By Zephyria 
six
The wind, which usually blew coolly, had somehow turned chilly. Grayson stared intently at Dane’s back as he stood frozen in place. The call continued as he took steps, approaching Dane. After only a few steps, he stood behind Dane, and the voice flowing from the phone reached his ears.
“I mistakenly went to your place last time… um, don’t you remember?”
At the voice, which had turned desperate, Dane tried to recall and swept back his hair.
“I remember.”
He could hear the woman sigh in relief. Of course, Dane was inwardly thinking something else. His life had always been based on not interfering in other people’s affairs, but recently he had been getting involved too much. Even with a woman he had only spent one night with.
This will be the last time I do something like this.
He resolved, adding without delay,
“Have you decided? When are you going to do it? I’d prefer it if it were on my day off.”
At the blunt question, she hurriedly replied.
“Yes… Yes! Of course, I will. …Um, thank you.”
Dane didn’t react to the fading voice, told her his day off, and hung up. He roughly shoved his phone into his pants pocket and was about to start walking again. He turned his head without much thought and was startled to see Grayson standing right behind him.
“Ah, shit, what the hell!”
As Dane, annoyed, spat out a curse and contorted his face, Grayson glanced at him. Dane, who had inadvertently turned his gaze with a frown, noticed that he was looking at the pocket where he had put his phone.
“Is that the woman?”
At the question, abruptly asked without preamble, Dane didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know.
“Yeah, the woman you saw too.”
At the indifferent reply, Grayson’s face darkened. Sensing that something was wrong, Grayson opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Are you really going to the hospital with that woman?”
The calm voice sounded somehow eerie. Dane was inwardly wary as he replied as usual.
“Yeah, I promised.”
At the simple response, Grayson fell silent again. What is this silence? Suddenly feeling uneasy, Dane furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes.
“…You don’t really think it’s your child, do you?”
“Huh.”
So that’s what he was thinking. Dane was so dumbfounded that he didn’t even get angry. He twisted his lips and glared at Grayson.
“You know what my Trait is, do I look like an idiot to you?”
At the sarcastic remark, Grayson took a step back.
“…It’s not that.”
“Then what? What do you want to say?”
Dane snapped. Grayson seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly smiled. Dane paused at the action, which was out of context. Seeing Dane’s expression, Grayson immediately pulled down the corners of his mouth. He realized that this was not the time to smile.
“…No, I mean.”
Grayson seemed to want to say something, but that was all. Seeing him holding his forehead with one hand and unable to continue speaking, he looked very confused.
Of course, this might also be his delusion. Dane thought. Who can tell what is real and what is false about that bastard? Even he might not know. He was just mechanically making expressions to fit the situation.
Dane didn’t wait any longer and turned around. Grayson just watched his receding back as he strode away. But.
“Don’t waste your time on worthless things.”
Suddenly, a low voice came from behind. Dane paused, and Grayson spoke louder, with more force in his voice.
“That woman is just using you.”
What nonsense is he spouting? Dane shook his head in dismay and started walking again. Grayson warned again from behind.
“You’ll regret it. For doing something unnecessary.”
At the voice full of dissatisfaction, Dane tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. He sighed, then turned his head and looked at Grayson. Their eyes met, and he opened his mouth, looking at Grayson with a cold gaze.
“Did anyone ask you?”
And Dane turned around without hesitation and strode away. Grayson shouted one last time at the back of his head.
“I clearly warned you, you’re bringing all the things that will happen after this on yourself.”
Dane, who had just opened the back door of the fire station, looked back at Grayson. Grayson was somehow looking at him with a cold gaze. Dane frowned and made a thin voice, answering.
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
With those words, Dane slammed the door shut in front of Grayson as if to show off.
Desire Me if you can
That crazy bastard.
Dane sat on the waiting room chair with a frown. He sat with his legs wide apart, rapidly shaking one leg, his face full of annoyance. Who does he think he is, telling me what to do? He doesn’t even know his place.
-You’ll regret it. For doing something unnecessary.
He already regrets it enough. But when Grayson Miller said that, his stomach twisted. Shit, he muttered a small curse without thinking, and immediately rolled his eyes to check his surroundings. Fortunately, the waiting room was deserted, and other patients or visitors were sitting quite a distance away. That’s a relief. Just as he was inwardly relieved, the woman who had brought water spoke to him.
“Um, is coffee okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
As he accepted the drink provided by the hospital, the woman sat next to Dane and drank water. As he brought the hot black coffee to his mouth, the woman opened her mouth.
“Thank you for coming with me, Dane. Um, I didn’t have anyone else to ask…”
Seeing her gaunt profile, Dane just drank his coffee without saying anything. She’s someone I’ll never see again anyway. There’s no need to hear deep stories. That’s what Dane thought, but she, Sabrina, thought differently.
“I guess it’s better not to have a child if you don’t have a father, right?”
“…Ha.”
Dane sighed audibly. He still looked elsewhere and said.
“That’s for you to decide. If you can’t handle it, it’s better to get rid of it.”
Sabrina’s body visibly flinched. Was there still hesitation left? After thinking for a moment, he muttered to himself.
“It’s not always best to have a child.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you deciding that, you fucking bastard.”
At the sudden curse, Dane frowned and raised his head. There, an incredibly tall woman was chewing gum and looking down at them. She had glamorous platinum blonde hair and was such a stunning beauty that people gasped wherever she went, but the reason Dane paused was something else.
Purple eyes.
The sweet scent wafting around her left no room for doubt. What the fuck. Dane was about to get up, but Sabrina stood up first.
“Larien!”
The woman named Larien, who was a head and a half taller than Sabrina, was glaring at Sabrina’s pale face with a frightened look.
Desire Me if you can
♬♪♪♩♬♪…….
Ezra paused and looked back at the whistling sound that kept coming. It was Grayson whistling as he checked the equipment.
“Something good happen, Miller?”
Asked in wonder, he stopped whistling and replied, “No.” The smiling face was a stereotyped one, but Ezra didn’t know.
“Something good definitely happened, what.”
He rolled his eyes mockingly and smiled as he went back to his work. Grayson still looked up at the clock on the wall with a smile on his face.
Grayson’s eyes narrowed as he checked the time.
It must have started by now.
The minute hand on the wall clicked and moved to the side just in time.
Desire Me if you can
“You fucking bastard, who are you to tell me to abort the child?”
Larien blurted out with a rough curse. Is she crazy? Dane looked down at her in disbelief. The woman, who looked to be at least 180 centimeters tall, glared at Dane as if she would devour him, without being intimidated at all.
89 – 89
The few people waiting in the waiting room watched them in astonishment, unsure of what to do. Amidst all this, Dane tried to make sense of the sudden situation, but of course, it was impossible. All he could do now was make his position clear.
“I only came because Sabrina asked me to come with her. What about you?”
The woman, undeterred by Dane’s harsh reaction, glared at him.
“Me? I’m the sperm donor for this woman’s baby!”
“What?”
“What?”
“Oh my!”
The onlookers, including Dane, also exclaimed in surprise from here and there. But Larien, unconcerned, continued to shout.
“Yeah, how dare you tell my woman what to do? Do you want to die? Huh?”
Dane stared at Sabrina with a bewildered expression, as if asking what was going on.
Sabrina looked around, at a loss. Seeing her like that, Dane couldn’t help but sigh. He looked up at the ceiling in disbelief when an unpleasant memory suddenly surfaced.
‘I warned you, don’t do anything you’ll regret.’
Frowning, Sabrina spoke.
“Larien, you’re mistaken. This child isn’t yours.”
At those words, Larien’s attention immediately turned to her.
“Really? Are you sure it’s not my child? Tell me straight, Sabrina. If you tell me the truth, I can forgive you.”
Her tone, so gentle and coaxing, was completely different from how she had spoken to Dane, and everyone watching widened their eyes again. Moreover, the way she stroked Sabrina’s cheek with a tender touch made her look like someone deeply in love. Sabrina, too, seemed to have completely forgotten about her surroundings as she looked up at Larien with ardent eyes.
“I don’t know, Larien. I’m sorry.”
In the end, she confessed. Sabrina, her eyes filled with tears, lowered her head and whispered.
“Maybe it’s my ex-boyfriend’s. I don’t know.”
“It could be my child!”
Larien insisted again. It was clear to everyone that it had been a two-timing situation, but she didn’t seem to have any problem with it.
Was it a three-way relationship?
Just as Dane thought of it, Larien grabbed Sabrina’s hand and said,
“Don’t worry, Sabrina. Let’s get married.”
“Huh.”
Dane stood there, dumbfounded, watching the two of them.
Desire Me if you can
Time to head out.
Grayson stopped whistling and got up from his seat. After deliberately taking his time to tidy up the equipment, he returned it to its place and naturally turned towards the Station Chief’s office. He was about to tell him that he was leaving work for the day. Someone had to clean up the mess that was sure to be there. Someone who knew all the details of this situation, like Grayson Miller.
He put his hands in his pockets, humming, and started walking.
Eeeee, eeeee.
The loud siren made him unconsciously stop. It seemed like there was another fire somewhere. As expected, firefighters who had been scattered around rushed out, competing to be the first. Grayson, who had been watching them put on their fire suits and get into the truck as if it were none of his business, turned around again. He was just about to take a step when.
“Where’s the location?”
“Snowflake Housing near Lincoln Park!”
The words exchanged by the men hurrying past Grayson made him stop again. He turned around and stood there for a moment without moving.
What did they say…?
“Let’s go, ugh!”
DeAndre, who was the last to get into the truck, shouted at the driver and was about to close the door when he was startled. Grayson was holding the door open.
“W-what? What are you doing?”
Grayson, with a serious expression, asked DeAndre, who was flustered and stuttering.
“Where is the fire?”
“Snowflake Housing, that quiet neighborhood next to Lincoln Park.”
Another guy answered instead of DeAndre. Grayson froze at the information, which was no different from what he had heard earlier.
No way, it can’t be. There’s a good chance it’s another house.
It was a very reasonable assumption. Out of all those houses, there was no way Fire’s house would catch fire. Besides, there was only a blind cat in that house. Dane would be at the hospital with that damn woman right now.
There’s no reason for a fire.
“Miller, what are you doing! Move if you’re not going!”
DeAndre shouted. But Grayson still stood there, unable to move. He had to go to the hospital now. Settle the situation, send Larien away with that woman, explain to Dane what happened, and then he would realize that he had done something unnecessary, and then he would know that my warning had come true…
The cat.
Grayson’s mind went cold.
…That ugly cat.
“Miller, I said move!”
“Grayson Miller!”
DeAndre, as well as another voice, shouted. Now he had to make a choice. There was no more time to hesitate. Of course, the direction of the choice was already decided. Take his hand off the door, turn around, and go to the Station Chief’s office to say he was leaving early…
“W-what?”
Before he could even finish his thought, Grayson got into the fire truck. The other guys shouted in surprise, but he defiantly closed the door from the inside.
“Let’s go!”
At Grayson’s shout, Ezra, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, hurriedly started the truck, and as everyone watched in bewilderment, Grayson sat with his arms crossed and began to tap one leg with a serious expression.
Desire Me if you can
“Let’s get married!”
A tense silence fell in the waiting room at Larien’s declaration. Everyone who had been waiting was focusing their attention on the situation, which was more exciting than any drama they had seen recently, and Sabrina, who had widened her eyes, slowly opened her mouth.
“R-really?”
Larien frowned and smiled at her question, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Of course, my cute Sabrina. How could I ever leave you?”
Larien grabbed Sabrina’s cheeks and kissed her lips deeply, as if making a vow. Her face, which had pulled away, was smiling brightly. Sabrina, who looked up at Larien, blinked and asked cautiously.
“Then… what about April?”
“What?”
Larien’s smiling face froze. Sabrina had pointed out a critical issue.
“You’re married to April. You have to get a divorce first.”
“What? Married?”
“Oh my god, is this cheating?”
“Two-timing, two-timing.”
Murmurs of surprise and shock followed from here and there. After a brief commotion, a breathless silence fell. Everyone waited anxiously for Larien’s answer, even Dane. Larien, who had exclaimed “Oh,” shook her head.
“That won’t work, Sabrina. April is carrying my child.”
“What? So you want me to be your second wife?”
Sabrina immediately shouted. As murmurs continued again, Larien scratched her cheek with her second finger and made a troubled expression.
“Um, well. To be exact, you’d be the ninth, Sabrina.”
“Oh my god, oh my god!”
“Oh my, God! What is going on!”
“Ma’am, your appointment is…”
“Wait a minute, wait! This is a very important moment!”
Amidst the pouring commotion, Sabrina grimaced and was horrified.
“What? Is your religion polygamy?”
“Oh, no, Sabrina.”
Larien, who absurdly shook her second finger from side to side, spread her arms wide and declared reverently.
“My religion is love.”
What is this, this damn déjà vu.
Something bad flashed through Dane’s mind as he stared in disbelief. Soon, someone’s face overlapped with her flamboyant face. Ah! Could it be… no way? When Dane realized the reason for this ominous déjà vu, Sabrina screamed and lunged at Larien.
“You scammer, you dirty liar!”
“Sabrina, calm down. You’re pregnant!”
“It’s not your baby, I said it’s not! I hate you, I hate you! Die!”
“My sweetheart, telling such lies. So lovely. Hahaha!”
Among the people staring blankly at Sabrina, who was hitting Larien, and Larien, who was laughing and taking the hits, someone suddenly seemed to come to their senses and shouted.
“Oh, now that I think about it, I think I saw that person on the wanted list.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I check the FBI’s wanted list every day. Just a moment, here it is. Look.”
“Oh my, oh my, it’s really her!”
“What crime did she commit? Fraud? Is it fraud?”
“It’s a romance scam! Oh my, there are victims all over the country!”
“We have to report her, quickly! Oh, where did she go?”
People frantically took out their cell phones from here and there, but it was already too late. Larien had already disappeared. Leaving behind only her lovely Sabrina and Dane, who was standing there with a bewildered expression.
Desire Me if you can
Damn it, if I ever get involved in someone else’s business again, I’m not human.
Dane cursed and started the car. As he drove, trying to calm his boiling insides, many questions came to his mind. Is that woman also a Miller? Probably, right? There couldn’t be another Dominant Alpha with such a similar face.
There are six Miller children. Of course, there are daughters mixed in. That was all the information Dane knew about them. At least he knew early on that Chase was one of them thanks to Joshua, but even in Grayson’s case, he hadn’t been able to make the connection until Joshua had spoken. Even though they looked so similar.
It’s only natural since it was none of my business anyway.
Anyway, he thought he would never be involved with the Millers again, but suddenly another new Miller appeared. And because it was a woman, he couldn’t even get properly angry. If it had been a male sibling, he would have grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out to have a fight.
“Damn it!”
Along with the curse, he slammed the steering wheel with his fist. The only person who could make sense of this situation was Grayson Miller. Considering his meaningful words back then, he must know something.
Surely that bastard didn’t orchestrate this…
Just as another thought, that he was the type to do that, came to mind. Suddenly, black smoke covering the distant blue sky came into view.
…Huh?
A bad feeling made his heart uneasy. As he continued to drive, the smoke got closer and closer. No way, it can’t be. Surely not…
He continued to deny it. But as he got closer to home, the bad feeling gradually became a reality.
“Dane!”
Dane, who had parked the car some distance away, ran urgently, and Ezra, who spotted him, shouted. Dane stopped dead in his tracks, his face pale. His precious house was engulfed in bright red flames, burning fiercely. Dane was stunned for a moment. As he stared at the fire as if possessed, reality slowly began to seep into his mind. And he soon screamed loudly, like a cry.
“Darling!”
90 – 90
Fire was much larger than expected. Grayson, stepping out of the fire truck, was stunned by the sheer scale of it. The other firefighters, though equally surprised, moved quickly as if accustomed to such events.
“Hose, get the hose over here first!”
“Where did the fire start? Are there people inside?”
“Where’s the entry team? Get the entry team ready!”
“We need more fire trucks, request reinforcements and contact other stations!”
“Hurry up, give me water, now!”
Shouts, the crackling of flames, and the sounds of collapsing buildings mixed chaotically. Amidst the pandemonium, Grayson focused on only one thing: the modest house engulfed in red flames.
It was Dane Striker’s house.
The front door, which he had kicked in so forcefully, was already charred black, barely visible in the red flames. A fire that started from burning leaves in one house had spread, consuming his house entirely and moving to the next. Dane’s house was unfortunately the third in line, with five houses already ablaze. It seemed the fire had been burning for quite some time, as the house’s frame was already visible. It would collapse soon at this rate.
It might already be too late.
Grayson thought.
“It’s fortunate, though, that it’s a weekday afternoon, so most houses seem to be empty. And the people inside have evacuated safely.”
Ezra shouted loudly. Wilkins nodded and added,
“Anyway, let’s focus on preventing it from spreading further. Hey, you over there! Get the water up higher!”
The firefighters continued to rush around. None of them seemed to know that this was their colleague’s house.
Come to think of it, he said he doesn’t bring anyone home unless they’re sleeping with him.
Grayson quickly understood. They probably only knew about Darling because it came up in conversation or because they saw the picture Dane had stuck on his cabinet. Even if they knew Darling was inside, rescuing him in this situation would be impossible…
Suddenly, the image of Dane diving into the flames to save a stranger’s dog flashed through his mind. He couldn’t understand it then. In fact, he still didn’t. Even if the same situation occurred now, Grayson would never do what Dane did, absolutely not.
But that was Dane’s Darling.
Reason clearly stated that the cat was dead, that it couldn’t possibly survive in those flames.
However, Darling had already experienced the same crisis once before. The brave cat had endured the flames, survived, and continued to live despite losing his sight and hearing.
Until just recently.
‘Darling.’
The image of Dane calling the cat’s name and gently stroking his body vividly resurfaced in his mind. If Darling died…
Even though his whole body was drenched in sweat from the rising flames, he felt a chill run down his spine. Grayson blinked and stared at the house engulfed in flames.
This is insane.
Grayson bit his lip. He knew very well that doing something this stupid was absurd.
But.
“Miller, what’s wrong?”
Ezra noticed him first and called his name. But Grayson didn’t hear him. As if possessed, his steps gradually quickened, and soon he was running.
“Miller, Miller?”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
The other firefighters shouted in surprise from behind, but it was already too late. Grayson had already plunged into the flames.
“Why, why is he doing that?”
DeAndre shouted, belatedly shocked. Ezra also shook his head, seemingly bewildered.
“I don’t know, he suddenly went inside.”
“What? Why? Why?”
“I don’t know either. None of us know!”
“Damn it, crazy bastard! Why is he causing trouble again?”
Outcries erupted from all directions. Wilkins, equally bewildered, quickly regained his composure and issued instructions.
“It’s too dangerous to rush in after him right now, so let’s put out the fire first. I’ll try to reach Miller by radio, so focus on this house and that last house for now. Prevent the fire from spreading any further, hurry!”
After shouting harshly, he confirmed that his subordinates were quickly dispersing and hurriedly took out his radio.
“Miller, Miller. Do you hear me? Miller!”
He shouted repeatedly, but there was no response. Wilkins cursed and ran a hand over his forehead. The flames continued to rise relentlessly towards the sky, showing no signs of dying down.
Desire Me if you can
“Wow!”
Whoosh! Flames roared loudly right in front of him, making an eerie sound. Grayson exclaimed briefly and quickly stepped back. He almost got caught in them. He was wearing a fire suit, but being engulfed in flames was still not an easy thing.
He realized for the first time that fire could scream like this. Feeling eerie, he sighed briefly and looked around again. The surroundings were already filled with smoke and ash. Parts of the building were collapsing and breaking apart, making the floor uneven and difficult to balance on.
Haa, haa. Haa, haa.
Grayson breathed heavily inside his helmet and quickly surveyed the area.
“Darling, Darling! Where are you? Come out, Darling!”
He shouted loudly, but his voice was swallowed by the flames and scattered in vain. Grayson unconsciously tried to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but his arm futilely rubbed against the helmet.
So this is how painful it is inside here.
He felt an urge to run out immediately. Why, why? Why am I doing this here? It’s just a cat. An old, deaf, and blind ugly cat. He wouldn’t live much longer anyway. No, why am I going through all this trouble to find a cat that has clearly already perished in these flames?
“Darling, damn it, come out!”
He shouted again with a curse. His own rough breathing was trapped inside the helmet, hurting his ears. He felt slightly dizzy, whether from a lack of oxygen or from panic.
“Damn it, where are you hiding…”
Grayson muttered to himself and cursed again. The living room was already completely burned. The cat tower where Darling used to lie leisurely in the sun had long since collapsed. He had searched the entire first floor, so all that remained was the second floor. He would have to risk falling to his death, as more than half of the stairs had already collapsed, perhaps even more so than burning to death.
‘Cats hide when a crisis occurs.’
A story about cats that he had heard sometime suddenly popped into his head. Because Grayson raised dogs, he had simply dismissed the story. He had scoffed, thinking it was foolish. That’s why he thought cats were as useless as birds. They didn’t guard the house or risk their lives for their owners, yet they acted as they pleased and were arrogant beings. They didn’t come when called and hid when things were urgent, always trying to trick others. Just a ball of fur.
See, it’s just like that.
Grayson muttered inwardly and gritted his teeth. Darling, my ass, more like Lucifer! He repeated the devil’s name and rushed up the stairs. Behind him, the sound of another part of the building collapsing in flames echoed.
“Darling, Darling! Damn it, come out!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Grayson searched the second floor. It was a modest size with only three rooms, so why was it so difficult to find such a small animal?
He lifted collapsed bookshelves, chopped at burning built-in closets with an ax to break them open and look inside, and then cursed again.
Where are you, where the hell are you!
Rummaging through the chaotic house and running around looking for the cat, he threw the mattress away in a fit of anger. And the next moment, he paused and froze. He saw a faint ball of fur hiding in the narrow space between the wall and the mattress. Crouched motionless, it was undoubtedly the very cat that Grayson had been searching for.
“Darling!”
Grayson urgently called the cat’s name and reached out his hand. But that was a big mistake. The cat, who had survived the great fire with disabilities, could no longer see or hear, but he clearly remembered the scorching heat.
As soon as the mattress disappeared, he suddenly panicked at the eerie flames that he could feel with his small body. Suddenly screaming like a cry, Darling ran away. Grayson was surprised to see him running blindly, unable to see ahead.
“Darling, no! Stop!”
He desperately chased after him, but Darling slipped out of his hand at an incredible speed. Grayson turned pale at the speed that was completely different from his lazy appearance of only lying on the cat tower.
“Darling, I said stop! Stay there!”
He continued to call Darling and chased after him. Just as he was about to go down the precariously balanced stairs, Darling suddenly climbed up the wall. Until last year, he would sometimes climb and play on the walls of Dane’s house when he was in a good mood. But now his joints could no longer hold up and it was not easy to run. In a crisis, his body recalled his old memories and jumped up the wall, but reality did not keep up. Just as the cat was about to misstep and fall, the floor collapsed with a loud noise.
“Darling!”
Grayson shouted and threw himself towards the cat.