Page 84 of Wild Fires

I growled in frustration. “You do not have that authority over me.”

“I'm the mayor. I can override Clarence's decisions, and I say you're done. I don't want you anywhere near that fire again.”

“You can't be serious. Ryan, that's my job.”

“Then I guess you'll have to find a new one.”

“You're being ridiculous.”

“I could have lost you today, Gracie. I am not being ridiculous, and I will not be swayed on this.”

“And I have no say in the matter.”

“Not as long as you keep putting yourself at risk.”

“Oh, here we go again. Reckless Gracie who doesn’t think before she acts. That's bullshit, Ryan, and if you could just get your head out of your ass for two minutes then you'd know it too.”

He glared at me, and I knew in that moment that he was not used to people talking back to him. His word was authority, and I doubted he was even used to be questioned. But I wasn't going to roll over and just give on this.

“My job is important to me. My crew is the only family I have left. I will do whatever is necessary to protect them. Do you hear me? And if that means I die and come back a hundred times just to get any one of them out of a fire safely, then dammit, I'm going to do just that. There is absolutely nothing you can say or do to change that.”

I didn't wait for him to react as he stood there in shock staring at me. Instead, I cracked open the window, shifted, and flew away. I knew that at the end of the day, I had to protect myself, especially my heart.

Ryan

Chapter 23

I just stood there and watched her go. She didn't even give me time to debate this with her, and I loved a good debate.

Maybe she wasn't as reckless and unthinking as I originally thought, but she was the most headstrong, independent, pain in my ass I'd ever met and I loved her all the more for it.

The thing was, I was proud of what she had done, but of course I didn’t tell her that. Fear of losing her had me all out of sorts, trying to protect her instead. I knew I was going about it all wrong. I just couldn't seem to help myself.

With a sigh, I left the room and walked back out.

People were staring at me and not in a way I was used to. I'd made a spectacle of myself. I’d probably tarnished my good name in some way and I didn't give a shit.

I truly didn't care what they thought. My personal business was between me and Gracie and no one else. I gave everything of myself to this town, but that had to stop.

Seeing Gracie so weak and injured had terrified me more than watching her burn. I was a little more prepared to see it this time. And honestly, it was way easier to watch while she was in her raven form. She didn't scream or even look afraid. I knew she wasn't in any pain. She'd looked almost peaceful and it had fully restored her health. It was like watching a miracle.

And if I'd just left her be, to handle things herself, she probably would have done it back at base and gotten right back to work.

I groaned, held my head high, and walked right through that gym, daring anyone to say a word to me. Trying hard not to look left or right and definitely not make eye contact. Dean caught my attention and gave two thumbs up with a big cheesy grin.

Asshole.

Whatever fall out came from my outburst in front of half my constituents would have to wait. I was still the mayor, and my town was still in danger.

Outside, I mounted Elias's bike, only this time I did take a second to pull out a helmet and secure it to my head first. I wasn't invincible, and today I'd probably been far more reckless than my mate.

I almost laughed at the idea.

Pretty sure no one had ever thought of me as reckless before.

“Mayor?” a woman called out from behind me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I had never really left myself be available to dating. Seeing me with another woman was bound to stir up a bit of interest. It had showed them that I could be emotionally available and now I was going to be sought after by every unmated female in the area. Couldn't they just respect my mating bond?

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