The inferno cast a hellish, orange-red glare and the blanket of soot blocked out the stars overhead. In his ram form, Demetri ran at the lead of the stampede. His hooves pounded the earth and his sides worked like a bellows. With his beast in ascendance, he acted on instinct. The flock took precedence, so he led them away from the fire. Only once they reached a sufficient distance from the flames did he decrease his pace. He rounded the yard, slowing gradually so Dusty and the ewes behind him had enough time to stop without running each other down.

This course brought him full-circle, so he wound up pursuing Colleen. The cattle dog intuited his intentions and ceased nipping at the heels of the stragglers. The frightened flocked milled about the unfenced yard.

As Demetri trotted past, he got an earful of their flustered bellyaching. They despised the proximity of the fire and disliked being outside in the cold when they should've been properly bedded down in warm, secure pens. Demetri snorted and flattened his ears. Females—there was no pleasing them.

Alongside the fence, Colleen stood guard over Quentin's corpse. The coyote-shifter lay face down on his belly. His limbs stuck out at unnatural angles like twisted branches. From the looks of it, he'd tried to drag himself to safety and failed. No life remained in his broken, pulpy body. To be sure, Demetri stomped on the coyote-shifter's shoulder with his hoof.

No reaction.

"Good riddance," Colleen said, giving voice to Demetri's unspoken thoughts. "Bastard got what was coming to him."

Demetri grunted, blowing hot breath. Anxious to locate Mary, he raised his head high and scanned their surroundings but didn't spot her. A worm of worry writhed in his gut. Where was she?

Sirens wailed in the distance, marking the approach of emergency vehicles from Fall Haven. They'd arrive within minutes but too late to save the barn. At least they'd managed to escape alive and rescued most of the livestock. Guilt stabbed at Demetri's conscience. The mother ewe and her lamb had been left behind in the birthing stalls. Trapped within the burning barn, he'd faced a difficult decision—he could concentrate on saving the entire flock or risk them all for the sake of two sheep. It broke his heart, but he'd abandoned Pepper and Hope to their fate. He regretted the sacrifice but given the same circumstances, he'd make the same choice again.

"You'd better shift before someone sees you." Colleen turned in a tight circle. Without asking, he sensed she was also searching for Mary.

A fist of anxiety clenched around his heart. He had a bad feeling he couldn't shake. Bursting with restless energy, Demetri undertook a rapid shift from ram to human. Unlike many shape changers, his transformation was almost instantaneous because of his divine heritage. It left him completely naked; however, nudity was easier to explain to normal people than a giant golden ram.

"Where's Mary?" Demetri asked the moment he was capable of speech.

"I don't know. She was here one second, and then she wasn't. I'm scared she went after Pepper and Hope." Colleen's tucked her tail between her legs.

"Shit." A cold wave crashed over Demetri. Of course, Mary had run to rescue her sheep. He should've realized immediately. He pivoted to face the barn, staring into the fiery blaze. Paralyzing dread dropped over him. It frightened him witless to think of his lover being trapped within the conflagration.

"Go, I'll stay with the flock." Colleen bit his calf, jolting Demetri to his senses.

Adrenaline crashed through his body. He surged ahead and broke into a flat-out sprint. The front of the barn had collapsed. Flames had consumed the eastern half of the building, which was likely where Quentin had spread gasoline, but the fire wasn't as bad on the west side. Without breaking stride, he considered the conditions and made a decision on the run. It was faster—and probably less hazardous— to go around than through the structure. He altered his course and turned the corner, heading for the rear where the birthing stalls were located.

Demetri's thoughts outraced his body. His progress seemed to slow to a crawl. Even moving at his top speed, everything was impossibly slow. His frustration mounted and he ran harder, but no matter how he tried, it wasn't fast enough. With every step, condemnation clamored in the back of his mind. By attacking Quentin, Demetri had allowed primal aggression to get the better of him. He should've been focused on the safety of those under his protection. If he'd been paying attention, he might have anticipated that Mary would go after the missing sheep. If she died because of his distraction, he would never forgive himself.

Life handed him a small kindness. The rear portion of the barn remained intact. Demetri performed a quick assessment and took his best guess as to the precise location of the birthing stalls.

Demolition day. Demetri backed up several paces and performed another quick shift into his ram form. With his head lowered, he charged, gathering as much speed as possible and butted straight into the side of the barn. His massive horns absorbed the brunt of the impact. The collision—the second in less than ten minutes—jarred his skull and neck. Later, he would have one hell of a headache, but for the moment he was in his natural element. As Colleen had observed, problems that could be solved by using his head as a battering ram were right up his alley.

With a loud crack, the solid oak slats broke and busted inward. Demetri's front quarters burst through the wall. He dug in his rear hooves, coming to a sharp stop, because he didn't want to inadvertently trample those he was trying to save.

Panicky bleats greeted his abrupt arrival. As luck would have it, Pepper and Hope occupied the stall he'd broken open. The terrified mother ewe and her lamb huddled together, trapped within their enclosure. Fortunately, both animals were already on their feet.

Mary wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Fear lanced through Demetri. Inhaling a lungful of sooty air, he met his worst fear—that Mary hadn't made it through the fiery gauntlet to the rear of the barn. What if she'd succumbed to the smoke or gotten trapped beneath falling debris? He had to find her, but first he needed to get the sheep to safety.

Demetri reared back, bashing his back into the boards above him. Simultaneously, he stomped those below with his front hooves. Planks creaked and split, releasing a spray of wooden shrapnel. Under the brunt of the assault, the wall and rafters groaned. The roof released fiery fallout. The opening widened but not enough. Demetri bucked and kicked, over again and again. The entire structure shuddered and moaned, threatening to collapse.

As soon as he deemed the opening to be wide enough, Demetri rushed into the stall. He got behind the trapped sheep. An encouraging nudge of his horns to Pepper's hindquarters provided the ewe with the persuasion she needed to get a move on. She bolted though the hole he'd made, and her lamb followed. He wanted to escort the pair and ensure they rejoined the flock, but he had to stay.

Demetri turned back to the fiery depths of the barn, confronting the hazard. All around, the inferno blazed, emitting its deafening roar and furnace-like heat. The whole thing would burn to the ground before he'd leave without Mary. He couldn't conceive of living without her. It shouldn't have taken a life-or-death disaster to bring him to the realization.

A felled post rested on a pile of debris, barricading the stall's entrance. The noxious smoke stung his eyes and lungs. A nasty cough wracked his chest. His wool provided some protection from the falling embers, but the cinders still seared his flesh. His enhanced regeneration kicked in, healing the minor injuries.

He lowered his head and forged onward, intending to climb or topple anything that barred his path. Amid the rubble, a glint of auburn caught his attention. A jolt of terror struck him and jumpstarted his heart.

"Mary!" Demetri shouted, forgetting he was incapable of speech in his shifted form. Only a furious ram's bellow tore from his throat.

Sacrificing finesse for speed, Demetri hooked the timber with the curved edge of his horn and shoved it with all his might. The massive post must've weighed a ton. His muscles strained, stretching taut, and his joints ached as though to pop.

The timber rocked but didn't budge.

Demetri redoubled his effort. He lowered his head, wedging his horns solidly against the post, and spread his legs wide to gain leverage. Hot breath poured from his nostrils. Heart throbbing, he drove into the obstacle with the stubborn determination innate to his breed. This time, the beam rolled aside and fell to the ground. Undeterred, Demetri employed his head as a bulldozer, plowing through the wreckage to uncover Mary.

The moment she got free, Mary moved. Lying on her back, she lifted her arms toward him, reaching. Lightning relief arced through Demetri. He'd been scared senseless that she was dead.

Two stalls down—where he and Mary had made love hours before—a beam broke and crashed with a thunderous boom. It brought down a hail of burning wreckage. Demetri lunged so he stood over Mary. Flames scorched his back, and the stench of burned wool stood out from the smoke. Agony flared across his back, but he endured it all without flinching to protect his lover.

"We have to get out of here! The roof is going to collapse," Mary shouted, coughing. She struggled to her feet and wrapped her arms around his throat.

Demetri held still while Mary climbed onto his back. He'd never been ridden before but his stature and strength exceeded a Clydesdale. As soon as she secured a firm seat, he broke into a sprint and raced for the makeshift opening to the stall.

With terrible turmoil, the barn collapsed down around them. Just as Demetri leapt clear, it crashed on his fetlocks, and they flew into the clear, cool night.