Kye (Rise of the Pride, Book 6)

by Theresa Hissong

  She fumbled with the key ring she’d stolen and prayed that the key she chose worked. Sliding it in the lock, she twisted and the lock released. A voice called out from the furthest end of the hallway. When she looked up, another man in a lab coat started running for her.

  “Stop!”

  Evie pulled the door open and hurried inside, her eyes throwing amber sparks. She quickly closed the door and locked it from the inside. It probably wouldn’t stop the guy in the hallway, but it would give her a few minutes to take this son of a bitch out.

  “Who are you?” the guy who’d just violated the female barked.

  “Your executioner,” Evie snarled when she attacked, unleashing her claws and canines as she pounced with the speed of her beast.

  The male jumped back, but not far enough for Evie to miss him, and she came down hard enough to knock the male off his feet. Her right hand dug into the soft flesh on his abdomen, her left hand wrapped around his throat.

  “I hope you rot in hell,” she snarled, squeezing his throat until the man’s windpipe was crushed. She used her other hand to rip him to shreds, spilling his organs on the cold tile floor just as Savage had taught her one day in training.

  “Who are you?” a male called out from one of the cages.

  “My name is Evie, and I am from the Shaw pride,” she panted, flipping the keys around on the chain, looking for something that resembled a cage key. “My Guardians are on the way to save us.”

  “Talon?” another male gasped. “Is your alpha Talon Shaw?”

  “Yes,” Evie said, looking up at the older male with wide eyes. “Do you know my alpha?”

  “His father was my friend,” the male said. “My name is Theo McCormick.”

  Evie found the key to the cages and started unlocking them, waiting to get to the hurt female last. All of the shifters looked up as the door to the room began to shake; the man that had been running down the hallway was yelling something through the window.

  “I’m going to get this female, and I need all of you to help me fight our way out of this bunker,” Evie commanded, looking over her shoulder at the older alpha. “Are you able to carry her?”

  “Give me the woman,” Theo ordered.

  Evie opened her door and walked inside, holding her hands up. “My name is Evie, and I’m going to get you out of here.”

  “Did you kill him?” the woman asked, rolling from her side to her knees. She looked horrible. Blood soaked her clothes and her brown hair was a matted mess. Evie swallowed hard, remembering how bad she and Liberty looked when they’d been saved.

  “Yes,” Evie promised. “We are going to get everyone out.”

  “Outside?” a young male asked, climbing to his feet as he moved closer to Evie. “There are wolves out there.”

  “What is your name?” Evie asked, scenting the male was like her, but different. He was some sort of cat.

  “My name is Zane,” he replied, pushing his long, dark blond hair out of his eyes. The male couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen. Evie scented the air again and frowned when he spoke. “I’m a lion, if you’re wondering.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know,” she apologized. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  “We are very rare,” he explained. “I was kidnapped from Alaska when they killed my family. As far as I know, I am the only one left.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Evie closed her eyes, begging for the strength to continue on. She had to get these people out of there and pray that her pride was equipped to save everyone. This had to end.

  “The wolves are in the woods and they are wild,” Zane stated. “I haven’t reached my maturity yet, and I cannot compete against them.” The boy’s face crumbled at his words. Evie could tell he was pissed that he couldn’t fight yet. She understood his frustrations more than even he knew.

  “I know,” Evie said. “We have to get past these guards first. Then we will worry about the wild ones.” Evie helped the female up, steadying her as she swayed. It took a moment, but the female gritted her teeth and walked out of her cage.

  In all, there was an alpha, the female, a young lion, and two males big enough to be Guardians. The scents around her were confusing. She wasn’t quite sure what they were, but it didn’t matter, they were all victims, and it was time to get them home.

  “Alpha, stay in the middle,” Evie ordered, blushing a little. “Sorry, alpha.”

  “If you know how to get us out of this place,” he replied, “I will follow you anywhere, young female warrior.”

  At that moment, the door burst open and the lab coat guy entered with two males wearing scrubs. Evie and two of the men she’d released dispatched them quickly by snapping their necks. The two males looked at her with respect and pride.

  “My name is Shadow,” the tall, dark-haired male said. His eyes were golden brown and she figured he was some sort of bear. “This is Santiago.” Again, another bear.

  “We have to get out of this building and make our way to the small shack not far from the runway. I saw it as they flew me in, but it looks like we have to move through the wooded area for a few hundred yards to get there without using the road. Does anyone know how many wolves are out there?”

  “There are six,” Theo snarled. “I can command them to stand down, but they fight me. I was forced to give everyone here my blood to keep them from dying. I guess you could say that I’m now the alpha to them all.”

  “My brother is out there,” the female cried. “He isn’t a bad male.”

  “You’re a wolf?” Evie gasped, taking a step back. She scented the air, but couldn’t scent anything over the female’s blood.

  “We are not all bad,” the woman growled, looking up at Evie with hazy yellow eyes. Evie noticed the woman wasn’t as young as she had previously thought. The brighter light in the hallway highlighted her features. “My brother has obeyed Theo.”

  “What is your name?” Evie asked.

  “Luna.” She swallowed hard. “My name is Luna Ray.”

  “Can your brother protect us out there?” Evie questioned, trying to calculate how much time had passed since she’d called out to her alpha.

  “Echo will help us," she promised.

  “Let’s go and make sure we protect the alpha,” Evie said as she reached the door to the outside. As they pushed through, the sun blinded the prisoners since they’d been held in cages for so long.

  The other males shielded the alpha and Luna as Evie searched for sounds and scents of the enemy, no matter their species. Evie made a hand signal to the people behind her; stay low and quiet. All of them nodded as they entered the wooded area.

  Birds flew from their perches in the trees, knowing there were predators around, even if they didn’t know how dangerous the shifters in her wake really were. The fact that there were birds in the trees made Evie a little more at ease. If the wolves were around, there would be silence.

  Kye shifted again, forced by the power of his brother, his alpha. The pain in his chest was excruciating, and he wished he’d been able to see the men who had grabbed Evie. The only thing pushing him to survive was the knowledge that she would return home to him. The tracking device she’d insisted on having imbedded in her skin was the only thing that would save her now.

  His beast protested when Talon forced the animal to recess for the fourth… or was it the fifth time? He didn’t know at this point. All he knew was that when he was human, he would shiver and a blanket would cover his naked body. Liberty had held a bottle of water to his lips a few times, wearing special gloves so she could touch him without pain.

  “E…Evie,” he cried, wanting information on her. Each and every time he was human, he’d call out her name, hoping for someone to talk to him, but all he received was silence. A tear escaped his eye when Liberty came close again with more water. Kye’s eyes sparked amber and he stared at his sister-in-law, begging for answers. “Please tell me she’s alive.”

  “She is, but they took her far away,�
� Liberty whispered, stroking his head. “We need you to heal while the Guardians bring her home.”

  “I…go.” He swallowed hard, trying to move, but collapsed back on the mound of blankets they’d put him on in Talon’s living room.

  “No,” Talon growled, kneeling down. His brother rested his hand on Kye’s shoulder. The power from his alpha’s touch helped ease the pain from his wound, but it didn’t heal the pain from the loss of his female. “You have to stay here. You’re not in any condition to leave the pride.”

  “Find… her,” Kye begged, releasing his hold on his human side when he felt Talon’s power demanding he shift again.

  “I promise,” Talon whispered as he stood up and walked away.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The plane touched down as the sun was setting. Savage, Winter, Booth, Taze, Dane, Storm, and Noah hit the ground as soon as the plane stopped on the small tarmac. Savage’s eyes sparked amber as his head raised to the sky, scenting the air.

  “Wolves,” he snarled, raising his gun. “We need to find Evie, now.”

  “Aerial maps show a road leading up to the bunker,” Noah stated, pulling out a printed overhead picture of the island and pointing to the location they needed to head toward. They were off the fucking coast of Maine. These assholes had found the ultimate bunker to hide out in to conduct their sick and twisted experiments for the sake of learning how the shifters ticked.

  “Savage,” a female voice called out from his right. When he turned, Evie peeked around a thick tree trunk, her eyes glowing amber.

  “Evie,” he breathed, breaking off into a dead run for the female. She was covered in blood. “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” she promised, shaking her head. “I killed some men.”

  “Jesus,” he snarled, knowing she could take care of herself, but seeing blood on the blue scrubs she was wearing sent his heart into a near panic.

  The other Guardians approached, Dane scenting the air. “Evie, we have to move. There are wolves in the area.”

  “I know,” Evie said, holding up her hand. “This is Luna, and she’s a wolf. Her brother is out here somewhere, and she promises me that he isn’t bad. She isn’t either.”

  A beautiful, brown-haired female, probably around thirty years old, stepped out from behind the tree. She didn’t stand with arrogance next to Evie as Savage would’ve expected. No, she closed in on herself as she hid behind the female.

  “She was… she was violated by the scientist that I killed,” Evie stated, jutting her chin out. Savage was proud of her, but confused as well. These were wolves.

  “We’ve never found a wolf pack that wasn’t feral,” Dane stated as his eyes narrowed on Luna. Evie’s upper lip vibrated with her snarl as she sidestepped to block them from touching the female wolf. Savage put a hand on Dane’s chest, calming the male.

  “We need to get you to the plane,” Savage ordered.

  “My brother is out there,” Luna cried, looking over her shoulder. “Theo can control the others. I know he can. I’ve seen it.”

  “Wait, Theo?” Winter gasped, pushing past the others. “He’s alive?”

  “I’m here,” Theo rumbled as he came into sight. Three other males flanked him, and from the scent in the air, two of them were bears… grizzly bears. One was something else.

  “Lion,” Evie chuckled at Savage’s surprised reaction.

  “How many are there?” Savage turned his question to Evie. He shook off the information about the lion for now.

  “Six wolves are in the woods,” Theo stated. “One is named Echo, and he’s good. The others are wild, and to be honest, I don’t know if there is any hope for them.”

  “We will try to save them,” Evie blurted. “We are going to save them all.”

  They all dropped to their knees when a ball of fire whizzed past them and slammed into the tree trunk Evie had just been standing behind, exploding it into a million pieces. Luna screamed as a sharp spear-like piece cut into her arm.

  Theo ran to her side and picked her up as Savage pulled a gun from the holster at his side. Noah and Talon had made sure they were all armed before leaving the pride, because no one knew what the Guardians were walking into on this island.

  “Get to the plane!” Taze barked, pointing for Evie and the others to follow him.

  They took off at a run, but skidded to a halt not fifty feet from the tree line. Twelve men in all black marched toward them. Each and every one of them held their hands out to their sides… their eyes black as night.

  “It’s the wizards,” Shadow growled. “They’re deadly.”

  “Fuck that,” Savage swore, pointing his weapon. One of males lifted his hand, a ball of light rolling and expanding as he raised it over his head. Savage pulled the trigger twice, hitting the male square in the chest, but it did nothing.

  “Son of a bitch,” Booth cursed, firing his own weapon.

  The wizards, or whatever the fuck they were, moved as one toward the plane. Savage knew they had to take them out before they disabled their only way off the island. “Back to the woods! We don’t want them taking out the plane.”

  As one, they ran for the cover of the trees, but it was no use. The males attacked, sending balls of fire in their direction, hitting trees so they’d fall in their path.

  “Where are those damn wolves?” Winter hid behind what was left of a tree, ducking low to keep his head clear. He turned to Theo and yelled, “Call them!”

  Theo closed his eyes and shook his head. “They are fighting me.”

  “Fuck,” Storm bellowed.

  Yips and howls sounded from the other side of the small tarmac where the plane sat in the open as the Community’s wizards kept coming toward Savage and the others. He prayed those damn wolves would help, or at least slow them down so he could take some of them out. Because at that point, Savage had just about had it with enemies and being fucking shot at.

  Luna screamed when one of them turned and threw a fireball toward the wolves, knocking them all to the ground. The agonizing wail from the female shattered his heart. He waited all of two breaths before coming out of his hiding spot to start firing at the wizards. Winter, Taze, and Booth followed his lead. They’d go out in a hail of bullets if that was what it took to get the others off the island. He just prayed his mate and cub would be safe after this. He wasn’t sure of himself.

  “My brother!” Luna screamed over the gunfire.

  “Get back into the trees!” Savage ordered, hoping she’d just fucking listen to him.

  “No!” Luna cried, falling to her knees.

  “They’re coming,” Evie called out. Savage took a chance and looked over his shoulder. Evie’s eyes were completely shifted, along with part of her face, as she lifted Luna from the ground to move her back to safety. “They’re coming!”

  Savage had no clue as to what the female was talking about, but the wicked smile on her face told him she knew something he didn’t.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Winter yelled over the sound of weapons being discharged, to no avail. The wizards were immortal.

  “Garrett is coming,” she cheered. “And he’s bringing friends.”

  A flash of light so bright it turned the world around them white, blinded everyone. When Savage’s vision cleared, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing before him.

  “Holy fuck,” Taze gasped. The rumble of disbelief echoed from Savage and the others.

  Twenty males appeared, their wings stretched out to touch each other’s, making a barrier of protection between the wizards and the shifters. At the head of the group was the sheriff. As soon as their forms solidified, six of them broke off from the crowd and took to the air, coming down at the entrance to the bunker. They entered swiftly, and Savage prayed they were going after whomever was left inside.

  “What the hell?” Taze asked. “What are they?”

  Two of the angels with Garrett turned their heads, giving the pride a nod before turning around, but not before
the shifters noticed the angels had no facial features. All of them, except for Garrett, were missing eyes, noses, and mouths. It was like a white skin covered them, making them nothing but pawns.

  “I don’t care as long as they’re on our side,” Savage cheered. “Guard the others.”

  Taze, Booth, Dane, Storm, and Winter regrouped, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of Evie and the others as all hell broke loose. Every time a ball of fire would come from the wizards, the Watchers would move closer, absorbing the glow as it struck their bodies. Savage blinked twice when he saw Garrett grab the ball that’d been aimed at his chest as if it was a solid object and threw it back into the line of the enemy. The male it hit fell to his knees as he grabbed his head, screaming as if he were burning from the inside out.

  They went back and forth for several moments, the Watchers were winning until one of the men in black stepped through the line and held his hands in the air. Wind began to blow and limbs from the trees cracked and flew through the air. The angels kept pushing and fighting back, looking as if they were solely focused on their task.

  Savage watched as they fought, still not quite believing what he was seeing. He’d never trusted the sheriff, but seeing him come to their aide might just have changed his attitude toward the male.

  “What do we do?” Evie asked from behind him.

  All of the shifters waited on baited breath as the angels fought back. Savage could only stare at the war between them. It looked like something out of a Hollywood movie where they only used magic to battle.

  The sound of helicopters in the distance was barely covered by the angel’s destruction of the enemy. As the sound drew closer, the angels fought harder. Savage prayed that whoever was coming was going to help them and not the Community.

  One by one, the warlocks fell, disappearing as their bodies dropped limply to the ground. Angels began to disappear when their opponent was eradicated. Savage kept looking over his shoulder and cheered to himself when he saw four military helicopters approaching the island.