Page 4 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“Hey.” Hayden had flicked off the sirens and was out of the fire engine and on the ground in a flash. He didn’t recognize the twisted remnants of the red Mustang, which lifted most of the weight from his shoulders. “What do we know?”

“I just got here, but it doesn’t look good,” Kane replied grimly. “Teen driver who lost control coming around the curve, probably going too fast. I think we’ve got all the traffic blocked off now, so we’ve got to get these kids out of here and to the hospital.”

“Looks like it’s going to take some work.” Pierce grabbed the hydraulic shears and headed to the passenger side.

Snagging the spreaders, Hayden and Kane jogged over to the driver’s side.

“It’s going to be all right. We’re going to get you out of here.” The officer already on the scene was comforting the driver through the small space left between the roof and the door where the window had once been. He glanced up, saw Hayden with the rescue tools, and stepped out of the way.

Hayden worked quickly, his training kicking in and guiding his hands, despite his worries. This wasn’t Jack, but he was someone’s son. He meant the world to some father out there, and he was bleeding all over himself in the driver’s seat. His clothes shimmered with broken glass, and he moaned every few seconds in pain and fear.

It didn’t matter to Hayden that this boy was a human. He wanted him to be okay, and he was willing to tap into every resource he had available. Selene, though you rest while the sun shines, please be with this boy and keep him safe. Guide my hands and those of the paramedics. Bring him comfort. Move time as only you can do so that we can get him to the hospital before it’s too late.

The twisted metal screeched in protest as it gave way, and the door popped loose. Kane grabbed it and yanked it on its ruined hinges. A gurney appeared, and the paramedics swooped in to put a neck brace on the driver. Hayden stood back as they gently moved him onto the stretcher, taking his vitals and rattling off what he needed as they raced him to the ambulance.

Hayden let out a deep breath. He hoped that boy would survive. Like plenty of other kids his age, he’d probably been doing something he shouldn’t have. Whether he’d been speeding, using his cell phone, or getting distracted by a pretty girl, he still deserved a second chance. He was so young. Yes, Hayden had seen plenty of disasters. The tragedies behind them still pulled on his heartstrings.

“Hayden!” Pierce’s voice cracked through the air.

His boots crunching on broken glass, Hayden quickly came around to the other side of the car. Automatically, he assessed the vehicle and could see that the spreaders were needed over there as well.

Pierce yanked them out of his hands. “It’s Jack.”

“What?” Hayden stepped to the side to look around his brother. The vehicle was molded around the passenger, making it difficult to see anything. He caught a glimpse of a youthful jaw with a few stray hairs, not yet capable of growing a full beard no matter how badly he wanted to. The boy’s arm lay at an odd angle on the center console, his wrist sporting the braided leather bracelet Hayden had given him last year. That faded black t-shirt with his favorite band, the one that was in the laundry almost every single day so Jack could keep wearing it.

“No.”

It was every fear he’d had ever since Jack had gotten his permit. It was the underlying worry even when Hayden had been with him in the car, coaching him through downtown traffic and parallel parking. It was the nightmare that had lived inside him even when Jack had come back from his first successful trip to the grocery store. Hayden had worried about him getting his license, but Jack wasn’t even the one driving.

“I’ve got him,” Pierce grunted as he pushed the spreaders' hydraulics to their limit.

“Broken arm,” the paramedic announced as she dove into the small space. She secured the limb to his chest. “Leg, too. We’ll need to be really careful getting him out of here.”

Okay. A broken arm and leg. That was bad, but it wasn’t life-threatening. He was going to be okay. Hayden forced himself to breathe. He also forced himself to stay in one spot, even though the only thing he wanted to do was swoop into that car and pull Jack into his arms.

“Vitals are all over the place,” the paramedic reported. “Let’s get him in the wagon and see what we can do.”

It took every bit of self-control he had to watch them slowly load Jack onto the gurney. This was their job. They were the experts, but that was his son. His wolf was going wild inside him, howling in pain.

He sensed Pierce at his side more than he really saw him. “You’re going to have to take the truck back by yourself. I’m going in the ambulance.” Hayden flipped off his hat and slid out of his coat, handing them to his brother.

“Of course. I’ll call Dawn and let her know you two are on your way.”

“Thanks.” Hayden was laser-focused on Jack as the paramedics sped him to the waiting ambulance. “He’s my son,” he managed to say as they folded the wheels up under the gurney.

The paramedic waved him up. “Come on.”

3

“It’s going to be okay, Jack.” The ambulance swayed around Hayden as it careened down the streets of Eugene toward the hospital, but he hardly noticed. He found his son’s hand and held it in his own.

“Dad?” The word was barely audible, the slightest opening of his boy’s mouth, but it meant the entire world to him.

“That’s right, buddy. I’m right here. We’re going to get you all patched up. You just hang in there.” Hayden saw all sorts of bad things happen to people every day, but this was his son on the gurney.

The paramedics were working around him as though he were no more than a piece of furniture. With the quick flick of a pair of scissors, they stripped off his shirt and pants. Hayden watched as Jack’s favorite band t-shirt was cut in half and tossed aside. He would be pissed about that later, and Hayden looked forward to it. If Jack was pissed, then he was all right.

“I think he might have some internal bleeding,” one of the medical workers stated as they examined the massive bruise across Jack’s chest and stomach. “A lot of blunt trauma.”

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