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Linda grabbed my arm hard. “Sienna, no. Get back inside. You can’t go out there.”
I yanked free and ran after Alice. “Wait!”
Alice didn’t stop. She sprinted up the stairs toward the surface exit. I chased her, heart slamming in my chest. She reached the heavy door, shoved it open, and shifted in one fluid motion. Silver-white fur exploded over her skin. Her wolf was massive, sleek, eyes glowing green. She took off running. In seconds she was gone, swallowed by the smoke and trees.
I stopped at the top of the stairs and stared. My legs shook. “Alice!”
No answer. Just distant booms and the smell of burning wood. I raked my fingers through my hair and took off running after her anyway. My tiny feet slapped the dirt path. Smoke stung my eyes and throat. I coughed hard and kept going. Branches slapped my face. My lungs burned. I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“Damien,” I whispered between coughs. All I could think about was him. If something happened up here, if he didn’t make it back, I wouldn’t see him again. The thought hit me like a punch. I screamed his name into the smoke. “Damien!”
My foot caught on a root. I fell hard, knees slamming into the ground. I tried to push up but my arms gave out. I choked on dust and smoke, tears streaming down my face. Everything hurt. I curled up on the dirt and sobbed. “I can’t lose him. Please.”
A strong arm swooped under me and lifted me off the ground. I screamed again and clamped my hands over my ears. My knees hit something solid. I looked up through blurry eyes.
Damien.
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “You’re okay. Oh my god you’re okay.”
He held me against his chest and started walking fast. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
I buried my face in his hoodie. “I followed Alice. She shifted and ran off and I panicked. I thought you were hurt. I thought I wouldn’t see you again.”
He adjusted his grip under my thighs. “You’re supposed to be underground. Safe.” “I know,” I said, voice cracking. “I was scared. The explosions, the smoke, I just kept thinking about you up here fighting. I couldn’t stay down there doing nothing.”
He didn’t answer right away. He kept walking toward the packhouse. I clung to him, breathing in his scent mixed with smoke and blood.
We reached the main doors. Inside, people were laughing and shouting. Tables were
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set up with food and drinks. Wolves slapped each other on the back. Someone cranked music. It felt like a party.
Alice stood near the center in her human form again, hair wild from the run. She raised a bottle. “First one was a warning strike. Second actually hit their territories. No cause for alarm. We’re stronger than this. They came at us, we hit back harder. That’s how it works.”
Everyone cheered. Glasses clinked. I stared at her from Damien’s arms.
He carried me through the crowd and pulled me into a side hallway. He set me on my feet but kept his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t let that get to you.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Alice talking like that. Being an alpha is an intense amount of strength. You don’t understand it but in our world she’s right. You’re weaker than our weakest omegas. It’s just nature.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “So you’re saying I’m useless out there?”
“I’m saying stay where it’s safe,” he said flat. “You running out like that almost got you killed.”
I crossed my arms tight. “I was worried about you. I couldn’t just sit there.”
He looked at me for a long second. “I know.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re not mad at me?”
He shook his head once. “Why would I be mad at you?”
I stared at him. “Because I left the bunker. Because I could’ve gotten hurt. Because I’m … me.”
He shrugged. “You’re still here. That’s what matters.”
I felt my eyes burn but I blinked it back. “You came for me a gain.”
“I thought I was imagining it but I knew I could smell you so I immediately followed your trail,” he said. “I always will.”
Damien still had his hand on the back of my head, fingers tangled in my hair. I leaned into his chest, breathing him in, when heavy footsteps came down the hallway.
Rafe rounded the corner first, Elias right behind him. They stopped short and Rafe grinned wide.
“Look at these lovebirds,” he said loud enough for the whole packhouse to hear. Unable to wait a little bit more before reuniting? Damn, Damien, give her some air.”
I jerked back fast and felt my face burn. I raked my fingers through my hair and stepped away from Damien. “Shut up, Rafe.”
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Damien dropped his hand and crossed his arms. His face went blank again. “What do you want?”
Elias laughed and clapped Rafe on the shoulder. “We came to tell you the border scouts are back. Everything’s quiet for now. Thought you’d want to know before you two started making out in the hallway.”
I blushed harder and looked at the floor. “We weren’t making out.”
Rafe raised his hands. “Sure you weren’t. You were just hugging real close.”
The tension in my chest eased a little. I even smiled despite myself. “You guys are idiots.”
Damien didn’t smile. He just nodded once. “Good. Keep the scouts on rotation, no one relaxes yet.”
Alice walked up then, arms crossed, hair still messy from her run. She looked at me, then at Damien, then back at me. Her eyebrows furrowed.
“Wait,” she said slow. “Why didn’t you shift back then? I look back and you’re not with me, and then I see you running… but not in wolf form.”
The hallway went quiet. Rafe and Elias stopped laughing. I froze, heart slamming in my chest. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I raked my fingers through my hair hard and looked at Damien.
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