“I meant to call. How did she get away? They were supposed to be watching her!” Zane roared to Conri who was driving him to the call. Other bearen had gotten the message from a wolfen via Rhui, the mental communication, that there was an emergency with Poppy. He’d grabbed his phone and tried to call and it went straight to voicemail. He kept hitting dial, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum.

He was angry and he was scared. He shouldn’t have left, he shouldn’t have trusted anyone else with her safety. It was his job, his duty to see to her.

“They say she crawled out of a second-story window. How could they have guessed? Troy got worried after she had been in the bath for a while and went to check on her and couldn’t catch her scent. At least not a fresh one. They rounded up the forces and went out looking for her. They came across her mother coming from a house down the road. She said she was trapped and they’re there trying to free her. She’s not alone, but the house is fully involved.”

Zane heard the words and knew this meant there would be crews there battling the blaze. He didn’t care if he died trying to get to her. His mate was his life.

“Why would she leave?”

“Can’t you think of a hundred reasons a mate would sneak away?”

“Khain.”

“They didn’t recognize he’d crossed over the Pravus until he started the fires. Then he went back to his unholy hell of an existence and they couldn’t follow.”

Pulling up behind a line of police cars, he ran to the back of the house where he saw a firefighter carrying the hydraulic rescue tool, the Jaws of Life, with him.

Men were standing around and he also saw Trent whimpering to the side. That wasn’t a good sign. The house was burned, the entire second floor was nothing but black charred timbers.

“It’s unstable, it could go at any minute,” Conri called out.

Zane didn’t care. He rushed down the steps pushing men aside. “Where is she?” he demanded. The few men still below were wearing respirators and there was a good reason. The air was thick with smoke and the floor above them burning out in places. None of them should be down there, they were all risking their lives for a True Mate. He would have done it for someone else.

They were huddled around a metal door and they had worked the tool into the hinge. They had made a small hole but no more.

“Get out!” he roared and the men scattered. Ripping off his clothes as the men ran for the exit, he didn’t need to think about shifting, it came as naturally as breathing at a time like this. He had to get his mate and his bear was stronger. His body started to hunch as the hair sprouted out of his skin, his jaw stretched and molded as the sharp teeth extended. His vision altered as he fell to four paws in front of the door.

He gave the opening made with the Jaws of Life a tug with his giant paw and it didn’t budge. Focusing his energy and his anger at the hinge he thought about the metal. He could feel it and taste it with his mind. His focus on softening the metal and shifting it from its current cruelly firm position. He felt a small movement and then nothing.

Shaking his head, he released a giant roar as he tugged and tugged against the door. His anger and rage were pulsing through him. He couldn’t focus any harder than he was but it wasn’t working. The hot embers from above were falling down around him, singing through thick hair on his back. He ignored it and looked through the small hole. In the far corner against the wall he could see a small shape huddled. There was a burning beam just feet from her and it looked like more pieces had fallen near her or on her.

He screamed his rage which came out as a mighty bellow. Zane could hear others outside wanting to come back in and being told to hold. They would die if they came back. There was no honor in a lost cause.

Looking at the small shape in the smoky room, Zane let go of his rage, his anger, and his fear. Instead, he thought how much he loved her. How much she had made him a better man already. This woman was not going to be lost because of Khain. Zane didn’t deserve that pain again and neither did the rest of the shiften.

He grabbed hold of the door again, his paw squeezing through the small space. He thought of Poppy, he thought of their future children, and he sent all of those feelings in his mind towards the metal. His heart was full and it was going to stay that way.

The metal moved, he doubled down his concentration and the metal under his paw turned to taffy, warm and malleable, it allowed him to peel it back with minimal effort. Making a hole big enough for himself, he pushed through and ran to Poppy. He sniffed her over and knew she was still alive. Barely.

Shifting back to his human form, his bones shortened and snapped back into shape. The hair receded and revealed freshly healed skin without a burn. He scooped her into his arms and ran for the entrance. He made it out to the lawn and someone threw a blanket around his naked shoulders. He placed Poppy on the ground and medics swarmed him.

Her face was black with soot. It looked to him as if some of her hair was singed and beyond that he couldn’t see where else she was hurt. Her breathing was shallow and she looked pale underneath the dirt.

“Help her, please,” he moaned.

They didn’t respond because they were already doing everything they could. She looked so small and to an untrained eye she didn’t even look alive. He could hear the raspy breaths going in and out. It wasn’t much, but it was hope.

A pair of breakaway pants were presented to him and he pulled them on while they worked. A t-shirt came next and he accepted it without thanks. He couldn’t take his eyes off his mate.

“We need to move her, Zane,” the first paramedic said. He couldn’t remember his name so he just nodded. They had her on a backboard, with a brace around her neck, her face covered with an oxygen mask. There wasn’t much he could do without hampering their efforts.

He felt a firm hand squeeze his shoulder and saw Conri standing behind him. His eyes on Poppy as well. Brushing against his leg, he saw Trent and Troy standing guard, both wolven letting out a whine.

She meant something to everyone. She was their future. All of theirs. The One True Mates were worth more than gold or silver. They were priceless.