God, I wanted to hit her.
Before she could taunt me further, I lunged forward, and when she dove to her left, I wrapped my telekinesis around her jeans and yanked.
I may have yanked a little too hard.
As her body went left, her jeans went right, and I got a good look at her polka dotted panties.
I couldn’t contain the laugh that exploded out of me. “Polka dots? Real—”
She lashed out, jerking her jeans back up, she twisted her hands through the air, grabbing something invisible. She’d grabbed me by the throat and lifted me in the air as I flayed kicking and gasping for breath.
Sonova—
I kicked and writhed to no avail before it dawned on me that I needed to stop trying to escape my invisible bonds, and needed to strike out at her.
Black spots filled my vision. Inarus shouted in the background to let me go. Blocking him out, I reached out a hand and wrapped invisible fingers around Dia’s neck, jerking her towards me. I fought the urge to light her on fire. I was still playing by the rules. For now.
The grip on my throat relaxed for just a moment, allowing me to suck in a lungful of air before it was back with a viselike grip.
We floated in the air facing one another. Her milky complexion quickly turned pink, then purple. I had a feeling my face matched.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
I’d stopped kicking and now it was a battle of wills. I refused to let her get the upper hand.
Her eyes bulged.
Mine filled with moisture.
In my peripheral, Inarus argued with Jason, probably on whether or not they should intervene. It didn’t matter.
My vision grew fuzzy at the edges and my leg jerked involuntarily. I wasn’t going to last much longer. And that was fine. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d blacked out, but I sure as hell was going to make her blackout with me.
Before my next thought could formulate, my legs were yanked down, my concentration lost, and both Dia and I tumbled back to the mats.
She landed in Jason’s arms—lucky duck. And I landed on top of Inarus, who’d probably tried to catch me and was too weak to hold himself up, let alone shoulder my weight.
“Ow!” My back creaked and Inarus groaned as I rolled off of him.
“What were you thinking?” I admonished, reaching down and helping him to his feet.
He didn’t answer, instead just shook his head, and then my mind was careening under the onslaught of emotions and memories.
I gasped for breath.
“Aria? Ari?” Inarus’ voice held an edge of panic. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
I shook myself like a dog shaking off water and choked back the emotions—that definitely were not mine— and widened my eyes toward him.
“So that was…” Hell, I wasn’t even sure. It was like being bulldozed with … not love … that had a different flavor to it. Infatuation maybe?
Inarus ran a hand through his midnight hair, an apology stamped across his face. “I’m trying to come up with something that would make this less awkward.” He shrugged his shoulders, clearly deciding there really wasn’t anything he could say.
“If we ignore it long enough, maybe it’ll just go away,” I suggested.
He nodded, not looking convinced, but I didn’t have the energy to analyze whatever that had been. “You said the connection would fade, right?” I asked Dia.
She shrugged her shoulders, color seeping back into her face now that she could breathe. “Eventually.”
Good enough for me. “See.”
Inarus offered a weak smile. I wasn’t sure if he was disappointed by my unflappable attitude where this whole emotional bond thing was concerned or if he was just embarrassed.
I decided it had to be the latter and moved to grab a drink. It would go away. With any luck it would happen sooner rather than later, and not while I was in the middle of an actual fight for my life.
I yanked the hair tie out of my hair and re-braided my hair as Dia strode up beside me. “Thanks,” she muttered under her breath.
She chanced a look over her shoulder, making sure the guys were out of earshot as I passed her a water bottle.
“What are you thanking me for exactly?” I asked warily, lifting a single brow.
She huffed. “I didn’t realize the whole …” she waved a hand in the air. “You know.”
I really didn’t though.
“What are you talking about?”
Her upper lip curled. “I didn’t understand the whole mate bond thing. Not until I saw you and Declan together the other day.”
“O-kay.” Where was she going with this?
She heaved out an exasperated breath. “Look. This is weird. Okay? But I appreciate you not making Inarus feel like shit for having feelings for you. I thought maybe you were stringing him along but the other day … ” She shook her head. “Just, thank you.”
I nodded. I had no idea what to say but if this was her way of extending an olive branch, I’d take it. Before I could respond, she turned away and marched over to her brother.
I considered her words for another minute before shrugging and turning my attention to Jason.
“So, any news?” I asked him.
“Most of the psykers will have been evacuated by now. Declan is giving us access to one of his properties in Priest River, Idaho.”
I nodded. That was good. When we’d told Jason what we planned he’d kicked into overdrive to pull his people out. He didn’t want them injured and we didn’t want the extra muscle getting in the way. We had to assume we’d face humans with firearms and silver bullets. That was bad enough. No need to toss psychokinetic abilities into the mix.
“How many did you lose?”
A shrug. “It’s looking like seven.”
Okay. Not an ideal number but we could work with that.
“Can you tell me about them?” Before the question was out of my mouth he was already shaking his head.
“I like you, Aria. I do. And I appreciate everything Declan is doing for us. But I can’t. I reached out to you to save my people. Not to give you their weaknesses so you could take them out.”
I huffed and put my hands on my hips. “You make it sound like I’m going to try and assassinate them. I just want to know what we’re up against. I’m not on some psyker-killing mission.”
He held his hands out in supplication. “That may be, but we both know some of those who stayed behind, if not all of them, won’t make it out alive. I can’t have their deaths on my conscious.”
“Fine. But if one of them kills me, I’m coming back to haunt your ass.”
He laughed. “I can live with that.”
16
I showered, changed, and put on the fresh clothes that had been laid out for me. Yoga pants and a short-sleeved shirt that said Ringmaster of this shit show. Given what we were about to do, it seemed fitting.
I tied the laces on my steel-toed boots and slung my dagger sheath low across my hips before jogging outside where everyone was meeting up.
I spotted a familiar face in the growing crowd outside and sped towards him. Oh hell no.
“Caden, you’re not coming.”
He jumped and spun to face me, determination in his expression.
“I can fight,” he said, his voice firm.
I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not.”
He flinched, his expression now wary. “You don’t think I can?”
I gave a harsh sigh and pulled him away from the crowd of shifters, not that it would do much good. Shifter hearing made privacy nearly impossible.
“I know you can,” I told him.
“Then why?” His cognac eyes pleaded with me, but I wouldn’t change my mind about this.
I rubbed my forehead. Had I ever been this rash and impulsive at his age? The answer was a resounding yes. I was still often impulsive, but I was older than him. Had more experience with life-and-death situations.
Caden was only seventeen. At his age, I�
��d already been on my own but I shouldn’t have been. I shouldn’t have had to fend for myself the same way Caden shouldn’t be faced with a fight for his life. Not now. Not when he had a promising future ahead of him.
“I know you’re eager to prove yourself.” I fixed him with an unflinching gaze. “But you’re still young and —” he opened his mouth to speak but I pushed on not giving him the chance, “if what Brock says is true and you’re to be the Pack’s next Hunter then what you could do in the future is much more important than what you could do today.”
He gave me a sullen look. “I can do both. I can fight today and still be the Pack’s Hunter.”
I shook my head. Even if that were true, I wouldn’t let him. I refused to have his death on my hands.
“You’ve heard her decision.” Declan’s voice behind me had me whirling around to face him.
“Yes, Alpha,” Caden said as he brushed passed us, heading back to the safety of the Compound with his head bowed and shoulders hunched.
We both followed his retreating form. “You know you can’t protect him forever,” Declan told me.
“I know. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”
He nodded before pulling me into his arms and nuzzling my hair. “You’ll make a great mother.”
His words had me jolting out of his embrace as I stared wide-eyed at him.
“W-What?”
He gazed down at me, and I felt his hesitancy through our bond. “I just meant that you’re protective. Like a shifter mother with her cub.”
I eyed him warily but accepted his explanation though all of a sudden I felt off-kilter. Declan and I had never discussed having children. Did he want them? Did I?
I shook the thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time.
“Everything ready?”
Declan reached out and cupped the side of my face. “You don’t have to do this. I can—”
I shook my head. I knew he wanted to spare me, but I needed to see this through. “We already agreed,” I reminded him.
“Can you blame me for wanting to keep you safe?”
I shook my head and reached up on tiptoe to brush my lips against his in a gentle caress.
A deep rumble vibrated up his chest as he leaned down to deepen our kiss, uncaring of those around us.
Heat pooled between my thighs, and I fought the urge to rub my body against his. We had an audience, after all.
“We have time. We could—”
I laughed and pulled away. “Later, when we have something to celebrate.”
He nodded and released me but didn’t look happy about it.
I wished we were alone. That we had more time. I didn’t know if I would make it out of this. But God, I wanted to. I wanted to be alive when all of this was done. To come home to this beautiful man standing in front of me.
I needed to believe we were both going to make it. Tomorrow, I would wake up in his arms, and all of this would be behind us. We’d be alive. We’d have each other.
Some of us wouldn’t make it back. That was inevitable when you went into any battle. But I needed both of us to come back from this. Our stories were just beginning. I wanted that happily ever after with him. And I’d do whatever it took to get there. And when we returned, then I could freak out about any potential future babies.
Robert strolled up beside Declan, dressed similarly in sweatpants and a cotton tee and wearing a grim expression.
“It’s time. Are you two lovebirds ready?”
Fire coursed through my veins. This was it.
I nodded and we headed toward the dozens of Pack vehicles that awaited us. Close to two hundred shifters in casual clothing stood beside their doors.
I took a deep breath.
These were our people. They were going to fight beside me. Die for me if it came down to that.
And I would do the same for them.
Every shifter in front of me had volunteered for this fight. I wouldn’t have anyone forced into facing my mother. This was my battle. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go it alone.
Declan lifted his face to the full moon and roared, drawing all eyes to him.
“Tonight, we eliminate the threat to our Pack. We show them their bias and bigotry will not be tolerated. There are no rules in this fight. This is the enemy and we will show them no mercy.”
Shifters cheered. Howls filled the air, and the song of the hunt thrummed through me.
He’d just given everyone here free reign with their beasts. There would be no leash. No rules. No restrictions. Only blood.
A no-holds-barred battle was something shifters rarely allowed themselves to indulge in. Giving in to bloodlust could push a shifter one step closer to going rogue.
Every shifter had a choice. They could retain their humanity—maintain a balance between man and beast while leaving man in the driver’s seat—or they could give in to the beast and go rogue. Rogues murdered everyone and everything they came across. They turned into monsters with no remorse. No empathy. Only rage and the need to destroy.
Once a shifter went rogue, there was no coming back. The Pack put them down. To be more specific, the Pack Hunter did.
No one would go rogue. Not today. But everyone would let their beasts ride them, if only for one night.
We piled into the Pack Hummers and set off. I rode in the passenger seat with Declan driving.
His expression was grim but determined. He reached out and squeezed my hand.
I squeezed back.
“You can still change your mind. It’s not too late.”
I smiled, knowing he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to protect me. He just hadn’t yet realized this wasn’t something he could protect me from.
I shook my head but gave him a smile in thanks. He meant well.
Declan nodded, and we drove the rest of the way in grim silence.
I sat crouched behind the nearest building, Declan beside me. He’d shifted into his between form. A blend of man and tiger. Nearly seven feet tall, he towered over my five-foot-seven frame in a gruesome mix of man and beast.
Thick black stripes wrapped around his arms. Five-inch claws stuck out from each fingertip. And every inch of exposed skin was sheathed in thick white fur.
Around us, the Pack took the few precious moments necessary to shift into their animal or between forms. Dia stood beside Robert. She’d decided to join the fun and he was taking it upon himself to watch her back.
She and I were the only non-shifters and we were responsible for eliminating any remaining psyker threats. At first, I’d thought she’d hang back. She might have known some of the psykers inside. But she didn’t have the same loyalties Jason did.
Her loyalty was to her brother and him alone. The H.A.C. had come for him. She was all too ready and eager to hit back.
Jason had cleared out as many of his people as he could. The rest was up to us.
The complex in front of us was heavily fortified. There were four guard towers, each manned by three men sporting heavy artillery machine guns. Unless they were packed with silver, they shouldn’t kill a shifter, but it was a risk we didn’t want to take.
We didn’t know the exact model of the guns but I had a sneaking suspicion they might be M16 rifles. I’d seen one of them when my mother’s men attacked Clan Wolf.
They were in the family of military rifles, adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15. If you knew what you were doing, they had a maximum range of thirty-six hundred meters but were at their most accurate within six hundred yards and could shoot between seven hundred and nine hundred rounds per minute. Loaded with silver or not, no one wanted to get hit by one of them.
With everyone in position, Declan signaled four men and two women forward.
They knew their orders, and with a quick nod, they took off like shadows in the night.
I could barely make out one of the women climbing the tower like a lizard before she cleared the wall.
I held my breath.
Seconds ticked by as we waite
d for the signal.
A chill rolled down my back and I worried my lower lip.
What was taking so long?
I leaned forward on the balls of my feet.
“Not yet,” Declan said.
Gah, something must have happened. I knew Dia and I should have taken care of their lookouts, but Declan had insisted we wait until we breached the gates before using our abilities.
“Not yet,” he said again.
I pulled my fire to me and wrapped my telekinesis around me like an invisible cloak.
“There —”
The guard tower lights winked out of existence, plunging the already dark surroundings into complete darkness. That was our cue.
Thank God.
“When this is over, you, me, we’re going on a vacation.”
I snorted. “We don’t have time for a vacation.”
Declan leveled me with his Alpha stare. “We’ll make time.”
We took off at a steady jog. Two hundred bodies filled the clearing.
Declan moved beside me. His steps were silent. There was a lethal edge to every movement.
This felt right. Going into the fight together. Guarding each other’s flank. We were a team, and we would tear down anyone who stood in our way.
And dammit, fine, we would go on that vacation.
Ten yards.
We were almost to the gate.
As we neared, the doors opened thanks to the men and women still positioned in the towers and we poured inside.
Before we’d even cleared the entrance, the alarm was sounded.
It didn’t matter. We were already inside.
Soldiers poured out of the building, some with startled expressions and others ready for a fight. I pulled both my daggers from my hip sheath and waded into the fray, Declan right beside me.
No longer concerned with silence, the wolves howled, the cats roared, and I screamed my battle cry as I dashed forward, following a line of wolves as they ripped into the enemy.
Two men in black tactical uniforms surged toward me through a gap made by the wolves. I tightened my grip on my daggers. Using a concentrated burst of telekinesis, I knocked one soldier back and lunged at the other.
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