Page 221 of I Accidentally Joined a Wolf Shifter Group Chat

I stood on the porch, dizzy with relief.

“Thank you,” Julie said through tears.

I couldn’t answer.

She carried Caldwell toward the responders.

I looked at Hudson. He lay motionless on the grass. Someone had placed an oxygen mask over his face. Patty knelt beside him, one hand resting near his shoulder.

He was outside. Caldwell was outside. Hilary. Grandpa. Jason.

The first house had been cleared.

Then someone shouted from the neighboring home. “There are still people inside!”

I ran. No decision. No pause. Only movement.

The second house belonged to Hudson’s aunt and two cousins. Smoke spilled from the rear windows. Someone had broken the front door open, but no wolf could remain inside long enough to search.

I covered my mouth and entered. A woman lay near the kitchen. I dragged her out on a rug I found in the hallway. A teenage boy had collapsed in the hallway. I pulled him by the ankles until someone could reach him from the door. Another body waited beside the couch.

The process lost all shape. Find the next person. Get them outside. Return.

Find the next person. Get them outside. Return.

People shouted names. I answered when I could. Smoke caught in my throat and made every breath painful. My muscles stopped feeling separate. Arms, back, legs, lungs—all of them became one exhausted demand to continue.

Someone tried to stop me after the fifth trip. I pushed through them.

A council responder in protective gear finally arrived. I pointed toward the rear rooms. “Two checked. Bathroom clear. I haven’t reached the basement.”

He nodded and entered. I turned toward the first house again. Had I checked every room? The upstairs bathroom. The office. Hudson’s bedroom.

I started running. Hands caught me around the middle.

I fought instinctively. “No!”

“Sloane.” Patty held me from behind.