Chapter 4

Kaelin's POV

"Kaelin!"

A towering figure kicked open the half-burned ward door. Torin’s eyes were bloodshot, his face covered in sweat.

His eyes immediately locked onto my paralyzed form, and without hesitation, he sprinted toward me.

The next second, a weak cry echoed from the doorway.

Myla collapsed at the edge of the flames, clutching her ankle, heavy tears streaming down her face. "Torin... I twisted my ankle... I can't walk..."

Torin slammed the brakes on his sprint and looked back.

"Torin, leave me!" Myla cried, looking tragically beautiful amidst the firelight. "Kaelin is badly hurt, she needs you! Save her! It doesn't matter if I burn to death here... just take care of Owen for me!"

Torin froze. He looked at me, choking on the thick smoke and barely able to breathe, then looked down at his pale ex-wife who looked like she might pass out at any moment.

The fire was growing wilder. The ceiling began to emit the ominous groans of collapsing metal.

The next second, he turned, stepped over the burning debris, and scooped Myla up into his arms.

"Torin! You can't leave her!" Myla struggled hypocritically in his embrace.

Torin held her tight. He looked back at me on the hospital bed, the fire illuminating his panicked face.

"Kaelin, hold on! I'll get Myla out first, and I will be right back for you! I promise!"

Torin's POV

"Let go of me!"

I ripped my shirt out of Myla’s death grip. Three minutes ago, I had dumped her in the safe zone outside the hospital's main entrance.

The hospital's fourth floor was now a giant blazing furnace. Toxic black smoke and skyrocketing flames were devouring the window of that very ward.

Kaelin was still inside.

I sprinted madly toward the roaring fire. All that remained in my mind were her eyes—completely devoid of life—the last time she looked at me.

"Alpha! You absolutely cannot go over there!"

My Beta, Jax, rushed over with several pack warriors and tackled me around the waist. "The fire is completely out of control! Going in now is suicide!"

"You useless trash! Kaelin is still in that room on the fourth floor!" I roared, my eyes bloodshot as I thrashed like a trapped beast. "If you don't have the guts to save her, I'll go myself! Anyone who tries to stop me, I'll snap their fucking neck!"

I threw Jax off and lunged toward the fire-spewing entrance.

A deafening explosion tore through my eardrums from above.

A massive ball of orange-red fire erupted from the fourth floor. A shockwave, like a speeding freight train, slammed brutally into my chest.

"Alpha! Watch out!"

I was violently blown backward by the blast wave, tossed dozens of meters into the air like a broken ragdoll.

"Kaelin..."

I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, struggling to push myself up. My ribs screamed in agony, feeling like three of them had snapped.

But physical pain was nothing compared to the sickening snap that echoed from the absolute depths of my soul.

The fated mate bond between Kaelin and me... vanished.

"No... No! That's impossible!"

I clutched my chest. The suffocating feeling of having a piece of my heart seemingly carved out of my body forced me straight to my knees.

The fire burned for three grueling hours.

I refused medical attention. I used my bleeding, bare hands to dig fiercely through the scorching bricks and tiles. My fingernails cracked and split, my skin turning into a bloody, mangled mess, but I didn't dare stop for even a second.

"Kaelin, you're still mad at me, aren't you? You're punishing me for taking Myla out first..." I knelt in a pile of charred rebar, my voice unbelievably hoarse. "I was wrong, baby. Please, I'm begging you, just say something to me..."

No answer. Only the harsh grinding of chainsaws and the shouts of firefighters.

I don't know how much time passed, but the footsteps behind me stopped.

I turned around sluggishly.

Jax stood a few feet away, covered in ash and blood. Behind him, several pack warriors all hung their heads in silence.

"Alpha..." Jax’s voice was so raspy it didn't even sound like him. His eyes were completely red.

"You found her, didn't you? Where's the ambulance? Contact the best burn specialist in Boston right now!" I jumped up and stumbled toward him. "Where is she?"

Jax didn't move. With a trembling hand, he slowly opened his palm toward me.

There, resting quietly on a black glove coated in dust and blood, was a severely warped, charred platinum diamond ring.

Three years ago, I had slipped it onto Kaelin's finger with my own hands.

"We found this on a horribly burned female body." Jax closed his eyes, his adam's apple bobbing with immense difficulty, his voice laced with absolute despair.

"Alpha... the Luna... she didn't make it."