Page 19

Seraphina

I wake to a sweet kiss on my cheek, my eyes adjusting to the dimly lit living room. I had no idea I even fell asleep, a blanket tucked around me, the TV credits rolling. Last night was perfect—pizza with extra meat, the box still open on the coffee table, and three seasons of some new soap opera, all drama and tangled love, playing as I curled between Callum and Ambrose. Their soft caresses and light kisses while they continued to check in on me was everything I needed but now it feels empty.

Callum’s shrugging on his jacket, Ambrose shoving his feet into his shoes, both of them watching me as I slowly sit up. I know I work soon but I didn’t think they worked until later. “We need a few more hands at the station,” Callum says, “new recruits starting. Lyle’ll be over for lunch after he gets off.”

“I thought he worked overnight. Doesn’t he need to sleep?”

“We switched shifts around so he’s ending early. I’m sure he’ll try and come over right after.”

I nod, standing up and stretching before lights in my nest catch my attention. My eyes widen at the newest addition, my lights strung up around the border of my room and the crusty sheets nowhere to be found. A small gasp falls from my lips as Ambrose steps up behind me. “Do you like them?”

“I do,” I say, turning to face him. “So much. Thank you.”

He kisses my forehead before heading to the front door, “Our phones are on, just call. If you can’t get a hold of us, call the station.”

“That feels wrong.”

Callum laughs as he closes the distance to kiss my head as well. “Nope, it’s perks of the job. Use them. See you tonight, sweetheart.”

I watch them go before grabbing my blanket and heading to my armchair to start up my shift. My gaze darts to the abandoned pizza and I swipe a slice before setting my headphones on and turning on the computer. It isn’t long before I get a text from Lyle.

I’m free!

Callum mentioned that your shift was cut.

Yeah, I’ve got another hour or two on the clock and then I’m swiping some ice cream before coming over to you.

You don’t need to sleep?

I’ll sleep when I come over.

I laugh at that, knowing that’s exactly what’s going to happen. However, I’m a little worried after Callum said that Lyle hadn’t been sleeping well.

I’m working this morning. Go home and sleep. Bring me lunch.

That sounded a little demanding but just as I go to correct it, he texts back.

Yes, ma’am. I’m going to grab noodles from that place you like.

Extra wontons, please.

He sends a thumbs up emoji and I place my phone on the desk before focusing on the screen, scrolling through a few calls from yesterday after my shift ended. Nothing exciting happened, nothing ever does. The few big fires that the firehouse has worked have been at the edge of town, closer to the heart of the city.

Time flies as I answer a few emergency calls regarding a car accident and then transferring someone to the chief. It sounded like a personal call but it’s none of my business. I press on, minding my own business as I swipe another slice of pizza—breakfast of champions. Then my phone lights up with an unknown number. Very few people actually have my contacts so I answer it, having nothing else to do before my shift ends and Lyle arrives.

I don’t expect to hear a ghost from three years ago—one of Felix’s best friends who all but disappeared after he died.

“Jonah?”

“Hey, sweet cheeks! I’ve been meaning to reach out but it’s been a lot, right? I’m back, though. Just started up at the station again.”

I have no idea what to say to that. Mostly because what little contact I had with Felix and his friends, including Callum, I’ve forgotten. I only remember Callum because he stuck around. Jonah’s also an Alpha that’s all Alpha but not the good kind. Boisterous, obnoxious, pushes his weight around. Case in point that he called my personal phone.

I realize I haven’t said anything for a while. “Oh, cool.” Because what am I supposed to say? He has no idea about my living situation or what’s happened in the last three years. And yet, we share the same tragedy. I don’t have to be completely heartless.

“We should get together with the guys, Fifi. It would be like old times.”

Old times?

I never once in my life hung out with my brother and his friends like that. I tagged along once or twice but we didn’t hang out in the same circles. Feeling a little weird, I try to think up some kind of excuse when the phone rings, giving me an out. I say a hurried goodbye and hang up before answering the emergency call. A granny that’s fallen and can’t get up. I send over a unit, rambling off the address and then wait for the ambulance to get there.

My mind is still reeling from Jonah’s call as I grab my phone and scroll through my contacts, his old number still there. I don’t know what’s happened since the last time I saw him but something sits weird. I sniff at the air, greedily taking in more of Ambrose and Callum’s scents before something burnt meets my nose.

The scent pulls me to my nest, horror gripping me as I see one of Ambrose’s pillows smoldering, flames licking the edge. I rush over to it and stamp it out, my hands shaking at the nightmares I’ve tried so hard to drown. I never saw the fire that claimed Felix’s health and eventually his life. He came home to me but it wasn’t permanent and I lost him in this very apartment, in the bedroom I refuse to step into.

I couldn’t stomach flames anywhere near me after that, something the Alphas that grace this apartment have been okay with. But this is bringing back all those emotions I still haven’t dealt with. No, no no! I clutch the pillow a little tighter, gaze scanning for anything else out of place. I’m not sure how long I stand there, inspecting my nest when the smoke detector in the kitchen goes off.

“What is going on?” I mutter as I step back into the living room, shock rooting me to that spot as flames rush across the counters and head for the door. I speed toward the mudroom, confused when I find the door locked, no amount of tugging letting me through. Not that it matters, another flame growing by the front door just a few feet past the mudroom.

I’m blocked in.

I rush back to my nest and close the door, frantically dialing Lyle, knowing that he’s on his way. His lyrical voice has me in tears. “I’m almost there, baby girl. I got that lemon—”

“My house is on fire!” I cry, my voice breaking as I cut him off, smoke starting to seep under the door. I’ve never seen a fire move like that, flames mocking me as if telling me that they’re going to take me the same way they took my brother.

“Fuck!” I hear the urgency in his voice, his tires screeching as he speeds up. There’s a moment of silence before he speaks. “Get out of the house, Fi. I let the firehouse know. Stay on the phone with me but get out of the house.”

“I can’t,” I say, a small sob escaping me, my eyes darting to my bedroom door. “I’m in my nest, but there’s… it’s spreading. I don’t know how it started so quickly and the mudroom was locked.”

I never lock that door. Ever.

More silence but it’s suddenly filled with his purr, giving me a moment of calm. “Baby, can you get to your window?”

“Yeah, but it’s too high and I don’t have anything to climb up on.” My gaze falls on my nightstand and I curse myself for wanting those beautiful cherry wood ones that I can’t lift. I try anyway, rushing over to it and putting my full weight behind it. “It’s too heavy. I just…” That’s when the tears start, panic clawing up my throat as I hear something tear apart in the living room. Light flickers through the hinges of the door, terror flooding my system. “Lyle…”

“Everyone is on their way to you. Callum and Ambrose might get there before me. Just stay with me, baby. Stay with me. ”

I crawl into a little ball beside the window, trying to gather my emotions and failing miserably. Lyle starts purring for me again, telling me that I’ll be okay, that they’ll be right there. And I know they will. I know it. I won’t let myself believe anything else.