A second later, Jamie had shifted, and the two of them crashed together, the impact so great that the frames that hadn’t fallen when the beam had dropped, all shattered to the ground.
I stood there frozen as my brother and father fought fiercely, neither of them holding anything back. My father outweighed my brother by at least a hundred pounds. My brother had just shifted for the first time; he was a long way off from matching my father in size.
“Please stop,” I screamed, falling to my knees and crossing my arms around my body. I watched in horror as my father took a huge bite out of Jamie’s shoulder. My brother’s wolf howled in agony, and I stared in disbelief as my father lunged at Jamie’s jugular for a killing strike.
Jamie barely missed having his throat torn out as he threw himself back. Jamie’s wolf was whining in pain as he angled his body in front of me, trying to make sure my father couldn’t get to me. Blood was seeping from his wound, and his whole body was shaking as he prepared for my father’s next attack.
I could see the craziness in my father’s gaze as he pushed back on his haunches, preparing to leap at us and end us both.
He flew through the air towards us just as another wooden beam—my mother had insisted on installing them along the ceilings—fell right on top of him. A sharp howl rushed out of him as my father crashed to the floor, pinned under the beam. But even with it on top of him, he was trying to struggle towards us wildly, his teeth bared and growls erupting from his throat.
My brother whined and collapsed in front of me before shifting back. Blood was still gushing from his shoulder, and I didn’t understand why he wasn’t healing. He was supposed to be healing.
“Jamie,” I whimpered, putting my hands on his neck as if I could stop the bleeding.
Jamie took a deep breath before stumbling to his knees, trying to pull me away from my father and the beam that was now blocking the hallway.
We’d just made it out to the living room when another beam fell. The fire was coming from the hallway and from the living room, and we were trapped in the kitchen. There were flames everywhere, and at this point, I was gasping for breath, my head feeling light and fuzzy from the smoke.
Jamie stumbled to his feet and tried to lift a chair, only to drop it with a crash and a yelp of pain from pulling on his wounded shoulder.
In a daze, I stumbled forward to help him lift the chair, realizing he was going to try and shatter the kitchen window.
But as I walked, I tripped, the smoke finally too much for me to handle. I slumped over the table.
I faintly heard Jamie yelling at me, and then my eyes closed as I drifted into unconsciousness.
The crash of more beams falling roared around me. The sound of a wolf’s growl pierced the air, and a mournful cry from my brother filled my ears.
The last thing I felt was the lick of heat burning at my skin.