“So, I guess we are going this way,” Brimstone said and with Sami taking up the rear, the four of them continued down the large well-lit corridor.
They passed numerous closed doors. Maintenance rooms, five more storage rooms, two smaller rooms filled with cleaning supplies, a massive room filled with food goods. Beside that was an older unused kitchen. The next twenty doors were just marked with a number on the outside.
Finally, the hallway made a right-hand turn into a narrower corridor. The air began to grow thicker the farther they went until they caught the damp scent of detergent.
“Guess we found the laundry room,” Brimstone said, just as a servant pushing a linen cart walked out of the next room on the left.
“Stop!” Jax ordered, making the startled male cry out. A short, rounded man dressed in a white uniform, he started to back away, but Jax repeated his order. Trembling, the male halted. “What … what do you want?” he asked, a stutter in his voice.
“He’s a Were-hyena,” Brimstone said.
The male watched him fearfully. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Where are the prisoners held?” Soroyan asked, ignoring the male’s question.
“Ah …” he glanced wildly at the weapons trained on him and gulped.
“Tell us, or we will shoot you,” Soroyan said, even though he wasn’t holding a gun.
Jax raised an eyebrow. Soroyan shrugged.
Jax turned back to the Were and waved his gun at the guy. “Tell us what we want to know.”
The small male paled, then he pointed. His finger trembled. “Th-that way. Stairs. Go down two—”
Jax moved closer and the male swallowed deeply. “T-two flights down. Comes out in a, a tunnel. G-go left, then left again. Immediately after you will see an entrance, go through. It opens into ah, a big r-room. At the end is a thick iron door. Y-you c-can’t m-miss it.”
Soroyan started past the man while Sami pulled some zip-ties from his pocket. “Do you have a phone, radio or any communication device on you?” Sami asked.
The small Were-hyena shook his head. “N-no, t-they don’t work down here.”
Sami quickly secured him to the door handle of the laundry room.
“Y-you a-aren’t g-going to k-kill m-me?” the Were-hyena asked.
“Not if you don’t give us a reason to,” Sami said.
The small man blinked at him in surprise, then looked at the rest of them. “There are guards and the door into the dungeon is always locked, you won’t get in.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Brimstone said with a smirk, “we have Mister Demolition here.” He shot Soroyan a grin.
They found the stairs, and quickly hurried down two flights
“Eww,” Brimstone said, wiping his finger on the damp, mold-covered brick-and-mortar walls of the tunnel. “It stinks.”
Even without his wolf senses, Soroyan had to agree.
“This seems too easy,” Brimstone muttered as they followed the directions the terrified hyena had given them.
Just then, three armed guards showed up. “Stop!” they yelled.
“You spoke too soon,” Jax griped at the Phoenix. They all ducked back around the corner and took cover. Gunfire sprayed past them.
“Yeah, sorry,” Brimstone muttered.
“Here,” Jax held a gun out to Soroyan. “I’ve never seen you with a gun. You ever use one?”
Soroyan raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Just because I don’t use one, doesn’t mean I don’t know how.”
“Good,” Jax said and pointed behind them. “Shoot that way.”
Soroyan turned and spotted a group of men hurrying up behind them. He and Brimstone both took aim. As they were peppered from both sides, Soroyan was grateful for the thick walls at their back as they returned gunfire.
“I’m going to duck into there, cover me,” Jax said and pointed across the way. Sami nodded.
Soroyan glanced back to see Sami shooting as Jax tucked and ran. Five minutes later all the guards in both directions were piles of ash.
“Well, these day and nightwalkers are sure easier to clean up than dead bodies,” Brimstone commented.
Soroyan snorted his agreement.
“Guess your informant was too scared to tell us that this was the guard quarters,” Sami said as they crossed the large room filled with bunks and tables. In one corner was two couches and a TV.
At the iron door, Soroyan set his explosives. “Take cover,” he said and the door blew open with a thunk.
“Wow, there was hardly any noise. You are really good at that,” Sami said.
Soroyan shrugged. “I had a good teacher.”
“Well, would you mind teaching me?” Sami asked.
“Me too,” Brimstone piped up and they had just made it through the door, when they heard movement behind them.
“Again? Shit! Take cover,” Jax hissed and not a moment later, a spray of bullets flew past. They ducked behind the propped up metal door and returned fire.
“Sami and I will hold them off,” Jax told him and waved him and Brimstone to go on. Soroyan nodded and then hurried over to the prison cells with the Phoenix behind him. Brimstone began to let the prisoners out of the cells with occupants, while Soroyan searched for Toren. He found the long, dark-haired loner; Zeveride, instead.
“Where is my nephew?” Soroyan asked as he opened the other wolf’s door.
“You just missed him, Val Jean’s men took him,” he said, sounding panicked as he took off out of his cell. He raced the opposite way down the tunnel from where Soroyan had come from. Soroyan hurried to catch up.
“We need to find him, the Raizarch wolves have arrived,” Soroyan said. Zeveride glanced at him and Soroyan saw understanding dawn. With a brief nod, Zeveride kept going. After turning a couple corners, they came upon two guards marching Toren away.
Soroyan’s heart leaped in his throat at the sight of his slender, long russet-haired nephew. He raised his gun and shot both the guards in the head.
“Zev,” Toren said, sounding younger than his twenty-five years as he rushed into his friend’s arms. Soroyan finally understood why his nephew went after the other male.
“They said—” Toren gulped up at Zeveride. “That the Raizarch wolves were here and I needed to die.”
Soroyan wanted to curse Val Jean. “We need to move,” he said instead, deciding they could deal with whatever was going on between the two later. At his words, his nephew pulled away from Zeveride.
“Soroyan.” His blue eyes widened in surprise. “You came for us.” Toren tentatively moved forward, then stopped, uncertain. A pang of guilt raced through Soroyan. He knew he’d never been close to his nephew, or anyone for that matter, and it was all his own fault.
“Of course I did,” he said. “Come on, we need to go.”
Instead of following him, Toren turned to Zeveride. “They took Maxim. I’m afraid, the mood Val Jean is in, that he won’t survive.”
Zeveride searched down the hall in the direction the guards had been heading with Toren. Then he looked back at Soroyan. “Get him out of here, I have to go after our friend.” He pushed Toren toward his uncle.
“No,” Toren said, resisting. “I’m not going anywhere without you.” He stood tall and defiant.
Zeveride opened his mouth to speak when the sound of more gunfire reached them.
“We need to go, before more guards find us,” Soroyan said.
Toren shook his head. “Not without Zev.”
Zeveride stepped forward. “Toren, the Raizarch wolves are here, they are running out of time.”
Toren grew pale. “No. We talked about this.” He turned to Soroyan. “I can’t do what you all want … I’m already mated.”
“We’ll sort it out later, right now—” Soroyan started to say when the gunfire grew closer. Where the hell was Brimstone, Jax, and Sami?
Zeveride touched Toren’s arm. “You need to go.”
Toren crossed his arms. “No, I told you, I’m not goin
g anywhere without you.”
“I’ll get Maxim, and be right behind you,” Zeveride said, staring pointedly at Soroyan.
There was pain in Zeveride’s eyes as he pleaded with Soroyan to take care of the male he loved. Soroyan, not about to lose his nephew now that he had him, grabbed Toren’s arm. “Come on.”
Toren tried to resist, but even without his power, Soroyan was too strong for him. He swallowed deeply and with pleading eyes, spoke to Zeveride. “You’ll be right behind me?”
Zeveride nodded and Soroyan knew he didn’t think he’d make it out. “What if you don’t?” Toren asked, digging in his heels.
Zeveride pulled Toren into a hug and then lowered his head and kissed him. When he was done, he pulled back and gazed into Toren’s eyes. “The Raizarch wolves need you,” he said and Toren’s eyes grew wide. Then he blinked in panic.
“No, please don’t do this! I can’t, I love you! You are my mate!”
Zeveride held Toren’s face and gazed into his eyes. “I love you too, but you have a duty, and there are a lot of wolves counting on you to free them from their curse. You can’t not do this,” he whispered.
Soroyan had to look away from the tears running down Toren’s face.
“Zev, please don’t do this,” Toren pleaded.
Zeveride just shook his head. “I can’t leave Max, you wouldn’t either.”
Toren stared at him a moment longer then turned. Defeated, he let Soroyan pull him down the hall.
They made it to the next corridor, when Soroyan tensed up. “Cat,” he mumbled just as a large male wearing a white t-shirt and black combat pants and boots stepped around the corner.
Large, yet lithe, with the shiniest long caramel hair that Soroyan had ever seen, he knew the male was a Were-tiger. He kept his gun trained on the guy and tugged Toren behind him. The male was bigger than anyone Soroyan had ever seen. The tiger quirked an eyebrow at the gun pointed at him. Then he indicated Toren. “Val Jean wants that one.”
“Too bad,” Soroyan said, ready to fight to the death if he had to.
“This is Seville, he’s a good guy,” Toren said, but Soroyan wasn’t willing to take his word on it. “Please, help us,” Toren begged Seville as he tried to move out from behind him. Soroyan moved with his nephew, keeping him where he’d be safe.
The tiger’s lips quirked. “You are Okami, like him,” he said, golden cat eyes studied Toren before looking back at him. Soroyan didn’t say a word. Then Seville narrowed his eyes on his collar. “You are the one the king failed to capture.” A slight smile lit the tiger’s golden eyes. “Though I see you warranted the good collar.” He nodded at Soroyan’s neck.
Soroyan kept his gun trained on the guy. “Toren and I are leaving here together,” he said and after a tense moment, the tiger shrugged.
“I’m done here anyway, go ahead.” He moved back for them to pass and Soroyan noticed the tattoo on the guy’s forearm. It was the same as the pendant Amelis had been holding and singing to earlier.
His eyes narrowed, wondering what it meant, but he didn’t say anything as they slipped past the tiger and away.
Soroyan could feel the feline’s eyes on his back for a moment, but when he looked back, the big guy was gone.
A moment later they heard the sounds of the guards coming after them. “Hurry,” he coaxed his nephew to move faster.
They had just made it back to where the cells, Sami, Jax, and Brimstone were, when the guards behind him and Toren caught up.
“You found him?” Jax asked as they all hurried back out the blown door.
Soroyan ran past the iron door, pulling Toren behind him, returning cover fire at the same time in the hopes of slowing the guards down.
“What took so long?” Brimstone griped. At Soroyan’s glare, he fell silent.
“I’m almost out,” Sami said, checking the rounds in his gun.
“I got this, you take care a them,” Genna said, appearing from between them and the guards shooting at them. Soroyan blinked. Where the hell did she come from?
As if she knew what he was thinking, she grinned at him. “I got powers.” Then she turned and moved right out into the open. Soroyan could feel her magic as she stood in the line of fire. Nothing hit her. As her magic grew, she swung around and grinned. “This gonna be fun-fun!”
Her hands snapped and sizzled with fire and they all ducked out of the way. Turning back to their enemy, she raised her hands and shot bolts of fire at the guards who were shooting at them.
Soroyan was beginning to think they’d be fine when one of her blasts hit the wall and another hit the ceiling. Shit! He lunged forward, grabbed Genna and pulled her back out of the way. The rock ceiling caved in right where she’d been standing.
“No, Zev!” Toren yelled, staring at the wall of rubble in shock.
“We need to move. Now,” Jax said.
Soroyan grabbed his nephew’s arm. “Let’s go.”
They met up with Tierney, Raven, and Mark as soon as they stepped out of the stairwell. “Where’s Honor?” Soroyan asked, worried about the Raizarch wolf.
“I’m right here, I couldn’t find—” He stopped speaking when he spotted Genna, and scowled. “Her.”
Soroyan nodded, and together, they all hurried back the way they’d come.
Chapter Forty-Six
Package Retrieved
When they made it outside, they found the sun had lowered in the sky. The two Okami guards who stood waiting, breathed a sigh of relief and lowered their weapons. One of the males had some blood on him. “Are you all right?” Soroyan asked.
“It’s a scratch, I’m fine,” the male said. Soroyan noted the six piles of ash marring the beauty of the pristine green lawn. “The wind will take care of that,” he said. Soon it would be like they’d never been.
Toren wrapped his arms around himself while they all took stock. Other than Zeveride, they had all made it out alive.
“I can’t leave him,” Toren said again, but Soroyan shook his head. The chances of Zeveride getting out was going to be slim to none and his priority was to the pack.
“He’s not coming, is he?” Toren finally turned to him. There was such sorrow in his nephew’s eyes, that it near broke his heart.
Soroyan pursed his lips and didn’t say anything. He’d never wish the loss of a mate on anyone.
Once back home, Soroyan led his nephew inside Tierney’s home and through to the great room to where his brother waited. Then his breath hitched and he hesitated at the sight of the tall male with dark hair and blue-green eyes who stood beside Kyrian.
Seeing them, Kyrian swept across the room and there was moisture in his eyes when he pulled Toren into his arms. “Son.”
Toren hugged him back, and then immediately broke down. Silent tears ran down his face.
“I am so sorry,” Kyrian said to his son. “Soroyan told me about Zeveride.”
“He’s my mate. I love him,” Toren said, then swallowed deeply and tried to compose himself. “I know I’m supposed to mate a female, one of the Raizarch, but …” He paused to take a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When Toren opened his eyes, Soroyan felt Kyrian’s heartbreak along with Toren’s and knew how it felt to be thrust into a position you didn’t want.
“I just don’t know …” Toren let the sentence trail off.
Soroyan watched the male slowly make his way over to them, and his heart broke even further.
“Luce—Lucian. You look …” He wanted to say good, but couldn’t. The male in front of him appeared worn out for some reason. A feeling he himself was all too familiar with.
“I know you never wanted to see me again and asked to be left alone. I’m sorry you’ve been dragged here—” Soroyan said as Hinah, Honor, and Julie came over to them.
“We need to do this,” Hinah interrupted, staring at Kyrian and Toren with a puzzled expression.
Lucian’s blue-green eyes stared blankly back at Soroyan and for a moment he thought Luce was going to sa
y something. Then he glanced at the Raizarch wolves before looking at Toren and Kyrian.
“I’ll do it, if he does as you said he would.” Lucian flicked a glance at Soroyan before staring back at Kyrian.
Kyrian raised an eyebrow at Soroyan questioningly.
“Yes, fine. I’ll do it, on one condition though,” Soroyan said, defeated.
“What condition?” Kyrian asked.
“That we rule together.”
There were a few startled gasps, Kyrian’s included. “What? How—”
“I won’t do it unless you agree,” Soroyan said, waiting for his brother to answer.
“I—”
Soroyan gave a low growl, and Kyrian held up his hands. “All right, fine.”
“Fine,” Soroyan agreed. He had been running from his destiny his whole life. It was about time he accepted it. Besides, he didn’t plan to be around long. At least as Kyrian as co-ruler, it would be nothing for his brother to take the full mantle back. “Let’s do this.”
“Are you sure?” Kyrian asked.
Soroyan nodded and Kyrian narrowed his eyes.
“Why such a big hurry all of a sudden? What are you planning?” Kyrian asked, but Soroyan didn’t answer. Kyrian studied him for a moment. “You are a good male, my brother, but don’t go do anything rash, at least not without me.”
Soroyan turned away, looking for Raven. He wanted, no needed, to see her. To feel her next to him, even if for just a short while longer.
As if she sensed his need, she appeared at his side. “What’s happening?” she asked as Kyrian’s gaze swept the room.
Then his commanding voice rang out, stopping all chatter. “I am calling a gathering outside, tell everyone,” Kyrian said, directing his comments at the wolves in the room.
Soroyan’s heart thumped wildly when Raven slipped an arm around his waist. “I’m doing it,” he said.
“Doing what?” Raven asked.
“Come outside and you will see,” he answered. Then as he took Raven’s hand, he noted the shock on Lucian’s face before he too turned away.
Dracones Boxset Books 1-5 Page 154
