FireWolf

by Anh Leod

  As they moved up the stairs leading to the second story from the entryway, the smoke became thicker until there was zero visibility.

  “Let’s try to get some ventilation,” Owen said. “Shamsky, take south.”

  Shamsky left the hoseline and edged along the wall, looking for windows, while Owen and Smokie moved forward. Smokie thought they were in a long hallway. He felt a closed door to one side.

  “Hear anyone?” Owen asked. Though not a shapeshifter himself, he knew his team had heightened abilities, though he never asked questions.

  “No,” Smokie reported.

  Owen attempted to scan with a thermal imaging camera but didn’t produce any useful results. “I think we’re at the end of the hall.”

  “Got a door?”

  “Yeah.”

  Smokie heard the CO open it and they edged forward.

  “Hello?” Owen called, but there was no response.

  “Should be windows ahead?” Smokie asked.

  “Yeah, saw them outside.”

  They edged along until they met a wall.

  “Can’t find a latch.” Owen swore.

  Smokie heard breaking glass as Owen shattered the window.

  “Got one window open,” Shamsky reported. “Barkley’s up the stairs, we’re checking bedrooms.”

  Through his com unit, Smokie heard Barkley call out in obvious distress. “The hose is going flat!”

  “Oh fuck,” Shamsky swore.

  Before anyone else could speak, Smokie backed into the hallway, ready to aid them. He felt a blast of heat unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

  “Evacuate!” Owen screamed. “Now!”

  Chapter Three

  “I’m going down the stairwell,” Barkley gasped.

  “Don’t do it!” Shamsky yelled.

  Smokie felt a body against him and they both toppled over. Thankfully, the sensation of actively melting slacked off a bit down on the floor.

  “Let’s go back toward the master,” he urged Shamsky. “We can bail out the window. It’s only two stories up.”

  “What about Owen?”

  Smokie called his name, but no answer. “He’s already at the window. Hopefully he’s bailed.” He called for Barkley next. Nothing.

  He and Shamsky reached out, crawled forward, but didn’t feel anything, didn’t hear anything more from Barkley. Hopefully the seer had made it down the stairs.

  They crawled back toward the master and as Smokie reached the window and the welcome sight of blue sky polluted with smoke overhead, he saw Ladder Company Two had gotten a ladder up to the window Owen had broken. Their CO held out a hand to wave them closer and Smokie gestured him forward. The CO half climbed, half fell down it.

  “Shouldn’t have waited for us, man,” Shamsky said.

  When Owen was clear, Smokie pushed Shamsky out. As he was about to put his leg over, he heard something behind him.

  He swore then dropped back to his knees and started searching for the hoseline. Crawling through what sounded like an inferno, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, feeling like he was dying by inches. When would his oxygen run out? But he had to try to save whoever had called.

  He bumped up against a solid shape and felt around it, discovering a fire hat. Barkley, most likely, or one of the other firefighters from the second-due engine. When he called, Barkley didn’t answer. He grabbed the man around the chest and started pulling. Within seconds he realized another small body had collapsed there, clasped against the firefighter’s chest.

  Agonizingly, they moved down the hall one inch at a time. Smokie pushed them through the door to the master bedroom and separated the bodies. Barkley had been holding a dog, he realized. Cradling the tiny form in one arm, he rolled Barkley to the far wall then reached for the window.

  It wasn’t there. No blue sky. The thick smoke obscured everything, and he couldn’t breathe well enough to think. He went into a crouch and felt for the windowsill. There it was. He stood, reached for the ladder, and released the dog, hoping someone unseen below would catch it. Then he fell back to his knees for Barkley, who was completely unresponsive.

  To think, not an hour before, he’d been holding an armful of warm, lustful woman, rather than a middle-aged shapeshifter in mortally bad condition. With strength he hadn’t known he possessed, he heaved Barkley onto his shoulder then climbed out the window.

  He barely felt the ladder beneath him as he slid down, focused completely on holding the unconscious man against his body. Hands reached for them as their padded forms hit the ground.

  Five firefighters surrounded Barkley’s still form as Smokie pulled off his face mask and puked into the grass. Gasping and coughing, he felt shocked to be alive. He’d never been in a fire like that before.

  When he caught a couple of breaths, he crawled over to the downed man, and was so grateful to see signs of life that he forgot his own injuries.

  As three EMTs raced toward them, Barkley growled, “That woman’s your true mate.”

  His eyes closed just as two EMTs knelt over him. Smokie tried to take a breath and found he couldn’t. As he face-planted in the dirt next to Barkley, he distantly heard one of the EMTs shout.

  For a moment, he wasn’t sure if the smoke had gotten to him, or if Barkley’s words were responsible for his collapse. Olivia wasn’t his true mate. She wasn’t even a shapeshifter. Still, their sexual chemistry, and his cock’s inability to rest when they were apart, was unusual.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder just as he lost consciousness.

  * * * * *

  Olivia saw the flash of a tail again when she locked her front door, ready for a run. Some kind of wildlife had been stalking her property for a few days now. Beasties weren’t uncommon since she lived across the street from a wooded park where the creature probably dwelled. As she did some perfunctory stretches, she made a mental note to upgrade her garbage cans so nothing could break in for a snack. Her brain circled around to its favorite topic in less than ten seconds.

  Smokie hadn’t contacted her in a week. She’d had to read in the newspaper about the fire that had interrupted their last sexual adventure. Never before in her twenty-two years of dating had she been dumped without a word of explanation.

  She knew he wasn’t in the hospital. Her cousin Owen had told her that much. He was the reason she’d ended up with such hopeless lust for Smokie in the first place. She’d been Owen’s hostess numerous times for fire station picnics, fundraising pancake breakfasts and the like. Smokie had been at all those events, seemingly oblivious to her. But one look at his dashing smile and his abundant muscles had made her cream every time. He wasn’t just her go-to guy for personal pleasure sessions, he’d been her only guy as her marriage fell apart and ended.

  Now she felt like the loser stalker-chick who’d gotten a one-night stand with the hot guy and was then cast aside.

  She set off on a fast walk to warm up, pepper spray in her pocket just in case the wildlife decided to get too close. Maybe exercise would cure her of the sexual longing that kept her from sleeping well at night. She’d lost three pounds in the past week. Even food was unappetizing. Of course, trying to exercise at four in the afternoon in July was bound to take off any water weight too.

  Shoving her hands into her ponytail, she growled aloud. “Let him go! You’re too old to carry a torch for someone who isn’t interested.”

  On the other side of a screen of trees, she heard a wild howl that so perfectly matched her mood she almost responded. On second thought, she didn’t want to know what was attached to that howl. A big dog at the very least. Shapeshifters were rumored to live in these parts as well. In fact, family lore said her great-grandmother had been part of a werewolf clan. Olivia had no recollection of the woman who’d died when she was two.

  She reached for her can of pepper spray and reversed her direction, heading back to her house. It wouldn’t hurt to visit Owen at the firehouse, right? Bring him that batch of brownies she’d made after lunch to
keep her hands busy? She didn’t even have to ask about Smokie. Hell, she’d been hanging out there before he’d ever passed the firefighter exam. She wouldn’t hide from him.

  * * * * *

  Smokie smelled the rich scent of chocolate before he saw Olivia. At first, it made sense for him to duck into the breakroom, but was he really hiding there? After all, that’s where she’d always found him. It was their place. So was he hiding from or welcoming her?

  He cursed himself when he saw the door open, Owen’s hand on the handle. Duke followed, tongue practically hanging out of his mouth, a gallon of vanilla fudge swirl ice cream in his hand. His friend had a major jones for chocolate. He was such a girl.

  And then there was Olivia. His eyes skimmed her then he blinked and looked again. No sexy dress this time, but yoga pants, tennis shoes with those cute short socks tailed by pink pom-poms, and a fitted scoop-neck T-shirt that displayed her clavicle and a hint of cleavage.

  Very sexy, yet just workout clothes. Not her seduction gear at all, but he found it even more endearing.

  The sound of Rihanna’s Skin erupted into the room, with the singer moaning about liking it rough.

  “Dude,” Duke said.

  “Shit.” Smokie hadn’t recognized his own ring tone. He searched the couch for his phone while the others set up Olivia’s treat. Not a blushing guy as a rule, he felt the tips of his ears grow hot.

  “Smokie.”

  He closed his eyes when he recognized the voice of King, his alpha. When King called, there was either work or admonition in the air.

  “Sir.”

  King growled. “Two 9-1-1 calls came in about an hour ago regarding a coyote sighting on Twelfth Street. Know anything about that?”

  “Probably not a coyote.”

  “Probably you, mooning around your true mate’s house, is my guess.”

  “I’m on shift,” Smokie said, wondering who might be watching the street. “Twenty-four hours. I haven’t left.”

  “Really.”

  “Really, sir. Anyone reported any missing cats? I’ve heard that one-third of a coyote’s diet is house cats.”

  King laughed. “Good riddance.”

  “Besides, I weigh double what an average coyote does. It probably was a coyote, now that I think about it. Maybe one of the clan can go hunting for a snack.”

  “That’s what troubles me, obviously. I doubt we’ve left enough population that they’d go into the residential areas. Plenty of mice and fruit in the woods.”

  “But no yummy cats.”

  He saw Olivia give him a funny look and realized the conversation sounded bizarre from his end. “I’ll be happy to go out there tomorrow and take a look.”

  “You do that. I especially want to know if any of the Legion Clan is encroaching on our territory.”

  Smokie found that hard to believe. The memory of the famous shaming of their alpha four summers before was still fresh on many minds, even if it had resulted in Bijou finding her true mate.

  “Did Barkley spread his news around? I mean, the guy had second-degree burns and smoke inhalation at the time he said…well, you know. He might have been wrong.”

  “He’s never wrong,” King growled. “You need to deal with this. I know you’re young, but you’re also very lucky.”

  “Right. Well, I’m at work right now.”

  “And so is your true mate. Talk to her. The sooner you claim her, the better. She’s not a young woman, you know, though still very hot.”

  Smokie’s jaw clenched. How did King know Olivia was there? He always seemed to know more than he should. Did he and Barkley share some kind of mental communication?

  When Smokie was with Olivia, he never thought about the age difference. His reluctance didn’t stem from that at all. It was simply the idea of tying himself down to one woman so soon. Until Olivia came around, he thought he had years of fooling around in the meadow, a variety of hook-ups and short-term relationships still spread out in front of him.

  How could one woman be enough? He was only twenty-four!

  He said a respectful goodbye and hung up, catching Olivia watching him again. When she realized he’d noticed, she turned, her pert nose clearly in the air.

  He was in the doghouse for sure. Had a week really passed since she’d straddled his lap in this very room, on that very couch? His cock went rock hard at the thought. He prayed he could get by without adjusting himself in a room full of people.

  He thought of ice cubes and Antarctica, and untucked his T-shirt, hoping it would hide the evidence.

  “Want some?” Owen asked. “Olivia’s the best baker. Can’t cook worth a damn though.”

  What he wanted when he saw his CO’s cousin wasn’t brownies.

  “How would you know?” Olivia swatted her cousin on the arm. “You haven’t eaten my food in twenty years!”

  “That’s because you gave me food poisoning.”

  “I was in high school!” Olivia protested. “I didn’t know you were supposed to keep the hamburger meat chilled until you grilled it at a picnic.”

  “Both ends,” Owen said contemplatively. “Don’t think I’ve ever been that sick in my life.”

  “Gross!” Olivia said, making a face as Duke laughed.

  Barkley walked into the room, followed by Shamsky.

  “You’re back!” she said, giving the older man a hug.

  Smokie was confused at her recognition until he realized she’d probably known the seer for years, in his capacity of firefighter, thanks to Owen. The others gathered around the man, who, in typical shapeshifter fashion had completely recovered from his injuries in only a week. Owen, wise to their ways as usual, didn’t comment.

  Smokie wondered how much the man hid from the fire chief, who managed all nine stations serving the greater area, including Cherry Blossom, where the Legion Clan staffed the firehouse. He knew three of the local stations were mostly staffed by shapeshifters, so it wasn’t as though they were a rarity.

  He hung around in the background while everyone on shift drifted in and out, celebrating Barkley’s return and eating Olivia’s treats. Eventually, he caught Owen’s attention.

  “I’ve got to go out and teach that fire-prevention class at the senior center,” Smokie said.

  “Yep, we’ve got you covered.”

  Olivia had her back turned when he left, so he didn’t say goodbye. His chest twinged when he left the room though. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had it bad for his true mate.

  Three hours later, stuffed with donuts and bad coffee, and covered with the fingerprints of far too many old ladies who wanted to check out his muscles, including one old broad who’d actually patted him on the ass, he returned to the firehouse.

  He replaced his gear from the class in the training locker then went to the breakroom to see if any brownies were left to snag. The station was quiet, empty. He saw an emergency medical call listed on the white board. Hopefully something minor.

  When he opened the door of the breakroom, he saw someone on the sofa. But it wasn’t one of his fellow firefighters, it was Olivia.

  He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his uniform pants. “All by yourself?”

  “The guys just left on a call. I wasn’t ready to go home yet.”

  “Why not?”

  She hesitated. “Something howled in the woods when I went out for a run this afternoon. It spooked me, I guess.”

  “A couple of coyote calls came in earlier,” Smokie said.

  “It wasn’t yipping. Coyotes sound more like dogs. This was more like a wolf. That eerie sound that gets into your bones.” She shuddered.

  “Someone called Wildlife Patrol,” he said, wondering if she was right. “I’ll look around for you when I go off shift, but that isn’t until tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I called them too, not because of the howl, but because I thought I saw a tail passing by when I walked out of my house. But they hadn’t found anything in response to any of the calls by the time I
called back.”

  “I’ll go into the woods tomorrow,” Smokie said.

  “I’ll go too if you want.”

  “No.” He intended to do the search in wolf form. “I can handle myself. All I need is my cell phone.”

  She touched his arm. “My hero.”

  He grinned, liking the sound of that, though he was alarmed by the way heat frissoned through his body, lifting his cock and tightening his balls. “At your service, m’lady.”

  “What was that before, about you liking it rough?” she purred.

  Smokie laughed. “I didn’t realize when I bought the ring tone that I’d get that part of the song. Some of the lyrics made sense as a ring tone.”

  “Am I supposed to believe that?” Her red lips curved.

  Smokie shrugged, acting coy. He did like it kind of rough sometimes. What shapeshifter didn’t? “Want to find out?”

  She took her hand away from him, making his arm feel suddenly cold. “I’m supposed to furious with you.”

  “You are?” Women. Sucked a man in then dropped the emotional bombshell.

  She crossed her arms over those adorable, small breasts. “Sure, and I was, until I saw you, then I was just relieved you were okay. I mean, one minute, I’m straddling you then you have to run for a bad call and I never heard from you after.”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “Owen must have said something to you.”

  “He did. But you didn’t. I know we’re just hooking up, but we’re both human beings and I was worried, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, taking her point even if he wasn’t a human being exactly. “I’m an asshole.”

  She uncrossed her arms and planted her hands on her hips. “So, what’s been going on?”

  He stared at the floor. Barkley’s pronouncement had been what was going on, but he didn’t want to share that with her. “Look, Olivia…”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m okay and you’re okay, right? I made a mistake, plain and simple. But like you said, we’re hooking up, and I’d love to fuck you right now. Right here. Can’t that be enough?”

  He heard her loud intake of breath and didn’t know if he was about to get slapped, but then he glanced down and saw her nipples had pebbled under her thin shirt. Thank the gods she was just small enough to not wear bras.