Chapter 189

Elijah

I was absolutely exhausted as I drove home, the dashboard clock showing nearly midnight. My eyes burned from staring at paperwork all day, and my back ached from too many hours in uncomfortable chairs, listening to other Alphas argue about territory lines and trade agreements.

All I wanted was to get home to Agnes. To pull her close and let her warmth drive away the tedium of the day.

I felt bad for leaving her alone, especially after finding that small fire at Isabella’s grave last night. Whatever was happening with her powers seemed to be escalating, but I’d had no choice but to attend today’s meetings. One of our bordering packs had been making noise about expanding into our hunting grounds, and I couldn’t afford to show weakness by sending a representative.

Still, Agnes hadn’t texted me about any problems, so the day must have gone smoothly. At least I hoped it had.

My eyelids drooped as I turned onto the long road that led to our estate. The trees cast deep shadows across the pavement, their branches swaying gently in the night breeze. The familiar route was so ingrained that I could practically drive it with my eyes closed—not that I would, of course.

I rolled down the window, letting the cool air hit my face to keep me alert for these last few minutes. The scent of pine and damp earth filled the car—it must have rained slightly at some point—but there was another scent there, too.

Woodsmoke and…

Fear?

A surge of adrenaline shot through me, my wolf suddenly alert.

Agnes needed me. I could feel it as surely as I could feel my own heartbeat in my chest.

Was her wolf finally emerging? That was the only explanation I could think of for this sudden connection, the surge of anxiety filtering into my consciousness. Her wolf must have emerged and frightened her.

I pressed my foot harder on the accelerator, the car lurching forward as I raced around the final bend in the road. As the manor came into view, my blood ran cold.

Smoke. Thick plumes of it, billowing into the night sky from several windows on the second floor.

And flames.

“No!” I slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a halt in the driveway. I was out and running before it had even fully stopped moving.

The front lawn was chaos. Fire trucks with flashing lights, firefighters unspooling hoses, pack members gathering in clusters.

I sprinted toward the house, but a firefighter stepped directly into my path, blocking me with an outstretched arm.

“Alpha, I’m sorry, but you can’t go in there,” he said. “The fire has compromised several support beams. The structure isn’t stable.”

“Where are Agnes and Thea?”

The firefighter’s face hardened. I felt my stomach drop as I whirled around, scanning the lawn for them. They weren’t here. Which could only mean one thing.

“My wife and daughter are in there!” I shouted, trying to push past the firefighter.

He held firm. “We have men inside looking for them, sir. You need to stay back for your own safety.”

“Fuck my safety,” I snarled. “Those are my wife and my child. Move.”

The firefighter hesitated, clearly torn between his duty and listening to his Alpha. Just then, James, covered in soot and out of breath, came skidding to a halt beside me. “Alpha,” he breathed, gripping my shoulder. “I searched for them, but the flames—I don’t know how the fire started—”

I knew how the fire started. I could feel it in my bones—Agnes. But I wasn’t about to say that right now; not in front of others. Not now.

“Please, sir,” the firefighter said, “our men are searching for any survivors. You must stay back.”

Yeah. Right.

Nodding, I stepped back, as if conceding, then darted around the firefighter when his attention was momentarily diverted by a call on his radio. Then, I shifted; I was faster in my wolf form, better eyesight and hearing and sense of smell. My fur might get singed, but I didn’t care. I only cared about finding Agnes and Thea.

While James held the firefighter back, I raced toward the house, slipping through the front door.

Inside, the heat was intense, the air thick with smoke that burned my lungs despite my wolf form’s greater resilience. The main hall was mostly intact, but flames had already engulfed the staircase leading to the second floor. The wallpaper curled and blackened, paint bubbling and peeling from the intense heat.

Agnes had to be up there. At this time of night, she and Thea were most certainly in bed.

Goddess, I hoped it wasn’t too late.

I charged up the stairs, feeling them creak dangerously beneath my weight. Halfway up, a section collapsed, leaving a gaping hole. I leapt over it, landing heavily on the upper portion, which groaned but held.

The second-floor hallway was a tunnel of smoke and fire. My visibility was near zero, but I didn’t need to see. My wolf’s senses guided me, following Thea’s scent despite the overwhelming smell of smoke and burning wood.

The master bedroom was a hellscape. Flames consumed the curtains, the bed, the dresser. The heat was so intense that it singed my fur, making me flinch back instinctively. But Agnes’s scent was stronger here, mingled with Thea’s, and beneath it all, the sharp tang of fear.

A sound caught my attention then—a whimper, one that I could barely hear over the roar of the fire. I turned toward it, squinting through the smoke.

There, in the farthest corner of the room, huddled beneath the window, were Agnes and Thea. Agnes had Thea clutched to her chest, a wet towel draped over both of them in a futile attempt to block out the smoke. Both were conscious, but barely—their eyes glazed, their breathing labored.

I yipped sharply to get their attention. Agnes’s head snapped up, her eyes widening as she recognized me.

“Elijah,” she croaked.

I padded toward them, careful to avoid patches of burning debris. When I reached them, I lowered myself to the ground, indicating that they should climb onto my back.

Agnes understood immediately. With trembling hands, she pushed Thea up onto my back first, then pulled herself up behind her. Both of them clung to me, Agnes keeping one arm wrapped firmly around Thea while she fisted her free hand into my fur.

It was a relief to have found them, alive and capable of holding on tight, but I knew that getting out wouldn’t be easy. The hallway was likely fully engulfed by now, and even if it wasn’t, the stairs had been compromised when I came up. The window was our only option.

I moved toward it, finding that the glass had already been shattered from the heat. Looking out, I could see that it was a straight drop to the ground, at least twenty feet. Too far for Agnes and Thea to jump safely, especially in their weakened state.

But I might be able to absorb enough of the impact to protect them if they stayed on my back.

Agnes seemed to realize what I was planning. “No,” she rasped, trying to slide off. “Too dangerous.”

I growled, the warning sound enough to halt her movement. There was no time to argue, no time to look for another way out. The fire was spreading rapidly, and the smoke was getting thicker by the second. This was our only chance.

I backed up several paces, giving myself a running start, then charged toward the window. As I leapt into the open air, I felt Agnes’s arms tighten around Thea, both of them pressing flat against my back.

The fall seemed to last forever. Wind rushed past us, carrying sparks and ash. Then came the impact—jarring, painful. I twisted mid-air to land on my side rather than my feet, trying to cushion Agnes and Thea as much as possible.

Pain lanced up my right foreleg as we hit the ground, the bone snapping with an audible crack. But Agnes and Thea were safe, rolling off my back onto the damp grass, coughing but alive.

I forced myself back to my human form, ignoring the blinding pain in what was now my right forearm. Coughing and eyes watering from the smoke, I crawled toward Thea, who was curled into a ball next to Agnes, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Thea,” I gasped, pulling her into my arms. “Baby, are you hurt? Tell me what hurts.”

She just buried her face in my chest, her small body wracked with sobs. “I’m sorry,” she wailed, the words barely intelligible through her tears. “I didn’t mean to… I was just checking on Mommy… and then the fire… so much fire…”

My heart clenched. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.” EMTs and firefighters were racing toward us, shouting something, but I couldn’t make it out over the sound of my own blood rushing through my ears. My arm had a pulse of its own now, agony shooting through me every time I moved, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I’d found Agnes and Thea.

“Agnes—” I reached for her, gesturing for her to come to me. “Agnes, love, come here.”

But Agnes didn’t come.

I looked up and locked my eyes with Agnes. She was kneeling a few feet away, her nightgown soot-streaked and torn, her face smudged with ash.

But through it all, there was a look of horror in her eyes that shook me to my core.

“It’s my fault,” she whispered as the EMTs converged on us. She pressed her hands to her head, curling in on herself, tears leaving clean streaks down her ash-covered cheeks. “It’s all my fault… All my fault…”