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They made it to the back of the ambulance in time to see Sheree, the paramedic seeing to the children, growl at the pup who hovered so protectively over the little girl. She couldn’t get past him to do an examination. The three were oblivious to their presence.

“Enough, Cole.” She grabbed the gangly pup by the scruff and looked him in the eyes. “You know I’m not going to hurt her. Get yourself under control and switch back or you can sit outside like a good guard dog.” Sheree may not be a wolf herself, but she was part of the pack and knew how to handle them well.

Cole’s form stretched and shimmered, expanding before their eyes into a boy on the cusp of adolescence. It was a smooth transition that Jarrad reluctantly admired. He would make a good alpha when his time came, but he wouldn’t get there if he didn’t start thinking before acting. At least the boy had the grace to look sheepish while he covered his junk in front of his teacher.

“Sorry, Sheree. Jarrad. Miss Bright.” The boy snuck a look at his teacher out of the corner of his eye, no doubt trying to gauge her reaction to his wolf form. Jarrad was interested in that too. So far, the woman had been cool as a cucumber, even faced with a wolf who turned into a nude student.

And he still didn’t know her name.

“There are too many people in the back of this bus. Jarrad, out. Mum can stay so I can check her out. Take the pup with you.”

She threw an oversized t-shirt from an emergency stash at the front of the van at the naked boy, who put it on gratefully. Jarrad would never question Sheree’s authority. That woman could whip the devil into line. He grabbed Cole by the arm and hauled him outside, leaving his mate alone with her daughter.

But he couldn’t let her leave the ambulance before he’d talked to her. Found out her name. Her number. Whether she was married, ‘cause hadn’t that been a kick in the gut when he realised his mate had a child with another man. What would he do if someone already claimed her?

“Okay, kid.” Jarrad fixed Cole with a steely glare. “Start talking. How is it you pups somehow managed to burn down the gym and blow your secret in front of our newest members of town?”

“Um… I don’t think I was the only one to blow a secret, Alpha,” the pup said, his tone a little on the belligerent side. The kid continued to steal glances at the ambulance next to them, a move Jarrad assumed reflected his own. Damn. If he read the signs right, the kid had found his mate too. Only, he was too young to realise it.

He’d have to have a word with their mothers.

“Quit stalling and give me the whole story,” Jarrad growled, his alpha dominance pushing the boy to reply. Luckily, the kid didn’t want to fight. Jarrad suspected Cole’s dominance wouldn’t let him settle into something he didn’t want to do without being soundly trounced beforehand. And he didn’t want to humiliate the kid.

Cole darted a furtive look around, checking that no one was within earshot. A plus in the boy’s favour.

“Luna and I were playing basketball when she tripped over her own feet.” The boy looked a little horrified. “I’ve never seen anyone that clumsy. Someone’s going to have to watch her all the time and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

Jarrad raised a hand to his mouth to smother a smile. He could just guess who’d appointed himself Luna’s permanent protector.

“Anyway,” the boy continued. “I thought I saw something move around her hands, maybe in her eyes, but whatever it was she got it under control pretty easy. So, I helped her out the back to the office to see if I could find some ice in the fridge and maybe something to wrap her ankle with. When I set her down, she must have put her weight on it, ‘coz she let out this god-almighty shriek and then there were flames everywhere. I picked her up and moved her to the locker room showers, but my wolf got the best of me.” He looked a little ashamed.

“No worries there, mate,” he said, clapping the boy on the shoulder. “You did a good job. You got her as safe as you could before your wolf took over. Not many grown wolves could have done the same.”

The boy’s chest puffed up with pride, and Jarrad knew he’d said the right thing.

“Do you think it was Luna?” the kid asked, hesitant again. “It’s just, what with her mum and all, maybe she—”

“I think it was probably an electrical fault. Pure accident.” He fixed a knowing eye on the pup, until the kid nodded, picking up the subtext quickly. Thank God.

“Yeah, Jarrad. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I saw the power point near the fridge spark when I opened the fridge door.”

Yep, the boy understood. Jarrad gave him a nod of approval.

“You should run and tell the fire chief what you just told me. Tell him I sent you.”

The boy sprinted off, none-the-worse for his ordeal. Kyle would record it as an electrical fault, and the insurance investigator was one of theirs too. He’d sign off on it and the school could rebuild with the insurance money.

The only worry concerning him now was keeping those two idiot tourists from doing something stupid with that footage.

A movement from the van caught Jarrad’s attention. His mate lifted her sleeping daughter out, but he could see the tremble in her arms and legs. No doubt she was exhausted. He swept in and took the child from her arms, taking care not to jostle the white-wrapped ankle, all while her mother stared, gob-smacked. Sheree followed them out, eyebrow lifting in surprise when she saw him.

Sheree turned to Jarrad’s mate. “I’ve given her a couple of pills that should keep her under until morning. Between the pain and the panic, the kid worked herself up too much to relax.”

The paramedic glared at the Alpha like it was all his fault. Jarrad stopped himself from looking down and shuffling his feet.Hehadn’t started the fire.

“She’ll need to stay off her ankle for the next few days, and it may help if you alternate between painkillers with ibuprofen and paracetamol, so she remains pain free as long as possible. Other than that, RICE it. It’s not broken, so we can avoid taking a trip in the bus.”

The woman nodded, obviously familiar with the first aid terminology. She’d have to be as a teacher.