Kierren

"Sorry, Kierren, I need to deal with this," the young Jacob says to me as he makes his way to the entrance. Everyone immediately notices his reaction to the Omega wolf screaming his lungs out about some urgent matter.

I understand, of course. Any man in my pack can come to me in the same way, at any point in time, and I would treat it as seriously. I cannot say the same for the rest of the people gathered in this room.

"He's just going to speak to him?" I can hear the indignant whispers beginning around me. They rush up into the atmosphere like gnats, snippets of insulted conversations throughout the crowd.

Personally, I am more curious than aghast. I walk towards the exit, with most people too interested in gossip to follow me with their eyes. Outside, the urgent voices increase in volume as I near the doors.

"Where is it now? How much of the town is it covering?" I hear only half of the young Alpha's words, but the low tone tells me that something terrible is occurring.

On top of that, he seems not to have learned how to control the scent of stress and tense consideration that emanates strongly from him now. It would be easy for me to follow if I decide to do so.

Curiosity gets the better of me, and I walk outside after another moment. I pass a young man who is busy gathering some of the guards stationed at the event.

"I need two of you to stay here with me, five to follow Jacob," he is saying, but I feel that his discussion is less important than wherever his Alpha is headed to.

No one pays attention to me, even if I would argue that they should. I gather that there is a fire deeper into town by sniffing at the air. The smell of smoke has mingled with the trail of tension that the Alpha is clearly leaving behind him.

I continue to walk calmly down the road, wanting to get out of eyesight before I shift. It is possible that, if they spot me, the guards will be suspicious of me, and consider me involved in the issue.

Two streets later, I decide that I am far enough out of their way. Being experienced, I remove my tuxedo and use my tie to fasten it to one of my legs. I don't want to shift back and remain naked in an uncertain situation.

My transformation is quick and silent, the hallmark of an Alpha who has held his position for years. I cannot allow any of those people at the Alpha's Hunt to get the same idea, or to wonder if I am involved.

The kinds of politics that they would come up with in such a simple matter is simply too much of a hassle to deal with.

I fly across the small town, easily following the scent of smoke. It takes me longer than it would have Jacob, as I am trying not to show myself. It has been a while since I went on a silent mission, and I find this somewhat exciting.

Soon enough, I start hearing the crackling of flames mingling with yells and shouts, not quite able to make out the words. I start spotting people making their way past me, and I move into the darkness behind houses.

"I know you want to help, dear, but the Alpha told us to evacuate."

"Do you think they'll save anything in our house?"

"I really hope no one gets hurt."

I hear these bits of conversations as small groups of people pass me one street over. It convinces me that this fire is much bigger than I originally anticipated. That makes me wonder how young Jacob will deal with it.

I manage to sneak past several houses without any of the walking crowds noticing my presence, and finally make it to where I can properly see the flames.

At the entrance to some sort of cul-de-sac stands a truck with a giant water tank, to which a hose is attached. Some people are holding the hose, trying to cut the fire off, while others are on top of the truck, seemingly checking the water levels and listening to radio communications.

"Jacob says to make sure it doesn't go further down the road!" One of them yells so loudly that the words rise above the noise of the fire and drift across the streets to me.

No one has seen me, since they all seem to be quite busy with the fire. I sniff at the air, and quickly pinpoint that Jacob must be further down the street. That makes me wonder if the fire has spread to the woods.

If it has, then there are a few Alphas at the Hunt who would be unhappy. There are three territories specifically bordering on these woods. If the fire spreads far enough, it would affect them.

This has become quite a bit more interesting. My curiosity, however, is suddenly piqued even more when I hear something inside of one of the houses at the end of the cul-de-sac. What sounds like screams, but could be the result of the fire ruining the building's insides.

It doesn't look like any of the people on the truck has heard it, nor anyone further down the road.

I wonder if I am simply hearing things, or if there is someone in that house. There is only one way to find out. I shift back to my human form, thinking that it would be easier to stay silent and investigate that way.

"Get Jacob on the radio, it looks like one of the houses is caving in!" I hear the man on the truck yelling again. Definitely did not hear the screaming sounds.

It takes a few seconds to get my clothes back on. I shove my tie into a pocket and leave the buttons on my shirt undone. This investigation does not need me to look perfectly polished, and I am not interested in wasting time.

If there is someone in that house, I resolve that I will get them out and far enough away from the fire. Perhaps I'll get them to their Alpha, and explain why I am there.

It's not ideal for me to do that, but I am not one to leave a life unsaved.

Walking across the darker part of the street towards the back of the houses is easy. They are all too busy with whatever they're doing to notice me.

I can feel the heat of the flames as I get closer to the back of the burning houses. From here, I can see that the fire has spread into the woods behind them. Trees are quickly cracking and breaking down, the dry leaves on the ground serving as kindling to urge them on.

Between the smells of burning wood, plastic, greenery, I catch another scent. Scorched flesh. Something that cannot be mistaken for anything else.

"Shit," I say automatically, knowing that those screams were not an invention of my imagination.

The smoke is already tarnishing my vision and making me cough, even though I am at least fifty feet away from where the fire rages on. I wonder if a person could even survive any of this.

I take off my jacket, keeping it slung over one arm. I might need it to wrap them up. Usually, I wouldn't interfere in another pack's business, but I'm not simply going to let someone burn to death.

In the fire, I spot a few places that haven't been completely consumed by the flames. I can probably get in through there, but I'll have to be fast.

I hover on the balls of my feet for a moment, before I burst forward. The fire licks at my arms as I run through, and the smoke quickly starts to sting at my eyes. For a lesser wolf, the confusion would be enough to put their life in danger.

I follow my nose to within twenty feet of a house, almost sixty feet from where I started.

The first thing that I see is hair the color of the flames surrounding me, spread across the ground. It is intriguing, because it is a hue that I remember well. Cassandra, a love brightly burned and quickly lost.

Right now isn't the time to be reminiscing, however.

"Hello, are you awake?" I say as loudly as I dare. The girl on the ground does not stir. Her face is turned to the side, her eyes closed.

I notice the slight movement of ragged breaths, and that is when I realize that she is alive.

"Okay, so, no, but, well," I don't know why I'm trying to have a conversation. "We have to get out of here, so I'm just going to pick you up now."

I lunge forward, and lift her in my arms, wrapping my jacket around her to protect her from the flames. Once that's done, I turn and run through the fire, not thinking about the burns that I am sustaining.

It takes almost a full torturous minute before we burst through the edge of the inferno. That minute is filled with coughing, smoke inhalation and general confusion, but I manage to stay focused.

At least another two hundred feet of running later, I finally feel safe enough to take a breath and assess her situation. The fire is still growing behind me, and that is concerning, but I shove it to the back of my mind.

"You look terrible," is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. At least it's the truth, this poor girl is a grisly sight.

There are third-degree burns on her body as far as the eye can see, and she's barely breathing. I would certainly consider her condition to be critical.

Even with all of that, I can't shake her similarity to Cassandra, the lover I had been with nearly two decades earlier. I had not been her fated mate, but the summer that we spent together was one that I will never forget.

"Don't you worry," I say as I get back up with the girl in my arms. "I'll make sure that you are saved."

I sniff at the air in order to pinpoint the young Alpha's location. He's about four hundred feet away, at the end of the next street down from the cul-de-sac. At least a few minutes of running if I want to avoid the fire.

That might be too long for her, but something tells me that she is fighting, even in this state.

"Hold on, young wolf," I whisper to her, and sprint as fast as my suit will allow, following the track that Jacob's tense scent is leaving.

This time, I am noticed, but I run right by the truck, which seems to be running out of water. I ignore the shouts of "Hey, what are you doing?", and continue on my way.

Finally, I spot Jacob yelling from the bed of another pickup, barely hearing what he says. "We have to leave, now! Regroup at the town center!"

"No!" I scream as I hear the pickup start. It is enough to give Jacob pause, and he swings around. As soon as he notices the girl in my arms, he jumps down and rushes at me.

"Ana? Ana!" His yells are desperate and raw. He must have recognized her hair. The tension in his scent ramps up to a new level of urgency.