Page 73 of Sweethearts and Savages
“It’s not a drill?”
Christopher pulled back, shaking his head. “No. There was an explosion on the lower floor. Between the infirmary and the server room—”
He didn’t even get the last word out before I was running.
Stacey.
“Enit, wait!” someone called, but I knew it wasn’t Bohdie. He was right there behind me. We tore through the gathering adults, whose job it was to keep fires contained. I saw Carmen with Flint, her fire Djinn, and Sammie.
I bolted around people, aiming for the doors, when strong arms banded around my waist. “No, Omega. Stay.”
Bohdie used his fucking Alpha voice on me.
I stayed, rooted to the spot, as he disappeared into the doors, ignoring the shouts of Micah as he lurched toward Bohdie.
Carmen was beside me in a moment, holding me close, or maybe holding me back. I didn’t know. “She’s going to be fine, E. I know it.” Her whispered promises were meant to appease me; she couldn’t know for certain, but still I clung to them.
Minutes felt like centuries until Bohdie emerged back out of the smoke, holding the door for Frost, who was carrying an unconscious Stacey in his arms.
I rushed forward, Carmen letting me go, as he lurched a few more yards away and laid her on the grass. He dropped down beside her and I fell to my knees.
“Stacey!” She was still out of it, and I wanted to shake her awake, but I didn’t. I checked her for burns or wounds, noticing that her head was bleeding.
“Move, Omega.” Alistair was there, and I scrabbled out of the way. He knelt beside her, checking her pulse. “Stacey, can you hear me?”
Her eyelashes fluttered as Alistair gently lifted her head an inch or two, feeling for breaks and wounds. Finally, she blinked them open. Her eyes bounced between us, and she winced.
“My head has a contusion. I feel disorientated,” she mumbled.
Alistair nodded. “Concussion. You banged your head by the looks of it. Anything else hurt?”
She was silent for a moment, probably mentally cataloguing herself. “No, I’m fine.”
I took that as my permission to kiss every inch of her face, peppering it like I could take all her hurts into myself. “You scared the shit out of me.”
She let me kiss her a little more before gently nudging me away. “I’m okay, Enit. I promise.”
We needed a fucking break from life right now. From the bullshit and the drama.
Do you hear that, Moon Goddess? Cut us some damn slack.
I turned to Frost, falling into his arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I kissed him hard on the lips, shocking us both. “Uh, I’m sorry.”
His cheeks flushed and then he kissed me back hard once more. He tasted like peppermint and smelled like smoke. It was kind of alluring.
Someone cleared their throat and I dragged myself away. Micah stared down at me, looking entirely unimpressed. “Sorry to interrupt, but could you please get your asses back to the safety zone?”
I dropped my eyes, and stood. Bohdie leaned down and scooped a protesting Stacey into his arms. “Hush, Doc. You scared us. Let me take care of you or I’ll lion out right here and piss everyone off.”
Stacey huffed but let herself be carried. Frost stood and reached down, holding out a hand, and I looked up into his dark eyes. I placed my fingers into his wide palm and let him drag me to my feet. “Come on,” he murmured, his fingers staying wrapped in mine as we followed Bohdie back to the safety zone.
The damageto the main building was substantial on the lower floors, but the design of the building and the inbuilt fire safety system meant that it hadn’t spread. Still, until someone declared it structurally sound, none of the boarding kids could go back to their dorms, and the outlying family houses were co-opted into temporary dorm rooms.
Which was how I ended up lying in my childhood bed, squished between the huge frame of Bohdie and the petite one of Stacey.
Stace was sleeping soundly, her head patched up. I wanted to continue to wake her every hour because she had a concussion, but she said that was outdated science. I was supposed to just let her sleep and hope she woke up in the morning.
I couldn’t sleep though, as my parents were bustling around quietly in the house and I could hear their conversation, thanks to my shifter hearing.
