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This is bad. So, so bad.
Survive. Think. Use your instincts.
I plant my feet where we are and reach out around me until I feel something. A hanging plant. That tells me we’re in the hall and nearly to the kitchen now. There are windows in the kitchen, but based on the amount of smoke and heat… I can only assume we’ll find more fire greeting us.
Panic threatens to set in, but then a sense of hope blooms in my chest. My entire body begins to glow white as the protective magic that I was inexplicably gifted surrounds me, spreading rapidly to encompass Paxton as well. He turns and stares at me wide-eyed.
“Are you controlling it?” He sounds hopeful.
I shake my head. I wish I was, that I could have control over this power, but there doesn’t seem to be any consistency to it. No rhyme or reason. So long as this magic is protecting me, though, I don’t think there’s much room for me to question it.
The magic keeps expanding, clearing the smoke and creating a bubble of safety for us in the house. It isn’t appropriate timing, but when Paxton and I lock eyes, there’s a heat there I can’t ignore. I practically throw myself at him in my desperation to get my lips on his. We’re safe. The house might not survive, but we will.
He moans into my mouth but breaks the kiss off too soon. “We don’t know how long your power will hold the smoke back. We need to get out of here,” he reminds me.
“Let’s go.” I let go of him and wait for my feet to touch the ground, but it doesn’t happen. He keeps his hold on me and starts moving down the clear path of the hallway that the protective field has formed for us. Since he doesn’t seem keen to let me go and clearly isn’t worried about his own injuries, I wrap my legs around him as we move toward the back door.
The sight that greets me at the back of the house pulls a harsh gasp from me. I have to twist in Paxton’s arms to get a proper look. The fire has consumed the whole back of the house, and there’s nothing left but destruction where the door should be. The whole side of the house has crumbled to nothing.
Paxton squeezes me more tightly against him as he steps over the rubble, letting my power guide us out of the danger.
On the other side, there’s an entire crew of Dominic’s pack rushing toward us, shouting. It’s impossible to make out what they’re saying. I wait until we’ve safely cleared the heat of the fire before holding my hand up for them to stop. My power helped protect Paxton, but there’s no way for me to know if it will hurt the members of Dominic’s pack if they try to rush into the fray.
I take a deep, calming breath, but the protective bubble still doesn’t subside. I look helplessly at Paxton.
“Don’t. If it’s still up, that could mean there’s still danger. Don’t try to force it away yet.” He speaks low so only I can hear. I recognize all of the shifters from Dominic’s pack, but he’s right. We don’t know these people well enough to trust them yet. Not as we stand naked with a fire raging behind us, burning the Luna Sovereign house to ash.
Paxton takes in the horrified looks on the faces of Dominic’s pack and scoffs. “Not one of you noticed a fucking fire starting?”
“Sir—“
“No.” Paxton grinds his teeth like he’s struggling to hold back. “You can answer to your Alpha when he arrives. I don’t want to hear a damn word from any of you.”
Paxton holds me close to him as he stomps away from the nervous shifters. There will be hell to pay for their oversight, I know that much is for sure. They better hope Dominic gets to them before Tess does. I have a feeling my sister will be an absolute force to be reckoned with when she arrives. And there is no doubt in my mind that she’ll be here. It’s what we do for each other. We show up.
Sure enough, by the time Paxton walks a wide berth around the house to the front, an SUV comes careening up the drive. It’s barely in park before Tess leaps out, running at me in a dead sprint. I have no idea how they could have possibly made it here this quickly.
I open my mouth to tell her to be careful, but she blows past my protective bubble like it’s not even there. As she pries me from Paxton’s arms, the light responsible for saving our lives finally begins to tame in its intensity. I tuck my face against Tess’ hair and breathe her in, taking her offered comfort until the light is completely gone.
When I look up, I’m greeted by a dark look on Dominic’s face. It’s enough to make me blanch before realizing it isn’t directedatme but ratherforme.
“Who did this?” he growls.
My spine straightens. “You think the fire was intentional.” A statement, not a question. I was hoping it wasn’t true, but the thought had already crossed my mind. It would be too much of a coincidence that the same night I return to the Sovereign House—after the discovery on Sovereign Pack territory—it goes up in flames.
“We saw abandoned gas canisters up the road.” Tess’ voice cracks.
“It looked like something spooked whoever did this. I tried to send some wolves after the scent, but they were all over the place until they disappeared into the creek.” Dominic works his jaw.
“Do you think they meant to kill us?” I raise my chin. Even though I can feel myself trembling, I need the show of strength to remind me of who I am. I’ve survived so much. This will not be the thing that destroys me.
“I don’t know,” Dominic admits.
“I do.” A wolf steps into our small circle, a tall guy with graying hair and a sharp jawline. I vaguely recognize him as one of Dominic’s, though I don’t remember meeting him formally.
“What do you know, Kyland?” Dominic looks to the man with a measure of respect. I glance at Tess to see the same from her.
Kyland shakes his head. “I don’t know how they got past the security measures. There wasn’t an inch of this place left uncovered. They managed to get by us long enough to start a fire on every side of the house. It’s obvious they wanted to make sure there was no chance the house—or anyone in it—survived.”
