by Cheree Alsop
“Are we clear?” Jaze asked quietly with a finger on his earpiece.
“Good to go,” Brock replied into all of their ears. “There are Extremists everywhere, and they’re armed to the teeth. Be careful.”
Mouse pulled open the door and the werewolves rushed inside. Alex followed on Jaze’s heels as they had practiced. Cassie took Alex’s left flank while Tennison had his right. Trent and Terith brought up the rear.
The fresh scent of humans flooded Alex’s nose. He realized there were far more than even Brock had warned them about.
Gunshots erupted as soon as they reached the end of the hallway that led to the open space beyond. All five stories were lined with Extremists. Christmas decorations and lights hung from each level, giving the scene a strangely surreal feeling. Bullets hit the walls around them. Alex drew his gun and fired back. Two men fell, then two more. The others shot beside him, taking down as many as they could. It wasn’t going to be enough to clear their path to the fifth story.
“Chet, take your team south. Mouse, go with them and give them an entrance,” Jaze told the werewolves.
“Got it,” Chet replied. His team followed him back out the door.
Jaze touched his earpiece. “How about the lights?”
“Already on it,” Brock replied. “In five, four,” the sound of something crunchy followed. “Two,” was said with a full mouth. “One.”
On cue, the lights shut off, leaving them in a darkness cut through by the faint dawn glow that spill through the skylights. The gunfire slowed.
“Dray, flank right. Vance, flank left,” Jaze commanded.
The Alphas led their teams along the walls, returning fire to cover Jaze’s team. Alex followed Jaze across the middle of the mall to the escalator that led to the second level. The sound of gunfire was deafening. A scent touched Alex’s nose. He paused mid-run.
“Go!” Cassie shouted, pushing him. Her eyes were wide with fear as she returned fire, shooting at someone on the third floor.
Alex took off after Jaze again. He ran up the escalator and reached the top in time to take down two more Extremists. Diving to the right to reload, he heard Trent and Terith shoot two more. He slammed the new clip into his gun and followed Jaze into one of the stores whose windows had been shattered by bullets.
“Time to regroup,” Jaze said. He touched his ear. “Brock, how’s the third floor looking?”
“Still packed,” Brock replied. “Chet’s team is heading up the elevator to the fifth floor in the hopes of drawing fire so when you reach the top, they’ll be unprepared.”
“Elevators are for sissies,” Trent replied.
Brock chuckled and took another bite of whatever he was eating.
“Seriously?” Terith muttered. “Couldn’t he wait to eat when our lives aren’t on the line?”
“Do you know Brock at all?” Trent replied.
Terith rolled her eyes.
“Let’s move,” Jaze said.
They rushed out into the dark mall. Small bursts of light revealed shooters. A bullet hit Alex’s vest. He sucked in a breath at the pain and shot back. A man screamed.
They followed Jaze up the next level. Down below, Vance’s team was locked in a firefight with a cluster of Extremists who had barricaded themselves in one hallway. Dray’s team had just reached the third floor and was taking down men right and left. Dray’s right arm streamed blood while two more of his teammates were trying to assist a third who was holding his stomach.
“They’ll have us pinned when we reach the fourth floor,” Jaze pointed out.
Alex followed the Alpha’s gaze to the Extremists packed along the next level. Bullets peppered the ground around them. Jaze shot out the window of the nearest store and they all rushed inside.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Alex checked Cassie over quickly.
“How are you doing?”
Cassie tried to give a weak smile, but failed. “There’s too many of them.”
“They’ll be waiting for us when we reach the stairs,” Tennison said.
“Brock, we need another way up,” Jaze called into his earpiece.
“The elevators are to your left. If you can run to the next hall, you could use them. The cameras don’t show anyone inside. Hold on. I’ll get Mouse to open it on your level.”
Alex’s pack shot at Extremists on the fourth floor to help Vance’s team while they waited for Brock.
“All clear. Move!” Brock said.
Jaze led the rush along the wall to the next hallway. The elevator was already open. Bullets struck the floors and walls around them. Cassie let out a little gasp when one hit her vest. Tennison grabbed her arm, guiding her inside and throwing himself on top of her to shield her as the rest of the pack ran in. Alex stood at the door returning fire until it closed. It began to move without them pushing a button.
“Thank Mouse for us,” Jaze said.
“Already done,” Brock replied in all their earpieces. “Cameras show a major force waiting for the elevator to arrive on the fifth. I’ll have Mouse halt the elevator while Vance and Dray’s teams take them out. Chet’s pack is heading up the back. Also, Colleen, Rafe, and Kaynan are on the roof fighting their way down. You’ll all meet in the middle.”
“Perfect,” Jaze said.
A moment later, the elevator halted. Alex took advantage of the break.
“You okay, Cass?” he asked worriedly.
Cassie nodded, but her breathing was tight.
Tennison was already checking her back. He paused near the middle of her torso.
“They gotcha good. You’re going to be bruised tomorrow.” He attempted a smile, but couldn’t hide the concern he felt for his girlfriend.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she replied, forcing a smile in return. She attempted a deeper breath and winced. Tennison held her close.
“You got hit, too,” Jaze noted quietly.
Alex shifted uncomfortably when everyone looked at him. “I’m fine.” He could live with pain. The thought of Kalia in the General’s clutches remained foremost in his mind.
The sound of gunfire erupted from above. Shouts echoed down the elevator shaft. Alex’s grip tightened on his gun. He had to will his breathing to slow, reminding himself to stay calm. If he phased into a wolf or whatever half creature he might also morph into, it wasn’t going to help with bullets.
The elevator started again. “They’ve cleared it out for the most part,” Brock said. “Get ready.”
“Spread out,” Jaze directed. “Get to either side of the door in case they’re waiting for us.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Several shots were fired. Alex waited until they ceased, then returned fire with Jaze on the other side of the elevator door.
“Go to the left,” Brock directed over the sound of the bullets. “They’re in the first door on the right side of the hall.”
The pack ran beneath the cover of the other teams’ fire. They reached the hallway. Jaze kicked open the door. Shots from more than a dozen guns erupted. The room was too secure.
“Stay here,” Jaze called.
Before Alex could react, the dean dove into the room. He came up with his guns firing, taking down men on all sides. A bullet hit Jaze’s arm, spinning him to the side.
Alex wasn’t about to watch his friend and mentor be taken out by the General’s men.
“Two left, two right,” Alex shouted to his pack. He ducked inside before the others could stop him.
Alex hit the first two men he saw, realized he was out of ammunition, and threw the gun at a third. He dove forward and tackled a fourth.
Something was wrong. Something was out of place. He searched for what filled his mind with alarm as he wrestled the gun out of the man’s hand and slammed his head against the floor. He rolled and glanced around.
The scent. His head jerked to the right. The woman in the middle of the room had shoulder-length blonde hair, but she wasn’t Kalia. Her scent was too huma
n, and even staring at the back of her, Alex could tell by the set of her shoulders that she was the wrong girl.
Jaze met Alex’s gaze from across the room. Trent shot one last man and looked around.
“Alex,” Jaze said.
Alex remembered the scent from the first floor that had stopped him in his tracks. He was right. He should have followed his instincts. He ran for the door.
“Wait!” Cassie called after him.
Gunfire blasted through the air. Alex knew he would never make it to the first floor. He hit the railing with his hands, then his feet, flinging himself off the fifth story balcony.
He plummeted toward the huge Christmas tree that took up the majority of the central area of the mall. Alex managed to grab close to the top. The tree bowed beneath his weight, toppling toward the ground. The sound of ornaments and lights crashing against the marble floor accented against the harsh sound of the guns.
Alex leaped just before he hit the floor. He bowled through the men Vance’s team had fought that remained clustered in the hallway and dove through the door at the end.
Alex’s heart pounded in his ears. Kalia’s scent flooded him with relief. At least he was headed in the right direction. Alex stood and twisted the door handle with his werewolf strength, pinning it shut. Fists hit the door. The sound of gunfire erupted, drawing the men away.
Alex walked slowly down the cement staircase. Pipes ran along the wall that was normally lit by neon lighting, but now stood in darkness. Talking drifted up the stairs from below. The scent of more humans and the metallic tang of weapons filled Alex’s nostrils. He couldn’t turn back, even if he was walking into a trap. He had to save Kalia.
By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, the talking had ceased. He could make out forms in the darkness of the vast room and heard the muffled breaths of those waiting for him.
“Come in,” a deep voice said.
Alex’s hand tightened on his gun.
“You won’t be needing your weapon,” the man continued.
A flashlight turned on, illuminating the General standing next to Kalia. She was tied to a chair with a handkerchief in her mouth. Bruises showed in dark purple along one side of her face. At the sight of Alex, she let out a small, scared sound. The flashlight made the tears in her eyes glimmer like tiny diamonds.
Alex took a step forward. “Let her go.”
“Put down your gun,” the General said in an amiable tone. Alex took another step. The General lifted the gun he held and put it against the side of Kalia’s head. “Now.”
Alex dropped his gun. Hot and cold ran through his body in waves. He had to save her. He had to get her out safely.
“Good,” the General said, his tone cold. “At least you have some sense.”
“Let her go,” Alex repeated in a low growl.
“Or what?” the General asked. “You’ll turn into a wolf and try to kill me while the ten guns aimed at your heart shoot you down in front of your girlfriend?” His lips twisted into a sneer. “Admit it. She’s your girl. You love her and you’d do anything to save her.”
Alex glanced at Kalia, then back at the General. He kept his tone even. “She’s my girl. I love her and I would do anything to save her.”
Kalia’s gaze held him, her blue eyes filled with pain and fear for what was about to happen. Alex vowed not to let those fears come to pass.
The General’s eyes narrowed in triumph. “Just as I would do anything to save my son. Where is he?”
The question contained the slightest hint of anxiety that wouldn’t have been detected by the human ear, yet caught Alex’s with its whisper of distress.
Alex decided to prey on that fear. “Drogan’s more of a monster than I am. He deserves to stay locked up. He should suffer for what he’s done.”
“She’ll suffer for your insolence!” the General yelled. He lifted his gun to hit Kalia.
Alex flicked his wrist the way Caden had taught him. The knife he had pulled from the sheath at his wrist that was hidden beneath his jacket sliced through the air and struck the General’s hand, knocking the gun from his grasp. Alex’s second knife hit the arm of the man holding the flashlight. The light fell to the floor as the man screamed. Alex dove into the darkness before bullets struck where he had been standing.
The flashlight spun in a circle on the floor, lighting first Kalia in the chair, then the bleeding man who had been holding the flashlight, and coming to rest on the General as he gripped the knife that protruded from his hand. Blood dripped down his fingers and hit the floor in a soft patter.
The General tore the knife from his palm. “Who are you?” he demanded.
Alex’s chest rose and fell. He stood slowly from his hiding place in the corner. His voice was gruff when he replied, “My name is Alex Carso. I am your son.”
Lights from the guns jerked in his direction. Alex ran silently across the dark floor to the other side of the room while bullets peppered the place he had been standing.
The General held up his bloody hand, stopping his men. “You’re mistaken,” the man said, his lips curled in a hate-filled grimace. “I don’t have werewolf blood in my veins.”
“Believe me when I say I wish that was all I had,” Alex replied. His muscles were tense as he prepared to run in case the Extremists attacked. The lights of their guns searched for him, but he was far across the room, a shadow among the rest.
The General’s eyes locked in the direction of his voice, though Alex knew the human couldn’t see him in the darkness. “That she-wolf.” His voice darkened with hatred. “I knew I should have killed her.”
“I don’t take it you had a moment of empathy,” Alex said dryly.
The General’s grimace deepened. “I don’t have empathy for monsters.”
Alex wanted to keep him talking. He didn’t know how he was going to get Kalia out of there. He looked around the enclosed room as he spoke. “You just use them and throw them away.”
“Learning from monsters lets me know what I need to do to keep from being one of them,” the General said.
Alex shook his head. “You’re wrong, General. Or should I say, Dad?” The word tasted bitter in his mouth. “You’ve become the monster.”
The General grabbed Kalia by the throat. Blood from his sliced hand dripped down the front of her shirt. He put the knife Alex had thrown to her throat. “Where is my son?” the General yelled; his knuckles turned white when he gripped Kalia’s neck. A vein bulged in his forehead.
Alex’s heart thundered in his ears as Kalia struggled. He had to save her, but acting would get them both shot. Except that he had something the General wanted desperately.
“Let her go and I’ll tell you,” Alex shouted. He ran into the light of the guns. Fingers tightened on triggers. Alex held up his hands. “I’ll tell you where Drogan is if you leave her alone.”
A light of triumph glittered in General Jared Carso’s eyes. He lowered Kalia back to the chair. She gasped for breath, her eyes streaming tears and her face red. There was a drop of blood on her throat where the knife had pricked her skin. As much as Alex wanted to go to her, he kept his eyes on the General.
“Tell me where he is or you both die,” the man said. His gaze narrowed dangerously. “If you tell me wrong, it will be the last thing you say.”
Alex was about to admit that he didn’t know the location where the GPA had hidden Drogan when Brock said into his earpiece, “Give them anything. I’ll make sure Drogan’s there.”
Alex said a quiet thanks for the human’s intervention. He thought quickly. The first thing that came to his mind was the park where he had played soccer with the students. He gave the General the address.
“I’ll know if you’re lying,” the General said, but there was a note of hope in the man’s voice he tried to hide.
“He’s there,” Alex replied.
“You’re both coming with me for insurance,” the General said, his eyes filled with hatred.
Guns followed A
lex as he crossed slowly to Kalia’s side. She reached up her tied hands and grabbed his as though it was a lifeline. He wanted to hug her and ensure that she was alright, but he kept still.
“Shoot him,” the General said to one of his men.
Ice ran through Alex’s veins.
“No!” Kalia protested.
Two shots hit Alex in the chest so hard the blows to the vest at such close proximity knocked the wind from him. He stumbled back a few steps, struggling to suck in air, but remaining upright.
The General’s eyes narrowed. “If you want something done right, don’t ask an idiot to do it,” he muttered. He ripped the gun from the man’s hand and shot Alex in the shoulder just before the edge of the vest, then turned and shot his own man in the head. The man fell to the floor.
Alex hunched over in pain. He couldn’t breathe and couldn’t think as pain flared through every inch of his body. His heart skipped a beat, then another.
The General leaned over and said in his ear, “That’s a silver-cased bullet filled with liquid silver. If you run, you die from the silver. This will slow you down until I’m sure Drogan’s safe.”
“Then what will you do with Alex?” Kalia asked. The fear in her voice was laced with defiance and hatred for the man who held them captive.
The General’s lips lifted in a humorless smile. “Whatever I please.” He looked at his men. “Get them to the car.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
A door in the back wall was opened to reveal a dark cement hallway. Someone shoved Alex forward. He stumbled and Kalia ducked under his arm, holding him up. Through the pain-laced haze that filled his mind, he saw how red her wrists were from the zip ties fastened around them.
“I’m sorry,” he forced out past numb lips.
“Don’t be sorry,” Kalia replied. “We’re going to survive this.”
“Shut up!” the General commanded.
The door slammed shut behind them. The Extremists’ gun lights pierced the darkness. Alex could smell the exhaust and gasoline tinged scent of vehicles. He knew if they reached the General’s car, their chance to escape would be eliminated. He had to act.
