Wolf's Bane (Monstrous Hearts #2)

Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Thank you, readers, for all the support! It feels great to be writing again, and I'll have the next chapter up in a week.

See how sweetly the girl sleeps. The wolf beside her is just as quiet, their limbs twined together. They are deaf to the world outside and heavy in their slumber. Far above them hangs the moon, returned to its usual ivory glow that brings to mind wedding lace dulled with dust and bones bared of their flesh. The very night feels crystallized, an ageless, motionless land of black and white.

And yet just beyond the ridge of pine that looks down on the girl in her little house, something stirs. Something that sets the animals running. Something whipped on by the mountain winds. Something that feeds on whatever it can catch.

Sparks appear in the darkness. The air breathes heat. A strange glow casts itself into the sky, devouring star after star. Smoke swells before this beast that frightens beasts, and an entire line of trees blackens as the first of the flames reveal themselves.

The forest is on fire.

Alice woke up choking on smoke, heat prickling at her skin like a sunburn as hands caught her up and pulled her out of bed.

"What..." she coughed out, the heaviness of sleep leaving her stupid and clumsy as she looked up into Colton's furious face.

"Don't talk. Just breathe." Then he shoved fabric into her hands, and a familiar weight that she recognized—her purse.

As he hurried her over to the window, the crackling of wood filled her senses, cleared her head, and she looked at the strange orange glow seeping into the room with fresh horror.

The air had already thickened enough to stuff her mouth full, and she only panted quietly while Colton ripped off the screening, sweat prickling at her neck and knees from the growing heat. Then the ceiling sagged, showering sparks on them. She cringed, a strangled scream working in her throat, but Colton only shook himself as if he were in his fur and slammed the window open.

"It's in the forest. We're fucked if it reaches the road before us." His voice seethed as he helped her climb over the sill. Survival instinct took over for her, then, driving her on even when her bare skin scraped against splintered wood. Gravel bit into her hands and knees, and her next gasp drew in fresh air.

Her wild glance around found smoke and flames everywhere. Sparks flew like fireflies. Tree branches popped and curled. The darkness of the night had transformed into a writhing hellscape.

Behind her, the house groaned and leaned. The telltale crackling of flames joined the creaking of strained wood. Alice gasped Colton's name, realizing their home was about to collapse, but he was already at her side, desperation leaving him rough as he pulled her up and pushed her further from the waves of heat.

They ran for the truck together, two dark silhouettes against a wall of fire. Ash stung Alice's skin as they slipped inside the cab, Colton silent behind the wheel. As the truck roared onto the road, embers flying all around, she came back into herself enough to pull on what he'd given her—one of his flannel shirts. She burrowed into the fabric, trying to take comfort in the softness and the familiar smell of fur and clean sweat, but couldn't help looking out the window at the billowing smoke. Her panicked breathing was the only sound made between them.

When she glanced over at him, searching for any sign of reassurance, she found his mouth grim and his eyes utterly focused on the road ahead. Dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, he showed no signs of having been roused out of bed in a hurry, but she knew him well enough to understand the muscle jumping in his jaw. He was worried.

"Have you ever been in a fire before?" she asked, picking at the folds of flannel in her lap.

"Not one like this." Colton gave the rearview mirror a sharp glance.