Page 2 of Age Gap Bear's Enemies-to-Lovers Mate
About two hours of walking up and down stairs and in and out of units, I head to the last two units, which are past the laundry room and the pool area. I turn out of the set of two units that face the opposite way and head across the pool area. There’s no water in it at the moment because it also needs a lot of work.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier. Maybe I’m just too busy making my notes and checking something on my phone. I don’t know. I just know I look up and see thick smoke and then, I see flames that seemed to jump to the building I just left like some kind of acrobat.
In no time at all, my world seemed engulfed in flames and I was trapped by an empty pool.
“What the fuck is happening with my life today?!”
I call 911 and wait for the panic to settle in.
Chapter Two
Clint
I see Olivia Morley from a distance.
As much as I want to pretend that I’m the kind of nobleman who will move heaven and Earth to rescue a complete stranger, I can’t pretend that I’m not far more desperate for this woman’s safety because I know her. I don’t fully understand this because I know her but the two of us are quite hateful toward each other. Perhapshatefulis too strong a term but I don’t believe that it’s inaccurate even if a little strong.
This is the woman who tried to strongarm me into selling my land. This is the woman who fought with me every step of the way. I suppose she believed she was in the right, and I certainly possess information about the situation that changes the character of it. It was reasonable for her to believe she was in the right but unreasonable for her to believe she could force anyone to do anything at all with his own property.
I don’t like her.
She doesn’t like me.
So why in the world am I breaking with the procedure to rush toward her? I’m putting my life at risk and theoretically risking others’ lives as well. That’s what we say when the procedure is broken. It risks lives. Don’t get me wrong, letting her die would be evil but I’m behaving like she’s related to me, and there are reasons firefighters don’t fight the fires at their own homes.
This isn’t my home, of course. I think this apartment complex belongs to Olivia, though. There’s no other reason for her to be here. It’s not a nice enough place for her to live. She’s very wealthy even though she’s young. She’s in the fourth building, cut off from everywhere else because of the fire. I’m also unable to get to her.
Safely.
I’m not saying this place is a slum. It’s a nice, clean, and livable place. There isn’t any luxury to it but I also don’t see anything about the place that suggests this fire has to do with anyone shirking his duty. No, not his. Her. If she’s the owner, she didn’t shirk her duty at all. On the contrary, Olivia handles her duties with precision and absolute attention to detail. I think I’d prefer an Olivia that doesn’t.
A strong-headed person who’s intelligent, pays attention to detail, and works hard is dangerous as an opponent. But the land she wanted was my land, not hers, and wanting it doesn’t mean she’s entitled to it regardless of how smart and dedicated the girl might be.
Damn it all, I can’t wait. I’m going to catch a lot of hell for this. “I’m going in!” I shout.
“No!” Garret shouts in reply. I ignore him.
It’s easy to be reckless as a shifter. We heal very easily. Oh, it’s not like the healing that you see in movies with the superheroes but essentially, a shift will heal all minor damage immediately. If I’m looking at second and third-degree burns as I run through the fire to rescue this girl, I’ll only suffer for asmuch time passes before I can shift into my bear. When I shift back to human whether it’s a day later or just a minute later, the burns will be just a memory.
If I get third-degree burns it will take more than one shift. If I’m substantially injured, I might not be able to keep from shifting. It becomes an almost involuntary response. The shift from human to animal is very powerful. There’s less knowledge about the shift from animal to human. There are healing properties but we don’t really register our injuries in the same way as animals so it’s difficult to compare before and after.
So, I’m not afraid of getting hurt, not really. Honestly, if we were allowed to be more open about our natures, I could just shift before running into the fire and be much safer. But we aren’t allowed to just throw that knowledge out there in view of the general public, even though shifters technically came out to the world a while ago. Humans still tend to think we’re fairy tales and the higher-ups are hesitant to let us live our true natures.
Anyway, right now, I don’t need to be debating the right or wrong of keeping shifters hidden. Right now, I need to rescue the girl I can’t stand.
I haul ass and hit the wall of fire. I move so fast that I really don’t register the heat until I get through it and see where Olivia is huddled against a bookcase. She’s in a horrible spot. I can see the flames licking around a door to the right. How has she not passed out yet?
I get my answer. She drops the scarf she had bundled in front of her face and starts screaming the moment she sees me, waving and jumping. Then, she starts really coughing hard, and then, she stops and there’s a pause. I know what’s coming next and I race over to catch her as her eyes roll back and she collapses.
I pick her up and press her to me, trying to cover her completely with my body. I see a small break in the fire thatlooks like the best opportunity and run for it. We blast through and I keep on running until I get her to the waiting ambulance.
She’s still unconscious as I help them get her onto the stretcher. I watch as they check her vitals and get oxygen going.
“How’s she doing?”
The EMT gives me a brief thumbs up as they kick the stretcher up into the ambulance. “She seems stable enough. You got to her just in time.”
“Well, I’ll check in later at the hospital. You’re going local?”