Chapter 9
Cristox
The siren cut through my dreams like a blade, sharp and merciless.
I jolted awake, heart hammering against my ribs before my eyes fully opened. The wail was piercing, urgent—nothing like the distant, mechanical alarms of the Historia. This was close. This was here. This was the kind of sound that meant lives hung in the balance.
I was on my feet before conscious thought caught up, yanking on the jeans I'd left crumpled on the floor. No shirt, no shoes—there wasn't time. Every instinct screamed that something was catastrophically wrong.
I burst through the guest house door and nearly collided with Mei on the porch. Bartholomeus was right behind her, his usually serene face grave in the pre-dawn darkness, shadows carving deep lines around his eyes.
"What is it?" I demanded, voice rough with sleep and adrenaline.
"Fire alarm." Mei's usual composure cracked at the edges like fractured glass. She pointed toward the center of town, where an orange glow was beginning to paint the sky in hellish shades. "The town only has one siren. It means..."
But I was already scenting the air, nostrils flaring wide. Smoke. Thick and acrid, laced with something chemical that made my throat constrict. And underneath it all, woven through the destruction, the unmistakable smell of baking bread, of cinnamon and sugar, of her.
The bakery.
My blood turned to ice.
"Ruby," I breathed, her name a prayer and a curse.
Then I was running.
My bare feet pounded against pavement, stones and gravel biting into my soles with each stride, but I didn't feel it.
I felt nothing except the primal terror clawing up my throat.
The glow grew brighter with every step, and now I could see flames.
Hungry tongues of orange and red licking up the building's side like a beast devouring prey, reaching for the second floor where Ruby and Teddy slept.
A small crowd had gathered, villagers in nightclothes standing at a helpless distance, faces painted orange by firelight, expressions frozen in horror. I shoved through them without apology. They were obstacles between me and what mattered most.
That's when I saw Peacekeeper Craig dragging someone out the front door, smoke billowing around them both.
Ruby.
She fought him like a wild thing, nightclothes torn and smudged with soot, hair billowing around her face like a golden halo. She was screaming, the sound raw and desperate enough to tear something vital in my chest.
"TEDDY! MY BABY! TEDDY'S STILL INSIDE!"
She clawed at Craig's arms, trying to wrench free, trying to throw herself back into the inferno. The peacekeeper's face was grim as he hauled her further from the building, muscles straining, grip iron-tight even as she landed a solid hit to his jaw that snapped his head sideways.
"Ruby, you can't—the structure's not stable."
"MY SON IS IN THERE!" The words tore from her throat, primal and agonized.
I didn't think. Didn't hesitate. My body moved on pure instinct, every cell screaming one word: Cub. My cub.
The heat hit me like a physical wall as I charged through the front door, a blast of superheated air searing my lungs.
Smoke billowed thick and black, making each breath a battle.
I dropped low where the air was clearer and took the stairs three at a time, flames already eating through the banister.
The floor groaned beneath my weight, threatening to give way, but I didn't slow.
Teddy's room was upstairs, toward the front.
The door hung open, and I burst through, eyes streaming from smoke, tears cutting tracks through the soot already coating my face.
The flames hadn't reached this room yet, but the smoke was dense enough to kill, a gray-black fog that turned everything into shadows and ghosts.
"Teddy!" My voice came out as a roar, desperate and commanding.
The bed was empty, covers thrown back. My heart seized.
"TEDDY!"
A whimper. Soft, terrified, coming from the closet.
I crossed the room in two strides and yanked the door open. There he was, curled in the corner behind a pile of toys, little face streaked with tears and soot, eyes wide with terror.
"Uncle Cris—" He dissolved into a coughing fit, small body wracking with spasms.
I scooped him up, tucking him against my chest, feeling his heart hammering against mine like a trapped bird. My tail curled instinctively around his small body. "I've got you, cub. Hold on."
I turned back toward the stairs, but the flames had spread with terrifying speed.
The stairwell was an inferno now, fire roaring up from below like a dragon's throat.
The chemical stench hit me then—sharp, acrid, wrong.
Not just wood smoke, but the acidic tang of shuttle fuel. Someone had used an accelerant.
Someone had done this on purpose.
Rage flooded through me, hot and vicious, a red tide that threatened to drown rational thought, but I shoved it down. Later. Right now, I needed to get Teddy out.
I spun and ran for the back of the house, to Ruby's bedroom.
Even through the thick smoke, I caught her scent—vanilla and something spicy and sweet, something that called to every instinct I possessed.
The flames hadn't reached this room yet, but they would soon.
The heat was intense, the smoke so thick I could barely see.
I made it to her window and shoved it open with my shoulder. Cool night air rushed in like salvation, and I gulped it down, turning Teddy's face toward the fresh air.
Below, I could hear Ruby screaming.
"TEDDY! PLEASE! MY BABY!"
"Ruby!" I shouted, voice hoarse from smoke. "I've got him!"
Her scream changed pitch—hope mixed with terror, relief tangled with disbelief.
There was a large oak tree about ten feet from the window, branches thick and sturdy. It was a jump, but our only chance. The floor beneath us groaned ominously, and somewhere below, something collapsed with a thunderous crash that shook the entire structure.
I glanced down at Teddy. His little face was pale beneath the soot, eyes huge. "Listen to me, cub. I need you to hold on to me as tightly as you can. Use your claws."
His bottom lip trembled, and fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. "Mama says... Mama says I gotta keep my claws in. They might hurt people."
My chest tightened. Even now, even terrified and surrounded by flames, he was trying to be good.
"They won't hurt me," I told him, voice firm and steady despite the chaos. "I promise. I need you to dig in and hold tight. Can you do that for me?"
He nodded, small jaw setting with determination that was pure Ruby.
"Good boy. Now hold on."
His little claws extended—still kitten-small, barely sharp—and he dug them into my shoulders, wrapping his arms and legs around me. I felt the pricks, but they were nothing.
I climbed onto the windowsill, gauged the distance, and jumped.
For one heart-stopping moment, we were airborne, suspended between fire and safety.
Then my claws found purchase in the bark, and I caught the trunk, muscles screaming as I absorbed the impact.
Teddy yelped but held on, small body pressed tight against mine.
I descended quickly, using my claws to control our slide downward.
The moment my feet hit the ground, Ruby was there.
She slammed into me with enough force to nearly knock me over, arms wrapping around both of us, her whole body shaking with sobs. She wore pajama pants covered in pink hearts and a pink shirt, hair a wild tangle around her face, skin streaked with soot and tears.
"Teddy, oh God, Teddy!" She kissed his face, his hair, his hands, checking him over with trembling fingers.
"Mama." Teddy's voice was small and scared, reaching for her with both hands.
She pulled him from my arms and crushed him against her chest. The sound she made—relief and anguish and love all tangled together—nearly brought me to my knees. My tail wrapped around them both without conscious thought.
But we were still too close. The heat was intense, and the fire was spreading fast. I could hear the structure groaning, ready to collapse.
I scooped them both up in my arms. Ruby let out a startled sound but didn't protest as I carried them away from the burning building, away from the heat and smoke and danger. I didn't stop until we were at a safe distance, setting them down on cool grass across the street.
Ruby immediately curled around Teddy, rocking him, murmuring in a voice thick with tears, hands running over him again and again as if to convince herself he was real and whole and safe.
And I stood there, lungs burning, skin singed, watching them—my mate and my cub, the two most precious things in this or any universe.
The wail of sirens grew louder. Moments later, fire trucks roared up the street, lights painting the night in flashes of red and white. Firefighters poured out, moving swiftly and efficiently, but even I could see the flames had consumed too much. The bakery was dying before our eyes.
A human male named Harold, the fire chief, approached us after conferring with Craig. His face was grim, streaked with sweat. "I'm sorry, Ruby," he said, his voice heavy with regret. "We'll do what we can, but I'm afraid it's going to be a total loss."
Ruby's arms tightened around Teddy, but she nodded, jaw set with the same determination I'd seen in her son. She was trying to be strong for him, but tears shimmered in her eyes.
Bartholomeus materialized beside us, his usual calm composure troubled. "This is terrible. I wonder if there was something wrong with one of the ovens—perhaps faulty wiring or—" I knew he looked for an accidental culprit, but he was wrong.
"No." The word came out hard and angry, cutting through his speculation like a knife, causing everyone to turn to look at me. "It wasn't an accident."
"What do you mean?" Craig asked sharply, his peacekeeper instincts immediately alert.
"I smelled accelerant when I was inside. Shuttle fuel. Someone set this fire deliberately."
The silence that followed was absolute. Even the crackling flames seemed to fade.
"Are you certain?" Craig's voice was tight, controlled, but I could see fury building behind his eyes.
"I'm certain." My kind's sense of smell was far superior to human capabilities. "This was arson."
Craig's jaw clenched, hand moving instinctively to rest on the blaster holstered at his belt. "But why? Who would want to..."
"I don't understand," Mei interrupted, stepping closer to Ruby. "Ruby, you're beloved in this town. Everyone adores you and your bakery. It doesn't make any sense. Why would someone want to hurt you?"
Ruby shook her head, looking lost and small in a way I'd never seen her before. "I don't know. I can't think of anyone who would..." Her voice broke, and she pressed her face against Teddy's mane, breathing him in.
Bartholomeus frowned, mind clearly working through possibilities. "Perhaps it wasn't personal. Could it have been random? An accident?"
"With shuttle fuel?" I growled, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. "That's not something you stumble across. Someone planned this."
Craig pulled out his comm device, expression hardening.
"I'm opening a formal investigation. I'll need to interview everyone with access to shuttle fuel, anyone who might have had a grudge, anyone who's been acting suspicious.
" He looked at Ruby, his gaze softening.
"I know this is hard, but I'll need you to think about anyone—customers, suppliers, anyone at all—who might have seemed off lately. "
"I can help," I offered, knowing I wouldn't be able to stand by while my mate and child were at risk. "I have experience in the intelligence field. Pattern recognition, threat assessment, and interrogation techniques." I met Craig's eyes steadily. "I'll help you find who did this."
Craig studied me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I won't turn down the assistance. Especially not from someone with your particular skill set."
Mei stepped forward, expression soft with concern. "In the meantime, Ruby and Teddy need somewhere to stay." She glanced at Bartholomeus, who nodded immediately. "You can come home with us until we figure out something more permanent."
"Actually," Craig interjected, "I've got a three-bedroom house, and I live alone. There's plenty of room, and it might be easier for the investigation if you're close by."
"No." The word came out hard, possessive, absolute. I moved closer to Ruby and Teddy, my tail curling protectively around them both, drawing them into my space. Instinct surged through my chest like a physical force, something wild and untamable. "They'll stay with me."
Craig's eyebrows rose. "Cristox, the guest house is barely big enough for—"
"If someone is trying to hurt Ruby and Teddy, they need protection." I met his gaze without flinching. "And I will keep them safe."
Ruby lifted her head from Teddy's hair, eyes searching my face.
For a moment, I thought she might argue, might insist on maintaining her independence despite everything.
But then something shifted in her expression—acceptance, maybe, or trust, or perhaps just exhaustion—and she simply leaned into my embrace, letting me take the weight.
I held them both tighter, my mate and my cub, my tail securing them against me, and silently dared anyone to try to take them from me.