"You're not going anywhere," Silas snarled as I hurried after them.

"I'm coming with you!"

I slammed into his back when he suddenly stopped walking. Silas spun around and gripped my arms tightly before he leaned down so our faces were inches apart. His eyes flashed black as they narrowed.

"You are not leaving this house, Lara," he snarled. "You're going to fucking stay here until I get back."

"I'm going with you." I pushed him away and started searching for shoes. "I need to help."

"There are enough pack members to help, Lara," David said. "Silas is right. You need to stay here."

My eyes shot over to his. "What do you care?"

"Lara—"

"We can stand here arguing or we can go there and help. The longer we wait the—"

"Jesus Lara!" Silas interrupted. "Think about our children!"

"I am thinking about them!"

Pain shot through his eyes. I instantly regretted uttering those words. Silas pushed me away from him and spun back around. He muttered something under his breath as he stormed out of the apartment with David on his heels. I hesitated but fear propelled me forward.

I had to run to catch up with them and I almost lost sight of them but I managed to catch up. We ran past a bunch of other people and down paths and turns until we reached Ethan's house.

Flames were eating the house, making dark smoke swirl up to the sky. It was getting harder and harder to see clearly. I could feel the heat of the flames even thought I stood feet away from the house.

I lost sight of Silas and David. Strangers surrounded me but that didn't stop me from helping. There were people using buckets to throw on the flames and some had managed to find a hose. I carried bucket after bucket until my back screamed in pain and my arms felt like it was going to fall off. No matter how much water we threw onto the flames, it just didn't die.

"Get back!" someone yelled.

A gasp fell from my lips when a hand gripped my arm and jerked me back. I stumbled right into someone else who quickly steadied me. A loud crack suddenly filled the air. I watched helplessly as part of the roof suddenly caved in. Debris flew everywhere and a wave of heat hit us.

"The trees are on fire!"

"Oh god."

Wiping an arm across my forehead, I pushed my way through the crowds in search of a familiar face. I spotted Valeria ordering a group of men around who ran off into the trees a second later. My head snapped to the left when a loud whistle pierced the air. Silas stood on top of something that made him visible for everybody to see.

"Listen up!" he yelled. "I want you to divide into groups of five to ten people. Half of you will continue hosing the house. The other teams will wet the trees and ground to prevent the fire from spreading. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" they coursed.

It was complete chaos after that. I tried helping where I could but somehow I always ended up being pushed away or ordered to do something else. The number of people increased by the second, making it harder to keep sight of Silas. He was working with a team close to the house. Soon it felt like the whole pack was there but we still couldn't tame the fire. It was spreading faster and faster almost like someone had planned it all.

Through it all—the panic and tiredness—my fear continued to rise. Where was Ethan? Why hadn't I seen him before?

Just then a cry pierced the air. I froze along with everybody else.

It was a cry of a baby. Not just any baby. It was a cry of a baby I had heard a few times weeks ago while Silas and Ethan prepared for their meeting with the council to appeal their decision. I pushed everyone away as I ran towards the sound. I knew it was Luca.

"No, no, no," I gasped as his cries started to faded.

I came to a stop in front of the house and stared up at it. The right side had already collapsed and the left was about too. A sound I had heard minutes before pierced the air again. I held my breath and tried to listen over the shouts that suddenly filled the air.

The cry was faint and it was coming from inside the house. Luca was inside the house.

Commotion near me drew my attention away from the house. I turned and watched as Silas was held in place by David while Devon tried to talk to him. Whatever Devon said only seemed to anger Silas more. David stumbled when Silas reared back but his hold didn't loosen. Silas roared and threw his head back, slamming it into David's chin. I heard the snap of bone before I saw Devon fly back and land onto his back.

"Silas!" Valeria called but it was already too late.

My legs weakened when Silas ran into the burning house. A scream fell from my lips as he disappeared through the smoke. I was about to follow but an arm wrapped around my waist and held me back. I growled and scratched at the arm but the hold didn't loosen.

Relief flooded me when I spotted something through the smoke minutes later.

A second later Silas came stumbling out and Luca's cry got louder. I dug my claws into the arm holding me. I stumbled forward when the arm suddenly loosened. I ran towards Silas and reached him just before another pack member did.

"Lara," Silas gasped. "You need to get Luca to the hospital."

"Where's Ethan?" I asked as I reached for Luca. "Is he okay?"

His eyes locked with mine but the emotion in them were unreadable. "Just get Luca to the hospital! Go!"

Clutching Luca to my chest, I spun around and started running. Something told me to turn back around, and I did just in time to see Silas running back into the house again.

***

"I need a doctor!"

Nobody was paying me any attention even though I had a screaming baby clutched in my arms. They were running past me and disappearing into rooms. At one point someone even pushed me out of the way as they hurried past me.

With tears burning my eyes and Luca clutched tightly to my chest, I tilted my head back and screamed. It took all but two seconds for everybody to notice me.

"I need a fucking doctor immediately!" I yelled. "My baby needs immediate medical attention."

Some of them actually turned back around to do whatever they were planning on doing before I screamed. I could feel the tingles shooting up my arms. My breathing sped up as I tried to fight the beast that wanted to take control. I couldn't risk shifting now. Not when Luca needed me. Not when Silas trusted me to take care of Luca.

"Motherfuckers!" I screamed before spinning around and hurrying down the hall.

I had no clue where I was going but I wasn't going to let Luca suffer any longer. He needed help and it nobody was willing to help me then I'd do it myself even if I knew nothing about what I was supposed to be doing.

Entering one of the rooms, I hurried over to the bed and laid him down. Luca had been covered by a damp blanket probably by Silas, but I had no clue that he had been injured before that. Shock held me immobile as I stared down at his small body. His upper body and left arm along with the top part of his left leg, was burned. His skin was dry and leathery and also discoloured.

Tears filled my eyes, no wonder he was screaming. He had to be in so much pain.

"You called for a doctor?"

I glanced up at the man who entered. He was already pulling on gloves and giving orders to the nurses who followed him into the room. I stepped aside to give him room when he walked up to the bed. He gave one look at Luca and started barking orders.

"He was in Ethan's house."

"How long?"

I swallowed. "I don't k-know. Silas just got him out. I—"

"Call Mel, he needs to get here immediately!"

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. "Hey! What are you doing? Where are you going with him?"

"To the burn unit. He suffered third degree burns."

I hurried after him as he carried Luca down the hall and towards a set of stairs. The man didn't even glance back at me. "Is he going to be okay?"

He didn't answer me and it appeared as if he hadn't heard a word I said so I repeated the question.

"I can't give you a definite answer right now. He needs to start treatment immediately. We need to get him on antibiotics to prevent infection. Then we need to have a look at his lungs to make sure that he can breathe probably. We—"

He continued to explain things and I tried to take it all in and make sense of all the medical terms he used. By the time we made it to the burn unit, I had a dozen more questions to ask him, but I couldn't. I was forced to watch as he disappeared through the doors with Luca in his arms.

A nurse had ordered me to stay where I was. I wasn't allowed to be with Luca until he had been treated. Should I go back to help with the fire? I shook my head and turned back to stare at the doors. I needed to stay here encase Luca needed me.