Not Your Backup She-Wolf

The stage blew with a loud bang.

Sparks flew, hit the linen curtains—and boom. Fire tore up fast. Smoke rolled in thick, choking the air with the stench of burning fabric.

Wolves screamed. Bodies shoved. Someone slammed into my back—I hit the stone hard. Pain ripped through my arm as my wrist cracked loud.

I tried to get up—too slow. Another wolf's foot crushed down on my back mid-sprint. My chest caved under the weight—I almost spit blood.

"Liam! Help me!" I yelled, voice raw.

Through the smoke, I saw him—just a few yards away, wrapped around Chloe. She clung to him like her life depended on it.

He looked at me. Just for a second—hesitation in his eyes.

Then Chloe buried her face in his chest, sobbing. "The fire's huge! I'm scared! If we don't leave now, we'll die!"

He didn't think twice. Wrapped her up, threw his coat over her head, and bolted for the exit.

As they passed, I reached out—grabbed his pant leg.

He kicked me off.

His boot smashed right into my busted wrist. I screamed, pain ripping through me as tears blurred everything.

"Get up yourself!" His voice cut like ice. "Chloe's a guest—she can't get hurt. You're strong. You can walk."

'Strong.'

That word hit harder than the fire.

Flames roared higher. Beams snapped and crashed, sparks raining down. One landed on my jacket—started to burn.

Wolves were yelling, grabbing their mates, dragging friends out. I lay there like garbage, broken and forgotten.

"Sophia! Sophia!" Emma's voice tore through the smoke.

Emma dropped to her knees beside me, took one look at my wrist, and snapped. "Damn that Liam! Heartless bastard!"

She slid under my arm, hauling me up. I glanced down the hallway—empty. He was gone.

At the exit, Noah—one of the few Stormborne wolves who actually gave a damn—showed up with a first-aid kit.

No questions, just action. He wrapped an ice pack in a towel and gently pressed it to my wrist.

"Cold compress first. Ambulance is on the way."

His hands were steady, touch feather-light. The heat of his palm through that towel? Warmer than anything Liam gave me in eight years.

As the ambulance rumbled to life, Liam's SUV pulled out.

Chloe was in the passenger seat, pink bandage on her arm. She leaned into him, voice soft. "I'm so glad you were there. I would've been terrified without you."

He ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. I've got you. No one's gonna hurt you."

Their car rolled past us.

He didn't lower the window. Didn't even look my way.

I shut my eyes. Tears soaked into my shirt, leaving cold little blotches.

Eight years of love—gone. Burned to ash in one fire.