34. Kelly
Chapter 34
J ake’s barking wakes me up. I don’t know what the big doof is going crazy over. It’s been so hard to sleep without Sam, Teddy, and Garret here. I miss cuddles. I get along better with Steve now, but he only cuddles me when he falls asleep.
My eyes are blurry as they open, a flickering glow trickling in. I don’t think I overslept. But maybe that’s what’s upsetting Jake. I need to go let my big cuddle-muffin out. Sitting up completely, something with the light immediately strikes me as wrong. It doesn’t look like sunlight. It’s coming from the side of the house, and it’s…moving?
Scrambling out of bed, I accidentally kick Steve in my attempts to get free from the blankets. When I make it to the window, I see Sam’s shop. It’s glowing. Flames lick along one side of the door.
Oh god!
My body turns before I can make a conscious decision, scrambling back to the bed to grab my phone. Dialing 911, I can barely hold back my panic as it rings once, twice. It’s picked up suddenly and a clear feminine voice answers, “Oak Flats Police Department, what is your emergency?”
Steve shouts from the other side of the room, as he comes fully awake, realizing something’s wrong. “Um, yes, ma’am. I…we…there’s a fire at my alpha’s house. He’s not here, I don’t…I’m not sure of the address. His shop caught on fire. Sam…Sam works with you but he’s not here. He went to Los Angeles to get our omega’s stuff and—”
The nice dispatcher cuts off my mad ramble. “Sam? Sam McKinnley? His shop?”
Not wanting to cause confusion, I just give an affirmative, “Uh-huh.”
“Ok, miss, we’ll be there as soon as possible. Do you know if anyone was in the shop at the time?”
My mind is scattered, and I can’t focus. What does she mean? It’s a shop in the middle of the night. Why would there be anyone inside? I manage a stuttered response. “No, no, Sam, Teddy, and Garret. They’re all gone. They went back to Los Angeles to get Teddy’s stuff. It’s been almost six days. They were supposed to be back. It’s just me and Steve and Jake…Jake’s a dog.” I don’t know why I feel the need to tell her that .
Her reply is cool and crisp. “Ok, miss…” She trails off, and I haven’t told her my name. To be fair, this is kind of stressful. “Carpenter…er…Kelly Carpenter, it used to be Parker, but I recently joined Sam’s pack, and we wanted a different name from his brother’s pack…” Oh god, I’m rambling, why am I rambling. This nice woman doesn’t need a history lesson.
“Ok, Ms. Carpenter, please keep the dog in the house unless there is a danger to him. I’ve already contacted the fire department, and they’ll be out shortly. Are you in immediate danger, is the fire spreading to your location?”
“No…no, I don’t think so, the shop’s not right next to the house, I just woke up.” Which makes sense, being the middle of the night, of course I just woke up. I sound like a lunatic. Jake’s barking is growing louder. I glance over at Steve who rushes to the door and yanks it open, allowing the big dog to bounce into the room. He’s barking like crazy, long drawn-out baying that hurts my ears and makes my eye twitch.
“Can you step outside, Kelly, to make sure the fire isn’t getting near the house?” The calm voice on the other end of the phone sounds reasonable, so much more reasonable than I feel right now, and I nod before realizing she can’t see me.
“Yes, um…Yes, ma’am. Lemme go check the back door. It’s closest to the shop.”
Her voice comes through more urgent, now. “No, Kelly. Please exit through the front. If the fire has spread we don’t want you to get caught in it, ok? Go to the front of the home, check the knob. If it feels hot, tell me and I’ll walk you through trying to find an alternate exit. Ok?”
I manage to grunt out another, “Uh-huh,” while Steve is swapping out his sleep pants for jeans and yanking a clean shirt over his head. He grabs Jake’s collar and leads him as gently as possible out the door and down to the living room. His hand comes out and quickly pats against the front doorknob before pulling back. He turns to me and shakes his head before grasping the knob and pulling open the door.
Thankfully, he still has a hold of Jake’s collar, because as soon as the door opens, my cuddly baby does a one-eighty, barking and snarling, tearing the screen out of the door and almost pulling his alpha handler down the steps as he frantically tries to get to something in our yard. Steve only stops himself from getting pulled over by grabbing onto the railing around the front steps, the dog thrashing like a fish caught on a line as he pulls against Steve’s other arm.
Something flares in the driveway, and I let out a little scream before I can catch it. The dispatcher quickly responds. “Kelly, Kelly, what is it? What’s wrong?” My hand clutches at my shirt, trying to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. Jake is still snarling, but he’s calmed down enough that I don’t worry about him hurting Steve while he tries to escape.
I barely recognize my own voice because it’s shaking so badly. “I…I don’t know. I saw something in the driveway. There aren’t any streetlights out there, and the light from the fire doesn’t reach because of the house, but Jake’s goin’ nuts. I think there mi ght be somebody else out here.” My voice is high and panicky as my words register in my own mind.
The dispatcher sucks in a sharp breath. “Kelly, get Jake and get back in the house. Can you do that? If the fire is not an immediate danger to you, take the dog, get inside, and lock your doors. We’ll have someone out as soon as possible. Do you understand me, Kelly?”
A low menacing laugh carries across the dark space. “Ahh, the beta. Yes, little beta, go inside and hide. We’ll be there soon.” Jake loses his ever-loving mind, and I scream as another light flickers on in the driveway near my car. It looks like a lighter, someone holding it close to their face, lighting a cigarette maybe.
My playful pupper is gone as Jake jumps and spins, his body twisting and his head sliding free from the collar that Steve is still hanging onto. Steve has gone ghost white, his whole body shaking as he backs slowly up the stairs, now-empty collar still in hand.
Now that Jake’s loose, he doesn’t attack. He marches back and forth in front of the porch steps—the short hair on his back bristled, and his normally friendly, floppy face is drawn back is a savage snarl. Patting my leg, I try to call his name. While he spares me a quick glance, his attention never fully leaves whoever has invaded his territory. I look down at my phone to see that the call is still active, but the dispatcher hasn’t said anything else .
A moment later, my phone rings with an incoming call—Teddy’s photo popping up on the screen. I don’t want to hang up with dispatch, but it’s the middle of the night. Teddy shouldn’t be calling unless he’s had an emergency. I want to cry and scream. I want my alphas and my omega here so I know that they’re alright.
Teddy goes to voicemail before I can figure out what to do. I bring the phone back to my ear, and my voice is surprisingly calm. “I need to go now. My omega just called, and I need to make sure he’s ok.” A loud crash sounds behind the house, probably something with Sam’s shop going up in smoke. The dispatcher tries to tell me to hold on, that someone will be here soon, and to keep her on the line, but I end the call, anyway. I need to make sure they’re safe.
My brain feels like it’s in a fog as I pull up my missed calls and dial Teddy back. It rings twice before he answers. His voice is frantic on the other end, and it yanks me partway out of my stupor to hear him. He’s practically yelling into the phone before I can speak. “Kelly, are you safe? The fire department just called Sam to come in, something about his shop. He’s losing his fucking mind because we’re still in Texas, and Garret’s practically climbing the walls of the truck. What happened?”
My shoulders sag at hearing that they’re safe, but then Jake lets out another vicious snarl. He’s stopped pacing and stares into the darkness, ready to tear something apart. “Teddy, the shop’s on fire. It woke us up. ”
His breath comes out in a loud hiss. “But you’re ok, right? You and Vee, you weren’t in the shop, and it’s not the house, you’re ok? Please, Kelly, tell me yo—” Jake’s volley of barks cuts him off.
“There’s people here. I can’t see who it is, but Jake doesn’t know ’em.” My voice sounds almost flat as I fight back panic, but Teddy misunderstands.
His breath comes out in a loud whoosh over the receiver. “Oh, wow, they got there fast then. It’s ok, Kelly, just…try to keep Jake inside so he doesn’t get hurt. Do you see Xan or Gabe?” I can hear other voices yelling in the background. Sam’s rough growl and Garret’s usually higher, more melodious tones…not that it sounds that way now.
“No…It’s not the fire department. It’s too dark, and they haven’t moved into the light, they’re just standing in the shadow by the car watching us.” Steve mutters something beside me, but all I can hear is Jake’s warning growl and Teddy’s panicked voice through the phone.
“Kelly, get in the house. Get in the house now. Take Jake and Vee with you if you can, otherwise, just go. Lock the door. Somebody’ll be there soon.” I try to stifle my inappropriate giggle because he sounds like the nice dispatcher I was just talking to.
Teddy’s voice is barely discernable though a snarl. “Kelly, get your ass in the house now! I’m not fucking kidding here!” I didn’t mean to laugh at him, but I think I might be kind of panicky. My brain feels like it’s floating away as a huge shadow breaks away from the cluster and starts towards the porch.
My voice is no more than a loud squeak as I spin on my heel, grabbing Steve and trying to drag him back towards the door. My phone slips out of my hand, and I barely register the crunching sound it makes when it hits the porch. There’s a loud thump behind us and a muffled whine from Jake, but Steve and I are pulling each other to relative safety. Thundering footsteps sound behind me and a big hand wraps around the back of my neck as my fingers brush the doorhandle.
I’m wrenched back against a hard chest, the scent of burnt rubber choking me. Steve follows me since he hasn’t let go of my hand yet. He turns and snarls, sounding a lot like Jake, as he lunges at whoever has their hands on me. A big fist swings out from behind me. There’s a wet, meaty thump and then Steve is laying sprawled on the wooden porch, blood leaking from a cut across his eyebrow.
Letting my legs give out, I flop towards the floor. The first thing that comes to mind from what Mom said growing up was don’t let anybody take you anywhere, the second was that dead weight is harder to move than someone who’s wiggling around. It doesn’t seem like this guy got the message though, as the hand around my neck just tightens and he grunts, dragging me down the steps.
Jake whimpers when he sees me. He tries to stand but his front leg buckles. His growl bubbles forth again when I reach for him. The large body behind me lashes out, a heavy boot catching my Jakey in the side of his muzzle—he lets out another pained yelp. “Shut the fuck up, you goddamned mutt. You wanna fuckin’ threaten me?” I’m shaken back and forth, but hear a low click noise and a mumbled, “Shoot your stupid ass, dumb fucker.”
My body thrashes—because nobody is gonna hurt my dog—and the hand squeezes so hard it takes everything I have just to gasp for breath. A scrambling noise draws my attention back to the porch where Steve is trying to stand up. He leans heavily on the rail, blood dripping over his eye and down his chin.
He lets out a croak as he finally gains his feet before throwing himself off the porch and towards us. His shout is broken and ragged. The long arm swings out one more time, something dark and shiny in his fist. I hear a loud crack as whatever it is lands across Steve’s jaw. He crumples again—while I appreciate the help, part of me wishes he’d stay down before he gets hurt worse.
The hand moves and I can finally make out the shape of what it’s holding. There’s a loud click of the safety coming off and the gun is pointed at Steve’s chest. The voice from earlier rings across the yard. “Now, now. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s still my son. Don’t shoot him unless you have to.” The alpha holding me shakes me again and growls before he flicks the safety back on and starts dragging me back across the yard.
I scream and flail, trying to get loose. I need to check on Jake. He hasn’t moved. I need to check on Steve .
A moment later, I’m dropped unceremoniously on the ground in front of another man. He sneers down at me while a third large shadow looms behind him. His scent has beachy tones like the twins, but instead of sun and fun or a distant storm, it calls to mind rotting seaweed and dead fish. My stomach turns and I fight the urge to vomit all over his shiny shoes.
My arms shake as I try to push myself up. I need to get away—but he steps forward, his foot heavy as it comes down on my hand and I shriek as the bones grind together under his weight. His voice is a menacing growl when he squats by my head. “So, you’re the beta that Garret’s claiming, huh? Do you think that worthless piece of shit’ll still want you after they’re through?” He chuckles darkly, and I try to swallow back the bile burning my throat. “Well, at least you’ll be properly broken in for an alpha.”
He waves his arm to the two bigger men and takes a step back, freeing my abused hand. My legs kick out, trying to escape, but the hand closes around my throat this time, cutting off my oxygen and lifting me as I scratch and flail at the two figures closing in. Between their bodies I can see Steve still on the ground, trying to stand up—Jake limping over to him and pressing his nose against my pack mate.
The gap closes and a hand tangles in my hair—black spots dance in front of my eyes. I hear a low raspy chuckle, and then nothing.