7. Ezra
Smoke billowed out of the windows of the large home ahead of us, glass shattering as it exploded outward. Two figures stumbled back, the woman’s cries loud enough to hear as we rolled to a stop.
Corvin started barking out orders the moment the truck was in place. They were orders that Apollo and I followed without hesitation. We trusted him, and we’d done this long enough that we were a well-oiled machine.
The woman standing outside was wringing her hands as the man tried to console her.
“Is anyone inside, ma’am?” I asked as I approached. I was usually the one to handle civilians, not just because I was a beta, but because I knew how to talk to them.
They didn’t need to be traumatized further by an alpha barking questions. Corvin had little to no tact in these situations.
“My baby is in there,” she cried out.
“A human baby?” I clarified, shocked that she was standing out here at all if that was the case.
“No!” she bellowed. “He’s my tortoise. His name is Baby. I can’t lift him.”
I glanced back at my team and then at the house, gauging the danger levels. Between Apollo and Corvin, they already had the hose primed and running.
“The house still looks stable,” Corvin said as I hurried over. “Fire’s contained to the kitchen, more than anything. We need to move.”
“I’m going in,” I said. “There’s a pet inside.”
Corvin looked like he was ready to argue, but I was already pulling the mask over my face and rushing in.
The smoke inside was thick. It was dense enough that it was hard to see. There were tortoises everywhere in the décor: artwork on the walls, little figurines scattered around. But the real thing wasn’t in plain sight. It wasn’t like a dog I could call out to, either.
This situation could turn bad, fast, if I didn’t hurry.
I cleared the small house room by room until I finally reached a screened-in porch at the back. The smoke wasn’t as bad out there thanks to the mesh windows.
And there, right in the middle, chomping on a massive pile of vegetables and heads of lettuce, was a monster of a tortoise. The kind I’d only ever seen at a zoo.
He was living like a king out here with a little hut, a bed, even a small kiddie pool off to the side.
“All right, big fella,” I said as I approached.
He looked up from his meal, chewing slowly, completely unimpressed by the sight of me.
I propped open the screen door and tried to grab him by the shell, guiding him toward the exit. There was no way I was lifting this giant beast, but I didn’t want him hurt, either.
He made a growling noise but didn’t cooperate, instead snatching up a carrot and crunching down on it.
Trying a new tactic, I gathered up the vegetables and tossed them out of the back door, a safe distance from danger. He looked at me again, and I swore this turtle had more attitude than I ever thought possible.
Finally, he started moving, faster than I expected. It threw me off balance, and I tumbled down the ramp she’d built for him, spilling out onto the grass.
“Oh, Baby, you’re alive!” the woman screeched as she rushed around to the back.
Leaving her to fawn over the creature, I hurried back to help the others. Corvin and Apollo were both manning the hose now, one of the younger rookies pitching in since backup had arrived. The fire was almost completely contained now. A quick response made all the difference.
I’d spent most of this call fighting a giant turtle… not exactly a heroic tale.
It didn’t take long to get everything under control, making sure every last spark was out. Then came the fun part. The paperwork.
“Did you seriously run into a burning building to save a fucking turtle?” Corvin asked.
I could’ve argued and say I didn’t, but we all knew that would’ve been a lie. I had absolutely gone into a burning building to save a pet.
And I’d do it again.
“No, a tortoise. More like a dinosaur, than a turtle,” I argued. “And it’s not like I wouldn’t have gone in for a dog or a cat.”
Corvin let out a low growl but didn’t protest further. We’ve done this song and dance too many times to count.
“You’re on paperwork duty,” he bit out.
For once, I didn’t fight it. Apollo just shrugged. He wasn’t about to volunteer himself instead. The moment we pulled back into the station, he rushed off, mumbling something about getting food started.
I settled in with the paperwork, filling out the incident report for the chief, being as detailed as possible. The entire time, my mind kept drifting back to my encounter with Bea at the diner earlier.
She hadn’t screamed or run at the sight of me. She’d even said she’d message soon, and something about the way she’d said it made me think she meant it. Even if she was struggling with the idea of a pack for whatever reason, she hadn’t written us off yet.
“What the hell has you smiling during paperwork?” Corvin accused as he walked in.
Did he expect me to be pouting? I swear, he was just being a dick after our mate all but ran from us.
“First you make me do paperwork, now you want to complain about how eagerly I’m doing it?” I shot back, raising an eyebrow, pen poised above the form.
He held his hands up, but, of course, he didn’t let it go. “No. What is it? Did you see her?”
“Maybe,” I admitted, a smirk tugging at my lips. “I may have run into her at the diner. And she may have agreed to message us soon.”
“God, I hope so,” he said, running a hand over his face before gripping his hair. I was right, he wasn’t handling this well at all. He was just pretending to. “I’ve been going crazy wanting to talk to her again.”
“I have a feeling we won’t have to wait too long.”
I finished the call's paperwork and I decided to go over the forms for the week. If Corvin wanted me to do it, I'd make sure that it was all correct.
"Hiding?" Apollo asked, poking his head in the little office the two of us shared.
"Nah, just being meticulous about this so Corvin has nothing to bitch about," I answered truthfully, sitting back in my chair.
"You noticed that, too?" Apollo questioned.
"That he's being a dick? More than normal? Yes, I did.” We’d been friends and pack long enough to know his ins and outs.
"Does he think it's not killing us as well?" he demanded, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"He knows. Don't take it to heart. Corvin's been the guy that gets what he wants, when he wants it. This has to be harder on him because of that," I reminded my big friend.
"Harder on who?" Corvin asked from behind Apollo.
"My uncle's cousin. His wife is pregnant," I lied smoothly. There was no way that I'd admit we were talking about him.
"Why is that harder for him? Babies are a blessing," he commented and pushed Apollo over so he could see the both of us.
"They already have five," I added.
"Oh, the more the merrier?" he asked with a shrug.
"Maybe, time will tell, huh?" I countered.
Just then the alarm went off and we were rushing out to the truck for another fire.
We pulled on our turnout gear and loaded up in the truck. It was just a short ride to the lake that the station was near.
Corvin told us that it was a small grass fire but there was no smoke or anything to give us a clue to where it was.
"Were we pranked?" I asked my captain, stunned that might be the case. In all our years doing this, we’d never been pranked. The boys in the city? Sure. But Willow Lake wasn’t the type.
"Looks like it, let's check the shoreline just to be sure," Corvin told us, just as shocked as I was.
"On it, boss," Apollo said, heading left.
"I'll go right," I called back, already heading that way.
"I'm going to call dispatch and see what's up," Corvin called out to both of us.
I gave him a wave over my shoulder as I walked between the houses to the beach. Apollo's whistling was getting farther and farther away as I made my way in the opposite direction.
The slight flicker of flames had me picking up my pace. Until I heard the laughter, stumbling to a stop at the sight of a group having fun and chatting while roasting marshmallows.
This couldn’t be the bonfire that was called in? Right? It wasn’t exactly a raging inferno. I chuckled to myself and headed over. We might just have a busybody on our hands.
“Umm, we got a call about a fire. I think they were talking about this. Has anyone been giving you trouble?” I asked, glancing around the circle of friends until I met her eyes.
Bea was here, and the only thing that I could think of was going to her side but I tensed my muscles, stopping myself.
She wanted space, so I’d give her that. Even if this distance was killing me slowly. Our pack might not be coming together easily, but it was real, and hard work never scared me.
“That depends on the day,” the redhead with a baby on her lap answered.
“Well, just make sure to keep it contained and put it out before you go home for the night,” I told them, my eyes locked on Bea’s.
“Are you new in town?” the cowboy closest to me asked. His voice was a gruff rumble, cutting through the trance I was in.
“My pack and I were new… a few years ago,” I answered. “We got transferred here to your quiet, little town and decided to stay.”
“And no one threw you a welcome? Shame on our little town. Not to mention a prank call? I’m gonna have to make that up to you guys.
How do you feel about steaks and taters?
” he asked with a slow grin. Something about it told me he was doing this to mess with Bea, but if it got us closer to our girl, how could I complain?
“Love them,” I answered with a grin.
“Great, I’ll bring it to the firehouse around noon tomorrow,” he said, holding out a hand for me to shake.
He gripped my hand in a firm shake. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
“Anytime. The name’s Holt.”
“Ezra,” I answered back.
“Oh! Bea needs to make her famous deviled eggs and potato salad. Make it almost picnic style!” the omega near Holt exclaimed.
“That’s too kind,” I started when the others started planning what else to bring. “You don’t have to go all out for us like that.”
“Sure, we do,” one of the alphas said, barely looking over now that they were in full planning mode.
“Give me a second to check in with my Captain,” I said, stepping a few feet from them.
Grabbing my radio, I pressed the button. “Cap, it’s just a few people making s’mores. Our girl is here.”
Corvin and Apollo both crackled on the radio, “Bea?”
“Yes, but don’t come. It may scare her away,” I said in a whisper. “I’m going to tell her group goodnight and report back.”
“You’ve got five,” Corvin growled.
I knew that he would be upset about missing her but she had set a line and there was no way that we were crossing it. Not if we wanted her to come to us.
“I have to get back. Have a good night and remember what I said about the fire,” I said when I had returned to Holt’s side. “It was nice to meet you all.”
Holt shook my hand again. “See you soon.”
“Bye!” a few of the others called out… all but Bea. She tried to avoid looking at me but I saw the way she was stealing glances. She was close enough I could scent her on the breeze.
There was a smile on my face just from seeing my mate and I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. The urge to run back and snatch her up grew more intense with each step away from her.
When the flashing lights of the truck were in sight, I spotted my two packmates leaning against it, their arms crossed.
That wiped the smile from my lips. If I were in their shoes, I’d be losing it, too.
“Is she okay?” Corvin asked when I stopped in front of them.
“Fine, but didn’t say a word to me. Avoided it, actually.”
“Why didn’t you scoop her up and bring her with you?” Apollo grumbled, even though we all knew that would never work on an omega like ours.
“Because if I did that, it may scare her and we are trying not to do that,” I reminded him.
He sighed and Corvin spoke up, voice angry, but words firm. “You did the right thing.”
“It wasn’t easy. We might see her tomorrow, though,” I said as we loaded up into the truck.
“Really?” Apollo asked hopefully.
“Her friends are bringing us lunch. They volunteered her to bring some food, too. So, I’m hopeful but not going to count on it,” I said as I settled into my seat.
“Why are they bringing us food?” Corvin asked as he backed up the truck and headed back to our little station.
“A welcome to the town a few years too late. But how can we turn down a free steak?” I countered.
“Protein, I’ll always take that,” Apollo muttered as he flexed like the dork he was.
Corvin didn’t speak again as he drove us back, and the silence unsettled me. I could only hope that if she didn’t come, he wouldn’t sink any deeper into the despair already pulling him under.