Page 24 of The Alpha’s Forced Omega (Alaska Alpha Wolves #1)
As I rush toward the burning building, the terrifyingly thick clouds of gray smoke whirl into the navy blue sky and spread over Girdwood like the smell of oaky death and terror.
The members of the Snehvolk Pack run past me, all escaping the fire that consumes the building. One of them stops before me, throwing a hand up in the air in front of my face as she keels over in a flurry of coughs and splutters.
“Alpha Elias!” she wails when she’s able to look up and speak through a series of pants. I recognize her as the healer who’s been tasked with checking on my mate’s well-being throughout her pregnancy. “Aurora! She—”
Immediately set into panic, I step forward and grab the healer by the shoulder, glaring into her eyes with a ferocity that sends a growl rumbling through my chest.
“What happened to Aurora?!”
“She went back inside!” Rissa yelps. “There’s a child stuck in the building. She’s gone—”
Before Rissa can complete her sentence, I’m sprung into action, my feet ignited by the urgency of needing to get my mate to safety. Without thinking, my inner wolf spurs out from its confines, sending me charging forward on my wolf paws to take me as quickly as I can to the burning building.
From every corner of the forest behind the clinic, my guards emerge, wielding hoses and buckets of water to put out the fire. But the ruthless flames have consumed most of the building, and it’s too dangerous for anyone to go inside.
Dillon is in wolf form as he runs toward me, but I send him a mind link to warn him against going inside.
“ What are you doing, Alpha?!” he asks when I continue my sprint toward the building.
“I’m saving my mate! She’s gone in to save a child!”
“We’ve already done a headcount, Alpha. Everyone is out and safe.”
My ears drum with panic when I slow down and glance over my furry shoulder to get Dillon’s confirmation with a piercing nod of his wolf head. If everyone had been evacuated from the building, then why did Aurora go back, thinking there was a child stuck inside?
Sensing the danger and suspecting that something is terribly wrong, I leap forward, springing off my hind legs and crashing against the burning front doors of the clinic building. A gust of fire comes smacking toward my face, but I duck my wolf head just in time to dodge the deadly fire.
The flames are out of control, surrounding every inch of the inside cavity of the clinic, with Aurora nowhere to be seen. Though I’m safer in wolf form and able to withstand the gruesome heat, I shift into human form.
“Aurora! Aurora, where are you?!” I yell out, shielding my face with a bent arm and dodging licks of flames as I head further into the building in search of my mate. My heart is pounding, and my eardrums are filled with a deafening ringing that warns me that something is very wrong.
Why did she come back in here?
Was she lured in by the bullies who are against her being the luna of this pack?
My blood boils, the heat of the fire sending it to tumultuous heights as I mentally vow to kill whoever is behind this foul play. Racing through the corridor, I pick up the sound of movement from the bottom and rush forward.
“Aurora!” I call out, stopping abruptly when I spot her down the aisle, her eyes glowing with vibrant amethyst as she stares blankly ahead of her, her palms facing the corner.
“Don’t, Elias!” she warns without looking at me, her gaze fixed on something in the corner. “Stay back! It’s the demon dog!”
My heart skips a petrified beat, eyes growing wide with terror as I watch Aurora wield her magic powers to disarm the demon in the corner.
It comes whooshing forward toward her, but she’s able to send out piercing pulses of lilac bolts from her palms, hitting the demon’s ribcage just as it lunges toward her.
It whimpers and growls as it’s knocked against the wall, but when Aurora tries to shoot out thunderbolts of magic from her hands again, she fails.
As the light in her eyes becomes weaker, I notice the sweat dripping from her forehead. The all-consuming fire raging all around her must be dampening her powers, the heat extinguishing her gifts.
My head snaps in the direction of the demon just as it floats upright, the ghastly black creature sauntering toward Aurora just as she’s run out of power in her palms.
“Aurora! Watch out!” I warn, my sixth sense kicking in to indicate that there’s no way she could power up again in time.
My wolf comes to the fore, spreading fur across my body and sending me leaping forward in wolf form.
It’s like Aurora reads the situation intuitively, and in a flash, she hops onto my back and grabs tufts of my fur as I carry her through the blazing fire, crashing through the window just as a burst of flames chases us.
Once we’re outside at the back of the clinic, Aurora hastily climbs off, forcing me to return to my human form just in time to catch her in my arms. She’s sobbing, her entire frame quaking in my embrace.
She’s panting, struggling to lug in deep breaths that sound as panicked as the sensations rolling over her body. Her sweat is cold against my sweater, and I pull back to realize that she’s having a panic attack.
“Breathe, Aurora…” I encourage, sucking in a deep breath as a demonstration when she meets my eyes. Hers are a foreign shade of caramel, glossed over with tears as she struggles to regain control.
“I’m not strong enough…” she whimpers. “I’m not strong enough…”
Through her wailing cries and inconceivable lack of confidence, I continue mimicking the pace she needs to find. With my hands smoothing her arms to get her to calm down, she’s finally able to pucker her lips and suck in air that calms her body.
“That’s it…deep breaths, Aurora…you’re fine…you’re safe…”
She shakes her head fervently, then her panic returns, and I feel her shuddering beneath my palms. “No! I could have taken it down! I’m just not strong enough!”
Seeing that she’s becoming overwhelmed again, I forcefully grip her shoulders, forcing her to look up into my stern eyes.
“No, Aurora,” I protest firmly. “You’re not responsible for taking that thing down by yourself, do you hear me?”
Her eyes become solemn pits of despair as she gulps. “Th—there must be something I can d-do,” she tries, her voice trembling.
I nod determinedly, then turn as I slide my arm across her shoulders.
“There’s only one thing you can do,” I say as I watch my men trying and failing to put out the hungry fire that envelops the clinic building.
Though there’s snow all around, the growing flames threaten to catch the trees just behind the building.
If it spreads further, the forest will be burned down, leaving our town dreary and exposed.
Not to mention if it reaches the town square…
“You can put the fire out, Aurora,” I encourage with a nod as I step in front of her, kneeling so I’m at eye level with her. “That’s the only thing you can do now, to save the town from burning out.”
She shakes her head slowly, brows furrowing with deep thought. “I c-can’t… I’ve only ever created fire. Caused destruction…”
I shake my head in return. “If you have the power to create it, you have the power to undo those things too,” I rally. “I have faith in you. I believe in you, Aurora. You can do this.”
My vote of faith seems to twinkle in her eyes as fiery determination of amethyst sparks that glitter like the stars in the night sky.
She takes a deep breath and nods slowly, calculatedly, her eyes flitting to the building behind me.
Smirking proudly, I step aside for my mate to work her magic, and it coils in her palms as she readies herself to fight the fire.
She steps forward boldly, spreading out her fingers and sending lighter jets of lilac mist through the air. Like a cloud of condensation, the mist covers the burning building, sheltering the fire and dampening it as if her palms are sending out droplets of water.
The entire building is covered by the mystical mist, the fire being controlled before it’s extinguished, leaving behind the shell of the clinic building with gaping holes where the windows used to be.
Aurora collapses to her knees, and I rush forward to capture her in my arms just as her eyelids become heavier, her arms limp as she sighs.
“I did it,” she smirks feebly, a light giggle escaping her as her leaded eyelids drag down.
“You did it, Aurora,” I commend with an appreciative kiss on her forehead, pride swelling my chest as I pull her close to let her feel the safety of my arms. “I am so proud of you, my love.”
Pulling back, I notice that Aurora’s eyelids are closed now, her lips parted as she wheezes from exhaustion. I lift her into my arms, then carry her toward the cabin as I send out a call to my soldiers to beware of the demon dog.
Just then, a mind link returns with news of a fallen soldier on the border—a border patrol member who’d been found dismembered and scattered in a measured line as if to send a message.
Sighing when I’m on the porch, I lower my head and take a moment of silence for the fallen soldier. Though I’m relieved that my mate is safe, the details Dillon gives me about the guard’s death are spine-chilling.
The demon is playing in our territory, and it’s probably after Aurora for her powers. We’ll have to do something.
But first, my strong girl needs to rest.