“I’m fine, it’s just down one floor,” Brielle assured him.She slipped into the hallway and pressed the call button for the lift.When the doors slid open, she found a boy standing inside—fifteen, maybe sixteen, with wide eyes and a nervous smile.She recognized him.He lived in the building with his grandmother.Everyone knew them—kind woman, special-needs grandson, quiet lives.
“Hey, Brielle,” he said, voice uncertain.“Can you help me?I got in the lift, but ...I don’t know what floor.Nana won’t get up off the floor.She is lying there groaning.I pushed the ambulance caller we have for emergencies, but no one has come yet.”
Her heart clenched.“Of course, Charlie, I’ll help you.Why don’t we go find her.”She stepped in beside him and hit the button for the fourth floor.As the lift shuddered downward, she thumbed a quick text to Saffron.
Call the ambulance.Fourth floor.Medical emergency alarm signaled, find out how far away they are and tell them to hurry.
The boy led her to the door.Inside, the air was heavy, wrong.His grandmother was slumped on the couch, her breaths shallow and rattling.Brielle dropped to her knees beside her.“Nana?Can you hear me?”
No response.Panic clawed at her throat.She shouted back toward the door, “Saffie, hurry!”
Saffron burst in seconds later, phone pressed to her ear, Ursula right behind her.Jacob followed, keeping the boy gently back.
“Ambulance is here,” Saffron said, crouching down beside Brielle.“You did good, Charlie, you got help.”
“She’s crashing,” Ursula muttered, already checking for a pulse.“It’s weak.”
The boy whimpered, calling for his grandmother, and Brielle’s heart twisted.She forced her voice calm.“We’ve got you.We’ll help her.”
Then the woman’s chest stilled.
“She’s in arrest!”Ursula barked.
They moved fast, but before Brielle could even start compressions, the door burst open again.Liam rushed in, flanked by two men in EMT jackets—broad shouldered, powerful, eyes sharp.Hunter and Lennox Garrison.
****
Hunter and Lennox jumpedout of the rig as soon as it stopped rolling.The smell of rain, exhaust, and human panic hit them all at once.Flashing red lights bounced off the wet pavement as they grabbed their medical kits and stretcher from the back.
A man was waiting near the front doors of the apartment building, pacing and checking his phone.He looked up sharply as they approached.“Fourth floor.Cardiac arrest.Elevator’s to your right.”His tone was clipped, efficient—but the moment they got close, both brothers froze.
The scent hit them like a freight train.
Hunter sucked in a sharp breath, his pulse slamming.It wasn’t just adrenaline—it was her.Sweet, electric, and alive in a way that hit every primal instinct he had.Lennox’s nostrils flared, his grip tightening on the stretcher handle.The scent of their mate wrapped around them like heat, coiling low in their guts.
“Holy hell,” Lennox muttered, almost under his breath.“You smell that?”
Hunter nodded once, jaw tight.“Yeah.She’s close.”
The stranger heard them.A smirk ghosted across his mouth, but his eyes narrowed, sharp and calculating.He inhaled once, the faintest shift in his posture betraying the fact that he scented them, too.His voice was quiet, edged.“Problem?”
Hunter forced a shake of his head, voice steady.“No.Let’s move.”
The three of them pushed into the lobby, rolling the stretcher toward the lift.The doors opened with a soft ding, and Lennox guided the equipment inside while Hunter tapped the button for the fourth floor.The confined space made the scent stronger.It was like being trapped in a storm.
“You think it’s her?”Lennox whispered, voice barely audible.
Hunter’s hands flexed on the stretcher rail.“I don’t think.I know.”
The lift jolted to a stop, and the doors slid open to chaos.People stood in doorways, frightened, whispering.Their guide moved quickly down the hall.“Apartment 407,” he said over his shoulder.
Hunter frowned but kept his focus.“You know the patient?”
The man gave a terse nod.“A family that lives here.A grandmother and her grandson.”He didn’t offer more, his tone too sharp for further questions.“She’s crashing.”
They burst inside.The room was thick with tension and a sharp tang of fear.The first thing Hunter saw was her—Brielle.Kneeling beside the patient, curls spilling over her shoulder, caramel skin glowing under the harsh lights.Her voice was steady, commanding, but when she looked up, her eyes caught his and time seemed to stop.
Lennox stumbled at his side, one hand gripping the doorframe for balance.The connection slammed into both of them—an invisible pull, powerful and wild.But instead of linking, it snapped back, leaving them gasping from the sudden void.