by Gena D. Lutz
“Yes. I am here to help you.” I reassured him.
I grabbed hold of the bars and pulled. With little to no effort, I tore the silver door from its hinges.
“You are free,” I said gently, and at the same time I moved over to the next cage.
I continued doing this until I had freed a total of six wolves; four of them were males and two were she-wolves.
“I tried everything I could think of, but there is no saving these wolves,” Ariel yelled over to me from the other side of the room.
She had been trying to figure out how to unhook and revive those wolves while I had freed mine.
“Are they infected?” I asked.
Ariel nodded the affirmative.
The wolves next to me had already taken the painful climb from their prisons and were in the process of shifting into wolf. It would be far easier and faster for them to heal as their beast. Cries accompanied their change and after they finished, they began to nudge and rub their fur covered bodies against one another. The scene was both sad and peaceful. Regrettably, this peacefulness had an expiration date. I looked around for an alternate exit, one that wouldn’t take us back through the front of the house where the heaviest concentration of fire was.
Tegan stepped warily into the room. She had Paige pressed up against her. Paige’s head was tilted down, hair draped forward in defeat, uncharacteristically allowing another wolf to console her; a wolf not of her own pack.
The wolves in the corner stopped moving. As if in slow motion, they turned their heads all at once in Paige’s direction. Tilting their heads up, a combined howl filled the dimly lit room. She snapped to attention. With eyes red from countless tears, she locked her gaze onto the howling wolves. She let out a strangled cry of her own before lurching forward, reaching her pack in the space of a short word. Her knees slammed to the ground as she came to a jarring stop in front of them; the wolves pounced on her. It was a heartfelt reunion, one that had me letting loose a few tears of my own. I watched them a few seconds more, enjoying with them a little bit of happiness. It was a much needed reprieve from the day’s horrors.
Where are Tyson and the witch? The question hit me out of nowhere. I was surprised I hadn’t thought to look for them already. It had to be because of the terrors we found down here. This kind of scene could screw up anybody’s level of concentration. My head was screwed back on straight, though, and finding that idiot was again top priority. Well, that and getting everyone safely out of the burning building. I pulled out my cell phone. Nathan picked up on the first ring.
“Thank God it’s you, Rox. Are you okay?”
I exhaled deeply at the sound of his voice. It was like a cool wind blowing over my heated skin, affording a temporary relief from the happenings around me. Each syllable was a welcomed gift.
“It’s horrible down here. Tyson had several wolves caged in silver. The rest are either dead or altered. I have no choice but to put the altered ones down. It’s the only way,” I explained, voice neutral. I was already setting myself up for what I knew I had no choice but to do.
“Shit. I wish I could do it for you,” He whispered.
I appreciated him not trying to talk me out of this. He understood there was no other way. There was no cure for what those poor wolves had been exposed to. To leave them in that state, to die a slow and degenerating death, would be cruel.
“I was hoping to use you as my beacon to get out of this place,” I began, explaining to him the reason for my call. Once I told him exactly what area of the grounds he could find me in, we agreed he would give me ten minutes to put down the infected wolves. After that was finished, he would instruct Harek to blow a hole through the foundation of the building so as to create a passageway for us to escape through.
“Lover.”
“Yeah,” I answered him.
“You can do this. You are the strongest woman I have ever met. The way you’ve faced straight on, everything that’s been thrown at you with so much courage is…well, it’s just incredible. I am so proud of you, Rox.”
After a short pause, I wiped away the tears Nathan had brought to my eyes. I had never had anyone speak to me the way he did. He made me feel that somehow I could be that woman he spoke of, so brave and courageous as that woman sounded. Could she be me?
“Do me a favor?” I said, pushing down a small sob.
“I will do anything. Just ask it,” He said with strong conviction, even though his response was spoken in a soft hush.
“Take me after all this is said and done. Grab me up, throw me over your damn shoulders, anything you have to do. Just take me as quickly as you can. I need to feel you inside of me. I need you to fill the void I am feeling without you next to me. Only making love to you will do.”
“You can damn well count on it,” he growled.
“You should go now,” I suggested to Tegan. “Maybe take Paige and her wolves into the next room with you?”
I looked in the direction of the unconscious wolves that lay hooked up to machines. Discreetly, I placed my hand over the gun on my hip.
Tegan looked at me blankly for a moment. Her brows drew together and she gave me a slight nod as it dawned on her what I was about to do. I grabbed a tattered blanket from one of the beds and shoved it toward her.
“You might want to use this to cover up the woman’s body in there. I don’t know how much more Paige can take.
Tegan grabbed a couple more blankets before clearing her throat. “Everyone, come with me please.”
Paige looked over at me with an expression flush with questions. I begrudgingly gave her the same signals that I had given Tegan just moments before. Her smile fell, but as Alpha of her pack, she accepted without argument the best course of action for her lost flock.
Excited to be free and reunited with their Alpha, the wolves followed behind Paige as Tegan led them from the room.
After their backs disappeared from sight, I walked over to the table Ariel was standing next to. She hadn’t given up yet, her hands hovered in the air over a male wolf.
“Has there been any change?” I asked her. I guess I was still holding on to hope as well.
Her arms fell to her side in defeat. She shook her head.
“It’s no use. It would take ten times the magic that I have to save them.”
My eyes flew to her face. “So they can be saved then?”
Ariel cursed. “No. They cannot. I am sorry if I misled you.”
She walked around the table, reaching toward the man’s waist. She picked up the white sheet that lay over him. It covered his naked body from hip to feet. She pulled the thin material up, gently placing it over his still face. Ariel repeated this process until all the wolves were covered.
“I was able to put them in stasis. I didn’t want them waking up in the middle of…” Ariel hesitated, but after looking away and then back into my eyes, continued. “Well, you know why. Anyway, I respect what you’re doing. They would thank you for it if they could.”
I couldn’t speak, but I was positive my eyes spoke volumes to how thankful I was to her for helping me make this impossible situation a bit easier. Then Ariel walked by me, leaving me to fulfill my duty.
A cold vise wrapped around my heart as I drew my gun. The weapon was heavy, almost as hefty as my conscience. I took a few steps back, my head buzzing with doubt. How could I slay these people? They were just innocent victims. A chill ran through me as I felt another part of me taking over. This was a colder, less compassionate side. I knew right away that it was my vampire nature taking hold, giving me the courage to do what was needed. The predator that craved blood and vengeance like a drug rarely reared her head, but I was grateful for her now. Calmness blanketed my jittery nerves. Not soothing them altogether, but making it possible for me to walk forward.
Light from a flickering bulb bathed the room with an eerie hue. I caught sight of some clothes on the concrete floor, pushed up against the table’s leg as I moved forward. A pair of blue jeans
and a black button up shirt made up the pile’s contents. They must belong to him, the wolf on the table. The guy I’m about to murder in cold blood. I shook my head, forcefully pushing those kinds of thoughts away, making myself concentrate instead on my footfalls and the gun in my hand. I walked closer, reaching the foot of the bed. I took the last few steps quickly, and before my boot hit the ground, finishing up with my final step, I leveled my gun against the man’s head. One intake of breath later, I squeezed the trigger. My ear drums rang from the shot and my hand felt numb as I lowered the gun to my side. A plume of blood leaked from the bullet hole and then spread like wildfire over the sheet, soaking the entire area above his face. I looked over to the next table. My body moved robotically to the prone body that lay on top of it. I had reached the point where every part of my humanity had numbed up, falling headlong into the cold depths of where both my predators resided. It was too late to stop now; not until I was finished. I lifted my gun and fired again.
Four more. I thought to myself, surprised I was even capable of that much brain power. How was it possible for me to think when I felt as if I were walking around in a semi-conscious state?
Pop. Pop. Pop. The sound of gunfire owned the room. It barely felt like I was the one pulling the trigger, but regardless of that, one by one, the killing continued.
***
With my first clear thought in God knew how long, I found myself quietly sitting on the concrete floor, my gun lying next to me. It was done. They were all dead. I reached over and grabbed the firearm and shoved it home into its holster. In the same motion, I grabbed my cell phone.
“It’s done,” I simply stated. “If you walk around the back of the building, I will let you know when I have you in sight.”
“I will head that way now,” Nathan whispered. “Harek, let’s go man. It’s time,” I heard him yell over to the dragon.
I could hear everyone on the other end of the line as they started talking all at once. I pushed their voices away, and concentrated instead on finding the location of my mate, my love, Nathan. The voices faded away and a pure white light flashed in front of me. I had to look up to zero in on it, but Nathans signal came through to me loud and clear. He had somehow found my exact location without further instruction from me. I stood up.
“Your position is perfect. Just give me a sec to clear out so I don’t get hit by the debris.”
“Just say when,” He answered.
I jogged past the entryway to the room and farther down to the next one. Tegan and Ariel were down on their knees, consoling the wolf pack when I entered. I took a step back when a few of them lifted their heads from the circle and growled.
I just walked over to them and said softly, “I’m sorry.”
The deepest sorrow filled their eyes as they looked away from me. There was not an ounce of forgiveness in them; I didn’t expect there to be. I was going to have to live with that and what I did, as would they; their burden a larger one than my own. No one here was to blame for the deaths of their pack mates. But I was the one easiest to fault for it. Tyson was the bastard who caused all of this and it pissed me off to no end that he kept slipping away unscathed from the aftermath of his scheming.
“Go ahead and let him loose,” I spoke into the phone.
Seconds later, the ground began to tremble. Dust coated the air as pieces of rock and plaster began to rain down on us. Then, there was a deafening boom. I fell to the ground covering my head with my arms, choking from the thick dust and smoke I was forced to swallow.
“Let’s go!” I yelled over the explosion.
Howls and the erratic tapping of claws was the only sound I could hear. I was running forward, making progress only by memory, as I made my way back into the other room. My lungs felt coated in dirt and my eyes stung from the smoke that was quickly overtaking the entire lower level, seeping in from the holes above our heads in the ceiling that the explosion made. I kept running blindly, my hands out in front me. I yelped when my elbows buckled against a wall of resistance and my face went careening into the same wall. But instead of the excruciating pain that would follow a face plant into an immovable barrier, I was lifted up before full impact and thrown over a set of wide masculine shoulders.
“Nathan!” I yelled in relief, and then proceeded to cough up a lung.
He gave the back of my legs a quick squeeze to let me know he’d heard me and then turned in a rush in the other direction, taking a route that would hopefully lead us out of this hell hole.
“You’re incredible,” I coughed as Nathan jumped over the last bit of rubble that was left after the explosion. He reached up and pulled me from his shoulder, his arms wrapping around me gently as he sat me down next to him. We were several feet from the building. I watched as flames roared and destroyed the large structure that we had just fled from like an enraged beast, but the hypnotic scene before me couldn’t hold a candle to Nathan. I looked up into his incredibly sexy brown eyes; eyes that already had me on lock down. His hair was coated in ash. His forehead was smeared black from soot. He looked incredibly handsome.
“You have a nasty habit of scaring the shit out of me,” Nathan rumbled.
“Yeah, well…it’s all in a day’s work.” I shrugged.
He wasn’t amused by my failed attempt at humor.
“May I suggest you consider taking a break from fighting bad guys long enough to kiss your mate?” He asked me with a hint of heat. The corners of his mouth lifted into an adorable grin.
“I suppose if you make it worth my while? I could consider it,” I jested.
In answer, I found myself completely consumed by a set of thick, strong arms. I pressed my body hard against his, instantly responding to his eagerness in kind. His velvet tongue took over my mouth and I had no choice but to cling to his muscled form. The hard but smooth ridges of his body melded perfectly to mine; my heart quickened. The only thing I wanted in this very minute was for Nathan to be inside of me. When he pulled away, I wanted to cry out in protest.
“Is that wild enough for you, my love?” His heated breath fell on me along with his words. I had to struggle to make heads or tails of them. The time for talk was over. I reclaimed his mouth.
He pulled away from me again and I swore. “Damn it, you’re driving me crazy. Just zip it and kiss me already.”
I was close to smacking him when he laughed, so it was no surprise to me or him when I punched him in the arm.
“I just have to finish up with Ember and Collin, and then I’m all yours,” He chuckled.
That was right. I had to do the same thing. I let myself forget about everything for a bit. It was an easy thing to do when I was being held in Nathan’s arms, the place where I felt the safest. He must have noticed my shift in moods because he took his finger and ran it in-between my eyes. I had a bad habit of scrunching my brows together when I was upset.
“Screw it. I can check in with them later. Let me take you home.”
I shook my head and turned away. “No, you’re right. We have to finish what we started here. Plus, I am sure there are some protocols on debriefing and all that fun stuff with the Adelphi I should follow up on.”
I grabbed Nathan’s hand as I passed him, tugging him along with me. We might have to go answer to our superiors, but there was no reason we couldn’t get some quality love time in as well. Oh, how I adored the rough, but still silken smoothness of his touch. I trailed my finger over his thumb, soaking the deliciousness of it up. If it wasn’t for his touch, I knew with a certainty I would be in rough shape. Sheets plumed with blood stains flashed through my mind. I quickly shook the disturbing image away.
The Adelphi and Prime wolves had done their jobs well. As we walked up, I noticed that Tegan was busy doing what she does best, ridding the earth of corpses. There were several dead wolves and vampires piled around in heaps, just waiting for her to get around to them. I caught the tail end of her cleansing process. She had just turned the vamp she hovered over into nothing but a pile of a
sh. He must have been a relatively young blood sucker. The older ones tended to poof into dust on their own. In front of us, Ember and the rest of the gang were standing in a closed circle. Ariel was pacing back and forth, all in a huff with her arms crossed over her middle. What had her all in a tiff? I wondered.
“They caught him,” Ariel said stomping over to us.
The magic she used to glamour herself was apparently turned off, no doubt because of how irate she seemed. Her light blue lips were pierced up in a smirk while her already wild hair flew all around her. The turbulent locks showcased a pair of swirling silver orbs; they were the eye of the storm. Not a stitch of clothing adorned her tiny body, but she didn’t seem to care that she was standing in the middle of a battlefield full of werewolves, buck-naked. It was just as well, nobody seemed to notice the oddness of it but me, which meant it most likely wasn’t odd at all for these otherworldly creatures. Just another thing for me to get used to, I guess.
“Who, Ariel? Who did they catch?” I asked in a calm tone.
“Vampire Tyson. The rat was trying to skitter away amidst all the commotion from the explosion, but the handsome Dragon caught up to him before he could make his escape.”
A magnificent feeling of relief filled my bones. I actually had to stop myself from jumping up and down like a child. My muscles relaxed. I almost felt weightless, wobbly from the sudden release of stress.
I half expected to see a fight break out between all the people that Tyson wronged, me included. But everyone standing around him seemed calm. Everyone that is, but Ariel.
Ember turned around at the sound of our voices. Her expression was strained. Her cheeks were sunken and her forehead was filled with frown lines. She smiled though, when she saw me, a real smile that lit up her sallow face. No matter who ended up being my Alpha or leader after today, my loyalties would always remain with her.
“You kicked some ass today, Roxy. I’m impressed,” she said, walking over to stand in front of me. “You really came through for me today. For us all, really.”
