Ambrose calms only slightly but it’s enough for now. The chief strides over, a grim look on his face. “Come on,” he says, “let’s see if we can’t see where this fire started.” The look of surprise on my face has his shoulders falling in defeat. “I know there’s some things you want to grab and we’ve got about twenty minutes before the police get here to ward everything off.”
This goes completely against protocol but he’s giving us a bit of leeway because even if we never came outright with it, everyone knows Seraphina is our Omega. We follow the chief silently after suiting up, hating the charred mess that we pass through. Everything is devastated throughout the mudroom, the kitchen and the living room. However, the hallway is miraculously untouched, the bedrooms filled with smoke but devoid of any ashes or burn marks.
I’ve been in my share of fires, pulling people out to safety and I couldn’t imagine for one second being stuck in one with no way out.
We make our way into her nest, my gaze falling on the empty shelves usually crowded with Ambrose’s gifts. “Seems she grabbed a few keepsakes,” I muse, despite the heaviness of the situation. Ambrose follows where I’m looking before I continue searching for anything that makes sense.
The chief’s voice calls from the hallway, “Anything stand out?”
I’m about to say no when Ambrose reaches down to pick up a charred pillow. It’s the one with the frills, the one she hesitated putting her nest but eventually was woven into the edge. “Why is this burnt?” He brings it out to the chief, showing off the fabric. “She wouldn’t have brought that anywhere near the kitchen.”
“I don’t even know what I’m looking at because if her pillow caught on fire, then there weretwofires and nothing about that screams accidental.”
More sirens sound in the distance, the chief clicking his tongue. “Time’s up, boys. We can’t keep looking around. Police are almost here. Grab whatever you need but I don’t want Chief Monroe thinking we messed with his scene.”
Ambrose is already moving, heading toward Felix’s room, muttering something about one last check. I stay where I am, still trying to make sense of everything when Ambrose returns, holding a picture of Felix and Seraphina. It’s probably one of the last ones taken before he died and a keepsake I know Seraphina will want close.
He nods back toward Felix’s room. “Part of the wall is charred in there too. Like a fire started but fizzled out. None of this adds up.”
Chief blows out a heavy breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “No, it doesn’t but when Chief Monroe tries to chalk this up to an accident by a clumsy Omega, I’ll know where to point him. Now, get out of here and make sure Seraphina is okay. Take all the time you three need with her. We can suffer being a little short staffed until she’s ready to come back.”
“Yeah, okay,” I mutter, not quite wanting to leave this mystery to rest. I’m about to leave when I turn around to address the chief one last time. “Just so it’s on record but I don’t think any of this was an accident. Despite there being three different places where this fire started, Seraphina hates fire. She didn’t even light Callum’s birthday candles a few days ago. They had pizza last night and she had leftovers today.”
The chief waves us off, telling us that he’ll make sure it gets logged in the report. He’s a good man and I know he’ll make sure this is looked into. After all, Seraphina is one of us and we take care of our own.
“I’ll talk to the police. You get home to Seraphina. I have a feeling she’s gonna need all of you, and you’re gonna need her just as bad.”
He’s not wrong.
Seraphina
Iwaketototaldarkness and an unfamiliar room. Even with the soft caress of silk sheets on my skin, it’s all too big and too much. Callum isn’t here, his absence making it even harder to deal with where I am. The faint smell of smoke clings to my skin and my clothes, a cruel reminder of the fire that just stole everything from me.
Unable to stay here, I slip off the bed, in search of a safer, smaller place with more familiar scents. A small sob tears from my throat as tears stream down my cheeks, my Omega guiding me. The smoke follows me as I rush into the hallway and dart up the stairs, Callum’s scent thickening the closer I get to the end of the hall. I need them so bad but I can’t seem to find my voice to call for them and I don’t know where my phone is.
Callum’s door is ajar, his bed unmade, his oakmoss scent so thick it’s like he’s still here. I step inside and breathe him in, my Omega settling a little. However, the scent I can’t stand is still here and I’m desperate to scrub it off and leave it behind.
I’m barely aware of what I’m doing as I find myself under the hot spray in the attached bathroom, scrubbing my skin raw with my fingernails. I don’t even bother lathering up the soap, just pouring it over my arms and down my chest as the water rains down on me. The frantic need to drown whoever was there grows until I’m whimpering for a relief I can’t find.
It feels likeheis everywhere but I can’t touch him.
I scrub even harder until my skin is flushed pink, that scent giving way to the mint bodywash. I only stop when my fingers go numb, shutting off the shower and grabbing the towel hanging there to wrap around me. It’s full of Callum, my Omega still whining and needy for something small, dark, and contained. A place that’s just ours. That’ssafe.
Padding back into Callum’s room, I search for somewhere to build but everything in this room is too bright. The sunlight spilling through the curtains reminds me of the blaze in my apartment and I wince, rushing toward his closet to escape. When I throw open the door, the darkness envelops me, drawing me in, a small space in the corner beneath his hanging shirts calling my name.
I walk inside and drop to my knees, frantically pulling clothes and socks and even fabrics from his hamper to fill my newest space. The tears fall harder as my Omega whines for me to finish and only when I’ve placed the last bit do I crawl inside and pull one of his shirts over my head to hide away from the world.
It’s not perfect but it smells like Callum, like home.
Ambrose
“Where’sSeraphina?”Iask,the moment I step into the house. Getting out of our uniforms took entirely too long and then the drive back home had me on edge. I thought I was going to punch through the goddamn window. Lyle’s just as agitated but I need an outlet.Bad.
Callum’s smile quirks as he lets out a quiet laugh, rubbing his neck. “I left her in the guest room for a bit to double check security and came back to find her gone. Apparently, she wandered up to my closet and built a little nest. I checked on her about fifteen minutes ago. She’s out cold.”
Relief floods my chest as I lean back a little, finding Lyle there, his hands falling to my arms to steady me. “So, she’s okay?”
Callum shakes his head, his smile fading. “No, she’s terrified. This place is kind of big, and it’s bright as fuck. I’ve been hanging up some of the old curtains, but I think something happened in her apartment. I didn’t notice she was gone from the guest bedroom for a while, but she scrubbed herself raw before making a nest. Her skin’s red.”
