Page 144 of Found by the Pack

The sound jolts me upright. Gabe snarls low in his throat. Shepard adjusts his glasses, already bracing himself like a man caught with contraband. Sadie blinks groggily, pulling the sheet up higher.

“Yeah?” I call, my voice rough.

The captain’s muffled voice answers. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve had a call from the Coast Guard. All vessels are to return to harbor immediately.”

The four of us freeze.

“What’s wrong?” Gabe demands, his Alpha authority cutting through the door.

“Don’t know the full details,” the captain replies. “They just said all boats need to get back to shore now. No exceptions.”

I meet Gabe’s eyes. He’s already calculating, already gearing up for action. Shepard looks unsettled, his hand tightening on Sadie’s.

And Sadie—she’s staring at the door, at us, her body still trembling but her eyes sharp now.

CHAPTER 36

Gabe

The harbor is crawling with people when we pull in. Too many. Their faces turned toward the dock, voices carrying over the slap of water against the hull.

I climb up first, scanning the crowd. My gut is already twisted tight, but when I spot Jake standing with Julian, the lighthouse at his back and his arms crossed over his chest, the knot pulls harder.

Julian looks grim. Jake looks like hell. He’s not smiling, not in his usual politician way. His shirt is untucked, his hair a mess, his expression taut.

That alone tells me whatever this is, it’s bad.

I swing down, boots hitting the dock. Boone follows close, jaw sharp, eyes already scanning like he’s expecting to see blood. Shepard keeps his hand on Sadie’s back, guiding her as she steps down, her face pale, lips pressed tight.

Jake doesn’t waste time. “Where the hell have you been, Ashford? Everyone’s been trying to reach you. Calls. Radio. Nothing.”

“I was on the water,” I snap back. “What’s happening?”

Julian shakes his head, his weathered face tight. “Fires. Too many to be coincidence.”

The words punch through me. “What?”

Jake’s gaze finds mine, voice clipped. “Driftwood is on fire. The community health center. McCallister’s Hardware. Even parts of Main. We’ve got evacuations underway, but it’s chaos. We need you back in uniform now.”

The ground tilts under me. Driftwood doesn’t burn. Sure, we’ve had brush fires out in the county, a stove fire or two, but this? This is something else entirely.

“That makes no damn sense,” I grit out. “There’s nothing to spark that many blazes, not in town. Not this time of year.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Jake shoots back, voice ragged. “I’ve been standing here all afternoon trying to figure out how the hell an entire town goes up like kindling when the soil’s wet from last night’s rain. I’ve got no answers. Just flames.”

Beside me, Boone rakes a hand through his hair, then fists it. “Anyone hurt?”

Julian exhales, shaking his head. “Plenty displaced. A few injuries. Nothing fatal so far. But the firehouse is stretched thin. Half our guys are already out with Elmhurst helping with the pile-up from the other night. We don’t have enough hands.”

I swear under my breath, rage curdling in my chest. Sadie edges closer to Shepard, her hand clenching in the fabric of his shirt.

“I can help,” she says suddenly, voice sharp.

All three of us whip to her. Her chin is up, stormy eyes defiant, but her body is trembling.

“No,” Shepard says before I can. “It’s safer if you’re home. I’ll take you.”

She bristles. “Don’t you dare coddle me. I’ve been in firehouses before. I can?—”