Page 6

SIX

SOL

S ol sprawled across the luxury hotel bed, staring at his phone in his hand impatiently, when it hit him—a surge of heat that blazed through his veins like wildfire. He bolted upright, chest heaving as the sensation intensified. This wasn’t his own emotion. It was Helena’s, flowing through their fledgling mate bond.

“Shit,” he growled, springing from the bed.

He grabbed his clothes off the ground, putting them on hastily as his bare feet slapped against marble toward Joshua’s bedroom door.

“Joshua, move!” Sol shouted through the door as he pounded on it. The door flew open beneath his fist. “Something’s wrong with Helena.”

Joshua appeared instantly alert, despite his rumpled hair. “How do you know?”

“I feel it.” Sol pressed a hand to his sternum where the heat continued to build. “It’s like she’s burning from the inside out. Rage and fear, all mixed up.”

Mitesh emerged from the adjacent room, already dressed. “The Luna’s powers are unstable right now. If she’s experiencing intense emotion?—“

“We need to get to that restaurant. Now,” Sol interrupted.

Minutes later, Sol could barely sit still in the back of their SUV while Joshua steered them through the early evening traffic. His wolf clawed at his skin, desperate to emerge and find their mate. Sol fought the urge to shift. Helena didn’t even know what she was yet—seeing him transform would only add trauma to whatever crisis she was currently facing.

“Faster,” Sol commanded, his knuckles white as he gripped Joshua’s headrest.

Joshua swerved around a taxi. “Any more ‘faster’ and we’ll need to explain to local authorities why we’re breaking every traffic law in the city right now.”

“I don’t give a damn about—“ Sol’s words died as they rounded the corner onto the restaurant’s street.

Orange flames licked the early evening sky, illuminating a crowd of shell-shocked onlookers. The building that housed Helena’s beloved kitchen was engulfed. Black smoke billowed upward, choking the air.

Sol didn’t wait for the SUV to stop. He flung the door open and hit the pavement at a run, scanning the crowd frantically for a flash of red hair.

“She’s not here,” he muttered, pushing through the gathered staff members. His nostrils flared, sorting through the acrid smells of smoke and fear, searching for Helena’s distinctive cinnamon-and-vanilla scent. “She’s still inside!”

Joshua caught up to him, grabbing his arm. “Sol, wait?—“

Sol shook him off. “I can feel her. She’s in there, and she’s fading.”

Her emotions had shifted from panic to something more disturbing—a dreamy detachment that told him she was losing consciousness.

“Let the firefighters handle this,” Mitesh advised, appearing at his other side.

“She’s my Luna. I’m not standing here while she burns!” Sol roared.

A firefighter attempted to block his path. “Sir, you can’t go in there?—“

Sol fixed him with a stare that made the man step back instinctively. “Try to stop me.”

He approached the entrance, heat blasting his face as the flames reached hungrily toward him. For a moment, he stood at the threshold, letting his wolf’s senses map the building’s interior through the smoke and chaos.

“Hold this position,” he instructed Joshua. “If I’m not out in five minutes?—“

“We’re coming in after you,” Joshua finished.

Sol nodded once, then plunged into the inferno to find his mate. The world around Sol instantly transformed into an orange-red hellscape. The flames licked at him but he barely registered the heat or got burned for some strange reason. Was her fire responding to him? Protecting him because he was her mate?

“Helena!” he shouted over the crackle and pop of burning wood.

No response but the groan of weakening support beams. Sol pushed deeper, instinctively dropping to a crouch where the air was clearer. His wolf surged close to his skin, lending him its superior senses. He inhaled deeply, filtering through the smoke to catch Helena’s distinct scent—that intoxicating blend of cinnamon, vanilla, and something uniquely her.

There. Faint but present. Coming from the back.

Sol vaulted over a fallen beam, landing with preternatural grace. The kitchen. Of course, she would be here. The bond between them pulsed faintly.

“Mine,” he growled, the word escaping unbidden as he shoulder-checked doors that had warped in their frame.

The kitchen was a disaster zone. Equipment melted and surfaces blackened. And there—slumped on the tiled floor—was Helena. Her vibrant red hair spilled across her pale face, and her chef’s coat was smudged with soot. Even unconscious, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Sol was at her side in an instant, one hand cradling her face. “I’ve got you now.”

He checked her pulse—steady but faint. The bond between them hummed with her dormant energy, unnervingly quiet but still present. Relief crashed through him with such force, he nearly staggered.

A section of ceiling tiles crashed down nearby, showering them with embers. No more time. Sol scooped Helena into his arms, cradling her against his chest like the precious treasure she was. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and the protective surge that ripped through him was nearly overwhelming.

“Nobody’s taking you from me,” he murmured against her temple. “Not fire, not fate, not anyone.”

Sol navigated the burning labyrinth with unerring precision, his wolf’s memory having mapped every inch of the path in. The main dining room was now fully engulfed, forcing him to kick open a side door that led to an alley. Fresh air hit him like a blessing, and he drew in deep lungfuls as he carried Helena toward the street.

As he emerged into view, backlit by flames, some of the gathered onlookers cheered. Sol paid them no mind, his focus entirely on the woman in his arms, checking over her again. Her breathing was shallow, but color was returning to her face as she took in the fresh oxygen.

That’s when he caught it—a flash of movement in his peripheral vision. Sol’s head snapped around, his hunter’s gaze locking onto a figure slinking away at the edge of the gathered crowd.

The recognition hit him like a physical blow. Victor Sulick.

The exiled pack member’s face was partially hidden in the building’s shadow, but Sol would know those calculating eyes anywhere. Their gazes met for one electric moment across the chaos—Victor’s mouth curling into a knowing smirk before he disappeared behind a nearby building. Every muscle in Sol’s body coiled with the urge to chase, to hunt, and to tear into the man who had once betrayed their pack.

Sol charged through the growing crowd, Helena’s unconscious form nestled against the hard planes of his chest. Her warmth seeped through his button-down shirt, stirring his wolf’s protective instincts into a frenzy. Even covered in soot and ash, her red hair glittered in the firelight like a banner—a declaration of what she was. What she would become. His Luna.

The fact that Victor Sulick had shown his face here, tonight of all nights, sent rage spiraling through Sol’s veins. He spotted Joshua and Mitesh rushing toward him, concern etched across their faces.

“She’s alive,” Sol growled immediately, adjusting Helena in his arms to cradle her head more securely. “But we have bigger problems. Victor was here.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “Victor? Are you certain?”

“I’d recognize that snake anywhere.” Sol’s jaw clenched so hard he felt his teeth might crack. “He was watching from the edge of the crowd. Smirking.”

Mitesh’s face darkened. “If he’s here, then he knows what she is.”

“He’s after her power,” Sol confirmed, his voice lowering to a dangerous rumble. “He’s always wanted what wasn’t his.”

Sol glanced down at Helena, her chest still rising and falling in shallow breaths. Her lashes cast delicate shadows across her cheekbones, and an overwhelming tenderness cut through his rage. His fingers tightened possessively around her shoulder.

“I need to hunt him down.” The words came out rough, his wolf pushing to the surface. “Now, before his trail goes cold.”

“Your Luna needs you,” Mitesh reminded him gently.

Sol shook his head, his decision already made. “What she needs is for me to handle the threat. Victor won’t stop now that he’s found her.”

He transferred Helena carefully into Joshua’s waiting arms, his hands lingering longer than necessary. The separation physically hurt, a tug deep in his chest where their bond had begun to form.

“Guard her with your life,” Sol ordered, his eyes flashing with wolf-light. “If she wakes, tell her I’ll be back for her. Tell her—“ He hesitated, struggling with words that seemed inadequate. “Tell her she’s safe now.”

Joshua nodded, already scanning the crowd. “What about her human friends? They’ll be looking for her.”

Sol followed his gaze to where Helena’s coworkers huddled together, casting anxious glances toward the ambulances.

“Handle it,” Sol commanded. “Make them believe you’re authorized to care for her.”

With quick efficiency, Joshua handed Helena to Mitesh and darted toward a nearby ambulance. He returned moments later wearing a paramedic’s jacket, the ID badge conveniently flipped backward.

“This should buy us some cover,” Joshua said, taking Helena back into his arms. “But we can’t stay here long.”

Mitesh placed a steadying hand on Sol’s shoulder. “Remember who you are, Alpha. Don’t let your wolf take complete control.”

Sol rolled his shoulders, already feeling his skin prickle with the need to shift. “Victor crossed a line coming here. He’ll answer for it.”

“And if the humans see?” Mitesh pressed.

Sol’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. “They won’t.”

He bent over Helena one last time, inhaling her scent to imprint it deeper into his senses. On impulse, he brushed his lips across her forehead, a claiming gesture as old as his kind.

“Mine to protect,” he murmured against her skin.

Then he straightened, his focus shifting to the hunt ahead. Without another word, Sol turned and stalked toward the shadows where Victor had disappeared, every muscle coiled for pursuit.

Sol followed Victor’s scent with single-minded intensity, his nostrils flaring rapidly as he tracked the exiled wolf. Victor’s trail led away from the restaurant and toward the small city park that bordered the neighborhood—a perfect place for confrontation away from human eyes.

The park’s tall oaks and dense undergrowth provided cover as Sol moved with predatory grace, his footsteps silent despite his size. His skin prickled, the shift hovering just beneath the surface, begging for release. The bond with Helena pulsed in his chest like a second heartbeat, fueling his rage at the man who dared threaten what was his.

He caught movement ahead—a flash of expensive clothing disappearing behind a copse of trees. Sol quickened his pace, cutting through a thicket to intercept his prey.

Victor stood waiting in a small clearing, his stance casual as though this were some social call. The emerging moonlight caught the silver at his temples but did nothing to soften the cold calculation in his eyes.

“The mighty alpha, playing hero,” Victor drawled, straightening his tailored suit jacket. “How touching.”

Sol stalked forward, keeping his movements measured despite the fury burning in his veins. “You’ve made a fatal mistake, Victor.”

“Have I? Was it me finding your Luna before you did?” Victor’s smile sliced through the darkness. “The fire in that charming restaurant was unexpected though. Seems your little mate has quite the temper.”

“Stay away from her,” Sol growled, the words vibrating with command.

Victor chuckled, circling slowly. “Or what? You’ll exile me again? I’ve spent decades building power while you played house with your little pack. And now I find that the universe has delivered me the perfect weapon—a fire wielder with untapped potential.”

“She’s not a weapon. She’s my Luna.”

“She’s unclaimed,” Victor countered. “And untrained. When I tell her how you banished me from your territory?—“

Sol’s patience snapped. “Enough!”

He lunged forward, already shifting as he moved. Clothes tore, bones cracked and reshaped, and where a man had stood, a massive black wolf now snarled, his green eyes blazing gold with ancient power.

Victor’s shift was slower, more calculated, but soon a sleek gray wolf crouched opposite Sol, ears pinned back in challenge.

They circled each other, fangs bared. Sol’s wolf form towered over Victor’s, muscle rippling beneath midnight fur. He soon feinted left, then slashed right. His teeth sank into Victor’s haunches, drawing first blood.

Victor yelped but twisted free, snapping at Sol’s exposed flank. His teeth grazed skin and Sol countered using his superior weight to slam Victor into the dirt.

The fight was vicious but brief. Sol pinned Victor beneath his massive paws, his jaws clamped around the gray wolf’s throat—not killing but dominating. Blood and saliva mingled as Victor whimpered, finally submitting.

Sol reluctantly released him with a warning snarl that needed no translation: come near her again, and next time would end differently.

Victor scrambled back, shifting partially to human form, blood trickling from various wounds. “This isn’t finished,” he spat. “She’ll never fit into your world.”

Sol shifted back, standing naked and unashamed, every inch the alpha as he towered over his defeated rival. “She is my world now. Cross my path again, and I’ll rip out your throat instead of merely tasting it.”

Victor retreated into the shadows, limping but defiant.

Sol dressed quickly in his torn clothes before returning to the fire scene. One thought consumed him: Helena wasn’t safe here. Victor would regroup, plan, and strike again. The only place Sol could properly protect her was on pack territory, surrounded by loyal wolves and ancient wards.

Joshua still cradled Helena when Sol returned, her face pale against the paramedic jacket Joshua had commandeered.

“Victor?” Mitesh asked quietly.

“Dealt with. For now.” Sol reached for Helena. “We need to move her to safety.”

Joshua surrendered her willingly. “I’ve handled her coworkers. They believe she’s being transported to County General.”

“Good.” Sol gazed down at Helena’s face, struck anew by the delicate arch of her brows and the fullness of her lips. Even unconscious, she radiated a warmth that called to his wolf. “We take her home. Tonight.”