by Cheree Alsop
Boris nodded without a word. He blinked quickly, but his gaze stayed hard and determined. “I will, Dad. I promise.”
Mr. Dickson walked with them to the door.
“Time is key,” Jaze said, leading the way down the stairs to the helicopter. “We need the element of surprise, and in a place that big, we need more men. An eight-person team isn’t going to cut it.”
“Nine,” Brock said into all of their earpieces. “And Kaynan’s already on his way with Rafe and Colleen. They’ll meet you at the mall.”
Jaze brown eyes showed his worry. “It’s not enough. With the Black Team and the GPA occupied, this is going to be dangerous.”
A thought struck Alex. “I know who can help us. They’re already in the city.”
“You do?” Jaze asked in surprise.
Alex looked at Boris. “Where do we find Red?”
Boris gave an actual smile. “That’s a great idea.” He climbed into the helicopter and began giving Mouse directions.
As they lifted into the air, Alex felt the first glimmer of hope rise in his chest.
By the time Mouse landed the helicopter on top of Red’s warehouse, Brock had already contacted the werewolf and filled him in on what was happening.
Red jogged to meet them as Mouse shut down the rotors. The man’s long brown hair tangled in the breeze. “I have a dozen more wolves on their way to join those already waiting below.” The wiry wolf said. He shook Jaze’s hand. “It’s an honor.”
“I appreciate your willingness to help,” Jaze replied.
“My life stopped completely when they took my wife and daughter,” Red told the dean. “You gave me my purpose back. I’ll do anything you ask, and I’m not going to rest until the General’s paid for every life he’s destroyed.”
Jaze gave a warm smile at the werewolf’s adamant tone. “If I’d known you were the one Alex was talking about, I’d have left the rest of the team home.”
Red nodded in agreement. He flexed his wiry muscles. “I’ll happily tear that place apart brick by brick if I have to. The General’s not going to have a chance to hurt anyone else as long as I have a say in it.”
“Glad to have you along,” Jaze said.
They followed Red to the stairs that led from the roof. The werewolf held open the door and motioned them down. He grinned at Alex, his mismatched green and brown eyes glowed in the early dawn light. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Kalia’s a close friend of mine.” Alex wanted to say more, but the words caught in his throat. If the General hurt her to get to him, he would never forgive himself.
“We’ll get her back. Don’t give up,” Red said, reading his expression.
“I want the General to pay.” The bitterness in Alex’s voice was thick enough that he could barely swallow. He thought of all the people the General and his son had taken from him. The fact that Kalia stood to be another victim made Alex feel hot and cold all over.
“I do, too,” Red answered. Something in his gaze softened. “But I have someone to live for now. You do to,” he noted, nodding toward Cassie who held Tennison’s arm as they went down the stairs. “You look like siblings.”
“She’s my twin,” Alex said. “I’d do anything for her.”
“Then be smart and get home alive,” Red replied. “Keep your head about you so the General doesn’t take another one of us down. You won’t be any good to that girl dead. Remember that.”
“I will,” Alex replied quietly.
He followed Red down the stairs. The warehouse echoed with the sound of Jaze’s voice. The dean was already addressing the werewolves who waited below. It amazed Alex how many had come to Red’s call. Nearly fifty men and women stood on the cement floor. Alex recognized many of them from the last time he was there. They were fathers and mothers, most of them. He felt anxious at the fact that they were risking their lives to go against the General, and had to remind himself that every day they survived, it was the same.
“We’re going to surround the mall,” Jaze was instructing. “Our goal is to get those who are innocent outside as quickly as possible. I’m hoping that at this early hour the mall will be empty of civilians, but we can’t count on that. Be careful with your weapons; the GPA will do what it can to cover for us, but if innocents are injured, things will get complicated quickly.”
Jaze nodded toward Chet, Dray, and Vance. “These Alphas are my pack mates. They will head the first three teams going into the mall. We’ll divide you up into groups of fifteen.” Jaze paused. The dean’s head cocked slightly as he listened to Brock over the earpiece. “We’ve tapped into the security system. The General’s there.”
Shouts and calls for blood rushed through the waiting werewolves. The metallic sound of weapons being checked combined with the rustle of anxious feet.
“Let’s go!” someone yelled.
Jaze held up a hand. The crowd fell immediately silent out of respect for the one who had sacrificed so much for their kind. “The General’s heavily guarded, and he has Kalia, the student we are going to rescue, with him in a room on the fifth floor. The only way to reach them will be by taking down more men than we have here.”
“It’s worth it,” Red said from beside Alex. The werewolf’s quiet voice reached every ear in the room. “He deserves to pay for what he’s done, and this is the best chance we’ve got.”
Jaze nodded. “I agree. I just want to make sure everyone knows what they’re getting into.” The expectant quiet that followed was broken only when the dean said, “Alright. Let’s go.”
Heavily charged silence filled the vehicles. They had chosen to leave the helicopter at the warehouse and rode in the back of Red’s truck. The streets were mostly empty at the early hour. Alex glanced back at the cavalcade of cars that followed them. He could feel the werewolves watching the group in the back of the truck, and he was grateful for their willingness to help free Kalia.
They were there to take down the General, Alex reminded himself. Kalia was part of the mission, but the driving force behind the werewolves risking their lives to free her was the chance to make General Jared Carso pay for what he had done. It was enough of a factor for Alex as well; he just wished Kalia wasn’t involved.
They pulled up to the mall without resistance. Werewolves filed silently out of vehicles and waited for Jaze’s command. Mouse took a small device from his pocket and used it on a security door near the parking garage. It unlocked with a quiet snick.
“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 gunfi
re 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 human, 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 sce
nt 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.
