Sawyer heard his world fall apart before it actually happened. One second he was walking through the entrance foyer of Club Diablo, the strip club owned by his pack, the Devils Point Wolves and the next an ear-splitting sound burst in his ears so loud he thought the island was exploding around him. A split second later the building did exactly that as he ran for the back to escape the imploding debris.

A rush of heat from behind singed his back, driving him forward, desperate for escape. His human feet moved, but barely quick enough as he jumped from the path of flame. With no time to spare, he made it behind the stage and the door to the outside now loomed in front of him at the end of a long hall.

Have to get out.

His self preservation instinct had kicked in and it was all his mind allowed in. Thick, billowing smoke filled the air, making his escape that much harder. But the heat still crawling up his back and burning at his scalp warned him not to stop.

At the same time his wolf pushed at his skin, wrestling him for control. He needed to be free to save the man. For once, Sawyer stopped fighting his inner beast and let it happen. Fur burst through his heated flesh, the change ripping through him as he reached the door, pausing only long enough for the man to push open the locked emergency exit. His lungs screamed for air.

It was the wolf that jumped from the exploding building and it was the wolf that skidded to a stop at the sound of his alpha's abrupt snarl.

He turned back to see the outpouring of smoke and flames as other members of the pack fled the club behind him. One by one the people he considered his family emerged from the destruction.

Dante, the Alpha who'd claimed his attention, barked orders from his side and everyone scurried to help. Sawyer stood transfixed, examining every face that emerged from the thick smoke. When people stopped coming out, he jerked and scanned the parking lot. Looking for...

Numbers and names flew through his mind until he'd accounted for everyone but her.

Shit. No. No! NO!

He turned back to the building and sprinted to the door.

Dante beat him there. "Stand down," he ordered. "It's not safe."

Sawyer tried to argue, but only a growl emerged from his throat. Shit. The wolf. Frustrated over wasting time, he willed the wolf back and the man forward. Fur smoothed to skin, bones cracked and elongated until he finally stood face to face with one of the three Alpha brothers that together ruled their pack.

"Dani. She's not accounted for," he gasped. "I have to go. If she dies, he dies." They both knew what Dani meant to the pack. It didn't matter that his best friend Creed had yet to officially claim her. A mate was a mate. Claimed or unclaimed, it was the law of their nature. The care and safekeeping of the few mates in their world took precedence over all else. Even his life.

"I'll go," the Alpha insisted.

Sawyer shook his head. "No. I have to do this. You have an entire pack to take care of and a mate waiting for you. Also got no one waiting for me. I can do this."

Dante's face hardened a moment before he nodded his assent. They both knew they didn't have long. "Go," he said, whipping the shirt from his torso. "Use this to cover your face. And for fuck's sake, stay low."

Sawyer grabbed the garment and ran. There wasn't much time to waste—if any.

Dani wasn't like them. She didn't have any supernatural powers to protect her, leaving her defenseless against the fire. Without hesitation, he ripped the door open and plunged into the darkness.

Years of working security for the pack and in the club allowed him to make it past the debris ridden hallway and backstage quickly without wasting time. The lack of sound other than the roar of the fire and fall of debris disturbed him. Why wasn't she calling for help? He pushed faster through the smoke.

Memories of Creed's anguish when he watched his mother die in front of him had Sawyer moving frantically forward. He never wanted to see his packmate suffer like that again.

"Dani!" he yelled. The backstage area where the dancers normally milled was littered with broken glass, charred costumes and broken furniture. But for the most part the fire had yet to reach this area of the building.

"Back here," she answered faintly, followed by a series of coughs.

He rushed in the direction of her voice, flinging furniture out of his way as he went. For once he wouldn't have to explain his supernatural strength as a burst of adrenalin as they so often did when a nosy human saw more than they should. Thanks to Creed, she already knew they weren't human. Of course, she used that uncomfortable knowledge to keep her mate at more than arm’s length. Something Sawyer couldn't understand considering she still worked here. Why keep coming to the island if she truly feared their kind?

Sawyer reared back for a moment, taking a breath. She was close now, he could scent her fear. He lifted a smoldering beam and the ceiling above him began to shake. With the path before him partially cleared, he finally got eyes on Creed's precious mate.

"C'mon, Dani. Grab my hand."

With a grimace stamped across her pretty face that he'd learn later had to do with a blow she took to the head, she reached her slender arm forward and he grasped her fingers. At the same time, a blast of flame burst through a new crack in the wall and singed his arm. He didn't let go. Instead, he ignored it and pulled Dani swiftly to his side.

"Ready to call it a night?" he smiled, relieved to see her unhurt.

She didn't quite work up a smile in return, but the relief in her eyes matched how he felt.

"God, yes. Please get me out of here."

There seemed to be more meaning to her words, but he didn't have time to dwell or ask. He raced back the way he came, pulling Dani along as much as her humanity allowed.

Outside in the hallway, flames raced up the walls, fueled by layers of paint and wallpaper. They were nearly surrounded and their window of escape was closing.

"Stay right behind me," he urged, tucking her up against his back.

Behind them the building walls continued to crumble and crash.

Fuck. They weren't going to make it. The wolf pushed at him again, urging him to run faster or give up control. This time he resisted. It wasn't just his life that hung in the balance at the moment. Or at least it wasn't the important one. There had to be a little extra time to save them both.

He had to do this. For Dani and for Creed. He owed everything to Creed.

Wood splintered above them, the sound deafening to his hyper sensitive ears. The wolf growled. Flames jumped and chunks of plaster rained down on them. He could no longer see the exit.

Dani screamed.

He squeezed her fingers and held on.

He'd been so focused on getting them out that he didn't realize the section of roof they were under was caving in until he was slammed to the ground by a burning beam.

The disgusting scent of searing flesh burned his nose and watered his eyes seconds before the pain registered. White hot, blistering pain washed over him, dragging him under with nowhere else to go.

Screams filled his ears as he lost his grip on Dani. Smoke filled his lungs. He couldn't breathe. With no more air to gulp, the crush of his collapsing lungs pressed down on him with the force of a thousand pounds. Agony ripped through him.

Despite the pain and his diminishing ability to focus on his surroundings, one thought still prevailed.

He had failed...again.