Page 26 of Scent of Sanctuary
Leaving Seraphina this morning was difficult but I thought we had it all figured it out. We were a step closer to making her ours. It was going to beperfect.
And now this fucking bullshit.
I let out a quiet curse, thanking whoever made it so that the station is only a few streets over from her house. We should be in the firetruck with the rest of the guys but I couldn’t control myself, Ambrose and I speeding down the street in my truck. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this terrified since Felix died, the memory of that fire clawing at me as I grip the wheel.
We all read the message as it came in, Lyle telling us that he’s on the phone with her. He sent another message that she’s in her bedroom, which probably means that access to the front door has been cut off.
I can’t pull into the parking lot fast enough, bolting around the back of the building to get to her window, Ambrose right behind me. I see her, her tear-stained face peeking out the window, her blue eyes wide with terror. A threatening growl tears from my throat as the firetruck pulls into view but I’m not fucking waiting for them to assess the situation. Her apartment is on the first floor, that window low enough for me to reach but not to pull her through. Ambrose is already dragging over one of the trashcans, holding it steady against the wall for me to climb onto.
“Back up, sweetheart, I’m gonna bust through!”
Her face crumples as she steps back, our poor Omega clutching a small bag to her chest, smoke seeping through her bedroom door. Her nest looks untouched, thank fuck as I smash the window with my elbow, glass shattering inward. Then, I climb inside, the heat and smoke hitting me like a wall.
Her berry scent is scorched with fear as I climb inside and grab one of her blankets to line the windowsill. “Come here, I got you.” I say, my voice steady despite the panic. Some crackles and thuds against the floor just outside her bedroom, telling me that we’re running out of time. Something in the back of my head tells me that a fire shouldn’t have spread this fast but her safety is more important than anything else.
She clings to me as I lift her up, Ambrose pushing himself up onto the trashcan to receive her on the other side. I pass her to him, her hands gripping me until the last second.
“Don’t leave Callum in there!” Seraphina screams, her voice cracking and I can only imagine the thoughts running through her head, the memories of losing Felix just as we had.
A cough tears from me as I grab onto the windowsill and pull myself up. “Right behind you, sweetheart.” It takes a little effort to hoist myself up and through the window, some of the glass grazing my arm. The pain is nothing as I topple over the trashcan to the ground, Seraphina clutching to Ambrose for dear life until she sees me.
Instantly, she reaches out and I pull her to my chest, her legs wrapping around me as her face buries in the curve of my throat. Ambrose pulls the blanket from the window and flips it over before covering her completely from head to toe.
She’s trembling violently in my arms but she’s safe, Seraphina mumbling ‘you’re okay’ over and over again against my neck. My heart is still beating out of my chest, one of my hands holding her head, the other firmly beneath her ass I clutch her to me. “You’re safe, Fi, I’ve got you.”
The chaos of sirens and shouts as people empty from their apartments fade into the background as Ambrose moves up against Seraphina’s back to further calm her. Unfortunately, I’m not sure anything will be better than taking her somewhere safe, somewhere like our house to protect her.
I barely get back to our car before one of the EMTs approaches us, her arms outstretched for Seraphina. “We need to check her out. This is routine, Callum.”
I don’t have enough strength to talk to her without growling, Ambrose stepping between us and her. “If you need to fucking follow him, do that but she doesn’t go outside. Callum’s trained to check for smoke inhalation and we’ve got a kit at home.”
He waves at me to go, ignoring the EMT. I know I’ll catch shit for it later but my focus is solely on Seraphina. Nothing else matters.
Seraphina clung to my arm the entire drive home, still buried under that blanket, her little whimpers breaking my heart. Soft sobs spill from her as I gather her up in my arms and head for the guest bedroom the moment I get into the house. I keep the lights off, not wanting to spook her as I lay her down on the bed and then curl up beside her, wrapping her up in my warmth. “You’re safe, sweetheart. We’re back inside, okay?” My purr starts up as I run my hands up and down her back. “Do you want me to stop?”
She chokes out a sob, her voice muffled. “Don’t let me go.” Her nails dig into the fabric of my sheets, scratching at my chest as she pulls herself closer. “He was in my house. I know it. He was in my house.”
A small growl threatens to escape me, rage flaring at the thought of someone violating her home and even worse, setting it ablaze. I swallow it, forcing my purr to stay steady. “You’re safe now,” I say again.
I don’t know whoheis, but her certainty tells me it’s real. I keep purring, my lips brushing her hair through the blanket, and slowly, her sobs soften, her body relaxing against me, heavy with exhaustion. She falls asleep soon after, her scent still edged with fear but calmer than it was.
That’s when my thoughts start running amuck, wondering how the fuck she could have been caught in a fire that strong, that fast. It was less than ten minutes from the message until we arrived. Only an accelerant could have caused that kind of reaction and as far as I know, Seraphina doesn’t keep anything like that in her house.
It reeks of something way more sinister than I have the brainpower to focus on. So, I just wrap myself tighter around my precious Omega, murmuring how strong she was and how amazing she is and that she’s safe in my arms.
Secretly, though, I’m planning a certain death for whoever fucked with my Omega.
Lyle
AmbrosecatchesmebeforeI go off on someone, a hand spread across my chest as he leans forward, whispering in my ear several times that Seraphina is okay andsafebefore he settles. The problem is that despite those words, the wreckage of her apartment doesn’t make any sense. The front half—kitchen, most of the living room—is a blackened skeleton, charred wood and melted appliances, the air thick with smoke.
Ambrose is at the edge of his rope, his rum spice scent sharp with rage, the same as mine, his instincts screaming to hunt, to destroy whoever did this to our Omega. I’m barely holding it together myself, my heart still racing from her call and the thought of her trapped in that fiery mess with no way out.
We’re going to need each other after this, the snarl gathering on Ambrose’s lips pulling my attention. I calm him the same way he did me, forcing him to look at me before dragging him into a hard kiss, my lips crashing against his. He resists for a split second, then melts against me, a small growl escaping him, his hands fisting my jacket. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I just know it wasn’t some fucking accident,” he says, his eyes darting to what used to be her apartment. The flames caught the walls of the apartments next to hers but other than that, hers was the only one destroyed.
“We both know that,” I tell him because what kind of fire moves that fast. “But right now, we owe it to Seraphina to keep our heads, because if you go back home with this kind of energy, you’re gonna fucking terrify her. Deep breaths.”
