Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

| look around and see the orange glow of fire in the living room. | run to the bedroom door and look

around to find the room is engulfed in flames. The fake tree Ashley had set up for Winter Solstice looks

like it's melting, causing noxious fumes amid the rest of the smoke. Some of the branches are starting

to catch fire. | can hear people in the hallway screaming.

Oh my Goddess. We have to get out of here! | run back into the room yelling and coughing, "Bronx!

Wake up! We have to get out!"

| shake him as hard as | can but he doesn't budge. His skin is cold and he looks pale, even though the

room is getting hotter by the second. | focus past the smell of fire. He smells like whiskey and

wolfsbane. He's been poisoned! :

“Oh shit, oh shit. What should | do?”

"Don't panic, Kas. You're a healer, you can save him. We learned about this. Come on!" | hear Lex call

out.

“Lex, are you strong enough? Can you help me?”

“| can try Kas. Go ahead. Let's save our mate. But hurry, we have to get out of here!" she sounds

confident. | wonder if it is for my benefit or if she really feels that way.

| fight back tears of panic as | strain to roll Bronx over on his back. Once he is prone, | do my best to

take a breath. Then | place one hand on Bronx's chest and one on his forehead and let the breath out.

The familiar healing warmth fills my hands as energy flows through me. | feel the poison releasing from

his body, being absorbed into mine, and starting to dissipate but not faster thatn I'm absorbing it. | feel

the numbing tingles of the poison in my fingertips but he still isn't waking up. Am | too late? Please

Moon Goddess, don't let me be too late. :

| put my hands on him again, trying to hold back tears. Now is not the time to break down, Kas. Keep

your shit together! "BRONX! Wake UP!”

| send a surge of energy through his body. His skin is still cold and pale, | lean my face against his

chest. He's not breathing.

“No no nono no- this is not happening! Not today! No! Lex, | need you to give me every ounce you can.

See if you can connect with Saint. We need everything right now!” “Alright, Kas. Try again. I'm

concentrating all my energy.”

| put my hands on him one more time. The fire is burning my lungs now. | feel the healing warmth but

also the glow of my spirit opening up further than | think it should. | can feel the heat of the fire getting

closer, making me start to sweat. The momentary lapse of concentration makes me release too much

energy at once and accidentally burn his chest slightly.

Suddenly, Bronx sits up with a gasp, gulping the tainted air and coughing as if he had been underwater

too long.

“Bronx, we have to go! There's a fire!" | feel drained but Milo and James were also drinking from the

bottle, | have to get to them also or they will meet a worse fate.

“We have to get to Milo and James, Bronx. That whiskey was poisoned. They're going to die!" | choke.

Bronx scoops me up in his arms and puts my blanket over my head. He sprints out of the apartment. |

can hear people running and smoke alarms going off. In the distance, | can hear sirens. :

| hear Lenora crying, "He won't wake up. Something's wrong.”

Bronx finally lifts the blanket off of me. Milo is laying on a sofa. Just like Bronx was, he is pale and

lifeless.

Just like Bronx, | put one hand on Milo's chest and one on his forehead.

“Please save him! Please!" Lenora sobs behind me. | hear Reggie and Ashley pulling her out into the

hall, while | try to save Milo. He doesn't have as much poison in his system as Bronx did. | feel it

spreading through my body, building up inside me. It seems like forever and the flames are making me

choke and cough but he finally sits up, gasping for a fresh breath that isn't available.

Just then, firefighters come bursting into the room in full gear. They help Bronx carry Milo and they pick

me up, rushing all of us outside into the snowy night. °

Once we are safely outside, Bronx wraps his arms around me. | can still feel the poison in my system,

but it is fading from the suface and settling deep inside me, making me feel nausious. |

“Bronx, | have to find James! He and Delilah were drinking that whiskey too!”

“Baby, his house is over a mile away. Can you shift? Lex can get there quicker.”

“Kas, | can't shift. | am so sorry! I'm so weak from fighting off all the poison already. | can give you my

energy if you get to him ontime, but not if | shift first. That will just make me weaker,” she cries in my

mind.

| feel tears welling up, "Lex isn't strong enough, Bronx, I've absorbed all that wolfsbane from you and

Milo. If | shift, | won't have the energy to heal James."

The fire chief is standing close by and overhears us, "Alpha Regent Bronx, please take my truck." He

tosses Bronx the keys and nods.

Bronx speeds to James and Delilah's house. | can see a blue glow coming from an upstairs window,

"Up there, it looks like Delilah is casting a spell, let's go! Let's go!” Bronx kicks in the door and yells up

the stairs, "Delilah, it's Bronx and Kas.”

"Hurry," she yells in a panic, "He's been poisoned.”

We run up the stairs two at a time going to the spot where we see the light coming from. Delilah is

there, crying, with her hands over James, trying to pull the poison from his body with her magic.

“Keep going Delilah, I'm going to help you, but I'm not at full strength right now. | can't do it myself,

okay," | look her in the eye, "We're going to save your mate.”

She nods as she sniffles, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Use my energy too, Baby,” Bronx comes up beside me and places his hand on James's chest. He

takes my hand and | put my other on James’ forehead. | close my eyes and start to feel the poison

dissipating from his body absorbing into mine. James slowly opens his eyes, but he doesn't sit up and

suck in the air as Bronx and Milo did.

| feel even more nauseous and dizzy. My stomach churns as | lean over the side of the bed and start

vomiting black, tarry goop onto the floor. It bubbles sickly and smells like concentrated wolfsbane and

bile. | instantly start feeling better with the poison expelled from my body.

“Oh Kas, | feel so much better!" Lex sighs gratefully, "Come on, we have to finish this!” | start to set my

hand back on James' forehead.

"It's okay Kas, | can handle it from here. Go back to the packhouse. | saw the fire from the window, they

need you there," Delilah says with a resolute nod.

Bronx carries me down the stairs. My lungs are still burning like they're on fire but Lex is trying her best

to heal them. Bronx sets me on the passenger side of the truck and makes our way back to the

packhouse. The firefighters almost have the fire extinguished, but we can see there's smoldering

embers and little flames coming from inside of the building.

Bronx's assistant Carly is there holding a clipboard with Reggie and Ashley, "Everyone is accounted

for, Alpha. The pack doctors have a station set up in a tent next to the ambulance. There are about ten

people who have burns or are experiencing smoke inhalation symptoms.”

Bronx takes Carly by the shoulders and gives her a reassuring hug, “It's going to be alright, Carly.”

| hear her exhale a ragged breath as she pulls away. Her chin shakes slightly as she continues.

“The fire chief says the only residences damaged are the ranked members and staff who live on the

second floor. The kitchens, dining area, and ballroom are completely destroyed too.”

Tears silently roll down Carly's face as she reads off her report to Bronx. Ashley is rubbing her back.

The second floor is where Carly lives, along with the other staff assistants, housekeepers, a few

guards, and sleeping quarters for on-call medical staff. “Carly are you alright?" | approach her, "Can |

help?”

“I'll be okay but | can use all the help | can get. I'm just scared," she confesses as she wipes her tears

away. | give her a big hug and release a bit of healing energy to help calm her and warm her up.

“Thank you for keeping a level head," | reassure her as we embrace, "We're going to figure out what

happened. It's going to be okay.”

“Ashley, Carly, | know it's the middle of the night and | know things are very stressful for everyone but |

need both of you to please help the housekeepers go to the old packhouse and open things up. We

need places for the people who were displaced to stay. Put all the ranked members on the third floor,”

Bronx instructs but uses as gentle of a tone as possible, “Are there enough rooms on the second floor

for all the staff that have been displaced?”

Carly looks down at the clipboard and sniffs back tears, "Yes, sir, | believe so.”

“Okay, ladies go do your thing. Make it happen. I'll find you to get the list of everyone you place. Beta

Milo and | can check on them when we're finished here. Reggie, you're with me.”

"Yes, Alpha," the girls say in unison before they walk away.

“Kas, how do you feel, Baby?” Bronx looks at me carefully as he takes my hand. He is trying to hide his

worry, but | can feel it coming off of him.

"I'm okay. Whatever came up at James and Delilah's house was holding me back, but | feel better

now," | reassure him.

“Alright, do you think you can manage helping the people getting medical attention? | am sure the

doctors could use as much help as they can get."

“Of course," | nod, looking over at the tent. He leans down and gives me a quick kiss and sends me on

my way.