4. Walker
Chapter 4
Walker
T he fire was under control, and there had been no loss of life.
As far as I was concerned, that was a successful call.
As I packed up my radio and prepared for a debrief before returning to the station to get a little shut-eye, Blaze came up to me, a big smirk on his face.
“What do you want?” I couldn’t help but laugh. Blaze was easy to read; his face said it all.
“We are going to have a guest at the firehouse for a few days,” he declared.
I sighed. “Did you find another dog? Don’t get me wrong, they’re adorable, but this is why we have relationships with the local no-kill shelters.”
Blaze bit his lip, barely holding back a laugh. “Not a dog this time. It seems Rune is a little obsessed with an omega and her baby and doesn’t want her going to the shelter.”
I frowned. “An omega?”
“Yeah, she’s on her own, and Rune is all kinds of possessive.”
It was highly unusual for an omega to be alone—especially one with a child.
“Where’s her pack?” I asked, crossing my arms. The last thing I needed was to take an omega under our wing, only to learn she had a pack who would undoubtedly be very angry with us for taking their omega away.
Blaze shrugged. “No pack in sight, and I can’t see any bite marks either. I think she’s all alone…”
My chest constricted at that thought. Blaze was right—there was no way in hell we could send a single omega with a young child to the shelters. They did their best, and were invaluable for displaced people, but omegas were extra vulnerable.
“Shit…”
“Her kid is young as well, cute as a button, and they’ve just lost everything. We both know those shelters fill up with shady males this time of night.”
Jesus Christ, Blaze is laying it on thick.
I would never be able to live with myself if something bad happened, and he knew that. Everything that occurred with our team and on our emergency calls fell on my head as the captain of Station Sixteen.
Leveling Blaze with a cool look, I grumbled, “Let me guess, you don’t want her bunking with you guys?”
Somehow, his grin got even wider. “Well, you’ve got a private room. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?”
The little shit.
He was lucky he was family.
Even then, I was tempted to make him run drills every day for a month.
I sighed. “Okay, where is she?”
Blaze jerked his finger behind him. “She’s in the ambulance. Rune hasn’t left her side.” The knowing smirk never left his face.
Somehow, I got the impression this was going to be more complicated than I wanted.
Rune wasn’t usually the possessive type. Caring, yes. Loyal to a fault, sure. But possessive? Not usually. Throwing the hose I was wrapping onto the truck, I followed my pack mate as he sauntered back to where several ambulances were treating the few people that had evacuated the building.
We were lucky that the building had been minimally occupied; it had been easy to clear, and there were no serious injuries, other than a bit of smoke inhalation.
The omega and her child were the last ones out before we all retreated. The building had been swept several times, and we were confident it was empty. So now our focus was on extinguishing the fire.
“Gil! You good? I’m going to go check out something in triage,” I shouted into my radio. After me, he was second-in-command. He had the most experience with fires and had been a firefighter for a decade longer than me. While everything seemed under control, there was no harm in double checking.
His cheerful voice crackled through the speaker. “We have everything under control.”
Station Seventeen was also on the scene—I had seen Samson running around with Blaze earlier, so there were plenty of firefighters nearby. I wasn’t leaving anyone a man down by following Blaze.
Happy with the reassurance that the fire was under control, I jogged after Blaze. He was already back at the ambulance, and the sight that met me made my steps falter.
Sitting on the gurney, wrapped up in Rune’s arms, was the omega. My pack mate held her, his back straight as he looked down at her, utterly oblivious to his surroundings.
The omega was beautiful. I would have to be blind not to notice it. Even with her eyes rimmed red, and her golden tresses messy from the pandemonium, there was something magnetic about her. She clutched her son almost as possessively as Rune clutched her, regularly kissing the top of the baby’s head and muttering what I assumed were soothing words to the dozing toddler in her arms.
“Sunshine, this is our boss, Walker,” Blaze introduced me. “He’s also our pack mate, so he’s used to dealing with us.”
“H-hi,” she stammered, eyes raking over me, widening slightly as she took me in.
What is she thinking? Does she like what she sees?
Why am I even concerned with that?
I wanted her approval. Even though I had only just met her, something deep inside me was craving that approval. My chest puffed up in a tiny gesture that I’m certain my pack mates didn’t miss.
She held her hand out and shook mine, her skin silky, and I didn’t want to let it go. “What’s your name?” I asked.
Blaze had been calling her sunshine , and the name suited her. I was sure, once she was well rested and a bit less grubby, she would radiate warmth and light.
“Sunny Sanderson,” she whispered, her voice soft. My mind buzzed with the desperate need to hear her say more. I didn’t give a damn what she said.
She could recite the manual to my decrepit old microwave back to front and I would listen like my fucking life depended on it. Everything about her fascinated me, from the way her bottom lip pouted, to the curving slope of her delicate nose.
It was easy to see why Rune was so taken with her. On the gurney, her child in her arms, she looked so vulnerable and fragile.
Protect. Keep. Claim , the voice in the back of my head shouted.
Taking a step closer, I intended to reassure her she was safe, but instead, I was hit in the face with that scent.
Sweet lemon.
So utterly perfect.
And so utterly mine .
“So, you’re coming back to the station?” I asked, keeping an easy smile on my face. I didn’t want to startle or intimidate the omega, since she was clearly stressed. Her scent, even though it was mind-numbingly delicious and I wanted to devour it, smelled slightly sour from her stress.
Everything in me wanted to fix the omega’s upset. Omegas shouldn’t be stressed; they should be spoiled. Wrapped up in a nest and fed all the snacks.
And all the knots.
Quickly shaking that thought out of my head, I focused on Sunny.
“I-uh, that’s what these guys are saying.” She looked between Rune and Blaze, who both grinned at her. “I don’t want to impose, though. I can try and find somewhere else to stay.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you have anywhere else you can stay?”
Her mouth opened and closed before a look of sadness overtook her features. Her unhappiness was like a punch to my gut, and I'd only just met her. “I…I suppose I don’t,” she admitted.
“Well, you're welcome to come and stay at the station for a while. Like these guys said, there's a private bedroom and bathroom you can use until you figure out something else.”
“I can go to the shelter that everyone else is talking about,” she said quietly, though I could tell by the way she bit her lip and her scent soured that she wasn’t thrilled with that idea.
“There is no way in good conscience I could allow you to stay there. Yes, it's a good facility, but you and your boy would be uniquely vulnerable there, and I would never forgive myself if something happened. You'll be safe at the station. The private bedroom and bathroom even have locks, so none of us can enter. Not key locks either. I'm talking about deadbolts.”
Not that I'd ever used the deadbolts. They had already been installed when we took over the station, and I'd never seen a need for them. My pack mates and team needed to be able to reach me whenever.
Suddenly, I found myself glad of their existence, though, if it made the omega feel safer.
“I won’t be putting anyone out?” she asked.
“Nope, we prefer to room together,” I said, lying through my teeth. I didn't want to lie, but this omega was giving me the impression that she would refuse to take my room if she realized I usually slept there.
It would be painfully obvious once we got to the station that I usually slept there. All my belongings were in that room and my scent covered every surface. But I was hoping that, by the time she was there, she wouldn't protest.
Her safety was most important.
What was an omega like her even doing living in an area like this? Half of the buildings were condemned, and the few that weren’t didn’t exactly attract the best tennants.
“Okay… if you’re sure. But only for a few nights,” she insisted.
I nodded, opting to go along with what she was saying—though I had no intention of letting her leave until she had somewhere safe for her and her boy to stay.
“Only for a few nights.”