Madison’s world was reduced to pain and fear. Those were the only things he could feel, and while he was trying to fight his way through it for Katie, he didn’t know if he could. It felt too big and like it would swallow him and never let him out.

He deserved it. After what he’d done, it made sense that he’d end up in hell. It didn’t matter that he was still alive—this was hell, and he didn’t think he’d ever leave it.

The world around was burning. He’d tried to stop Fay and the others, even though he’d known it would be useless. He was correct, and now he was going to die here, in this burning building.

He tried to push himself forward for Katie because she didn’t deserve to lose the only person who cared about her, but he couldn’t. Something had fallen on top of him, and even though he was a wolf shifter, he was too weak and in too much pain. He wouldn’t be able to force away whatever that something was, and he’d burn to death under it.

When a sharp pain rose from his legs, he sucked in a breath and got a lungful of smoke. He coughed, his lungs burning so badly he was surprised he wasn’t on fire.

Yet.

But it wouldn’t be long. He prayed for death because he needed to get away from the pain. It was too much, and he didn’t know how to deal with it without screaming. He doubted anyone would hear him, but Fay had set fire to this place for a reason, and it wasn’t to kill Madison. She wanted someone to attempt to save him and get hurt, and he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. He wouldn’t take other wolf shifters down with him as he died.

The only sound Madison could hear was the whoosh of the fire until something caught his attention. It was a distraction from the pain and fear, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to forget them. He tried to blink, unsure of what he’d see, but his eyelids felt like sandpaper on his eyes.

He was stunned to realize two people were coming toward him. He didn’t know where they’d come from or who they were, but this was his only chance to make it out of there. He felt like he deserved to stay and die, but he couldn’t do that to his sister. He couldn’t abandon Katie with their father.

That meant he had to live.

When the people reached him, he raised a hand. He couldn’t see much with the smoke around him, but he almost cried when the two men leaned down to grasp him. That hurt, too, but it meant he wouldn’t die, and that was all he wanted.

They hauled him to his feet. He cried out at the pain racing through his body, but he needed to focus on Katie. Who cared if he was in pain as long as he was alive? He’d be fine. He had to be.

He was terrified of looking at himself. He didn’t want to see how burned he was and what his body had been reduced to. Would he scare Katie? Would he ever see her again? He had no idea who had grabbed him except that he was pretty sure they were both guys, which meant that he might still be in danger of dying if they decided he was too much bother or an enemy.

Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

The pain was so harsh that he couldn’t breathe—although that might be because of the smoke. He wanted to die, but Katie had already lost too much. She didn’t deserve to lose him, too, especially in these circumstances.

One of the men leaned down. For a second, Madison didn’t understand what he was doing. Then two arms wrapped around him. He was hauled up into the man’s arms, and he screamed.

“Sorry,” the man whispered, his voice barely audible over the sound of the fire.

Madison could only nod, but he was starting to wonder if it was worth it. He was in so much pain that he doubted he could have a normal life after this, and not just because of the fire. He was part of something he’d never wanted to be part of, and he didn’t know how to get out of it or even if he could. Maybe it would be easier for everyone if he just died here.

But he wasn’t going to be allowed to do that. The man rushed toward the exit, not wasting time. Madison had no energy to speak, so he leaned against the guy’s shoulder. Even through the fire, the man smelled good, and Madison found himself thinking that it wouldn’t be too bad to die like this.

A loud creaking sound made him glance up. A flash of heat and a loud sound caused him to cringe back, but the guy who held him just cradled him closer. He carried Madison out of the building as if the fire couldn’t touch him.

Maybe it couldn’t. Madison didn’t know much about dragon shifters, because he felt better staying as far away from the clan as possible, but they were dragons and spat fire. This was probably a walk in the park for dragons.

These guys couldn’t be part of the clan. The clan didn’t have a reason to save Madison. If anything, they wouldn’t hesitate to leave him in the building to die. They might be allied with Fay, but that didn’t mean they were friends or that they would shed a tear at the news that one of her shifters had died.

The heat suddenly vanished. It was so much of a shock that it took Madison a moment to realize why he couldn’t feel it anymore. He blinked up at the sky, his heart tripping over itself.