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“Stick around, Wildflower,” I grinned, pressing a quick kiss to her smiling lips. “You ain't seen nothing yet.”
Our celebration was cut short by the wail of sirens in the distance. I stiffened, my eyes going to Leif's. He was already moving, his face grim.
“Fire,” he confirmed, his hand going to the radio at his belt. “Sounds like a big one.”
Fuck.
My stomach dropped. We'd been so focused on the race that we'd let our guard down. And now, our town was paying the price.
“We have to go,” Amber said urgently.
We raced to the scene, the acrid scent of smoke growing stronger with every passing mile. By the time we reached the edge of the Black Ridge Woods, the sky was an ominous orange, the air thick and hazy.
My heart sank as I took in the wall of flames before us. It was worse than I'd feared. The fire was raging out of control, whipped into a frenzy by the harsh mountain winds. Embers danced on the breeze, sparking new blazes wherever they landed.
“This is bad,” Axel said, appearing at my elbow. His face was streaked with soot, his eyes watering from the smoke. “If we don't get a handle on this soon…”
He didn't need to finish. We all knew the stakes. Silverpaw Hollow was surrounded by wilderness–if the fire spread and reached the town, it would destroy more than trees.
I swallowed hard, my grip on Amber's hand tightening. She returned my squeeze, her presence a steadying force at my side. If things went south, if the worst happened, I might have to reveal my true nature. To shift, to use my bear form to get Amber to safety.
It was a risk. A huge one. But if it came down to a choice between protecting my secret and protecting Amber, there was no choice at all.
The following hours passed in a blur of heat, smoke, and backbreaking labor. We worked in shifts, digging firebreaks and dousing hotspots, trying desperately to contain the blaze. But it was like fighting the tide–for every inch of ground we gained, the fire took a mile.
I kept Amber in sight at all times, my heart in my throat every time she ventured too close to the flames. She was fearless, attacking the blaze with a fierce determination that took my breath away. But she was only human–she had limits.
And those limits caught up with her as the enormous ponderosa pine she was hosing down emitted a bone-chilling groan and began to fall.
Chapter 11
Amber
As I scanned the hellscape before me, any lingering suspicions about the Furbane brothers and their alleged involvement fell away. Emmett and Leif fought without pause to stem the raging conflagration.
The roar of the wind whipping through the trees and the crackling hiss of the inferno before me drowned out almost everything else.
My world narrowed to the angry red flames clawing their way up sturdy pines, devouring dry underbrush, and spewing thick black smoke into the once-clear sky.
This blaze was nothing like the smaller ones Emmett and I had battled over the past week. It was a raging, insatiable beast whipped into a chaotic frenzy by the bone-dry conditions and the fire-feeding winds.
I adjusted my grip on the firehose, the powerful stream of water pushing back against my frame. Sweat beaded on my brow as the heat pressed in around me. The deafening roar of the flames drowned out all other sounds, leaving me disoriented.
I had to focus every ounce of my energy on controlling this inferno before it consumed the entire forest. Somewhere in the hazy chaos, I lost track of Emmett. He'd been less than twenty feet away moments before, his features set in determination. But now, I couldn't see him anywhere.
A tendril of fear unfurled in my gut.
“Emmett!” I shouted, my voice hoarse from the fumes. “Where are you?”
I had to believe he was all right, that he was out of sight, working to contain the fire like the rest of us. I couldn't let myself get distracted. Not when there was so much at stake.
I refocused on the towering ponderosa pine before me, its trunk wreathed in flame. I aimed the hose, the water hissing as it hit the scorching bark. But it was like trying to douse a volcano with a water gun.
The fire surged higher, sparks dancing on the wind like fiery snowflakes. My arms ached from the strain of wrestling with the heavy hose.
Then, over the thunderous crackle of the inferno, came the telltale groan of wood straining under immense pressure. My gaze snapped to the top of the ponderosa. Its branches swayed drunkenly as fire licked through the cambium and into the heartwood.
“Shit,” I breathed.
