by Anna Hackett
She’d used up too much energy in the fight, and she’d already healed him earlier.
“Enough,” he said.
“Just…a bit more.”
Hemi sucked in a deep breath and Selena grimaced.
“Enough.” Tane pulled her away.
She slumped against him, shivering. Hemi’s injury was still red and raw, but the skin had started to knit, and it was no longer bleeding.
“Patch him up,” Tane said.
Ash grabbed his medic bag and opened a small field kit. “I could give him a dose of nanomeds.”
“No,” Hemi growled. “That’ll put me out of action for a while and you’ll need to monitor me. I’m feeling much better.”
“Got most of the deeper damage.” Selena’s voice was soft, weak.
Tane pressed her face to his chest. “Rest now.”
Suddenly, they heard a clunking noise out in the maintenance area. They all froze and Tane clicked his flashlight off.
In the dark, his pulse hammered. He felt Selena’s fingers bite into his arm, and they heard guttural speech, followed by heavy footsteps.
The raptors were searching for them.
Selena gripped Tane’s arm and he slid his hand up and tangled their fingers. He saw the shadow of a raptor move past the grate.
Keep moving, assholes.
The berserkers waited, tense, all of them clutching their weapons. They all knew they were in the worst possible position if they were discovered.
Moments later, there was silence.
They were gone.
Everyone relaxed and blew out a sharp breath.
“That was fun,” Levi muttered darkly.
Hemi sat up. “I’m already feeling better. Thanks, Selena.”
She nodded, still slumped against Tane.
“You need to eat something.” Tane pulled a granola bar out of his emergency rations.
She broke a chunk off, and chewed robotically.
“Right, we get one more chance to get the antidote into the bomb,” Tane said.
His squad looked at him, faces grim but determined.
They all knew the odds weren’t great that they’d survive this mission, but it would be their most important one.
“We won’t be able to get across the main floor to the bomb again. There are just too many aliens and we have no idea if our illusion systems will work again.”
Everyone nodded.
“We can try to get to the bomb from above,” Tane suggested.
Selena tilted her head. “And drop the antidote down?”
He nodded.
“That’s risky,” she said. “If anything goes wrong…”
“It’s the best option we have.”
She nodded.
“While Selena and I deliver the antidote, I need you guys to make the biggest diversion you’ve ever done in your entire lives.”
The berserkers broke out in grins.
“Now you’re talking,” Levi drawled.
“We’re fighting for humanity’s survival. The survival of all the people we know and love.” Tane looked down at Selena. “And for our planet. These bastards do not get to take it.”
“Hell, yeah,” Hemi said.
“Watch out, motherfuckers,” Griff muttered.
“Hemi, you ready to roll?” Tane asked.
“Yeah. Ready to show some raptors the business end of my carbine.”
They waited a bit longer, then they crawled out of the vent and carefully back into the tunnels. He saw a child’s discarded teddy bear, stained and torn, shoved against the wall. He spotted a pretty, pink shoe. A book lay open on the concrete floor, pages torn and damp. Signs of life. Once, Blue Mountain Base had been a sanctuary and home for them. Now, it was in ruins, desecrated by the Gizzida.
Just another thing to make the aliens pay for.
After having to hide several times, and a tense moment where a canid almost found them, they were back at the central core.
Somewhere, a monster-raptor roared. Its cry echoed through the tunnels.
“Selena and I will head up those stairs.” Tane jerked his head.
Hemi held up a grenade. “We’ll move to the other side and make a little mess.”
Tane pulled Hemi in for a one-armed hug. All the berserkers hugged Selena and slapped Tane’s back.
“Let’s make it count,” Tane said.
“Beers are on me when we get back.” Levi smiled, the expression not quite reaching his eyes.
There was a tightly wound thread of tension in the air. Each of them knew the odds were well against them having those beers.
They had to make this last attempt worth it.
Tane took Selena’s hand. He took one last look at his brother and friends, then headed up the stairs.
He kept his voice low. “We’ll wait for the diversion to start—”
A raptor rounded the landing.
Fuck. Its red eyes widened, and Tane threw himself forward. They crashed together.
Grunting and straining, they shoved against each other. Tane took a hit to the gut that made him stagger. The raptor’s red eyes zeroed in on Selena.
Hell, no. Tane yanked his knife off his belt and stabbed the raptor in the chest. The alien swung and Tane ducked, then stabbed again. He kept stabbing, doing whatever he had to in order to protect his woman.
The raptor slumped against the wall, leaving a smear of blood down the concrete.
“Come on.” They ran upstairs.
They broke out onto the level above and moved to the edge. The concrete was jagged from where the walls had been blown up. They peered down.
They were positioned almost directly over the bomb.
Explosions started on the far side of the space, and Tane heard Hemi’s wild laugh. Damn, his brother was a rough, crazy bastard. He’d never once let Tane down.
Raptors were tossed through the air, and a monster-raptor fell, equipment crashing on top of it.
But Tane spotted some movement in another area of the cavern. Several raptors were lifting what looked like some sort of Gizzida rocket launcher.
Tane touched his ear. “Hemi, watch out. They have an RPG—”
Boom.
The missile launched. The explosion rocked the entire base, parts of the roof caving in from above. Giant chunks of concrete rained down, smashing into equipment and raptors.
Selena lost her balance and threw her arms out. She screamed and tumbled over the edge.
“Selena!”
He lunged for her and managed to grab her hand before she was completely gone.
Crouching on the edge, he looked down into her panicked face as she dangled over the dangerous drop.
Chapter Seventeen
Selena’s heart was trying to burst out of her chest.
She dangled helplessly over the battle below. Projectiles whizzed past her, slamming into the concrete wall. She swallowed a scream.
Tane heaved and pulled her up and over the edge. They collapsed together onto the floor.
“Damn, damn, damn.” She tried to slow her racing pulse.
“I’ve got you,” he growled.
And he did. She closed her eyes and absorbed his energy. His muscled arms were tight around her, and she’d never felt so safe.
Whatever happened, she’d always know that she was right where she was supposed to be. She belonged to Tane Rahia.
The echo of running footsteps and guttural grunts reached them.
“Raptors,” she cried.
Tane leaped up. The first raptor came up the stairs toward them, just as Tane whipped up his carbine and fired.
Following, she moved close behind him and glanced down the stairs. She sucked in a breath. There were so many raptors thundering up the steps.
Tane planted a boot in the chest of one raptor, and the alien crashed down the stairs, knocking into others. He sprayed carbine fire down at them, and others dived for cover.
But more were coming.
They’d just keep co
ming. That’s what the Gizzida did.
Selena pressed her hand to the concrete wall. Her abilities were weak. She was so tired, and the concrete made it difficult to connect, but she pushed for everything she had.
She strained. Come on. Carbine fire rang in her ears. A crack appeared in the concrete.
“Get back,” she warned Tane.
An instant later, the concrete wall collapsed. She leaped away as chunks crashed down the stairs.
A thick rain of dust fell over them, and she coughed.
“That’s my clever Butterfly.” Tane grabbed her and quickly kissed her.
Concrete rubble blocked the stairs. No raptors were coming up this way now.
“Come on.” He pulled her back towards the edge.
They peered into the cavern again. Down below, the fight raged on. Selena glanced up. Above, the sky was visible through the large hole. Huge chunks of the ceiling had caved in. The sun was setting, staining the sky with streaks of orange, red, and gold.
“Come on, you scaly motherfuckers, let’s dance.” Hemi’s loud shout came from down below, snagging Selena’s attention.
She sucked in a breath, watching him jump from crate to crate, firing his weapon.
Levi and Ash were locked in hand-to-hand combat with several raptors. The fighting was all hard kicks and brutal punches. Dom whirled like some sort of dervish, his knives flashing. Griff was on one knee, firing his carbine.
“Best men I know.” Pride filled Tane’s voice.
She turned her gaze to the bomb. It was almost directly below them, and the top was open. She stared at the churning, brown liquid inside.
The red lights on the side of the bomb were almost solid red. Only three still blinked. Her throat closed.
She held up the antidote. What if it didn’t work?
No. She wasn’t losing hope. These humans—her friends, the berserkers, Tane—they’d taught her how to hope, even when everything was dark and bleak.
When she and Claudia had been trapped in Gizzida chains, Claudia had never stopped believing that Hell Squad and Shaw would come for her.
It didn’t matter what they faced, or how many times life knocked them down, humans kept getting back up. They were the epitome of grit and resilience; they were full of hope and love.
And now Selena knew the depths of a love that left her feeling so wanted and cherished.
Now, she understood what it was to truly love someone.
“We can probably throw the vial in there,” Tane said. “It’ll be risky, but there’s a chance it’ll make it.”
She shook her head. It was the last one they had, and in her heart, she knew she needed to stay close when it went in.
She spun and grabbed Tane, pressing her mouth to his.
He groaned, taking control of the kiss so that it turned raw and ferocious.
“I love you,” she said.
“Damn, Butterfly. It feels good to hear that.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “I love you, too. I’ve never said those words to a woman before.”
Warmth made her chest swell. “I would have liked to have given you that child you want. To watch you love them, teach them.”
He scowled. “You will.”
A sad smile crossed her lips, the inner pain tearing her to pieces. “Tane—”
There was a crackle of sound in their ears.
“Tane…” Indy’s static-filled voice. “…copy?”
Tane touched his ear. “The hole in the roof must be letting the signal in. Indy? I can hear you. Just barely.”
“Hell Squad…inbound to assist you.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Oh my God, Tane!” Indy’s voice turned panicked. She broke into a rush of words.
“Slow down. I can’t understand you. What—?”
“The Norway bomb. It detonated.” Indy’s sob cut across the line.
No. Selena pressed a hand to her mouth.
“Cloud of…moving fast. Across…” Indy sobbed again. “We’re too late. Groom Lake says…bomb about to detonate.” Indy gasped. “No…Groom Lake bomb just exploded.”
Selena looked down and saw the lights on their bomb go all red.
The top began to close.
“Tane!”
Tane froze.
Everything had gone to hell. The berserkers were still fighting below.
For what?
The Gizzida had just sentenced them all to death.
Selena pressed a hand to his chest. It helped calm his rage and let him think. He looked into her beautiful face. One he didn’t want to see covered in damn scales.
“I love you,” she said.
There was something in the tone of her voice. “Butterfly—”
She lifted the antidote vial. “You taught me to fight for what’s right, to risk it all for the ones you love.” She touched his jaw. “Live for me, Tane.”
She turned, took two steps, and leaped off the ledge.
“No! Selena!”
His roar echoed in his ears and time slowed down. He watched her graceful body arch, her arms out, like an Olympic diver.
No.
Without thinking, Tane backed up and jumped. He fell fast, and a second later, his body hit hers. He curled around her.
“Tane.” Her face twisted.
“Together, Selena. There’s no you and me, just us. Always.”
She clung to him and they plummeted, falling into the bomb.
The fluid hit them.
There was a blinding flash of light.
Then there was nothing.
Hemi
Hemi’s heart felt as though it had stopped beating.
No. Fuck, no.
He watched his brother fall from high above, clutching his woman tight.
They landed inside the bomb.
Horror and shock tearing through him, Hemi roared, “Down!”
He hit the floor, just as the explosion ripped through the base.
The sound was so loud, he thought his head would shatter. He clapped his hands over his ears and groaned. Searing, white light cut through the cavern, and he heard the screams of the raptors.
After a few moments, the light finally dimmed a little, and Hemi himself pushed up, squinting at his surroundings. His ears were ringing.
Tane. God. Hemi’s hands shook. He pressed one palm to his chest. He was still fucking breathing, so that was good. He swiveled and saw the other berserkers getting up off the floor.
Then he turned to look at the center of the space, and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Holy hell,” Griff murmured.
He sensed the others moving close, all of them staring. The bomb was gone, leaving behind a column of silver-white light. It speared up through the shattered roof and into the sky.
Overhead, he saw a cloud of silver material was expanding in the air, moving fast in all directions.
“Is this it?” Levi asked, his voice rough. “Are we going to grow scales?”
Hemi saw a faint, green tinge, flowing through the light.
“Selena and Tane jumped into the bomb before it detonated.” His voice was wooden, hiding the pain growing inside him.
“What?” Ash breathed.
Hemi stared down at the crater where the bomb had been. “Tane!” He lunged forward.
He had to find his brother.
The others grabbed him and held him back.
“Tane!” he roared.
Chapter Eighteen
Alexander
Screams echoed in Alexander’s ears. He stumbled down one of the corridors of Setermoen Base.
The Gizzida bomb had detonated.
His chest burned, and he slammed into the wall. He lifted his hand and watched the scales crawling up his arm. His gut lurched.
The bomb had detonated, and the ugly, brown cloud from it had hit Setermoen soon after. It seeped through every crack and into the base.
He had to get to Liv.
Alexander pushed through crowds of panicked people. Som
e were on the floor writhing, others scratched at the scales growing on their skin. He thought of his family—his parents, his brother, his niece and nephew. They were together on the far side of the base, and his mind tormented him with what was happening to them.
He thought of his brother, Finn, in Australia. By now, the Australian bomb would have detonated, too.
A man ran past him, his terrified screams ringing in Alexander’s ears. Pain ripped through his chest. He’d vowed to protect these people, to keep them safe.
He’d failed.
Finally, he reached his quarters and slammed through the door. Not very long ago, they’d stopped being his quarters and become their quarters.
A large wolf spun in front of the bed and whined, clearly agitated.
“I know, Freyja.” He wanted to stroke the wolf and comfort her, but Liv’s pet was already eyeing him and the scales growing on him with wary confusion.
He had only just convinced Liv to be his, to love him. They’d had so little time together. Although even a lifetime with his Liv wouldn’t have been enough.
He heard breaking glass in the bathroom. He strode across the room and stopped in the doorway. She’d dropped a bottle in the sink, the glass sparkling under the lights. She clutched the edge of the sink and caught his gaze in the mirror. She spun, her blonde hair flying out around her face. Scales covered one of her cheeks, and one of her gorgeous blue eyes was now burning red.
“Alexander.”
She flew at him and he took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Liv.”
She clung to him. “It’s not your fault.”
They stayed there, locked together, knowing there was nothing more they could do.
Liv swallowed. “I want to be outside.” She fought back a sob. “I want to set Freyja free.”
He nodded. As they moved into the tunnel, he gripped the back of the wolf’s neck. He held Liv and Freyja close as they moved through the base. The wolf growled at the changing people, but stayed at his side. His fingertips brushed against something rough in her fur and he looked down. When he saw the tiny patch of scales, he sucked in a breath.
He didn’t tell Liv.
Finally, they reached the external doors and stepped outside. A tiny layering of snow covered the ground. Winter hadn’t wanted to leave this year.
