"No!" Rosa's anguished cry pierces the smoke-filled air. "Bella!" She staggers forward, falling to her knees beside us, her hands shaking as she reaches for her sister.
I clutch Bella tighter to my chest, a feral snarl ripping from my throat. "Don't fucking touch her!"
Rosa recoils, her eyes wide and glassy with unshed tears. "P-please," she whispers brokenly. "We have to get her out of here. I know a way out the back."
The flames crackle and hiss, the heat searing my skin as the fire consumes everything in its path. Sweat and blood mingle on my brow, dripping into my eyes, but I can't loosen my grip on Bella. Her shallow breaths are the only thing tethering me to sanity.
"Silas." Hector's voice is rough with grief, but there's an undercurrent of urgency that penetrates the haze of my panic. "Rosa's right. We have to move now, before it's too late."
I look down at Bella's face, so pale and still against the crimson ruin of her chest. Her lips are tinged with blue, her breaths coming in short, wet gasps. Each one feels like a shard of glass in my heart, slicing me to ribbons.
"We have to go now!" my cousin Micha shouts over the roar of the flames. "The whole building is about to come down!" His brothers are right behind him, and several of our father’s only bodyguards follow behind.
The club is full of bodies now, and the De Luca alphas are finished. Their lifeless corpses can burn to fucking ash for all I care.
I struggle to my feet, Bella's blood-soaked body cradled against my chest. Her head lolls lifelessly against my shoulder, her breaths shallow and labored. Dante and Hector flank me, their faces grim with determination as they help support Bella's weight.
Rosa staggers to her feet, wiping the tears from her cheeks with a shaking hand. "This way," she says, her voice hoarse with smoke and grief. "I know a way out through the back."
We stumble through the burning debris, the heat searing our skin and singeing our hair. The smoke is thick and acrid, burning our lungs with every breath. Bella's blood drips steadily onto the floor, leaving a macabre trail in our wake.
Rosa leads us through a maze of dressing rooms, the once glamorous space now reduced to ash and ruin. The mirrors are shattered, the costumes nothing more than smoldering rags. We dodge falling beams and jump over piles of flaming rubble, the adrenaline pumping through our veins the only thing keeping us moving.
Finally, we burst through a door and into a narrow alleyway, the cool night air a shock to our overheated lungs. Sirens wail in the distance, drawing closer with every passing second. The flashing lights of emergency vehicles paint the alleyway in shades of red and blue, casting eerie shadows on the brick walls.
I clutch Bella tighter to my chest, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Her blood is sticky and warm against my skin, the coppery scent filling my nostrils. I can feel her heartbeat fluttering weakly beneath my fingers, growing fainter with each passing second.
"We need to get her to a hospital," I rasp, my voice raw with desperation. "She's losing too much blood."
Rosa shakes her head, her eyes glinting with determination in the flickering light of the flames. "No hospitals," she says firmly. "They'll be watching for us. We need to go somewhere safe, somewhere they won't think to look."
I want to argue, to demand that we get Bella the medical attention she so desperately needs. But I know Rosa is right. The De Lucas may be finished, but they still have allies, people who will be looking for loose omegas to snap up.
Hector nods grimly, his jaw clenched tight. "Rosa's right. We need to go, someplace off the grid where we can tend to Bella's wounds without drawing attention."
I swallow hard, my throat constricting with fear and desperation. Every cell in my body screams at me to get Bella help now, but I know we can't risk it. Not with the remnants of the De Luca empire still out there, hungry for revenge. I have no idea how many omegas escaped, or their alphas, but they’ll be prowling the area.
"Fine," I grit out, my voice barely above a whisper. "But we need to move fast. She doesn't have much time."
As if on cue, Bella stirs in my arms, a pained whimper escaping her bloodstained lips. Her eyelids flutter open, her once warm, rich brown eyes, now glassy and unfocused.
"S-Silas?" she rasps, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the flames.
I tighten my grip on her, my heart clenching at the weakness in her voice. "I'm here, baby. I've got you. Just hold on, okay? We're going to get you somewhere safe."
Bella's eyes drift shut again, her head lolling limply against my chest. Panic surges through me, hot and sickening. We're losing her.
"Let's go," Dante says urgently, his eyes darting around the alleyway. "We need to move
Micha steps forward, his eyes blazing with intensity. "There's no time to argue. We need to get Bella to St. Mary's Hospital, now. I know a doctor there, Dr. Smith. He's treated our people before, off the books. He won't ask questions."
I shake my head vehemently, my grip tightening on Bella's limp form. "Are you fucking insane? We can't just waltz into a hospital with Bella looking like this. They'll call the cops before we even make it through the doors."
Micha grabs my shoulder, his fingers digging into my flesh. "Listen to me, Silas. Dr. Smith is our only chance. There’s an entrance in the back, away from prying eyes. I’ll call ahead and get him there.We can get your mate the help she needs without drawing attention."
“Why the fuck are you helping us? After what we did to the alphas?”
Micha pauses, meeting my eyes with his cruel gaze. “Because we’re family, asshole.”