from the roof shot thirty feet into the air, and chunks of burning embers sprayed from the roof.
Sucking in a breath of air, he started to rush towards the door – and Roy came staggering out, hair on fire, carrying Laurel in his arms.
He stumbled out of the doorway – and a shot rang out from inside the building. Blood bloomed on his shoulder. Jason must have turned human and in his final moments was still lashing out, determined to cause more death and misery.
Roy dropped Laurel on the ground, turned, and staggered back into a solid wall of smoke. What the hell was he doing? Finally killing himself?
No time to think… Austin ran over and grabbed Laurel, dragging her farther away from the building, to safety.
Everything was a blur. His head was swimming, he could barely stand. Shifters swarmed over Savannah and her family and Anthony, lifting them onto stretchers, moving them away from the structure.
Austin hurried towards the restaurant’s back door, only to be greeted by a blast of flames and a wall of scorching heat.
Gone.
The crazy old wolf was gone.
Roy was dead.
There was no way to get through that wall of fire, no way Roy could be alive behind it.
“Roy!” he shouted, at the top of his lungs. “Roy, answer me!” And he twisted his head, straining his ears, listening, but he heard nothing but the roaring fire.
His shoulders slumped in despair. Chunks of fiery debris rained down on him, and he turned and ran as hard as he could, around the side of the building, heading towards his mate.
An hour later, he, Savannah, Anthony, and her family were sitting there on the curb across the road from the smoking ruin of the restaurant, waiting for the new healer from Grant’s pack to show up. Grant had a new rule for the western region; healers helped every shifter who needed it, no matter what their species, not just fellow wolves.
The air stank of smoke and soggy insulation. Fire trucks were parked in front of the building, sending great jets of water over the smoldering structure. Dozens of people from Foxhaven had come to the scene, and were wandering around in the street, watching the firefighters at work.
Jason had apparently been alone when he’d attacked Savannah’s family. He’d stormed in to the restaurant raving, holding them hostage at first, screaming about Austin’s treachery. Then he’d forced them into the restaurant basement at gunpoint, using his Dominus power to control them, and shot them with tranquilizer darts before setting the building on fire.
Thankfully, Anthony’s little brothers had been playing at a friend’s house when Jason had stormed the building.
Jason was finally dead, his reign of terror over…but at such a high cost.
“I can’t believe Roy’s gone. He was such a great guy,” Savannah said, her voice hoarse.
Austin held her hand tightly, afraid to let go. Afraid that if he didn’t keep a firm grasp on her, she’d vanish. He’d come so close to losing her…it sickened him to think about it.
“Great guy might be pushing it,” Austin croaked. His throat was raw and aching. “Good, though. He was a good man, in the end. Brave. Sacrificed himself.”
“I was almost thinking of dating him, if he’d ever gotten around to asking me,” Laurel said, and then she was racked with a hacking cough. Savannah patted her back gently.
“Really? You? Date someone?” Jessamine wheezed.
Her mother gave her an indignant look. “What? I’m over the hill? Dried up? Past my prime?”
“No, I just thought…you know…you were never going to get over Dad,” Jessamine muttered, looking abashed.
Laurel’s face puckered in sorrow. “I never will get over your father. But I’m still alive,” she said softly. “My heart is still beating. It wouldn’t be the same with anyone else, but it could still be…good. Roy was the first man who made me feel… Well, never mind.”
“He died saving your life,” Savannah said, tears welling in her eyes and running down her soot-stained cheeks. “You know, when he was doing his whole crazy act and threatening us, he never threatened Anthony, because Anthony’s just a kid.” Savannah coughed to clear her throat. “I should have realized then that he was putting on a show for us. It was just because he was so grief-stricken. Any man who loved his mate that much…” Her words ended on a hacking cough.
They fell silent, staring glumly at the smoke as it drifted skywards. The healer wouldn’t be there for another hour at least.
“Hey,” a hoarse voice croaked. They all started, searching frantically to see where the voice had come from. There was a crowd of firefighters standing in the road, taking a breather as a new crew took over to battle the flames.
But it had sounded like…
