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Sienna
The building looked like it should be condemned. The windows were blown out, and black char lined the brick on the outside. Cinders and ash could still be scented in the air, like even the atmosphere had been scarred by the fire.
“Do you think there’s anything left?” Teagan asked as she stared up at the building with an adorable crinkle to her nose. She never could hide her true feelings, so I knew she was nothing but skeptical.
“Not much, if anything, but I want to see if Mom’s necklace survived,” I admitted with a sigh. I couldn’t risk losing one of the only sentimental items I had.
“We’ll see. Let’s stick to optimism,” Eliza said with more confidence than she likely felt.
“Do you want us to go in?” Bane asked gently. I turned to face him, Yuri, and Nash. They’d escorted us here and had stayed for moral support. Ok, so it was also likely the alphas couldn’t let us out of their sights.
“Yes,” Eliza said firmly. “Let’s go.” She marched up to the front doors just as someone stepped out.
“You’re apartment 342?” the alpha asked without looking up from his clipboard. “Right this way. Grab a hard hat from the table.” He tipped his chin toward a table where bright yellow hard hats were stacked high. I handed one to Yuri and Nash before putting mine on while the others grabbed theirs.
Seeing Yuri in a hard hat would have been hilarious if not for how fucking anxious I was. As if he could sense it, the alpha took my hand, holding on tightly as the fire marshal led us upstairs to our rooms.
The smell was overwhelming enough to tell me this would be a quick search, and that was only confirmed when I saw our former home. Our apartment was a shell. Our table had been reduced to a few pieces of wood and metal angrily sticking up from a pile of rubble. What was once a couch was now just remnants of singed fabric and coils.
“I should feel sadder,” I admitted.
“Same.” Eliza let out a strained laugh. “I kind of like where I’m at now, though.” Bane gave her shoulder a squeeze, and Nash leaned in, kissing my head.
“You’re both where you belong.”
Such simple words, but they settled something within me. He was right. Ididbelong with this pack, and every day I spent with them continued to prove it.
Seeing my friends just as happy made me feel even better. Teagan was traveling and living her best life, and Eliza was with the MC, who treated her like a queen. How could I be upset about that?
We parted ways to check out our respective rooms. Pushing open my door, I felt a bit of hope settle in. My dresser was old and thick, something I’d picked up at a thrift store. Apparently, it was also built differently than the shitty pieces of furniture we had throughout the rest of the apartment because it was somehow the only structure still standing. The outside was covered in black, and the layers of wood were peeling away, but it had survived.
I pulled it open to discover that my stuff was not quite as lucky. My collection of old tickets and stickers had curled in on themselves, their edges burned—if they weren’t totally melted down. I wouldn’t even attempt to check out the clothes, but when I finally opened the top drawer, a small sob of relief broke free.
The small chain had melted, but the pendant looked intact. Snatching it out, I held it in my palm and studied it before turning to show the guys.
“The chain is ruined, but this survived,” I said excitedly.
Yuri and Nash gave me matching smiles. “We can find a new chain,” Yuri promised.
“It’s pretty,” Nash offered awkwardly. His attempt at being sweet was cute, and I nodded as I glanced down at the small rose gold heart. It was inlaid with diamonds and had my mom’s name engraved on the back. When I moved away, I admitted how worried I was. My mom gave it to me so I’d always have her with me.
“This survived,” Yuri said, handing over a small photo album I hadn’t noticed in the back of the drawer. The cover was a melted mess, but the pictures inside had made it. There were a few that had become discolored, but the images themselves were mostly clear.
“Then I have all I need,” I said, tucking it under my arm and walking out. Eliza and Teagan were both waiting, their hands empty.
“Tell me it survived?” Teagan said. I held it up, and she sighed with relief.
“Oh, thank god. At least we got the important stuff,” she agreed. Bane held up the fireproof case that Eliza had insisted we buy when we moved in. “Our documents are safe too. Mother hen strikes again.”
“You’re welcome,” Eliza huffed as we walked back out. The fire marshall was waiting in the hall.
“Finished?” he questioned.
“We are. We won’t be needing anything else,” Eliza confirmed. “Thanks for allowing us to gather these.”
“Of course. I’ll mark you off my list. If you need further information for your rental insurance, here’s my card. You can email anytime,” he offered before leading us back downstairs.
The moment we were outside, I took a deep breath, glad the scent of the fire was less intense. We only lingered for a second, gathering our stuff out of the fireproof box before heading to our separate cars.
