Chapter Twelve
Blaze
Back at the station, I stepped out of the truck. The ground rumbled right before I heard a scream.
Immediately, my dragon fought for control. I ran toward the sound, but I couldn’t stop the shift. My clothes tore as my wings ripped out of my back. They stretched and flapped while the rest of my body elongated and grew scales as I hovered above the ground.
In seconds, I was in my dragon form, my fastest shift ever. One I failed to control.
Then I saw them. Ladon holding Kirin. Falling into the gaping hole where the road had disappeared beneath their feet.
I swooped down, digging my claws into Ladon’s shoulders, trying not to hurt him and hoping he had a good grip on his son.
Flapping harder, I lifted them up and carried them over to the station where I believed they’d be safe and get any medical attention they needed.
“Blaze, wait,” Ladon called.
I didn’t acknowledge him, instead flying back to the sinkhole.
They hadn’t been the only ones swallowed up by the ground.
As I’d transported them to safety, I’d caught sight of a car, rear-end up.
As an emergency responder, even in my dragon form, I refused to leave the sight until I knew everyone was safe.
The hole wasn’t wide enough for me to fully extend my wings and stay flying. I had to let myself free fall before landing in front of the car with a thump. The horn of the car blared, and I shook my head, my hearing supersensitive in my dragon form.
I swung my neck around to peer in the driver’s side window. There was someone inside. Though I couldn’t see any movement, I heard the beat of their heart above the blare of the horn. There weren’t any passengers. Only one person to rescue.
I had to get them out, but I didn’t believe it to be safe to grab hold of the vehicle and carry it out. Setting the car down would jerk the driver and likely cause more damage. I had to wait for one of the other firefighters to come down and help me extract the driver.
The moment I saw a rope drop over the edge of the hole, I returned to my human and very naked form. Then I shouted over to the descending firefighter. “One victim. Still breathing but not moving. Driver of a now-vertical sedan.”
“I have to admit, your dragon form is pretty cool.” Makhail walked toward me carrying a basket stretcher. He put the stretcher down and tossed some clothes, boots, and a helmet toward me. “But I prefer not to see your bare ass. Cover up while I check the victim.”
I quickly dressed then joined him at the car. By the time I got there, the driver was moving and moaning, begging for help to get out.
Makhail reached in and put a collar around his neck.
Before we could figure out a way to free him from his seat belt and the crushed front end without causing more harm, the man shifted.
One moment, he was trapped in the vehicle; the next, he slumped onto the ground as a squirrel.
I had never experienced any emergency victims shift during a rescue.
The little creature was limp and lying on its side as it gasped for air.
“I really wish you wouldn’t have done that.” Makhail pulled a mesh bag from his pocket then scooped up the squirrel with his hands and laid it inside. “It’s going to hurt you so much more when you shift back. Please, just wait until we’re back on solid ground to do that.”
After Makhail had the squirrel safely out of the hole, I used the lifeline to pull myself up and brought the basket stretcher with me.
Emergency and other city vehicles surrounded the sinkhole, blocking traffic in several directions to prevent anyone else falling down.
City engineers lined the street, examining maps and spray-painting the road and sidewalks.
I heard mention of a closed-off portion of the underground roadways, but I couldn’t be sure.
My focus was on those who had fallen as the asphalt gave away.
The squirrel shifter had changed back and was being attended to by Jones and Waverly. It was time for me to face Ladon and Kirin, as awkward as I expected it to be after the omega refused to respond to any of my messages. That was, if he even stuck around.
I found the omega and his son sitting on folding chairs and drinking from water bottles at the entrance of our garage bay.
The moment Kirin saw me, he dropped the bottle and raced toward me.
My chest clenched as I wasn’t sure how to treat him after how things ended with me and his dad.
But the boy wrapped his arms around my legs and held tight.
“Blaze! I’m so happy to see you.” He glanced up with a smile, his chin digging into my stomach. “It’s my birthday today and I wished that I would get to see you again. And I did.”
“Well, happy birthday, buddy.” I ruffled his hair before glancing over at Ladon to observe his reaction to his son’s words.
The omega huffed out a heavy breath before he nodded and stood. As he headed my way, Kirin tugged on my hand.
“The other firefighters said you would give us a tour of the station.”
“Did they, now?” I didn’t know whether to be angry at their intrusion into my personal life or thankful for another chance to talk to Ladon.
The boy nodded.
“Yes, they did.” Ladon shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “If you don’t mind, that is. It would mean the world to Kirin and maybe give me a chance to…” He folded his hands in front of himself and winced. “Explain why I never texted back.”
The tightness in my chest eased up a little. Enough that I felt my dragon trying to urge me forward. “I can do that as long as there are no other emergencies to deal with right now.”
“We’ve got you.” Captain Lee appeared behind me and slapped me on the back. “Your task is to show these two around the station and ensure they have no delayed symptoms after their fall.”
“Yes, sir.” I nodded, unable to deny the direct order.
Though I wasn’t sure if Ladon’s excuses would be the end to the short relationship we had or if he wanted to repair the misunderstanding and let us try again.
Regardless, my dragon didn’t care. He simply repeated the word mate over and over to the same beat as my heart.
“Okay, follow me.” I led the two of them inside, telling Kirin all about the different trucks and showing him what we carried in each of them.
Ladon remained silent and seemed to be focused elsewhere even though his constant change in facial expressions seemed to indicate he had a lot on his mind.
I refused to push him, wanting to give Kirin his apparent birthday wish of getting to see me and tour the station.
Inside, I showed them both our laundry room, the kitchen, our gym, and even where we slept while on shift.
I purposely avoided the bathroom, unsure if it had been cleaned yet during my rotation.
“This is so cool.” Kirin clenched his fists while wiggling his arms. “I still want to be a firefighter when I grow up. I want to be like you. Your dragon is awesome.”
“Oh, thanks, little buddy.” I appreciated the compliment, but it was his father’s attention I yearned for.
“Thank you for saving us.” Ladon pulled Kirin into himself, almost using the boy as a shield.
I expected him to leave without the explanation he’d promised, and for that to be the end of us. Stop him, my dragon urged.
“I…” The omega scrunched his face. “I was embarrassed after our night together.”
“Why?” The word escaped before I had a chance to even process his words. He seemed all but embarrassed when he’d begged for me to fuck him.
“I might have gone into a half-heat and acted in a way I wouldn’t normally.”
I held my breath for a moment, unsure what he was trying to say. “I didn’t hurt you or anything, did I? I didn’t force—” Shit! How did I not notice he was in heat?
“No!” He held out his hands. “No, not that. I didn’t plan to do that while you were over, but the heat enveloped me, and I couldn’t help myself. With you, of course. Only you, but still…”
“Oh.” It should have been obvious he was in heat.
But I was always told when an omega started theirs, they attracted alphas from miles around.
No one had tried to crash down his door while I was there.
“I didn’t know. My dragon has just been always into you since I first met you at the day care. I thought since we were both willing…”
His cheeks flushed. “I was willing.”
“But not now?” I wanted to figure out what was going on between us and knew some of my co-workers were likely eavesdropping nearby.
He gulped. “I…I would like to try again. But maybe our date could end differently.”
I nodded. “I’m okay with that.” Anything to spend more time with him and calm my dragon. “How does tomorrow work for you? I’m off at six in the morning. After a few hours of sleep, I could come over and take you both out like we planned to do last time.”
“Yeah!” Kirin raced forward and tugged on my hand. “I agree and I won’t be sick this time.”
I chuckled at his response but still waited for his dad.
“Yeah, that would be nice.” Ladon stepped closer and set his hand on his son’s head. “I would like that. Just text me when you’re on your way.”
“You’ll answer this time?” I had to be sure, didn’t want to get my hopes up.
“I will.” Ladon gave me a soft smile before taking Kirin’s hand. “We should get out of your hair now. Besides, I still have to grab dinner for us.”
“Chicken!” Kirin pulled his dad toward the door. “I’m so hungry.”
I pointed down the street. “Be sure to avoid sinkholes this time.”
“We will. See you tomorrow.” Ladon waved before following his son out of the station.
Mate. The call was so loud, I was sure someone around me had heard it. I hoped Ladon and I were back on track.