Chapter 21

Ryan

The hours were passing quickly, and I figured that was a good thing.

I'd addressed calls from every councilman to keep them apprised of the situation. Well, except Clarence, who updated me instead of the other way around.

The roads had been cleared and everyone successfully evacuated south of Main all the way to the river, well, everyone except my sister and her crew at The Diner.

"Gia, you"re in the danger zone. You have to close up and get out."

"Stop being a bureaucratic moron, Ryan. You have more sense than that. If my restaurant was twenty yards across the street, I"d somehow be safe? That"s ridiculous. This is the furthest section of precaution from the fire. If it gets closer, we"ll move. But right now, I have a kitchen full of food and you have hundreds of people out there trying to save our little town. They are going to need to eat and a safe place to rest."

"We already have a . . . set up."

"Yeah, and I"ve been listening to the radio too. The anchor point is established. Teams are working to control the flanks, and a berm is being erected behind the heel just in case it shifts further down the mountainside."

"Then you know the wind shifted and is pushing back in this direction."

"I do. And when it gets closer to where we"re actually facing danger and not just precaution, then we will move. But right now, my crew is cooking to ensure those men and women out there are nourished and keep their energy up to keep on fighting. They"re going to need breaks and they're going to need food. So please, just let me help."

"If I leave the restaurant open, then every business on this side of the highway will want to open."

"No they won"t because most of them are volunteering right now. And this is how I can safely volunteer."

"Safely in the evacuation zone?"

"Do you even hear some of the nonsense you spout?"

I glared at her. She had no idea what keeping one business open, even if it was safe to do so at the moment, could lead to. But something told me I wasn't going to win this battle with her. And then, my sister went and landed the lowest blow of all.

"Ryan, your mate is in that fire. She"s one of the people I"m trying to feed and support, so back off and let me."

I was so stunned that I actually took a step back.

For hours I"d worked hard to try not to fixate on that one simple fact. Gracie was out there somewhere in the thick of danger and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. So I"d hyper-focused on everything within my control instead.

"Okay," I conceded, feeling completely deflated. "But if it comes within five hundred yards, you evacuate immediately."

"Deal. Want a burger?"

"Yes," I begrudgingly admitted. "But one more thing."

"What?"

"Absolutely no customers and you set up food distribution on the other side of Main."

She laughed but smiled. "Sure thing, big brother. And I heard they were setting up a base camp expecting to battle through the night. I"ll have food delivered there."

"That would be great. Thanks."

I hugged her.

"Any word on Gracie?"

"No." I didn"t even question why she was asking me that. She knew the truth, and even though I told her I wasn"t going to proceed with mating her, Gia wasn"t going to just let it go.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

This caught me off guard. Why would she be asking about me?

"I"m fine," I snapped.

I hadn"t meant to snap, but it just came out that way.

"Why would you even ask that?"

"Ryan, I know you. You can"t be okay. Your town is like your baby and is in threat of burning down. And I know you"re trying hard not to care about Gracie, but she"s your true mate. I know from experience it isn"t that simple."

"What"s not that simple?" David asked.

"A true mate bond."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around my sister"s waist, pulling her back against him and nuzzling her neck. They make it look so easy.

"Nothing simple about a mate bond, but it"s worth it."

"Do you even remember how the two of you met?"

He"d suffered a massive case of amnesia. No one had even known he"d gotten his memories back at all.

"I remember everything," he confessed.

The two of them shared a secret smile. I wasn"t sure I wanted to know. But worse, I was jealous of their closeness.

It would be so easy to let Gracie into my life. Sure, there were little things that would inevitably drive me nuts. She could be messy and didn"t care about having things in order the way I did. But then she"d just laugh and tease a bit while letting me do my thing without complaint.

She was easy to talk to and be with. She was smart and witty. I really appreciated that about her.

But there were also things I didn"t like. I hated seeing her burn. I despised her gift and loved it at the same time. It kept her safe even in a fire like this. But I hated knowing she could go through that again. It killed a piece of my soul just thinking about it.

Was that the only thing I didn"t like about Gracie?

No, of course not. She could be stubborn and bossy at times. Not that I minded it all that much. She was wild, but not entirely as reckless as I"d once thought. She"d push my comfort zone every time, but only as much as she thought would be okay. I was pretty certain of that at least.

"He"s having an internal battle over her," Gia whispered.

I scowled at her.

"What? It"s true. You"ve never been that easy to read, but you are when it comes to her."

"Her who?" Darin asked.

He"d cooked at the restaurant for as long as I could remember, long before Gia took it over. When we were little, he"d sneak us treats whenever we came in to eat with Mom and Dad.

"His mate," Gia answered.

I shot her a look of warning.

"I hadn"t heard. Congratulations. That"s great, Ryan."

"Thanks," I managed to mutter.

"Who"s the lucky woman?"

"Gra . . ." my sister started to say. Then she caught the scowl on my face and rolled her eyes. "Apparently that"s confidential still."

Darin just laughed. "Mating is never easy. Well, good luck. I just stepped out to see if we were shutting down or going on a cooking spree."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," David said.

"We"re cooking," Gia announced. "And we should all get back to it. My brother has work to do."

I left them, just praying it didn"t become a problem. That balance of keeping people happy and safe was difficult during times like this, and even the slightest thing they could deem unfair could set up a chain reaction of headaches for me. With any luck the good Gia and her crew will do will balance the potential fallout from allowing it and not forcing them to relocate.

For now, I would allow it.

Being mayor and having to make tough decisions was never easy.

Next, I stopped by the newly erected evacuation shelter—the high school.

Hundreds of people were gathered there, and everyone seemed to have questions. We did have an emergency plan for all sorts of things. I"d insisted on it. It wasn"t that I was a paranoid person as some had accused me of at the time, I was just thorough and safe.

Some had taken to their feathers and were crowding the rafters in the gym as a perch. I knew they were ready to abandon our little town the moment the fire became a true threat to it.

Right now, the fire was mostly contained to the south of us. It had destroyed only two homes, that I was aware of, and a few hunting cabins further down owned by humans who came mostly for weeks in the autumn or early winter.

Our little town had a decent main road going right through the middle of it, so we were used to having humans in the area. They mostly just passed through, stopping to grab a bite to eat, gas up, or do a little shopping.

It wasn"t that long ago that most humans were creeped out and would do anything not to stop in this area. My predecessor had all but ensured that.

I tried hard to open up Ravenden to new possibilities and the income travelers brought us. Like everything about this job, it was a constant balancing act.

"Hey Ry, how are things looking out there?"

Without even looking at who was asking, I smiled and gave my most confident reply. "Everything"s going to be okay. You"re safe here, and we"re doing everything we can to get this fire out quickly."

"You sound like a prick with that line. Needs a bit of work."

I looked up and saw my youngest brother, Dean, grinning back at me.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, that"s more authentic at least."

"You should be at home. It"s not in the evacuation zone."

"I"m volunteering here, asshole. You know, helping people."

"Keep your voice down. I"m working."

He snorted. "As am I. Besides, you know how nervous Aunt Ginny gets in times of crisis. She"s so dramatic. I had to fly away."

I laughed. It was true, though no one actually spoke of it.

"How are things here?" I asked him. "Really?"

"It"s all good, or mostly good. People are scared and nervous. That"s understandable, but tempers have mostly remained in check. Snack packs have been passed out. Some of them are a little stale, but edible. Guess it was a good thing you made us sit around putting that shit together last year. Family bonding time my ass, but everyone"s grateful for them now."

"Good. Good. Gia convinced me to let her keep the restaurant open for her staff only. They are cooking up a feast. I"ll see if she can deliver some real food here soon."

"That would be great. Someone dropped off about a dozen pizzas half an hour ago. They didn"t even last five minutes and nearly caused a riot. Didn"t even put a dent in the number of people we have displaced here."

I sighed. "I"ll see what I can do."

"Thanks. Now, how are things going out there—really?"

"As far as I know, everything is under control. The mandatory evacuation zone has been cleared. Things can be replaced, houses rebuilt. People are our priority right now. I"m making my way back over to check on things."

"Any word on, well, you know who?"

I knew he was talking about Gracie, and it warmed my heart that my family seemed to care so much about what happened to my mate.

I shook my head. "Why do you think I"m going back there to talk to Clarence?"

He gave me a serious look and nodded.

"She"s tough. She"s going to be okay."

"I know that, but it doesn"t make this any easier. I just need to keep moving and stay busy."

So that"s what I did.

On my drive over, I was pleased to see the roads cleared this time. My phone was ringing non-stop, and I had to take a few of the calls. The Governor had checked in as well as the head of the transportation authority. Both had offered prayers and whatever resources we needed. The main road had been shut down to the east and west of us. All traffic was being diverted north away from the fire.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had called for a preliminary assessment of needs.

A fire unit from Colorado had offered us a jump team to assist with the fire.

I knew that the more humans I brought into the area, the harder my job got. People were on edge enough as it was. But I also knew that I would do absolutely anything necessary if it came down to it.

I hadn"t spoken with Clarence in a few hours and needed an update before making some tough decisions.

My phone rang again, and I wanted to scream. I"d been mayor of Ravenden for years now, but this was the first time that I felt the full pressure of the job. Emergencies like this didn"t come every day. I supposed I should be thankful for that.

"Ryan Davenport."

"Ryan, it"s Patrick O"Connell. Heard about the crisis you're facing and wanted to offer my personal regards and see if there was anything Westin Force could offer to help you."

I smiled. "It"s good to hear from you, and thanks. Everyone seems to be offering me whatever I want at the moment."

"Humans," he corrected.

"Humans," I agreed. "I suppose you of all people understand my hesitation in accepting."

"I do. And while we don"t have a wildfire specialist, I do have capable teams willing to come out and help you fight this beast of a fire."

"Thanks. How'd you hear about it anyway?"

"Are you kidding? Ravenden is a national headliner in the news right now."

I groaned. "Well, that"s the last thing I need."

"I know. They do mean well though. Don"t be surprised if you have an influx of reporters and humans rushing in once this is over."

"I can"t even think about that right now," I admitted.

"Well, if you need anything at all, just call me. You"d be surprised at how resourceful I can be."

"I will, thanks."

We ended our call just as I parked. Staring down at my phone, I shook my head. Patrick O'Connell was the head of Westin Force, a paramilitary organization of shifters. I"d worked with them on issues before and appreciated the offer of help. I just wasn't certain this was exactly their area of expertise.

As I got out of the car, there was a flurry of excitement. I quickly went to find out what was happening.

Dan was leading the way out with others following him, and I knew Gracie was on his team.

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried not to shove anyone out of my path as we all pressed forward for information.

Dan.

Rodney.

Big Dick.

I looked around but didn"t see Gracie. Where the hell was she?

"She was the true hero," I heard Rodney tell the Chief. "If Gracie hadn't sacrificed herself like that and given up her gear for me, I"d be dead right now."

My heart dropped. Logically I knew fire couldn"t kill her, not really at least. But she"d never faced a fire like this, and they"d been right in the thick of it all.

A puff of feathers shot out around me though I remained in my skin. My whole body was shaking, and people noticed as they rushed to get out of my way. It was like some out of body experience or something as I walked, unable to feel anything but the pain in my chest.

It didn"t register that the guys weren"t upset.

I didn"t notice the way everyone parted and stared at me.

I could see Gracie"s suit rolled up in Big Dick"s arms and went to it.

The overwhelming need to punch someone was strong, but I stayed stoic and emotionless as I reached out to take it from him.

He started to protest and when he jerked back, I felt the slightest sensation in my mind. It was like a light breeze, or a feather brushing against my brain.

Mate!my raven wailed.

"Mine!" I said in a voice I didn"t even recognize as I took the suit from him and unwrapped it to find a small black raven shaking all over.

Gracie.