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Hell, according to shifter customs, Thayer should have been named the new alpha of the pride, but he’d flatly refused to take over that position. Instead, the council had disbanded the pride for their previous transgressions and made sure that anyone the deceased alpha had forced to stay was compensated with the remaining money he’d had stashed away.
When Kingston had been released from prison several months after his friend, Thayer had been waiting outside the gates, ready to drag him back to Mystic with him. The fire department had been damn glad to have Thayer back when he’d been released, but it had surprised Kingston when he’d gotten a warm welcome upon his arrival.
Since their prison records only existed in the supernatural world and had no bearing on their jobs in the Human Realm, Kingston had been free to start a new career. He’d attended the Fire Academy and had done all the necessary training before becoming a certified firefighter. After he’d gotten assigned to Station Five with Thayer, he’d discovered it wasn’t just a job to pass the time while he figured out how to handle his personal situation.
To his surprise, he realized that he actually enjoyed helping people.
“Too busy playing with your hair to show up on time?” Kingston snarked, raising his voice enough to be heard over the sounds of construction coming from the administration building and the loud discussion coming from the second team of trainees who were strategizing several feet away.
Thayer smoothed a hand over the tiger on the side of his head. “I just naturally look this good.”
Kingston let out a snort of laughter. “Yeah, right.”
“I took a solo call earlier to go rescue a little kid’s kitten that got stuck on their roof. It had gotten trapped in the rain gutter after it crawled out an open window.”
“I thought kittens were scared of you.”
“Luckily, this one wasn’t. Once I got it free, the little baby crawled right into the palm of my hand.” Thayer nodded toward the building. “How are they doing?”
“Team One should be out soon,” Kingston told his friend. “I’d say Martinez and Salt are the standouts on that team.”
“Strum pointed Martinez out to me on the track yesterday. She’s fucking fast.”
“She’s a cheetah shifter.”
“I haven’t seen too many of those around Mystic before.” Thayer frowned. “Who is the other one? Salt?”
“The fae-mage hybrid’s real name is Culpepper.”
“Ah, I like Salt better. It’s a damn good nickname,” Thayer said with a chuckle. “What about that team?”
Kingston glanced over at the trainees who were still huddled together planning for their turn inside the building. “Adams and Ying would be solid additions to our team. I think Vintner might have potential, but he’s either holding back or just lazy.”
Thayer laced his fingers together and stretched his massive arms out. “I guess we’ll have to figure that out before we let him stay.”
Because Station Five was well known for having very high standards, anyone who didn’t meet their strict criteria was transferred out to a different firehouse. It sucked for the trainees who hoped to stay, but they knew the conditions before they participated in the advanced training.
In addition to new trainees, other stations often sent people over to participate in Station Five’s drills. They also hosted a special program in the national park located outside of the city once a year for firefighters from all over the country. While it was labeled as a sort of friendly competition, it gave the participants valuable training on rough terrain that could be used to fight wildfires, track lost hikers, and deal with other disasters back home.
As the first group of trainees stumbled out of the building, hauling the dummies over their shoulders, Kingston clicked the stopwatch. Their time wasn’t abysmal, but it wasn’t great either. He showed the results to Thayer, who marked it down on the chart they kept of the trainees’ progress.
Some of the trainees looked slightly singed, but the protective gear had done its job and kept them safe. Thoroughly exhausted, most of them collapsed on the ground, while a few others, including the two Kingston had mentioned earlier, managed to stay on their feet. Thayer gave Kingston a silent nod of approval.
“Strip off your gear and take a breather,” Kingston ordered. “Team Two, are you ready?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Do you think you can do better?”
“Hell yes!”
“Then, get in there and prove it!”
Chapter Six
Hours later, Kingstonand Thayer were relaxing at one of the picnic tables on the wide stretch of lawn between the firehouse and the administration building while the trainees washed down the last rig in the open garage.
Team Two had lost the training exercise earlier, so the cleaning duties had been their punishment. The trainees were tired and sweaty, but a new fire had been lit in some of them from the loss. Since that had been the point of the competition, Kingston and Thayer were satisfied with the results.
