by Raven Steele
I hurried over to her. “Glad you could join us.”
Samira stormed, more like blinked over to us, bringing with her a gust of cold air. She glared at me. “You knew she was coming?”
“It was discussed, but nothing written in stone. Lynx is a big girl. She can make her own decisions.”
“I thought we were in agreement, Briar! Lynx should stay out of our business.”
Lynx stuck her head between us. “Hello? Right here.”
I pulled her next to us, completing a circle. “Lynx is pretty badass. I’ve seen her fight. Her magic is pretty incredible.”
“I don’t care,” Samira hissed in an accent I’d never heard from her before. Was it Russian? Lynx and I looked at each other questioningly.
“Do you get an accent when you’re angry?” I asked.
Lynx giggled.
“Shut up, Briar,” Samira said, still with the accent. “This is no place for her!”
I blinked, but when I opened my eyes, Lynx was no longer next to us. She was standing behind Samira holding a blade to her throat.
“You were saying, Sammie?” She winked at me.
Samira knocked the blade from her hand and snapped her head in my direction. “You are a bad influence.” She looked like she wanted to say more but all of a sudden the forest was flooded with light. The other shifters had arrived.
We stepped back as the small clearing became crowded with at least two dozen shifters. They spotted the vampires in the corner and lowered into defensive positions, growling deep in their throats.
“Oh brother,” I said and stepped between the two groups. “Knock this shit off. Our two species can work together. We need to work together.”
Mateo came to my side. “She’s right. We are not enemies. Not tonight at least. It is my understanding there is a facility out there which likely contains both our men and yours. To save them, we must unite. Can you do this?”
When neither side said anything, I turned to the Silver Claws and summoned my Alpha strength. I may not be their Alpha, but I could’ve been, and since Vincent wasn’t here, someone needed to take charge. The power surged inside me. I pushed it outward, standing boldly before them.
“You will do this for the good of your pack. We will not abandon our brothers and sisters because of any prejudices toward vampires. Do you understand?”
Several of them nodded their heads quickly. Others were too stunned to say anything. I glanced back at my roommates and mouthed, “Too much?”
Lynx stared at me wide-eyed and held up her thumb and forefinger an inch a part. “Just a little.”
Mateo turned to his group and gave the same command with just as much force.
With everyone on board, Luke handed out orders. A small team would cause a distraction on the south side of the forest, near the compound. We hoped they would gain enough attention to leave the large building mostly unattended. That’s when the rest of us would find our way in and rescue our friends. We had to succeed. I considered Gerald a good friend, and I didn’t want another person I cared about to get hurt.
While Luke guided the drone back to us, Samira snuck up to me. “There’s a chance none of our men are in there. You know that, right?”
“But there’s a bigger chance they are. We can’t wait any longer. Who knows what they’ve already endured?”
“Do you understand your orders?” Luke asked a group of three shifters and two vampires. They were the distraction team. They were also supposed to try and get whomever was at the compound to give chase, giving us more time.
The group of five, their expressions serious, all agreed. They sprinted into the belly of the forest, darkness swallowing them whole. So much of what we did next depended upon their success.
Luke faced the rest of us. “We fan out and go slowly. No one gets ahead except for me, Samira and Mateo.”
“And me,” I added.
“Me too,” Angel added quickly.
Lynx swiveled her head at each of us quickly. “I’m staying with you guys.”
Luke gave us a warning growl but didn’t argue. He continued, “We will scout out the compound to see if we can find our men. It would be great if we can avoid going into the building, but that may not be possible. Once we give the order, the rest of you follow. And remember. This is not a mission to destroy whatever and whoever we find. We are here only to rescue our friends and get out. We don’t want even one life lost.”
In a quieter voice and directed more toward the vampires, Mateo gave a quick speech about fighting with their minds and not their instincts. It was a good reminder for them. Vampires were known for losing control quickly. The last thing we needed tonight were dozens of loose cannons that could kill the very people we were trying to save.
Luke met everyone’s gaze. He adapted to the leadership role so easily, I wondered if maybe I should’ve made him pack Alpha instead of my uncle. He pointed forward. Our large group spread out and quietly slipped into the darkness, as if they were an extension of it. Everyone was armed, mostly with guns and knives.
I fell in line with Luke, Samira, Lynx and Mateo. Angel appeared too. He didn’t look at me, just fell in step behind me. The forest beyond was eerily quiet, something I had come to associate with the Hydes, and my stomach clenched with nerves.
As we proceeded forward, Luke checked the time on his phone several times. Occasionally he would hold up a finger to those of us who could see to give us an idea how many minutes were left until the distraction. He held up four fingers twice. Eight minutes.
Eventually I began to see little glimmers of light through the trees. We were getting close.
Glancing at Lynx, I expected to see her biting her nails or some other nervous tic, but she appeared a hundred percent focused. Samira watched her, too. Lynx could do this.
Luke ordered the line to stop, but us six continued forward. We got as close as we dared and dropped to the ground to investigate. The forest had been cleared and in the place of trees, dozens of vehicles parked under bright lights. In addition to the large, concrete building, the rest of the area consisted of three smaller structures. Offices maybe? Spotlights and floodlights illuminated the entire compound, making it glow as bright as noon. They had been careful not to leave any shadows in which someone could hide. Smart.
Only one sign gave away the identity of the intruders: the Bodian Dynamics logo. It was painted on the side of a couple of vehicles. Did that mean everyone here was from Bodian, or was there a third party we knew nothing about yet?
Dozens of people—they appeared human, but they could easily be Hydes—walked with purpose around the compound. Most were armed. Some in lab coats carried electronic pads. Interesting.
I shifted my gaze to the large building, wondering if there was a lab inside. The front of it had two bay doors tall enough to accommodate a large semi track. They were wide open, but from my angle, I couldn’t see what was inside. I strained my hearing. I couldn’t hear anything either. I sniffed the air. But I could smell something: shifters.
Luke and I looked at each other at the same time. He caught the scent too and checked the time. He held up three fingers.
My breathing picked up pace as did my pulse. I felt for the gun tucked into the back of my pants. Then I mentally checked off each of the knives in my boots and jacket. Then there was my booby knife. I was as prepared as I could get. I leaned forward and looked at Samira and Lynx. They returned my gaze. I held up my hand as if to give them a distant high five. Lynx humored me and did it back, smacking air, but Samira gave me an especially sour deadpan face and turned away.
Luke held up one finger.
I held my breath and counted down.
In the distance, a gun fired.
Chapter 29
Even though I was expecting it, when the guns fired, I still jumped. Every worker in the compound froze and looked around, but none with alarm. That worried me.
I didn’t hear an order given, but frighteningly quick, at least ten of the
people, including a few in lab coats, turned sharply toward the gunfire and sprinted toward it. Their bodies shifted mid-run into … something else. It wasn’t that they looked different necessarily; it was like everything about them became sharper, more skilled, more striking. Beyond any physical changes, it was their essence that changed into something dark and dangerous. Their new energy pulsed as they ran, and it scared the hell out of me.
Luke waited a few seconds more to see if anyone else gave chase, but no one moved. In fact, each person returned to what they were doing moments before, as if nothing had changed. I could see the disappointment on Luke's face. He glanced back into the forest and motioned everyone forward.
"It's now or never," he said. He eyed each one of us, but his gaze settled on me. "Be careful, everyone.”
We each straightened, our faced determined. As soon as the others caught up to us, we exploded from the forest, weapons raised. The first thing I did was shoot out the lights. A few others caught onto what I was doing and joined me. Within a few seconds, we submerged ourselves in darkness. Hopefully this gave us an advantage.
I took a quick beat to take in everyone’s positions. Luke, Angel, and Mateo headed toward the open bay doors. Samira and Lynx had disappeared behind a large truck, using it as cover. The rest of our group quickly overwhelmed the workers. I thought the fight would be over before it started, but then every last “human” began to shift into powerful creatures. In addition, more Hydes poured from the building, and these ones felt stronger. These ones were supernaturals turned Hyde. Shit.
I aimed my gun at one who sprinted toward Samantha. He felt like a shifter, but whatever he had transformed into had smothered everything shifter about him. Samantha fought alongside Jerry, facing the other direction. She didn’t even see the Hyde coming. I pulled the trigger, hitting my target in the shoulder. His body jerked. I expected him to go down, but he kept running.
“Samantha!” I yelled. I fired the gun again, this time catching him in his stomach. He kept going. What the hell?
Samantha turned around just in time. He swung his hand upward, knocking her in the head. She flew to the side, nearly twenty feet away. I aimed again and fired. The bullet slammed into his head, misting the air red. This time he fell over, unmoving.
“Shoot them in the head!” I screamed, hoping my allies would hear through the chaos. “You have to hit the head!”
I shot several more times, counting down my bullets, stopping a few more Hydes. Then the area became a whirlwind of movement, with superhuman speeds from both the Hydes and our own group. I spotted Jerry losing ground to a female Hyde. She had sliced him with a knife on both his arms.
I raced towards him. As I ran, I returned the gun to my back and reached for the daggers in my boots. I didn’t dare risk hitting anyone with a bullet. The steel handles felt good in my hands.
Just before the female Hyde was to deliver what could’ve been a final blow to Jerry, I leapt into the air and came down hard onto her back. I drove the dagger into the top of her spine and jerked hard, severing her spinal cord. She fell over dead. He nodded his head at me in appreciation.
I looked up just in time to see a Hyde running toward Luke’s unprotected back, an ax in his hand. Luke was too busy locked into a battle with another Hyde to notice.
“Luke!” I called, but he didn’t hear me.
I sprinted to him, shoving my way through several fights. The Hyde raised the ax. “Luke!” I wasn’t going to make it.
Just then a loud shot rang out and something whizzed by my ear. The Hyde behind Luke froze, ax in his hand trained at Luke’s throat, and a hole appeared in his head. Dark red bled from the wound, and he fell over dead.
Luke whirled around, noticed the dead Hyde, then stared beyond me. I followed his gaze. Angel stood not far away with a gun smoking in his hand. His jaw flexed and he nodded his head toward Luke before he sprinted the other direction to go help Mateo, who was fighting three Hydes at once.
I spun around. Everywhere I looked, pack members were engaged with Hydes, sometimes more than one. The Hydes were extremely resilient, and their sheer numbers began to overwhelm us. Several of us started to fall back towards the rear of the property. Only one thing could turn the tides. My Komira powers. It would be a huge risk, showing them in front of everyone, especially the people who apparently wanted me dead.
Lynx appeared at my side, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. “We have thirty seconds! Follow me!”
She had stopped time. I quickly severed the spines of two nearby Hydes and followed after Lynx.
“This way!” she shouted over her shoulder. Blood coated part of her face, but I couldn’t see a wound.
She disappeared into the open bay doors. Just as I slipped inside, time sped up. I could hear the sounds of metal clashing, guns firing, and lots and lots of screaming. I resisted the urge to run back out and help.
“They’re over here,” Lynx said.
She sprinted down a long row of stacked crates with the Bodian Dynamics logo stamped all over them. I tried to peer inside them but we were moving too fast.
We turned the corner. Lynx stopped so suddenly, I had to skid to the side to avoid hitting her.
In front of us, three long rows of barred cages held two people each, all unconscious. Luke and Mateo were in the process of breaking all the locks. I hurried to help them while Lynx kept watch.
“Where’s Samira?” I called to her as I hurried to the end of the aisle.
“I don’t know. I lost track of her outside.”
Mateo hesitated at a lock, but then he snapped it off. “These are my men here. They’ve been drugged.”
“With Scorpion’s Breath?” Luke asked. He kicked down a door. “More vampires.”
“I can’t tell yet.”
I was on my third cage when I spotted someone familiar. “Gerald’s here!” I looked down the row recognizing a few others. “I think they all are.”
A loud engine rumbled just outside. It sounded like a large truck. Then a resounding crash echoed through the warehouse, vibrations tingling up my legs and making the cages tremble.
“What was that, Lynx?” Luke called.
Lynx peeked around the corner. “It’s a big truck and it’s backing up this way.”
Luke straightened. “One of ours?”
“I’m not sure—“ She paused, making all of us freeze. “It’s okay! It’s just Samira. We can load them into the back.”
Mateo picked up one of the vampires and darted away so fast, I barely saw him. Luke began to do the same while I broke the remaining locks. Samira quickly joined in, carrying unconscious bodies away, both vampires and shifters. There were even a few humans. Whatever fate waited for them here, it couldn’t have been good.
“Incoming!” Lynx cried and hurried back to us. She was breathing heavier than usual, and I noticed there was more blood on her face. So she was injured.
“Get behind me,” I told her as I tilted my head. I barely caught the sounds of footsteps sprinting toward us. But that wasn’t all I heard. Light shuffling as if someone was scrambling across the concrete floor, but that didn’t make sense.
I turned my head to my left. There it was again.
That’s when I saw it. High on the wall. I shivered in fear. One of the Hydes was scurrying across the wall on all fours like a spider. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how that was possible.
“Over here!” I backed up until I ran into Luke.
He followed my line of sight. “What the hell?”
“Right?”
“There’s another one,” Lynx said, pointing to the right of him.
Soon, four more were crawling along the walls toward us. One was even on the ceiling.
Samira joined us, along with Mateo. All five of us backed into each other as more spider Hydes scuttled toward us.
We were surrounded.
Chapter 30
Samira whispered to me, “This might be the time to access those Komira powers of yours
.”
I looked around. Other than my small group, we were alone. My secret should be safe.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my wolf. She came to me quickly. I slowed my breathing and opened my eyes. The Hydes rushed at us.
Ancient power pulsed through my veins. It wasn’t the heart of it, the true core of the power I’d recently discovered, but it should be deadly enough to keep us from getting killed. I glanced at Samira. Her eyes had gone strangely electric, the color of lightning as it tears apart the sky.
“Samira?”
She didn’t seem to have heard me. I might’ve grabbed her to see if she was okay, but we didn’t have time. One of the Hydes dropped from the ceiling just in front of me. I darted behind him and sliced off his head. Four more Hydes ran toward us from the opposite direction. Luke and Mateo attacked them, while Samira intercepted two more who had leapt over the cages.
Before I knew it, Hydes swarmed us. I sliced and cut, kicked and punched. My movements became more fluid, more powerful, as if I had more-than-supernatural help. I flowed through the battle in a violent yet graceful dance, and the more I fought, the stronger and more efficient I became. Only once was I injured when a Hyde dropped behind me as I fought off two others. His blade sunk into my shoulder and probably would’ve severed my arm had I been any slower. Instead, I spun on him and whipped my blade across his throat so quickly that he was still moving his arm as if to cut me when he died.
With every swing of my weapon, I kept a watchful eye on those around me. Lynx stayed at the center of us, blasting those with magic whenever she could. Her skin had paled and blood dripped from her nose as she grew weaker.
Another wave of Hydes crashed against us. There were so many of them. Luke and Mateo both appeared injured. Mateo held his left arm behind his back, and Luke limped while he fought. Samira and I did our best to take on much of the burden. Like me, Samira fought with a strength I had never seen before in any of our training sessions. It appeared I wasn’t the only one with ancient blood in my veins.
