Chapter 82 Micah Comes To Save Me This Time

Fiona’s POV.

Amelia has fainted in my arms. The shock of everything has proven too much for her. I gently caress her hair as my eyes lock on the door of the room. I can see its wood blackening and I know any second now the fire will take us in its grasp.

Pressure builds behind my eyes but I don't let the tears out.

Think. Think. Think.

I try to force myself to find a way out, not admitting the fact that it is probably already too late. I know that if I let myself think negatively, all my fears will come to the surface and I will be paralyzed by them.

The heat from the fire outside has dried up the towel and I watch in horror as it too catches fire. My throat feels heavy and I clutch my arms tightly around Amelia.

Just when helplessness starts to slide over me, a voice calls my name.

“Fiona! Baby, where are you?”

His voice is like the balm to all my wounds. It is tinged with desperation and worry. He is calling my name again and again. Emotions gather at the back of my throat and make me choke. Tears coat my eyes and the relief I feel hearing his voice is enough to shake me to my core.

Before I can scream to let him know where I am, the door bursts open.

He stands there like a fallen angel. His shirt is torn, his forehead is sweaty and hair falls in his eyes. His eyes are wild and his wolf is on the surface.

The moment he looks at me, his face gets flushed with such intense emotions that it robs me of words. Then, he is rushing towards me. His hands cup my face and he kisses me all over my cheeks, my foreheads, my lips. Then, his eyes dart towards Amelia and he takes her from me, clutching her tightly to his chest.

She looks so small in his huge, built arms. So protected.

A broken smile graces my lips. She is safe now and suddenly, the fight leaves my body.

Outside, the fire rages.

Any second now, it would be too overwhelming for even Micah’s Lycan speed and strength. I know he can only take one of us out.

“Take Amelia and go.”

I whisper to him. I watch as shock slithers on his face. His eyes scream denial and he looks at me with a ferocity that makes me want to kiss him in the middle of this terrifying inferno.

“Absolutely fucking not. I will take both of you with me.”

I reach up my arm and wrap it around his neck then I bring his forehead against mine.

“Please, I am begging you. Go save our daughter and then, come back for me.”

His face looks tortured and the pain in his eyes is enough to bring me to my knees. After staring at me for a long time, he roughly grabs the back of my head and kisses me hard.

“Wait for me, sweetheart. I am going to come right back for you, ok? I promise you.” He pecks me one last time and then he is yanking the bedsheet off Amelia’s bed and covering her with it. With one last look at me, he lunges into the fire.

Just as he goes out, a burst of flame follows. It rushes into the room towards me. The avalanche of fire thrusts me back into the past once again.

Amelia is no longer here. I don’t have to be strong anymore.

Painful memories mix with my horrifying present and I am rooted in the spot too terrified to move. I watch in horror as the closet door falls, its foundation destroyed by the creeping fire. At the last moment, I force myself to rush out of it and go into the open space of the room, when the remaining pieces of the closet crumble.

On top of my leg.

I scream as my leg is trapped under the steel.

I push and kick at it but it doesn’t move.

Finally, I know it’s no use.

A bitter chuckle escapes me.

This was always going to be my end: Death through fire.

I cannot fight it so I might as well surrender.

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Micah’s POV.

The skin on my back burns as it sews itself shut. Even though my regenerative powers are working overtime, the charred flesh from walking through fire hurts like a bitch. Amelia is still unconscious as I finally rush out of the house.

The moment I step out, Kieran rushes towards me. He looks deathly pale and his panicked eyes can’t move past the burning house.

“Take care of her, I need to go back for Fiona.” I rasp as I thrust Amelia’s body in his arms. He looks like someone has slapped him even as his arms wrap around my daughter protectively. I bend down and kiss her on the forehead, praying that she is alright.

Then, I am turning around to go back. Just as I do, a small blast sounds from the house as another part of it combusts with fire.

Panic and fear like I have never known clutch me.

God, Fiona, hang in there. I am coming.

Just as I take a step forward, Kieran clutches my arm. There are tears in his eyes and it is strange to watch a grown man, an Alpha as ferocious as him, break down.

I have to remind myself that this is hard not only for me.

Fiona is his only sister.

“The fire is too huge,” He forces the words out like they pain him. “I have called for help, wait for the firemen Micah, even you can’t survive this.”

I look at him in disbelief. I know it is taking everything from him to say those words to me knowing they will condemn his own sister to death. I know the meaning behind his words as he holds Amelia. I know he means well.

Still, I shove his hand away and turn back around.

“Amelia needs at least one of her parents!” He screams at me in a voice full of agony.

“Well, she will get both of them.” I say quietly.

And then, I walk back inside.

Headfirst.

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Fiona’s POV.

I've already given up all hope. My eyes are closed as I patiently wait for death to take me under.

I already knew that in the time it took Micah to get Amelia out, the fire would become an unstoppable inferno, denying me a chance to be saved.

But I couldn't bear to be a burden to Micah and Amelia. I wanted to leave the hope of life to the people I loved the most – my daughter and my husband.

So, I told Micah a white lie, making him believe there was still hope, and agreed to him coming back for me.

Them being able to get out was the only thing that brought me happiness now.

I hope they can live a happy life for me. I think painfully.

The familiar flames wrap around me once again. It’s like no time at all has passed since three years ago. I am back in that warehouse.

Only, this time I don’t have the fight left in me to crawl my way out.

The suffocating feeling of despair envelops me once more.

However, just as I am about to close my eyes to completely give up, I see the person I longed so much for in the last fire.

The man I begged for to come in my heart, three years ago when I was alone and terrified in that warehouse.

The man that hadn’t come. The man I thought had left me to die in the past.

My husband. My betrayer. The love of my life.

Micah.

He is standing there in the middle of it all, rushing towards me like I am the only thing that matters.

I freeze, as I take him in.

I'm used to despair, used to being abandoned, used to facing it alone.

But this time, Micah has come back; he didn't give up on me.

Emotions surge in my heart, as he drops to his knees beside me, looking at me like I hold his heart in my fist.

I can't help the broken question that slips out.

"Why did you come back?"

He looks at me as if the answer was obvious all along.

"Didn’t I promise you that I’ll come for you? You're still here, so how could I possibly be anywhere else, my love?"

"Then, then ... why three years ago..." The words want to get out but they no longer do. My throat is clogged with emotion as Micah looks at me like I am his entire universe.

Maybe it’s the fact that I know we are going to die. Maybe, it’s because I know I won’t get out of here alive. I finally build the courage to ask him the question I have been so afraid to know.

What happened to him three years ago? Why didn’t he come for me, then?

However, I have only said the first word, when the princess painted fan in Amelia's room breaks off from the roof. I watch, horrified, as it comes crashing down on me with an ominous screech.

The nightmare from three years ago wraps around me once again, and this time, I'm trapped under the steel closet door.

I can't move.

I close my eyes, pessimistically preparing myself to face my doomed fate. However, the pain I imagined doesn't come.

Confused, I open my eyes, only to find Micah shielding me from the burning fan, taking the brunt of its weight.

The smell of burning flesh pierces my nose and I know Micah is in terrible pain.

I look at his back, and see fire licking the flesh there, but he only grits his teeth and doesn't make a sound, still firmly protecting me. Then, he turns his hand into a claw, desperately trying to dislodge the steel closet piece trapping me.

With every slash, blood pools under his fingernails.

Tears stream down my face as I try to convince Micah to give up on me, but he doesn't listen.

“Just go, Micah. Please, just go.” I beg him but he acts like I am not even speaking.

"You are my wife. If I can't rescue you, I'll accompany you to die. I won't let you face death alone," he says, tenderly wiping away my tears.

I can't hold back my cries any longer as I break down in Micah's arms, releasing all the pain and heartbreak that has built up from three years ago. The knot buried deep inside my heart unravels.

Then, I hear a crack, and I watch with wet eyes as Micah smashes away the steel, freeing my legs. Then, with his strong arms, he lifts me up and moves to walk out.

Outside, I can hear the sirens of the firemen.

Help is here.

Micah has just carried me to the threshold of the room when the room blurs and darkens.

Just before I lose consciousness, I see the roof crashing down on both of us.

And once again, Micah shelters me with his body.

Sacrificing himself for me.