Un.Breakable (Slayter Series Book 4)

by Reese Morgan

  It was a discerning image.

  She wasn’t worried about the Hunters, not yet at least. They were so far back and unable to keep up with werewolves on foot, especially without nearby roads for transportation. It would be a long while until they caught up, but by that time, the werewolves would be long gone.

  They would only encounter the corpses of Celeste’s soldiers.

  “Did I ever tell you about your grandparents, Hayden?”

  She grinned at her father. “Annabelle and Frances?”

  “The one and only.”

  Next to Logan, Julian slammed his hands into his coat pockets and adapted a sour expression. Apparently, he’d heard the story as many times as Hayden.

  “You may have mentioned them a few times,” she acknowledged.

  Logan threw one of his customary grins her way, his expression mischievous. “Not this rendition, my girl. You were far too human to hear the true story.” He shook her shoulder fondly. “Annabelle knew how to handle a sword like no one else. Frances Crow was utterly enamored with her. Smitten, really.”

  He laughed loudly, his eyes lost in a memory long ago.

  Hayden had to smile, instantly wooed by her father. His personality was contagious, his attention always exclusive. No one could withstand his instantaneous charm, though one had to be careful with his temper.

  Logan Crow may enjoy winning hearts over with his boyish arrogance, but Hayden saw another side of him today on the battlefield. He was brutal. He was fast. Moreover, he was viciously good. He also possessed an ingenious mind, perhaps too brilliant for his own good.

  “Frances didn’t know how to deal with his crush on this powerful female.” Logan scoffed. “However, he was a very arrogant man.”

  “Arrogant?” Hayden inquired softly. “Imagine that, a Crow being arrogant.”

  She looked pointedly at her brother, who scowled in turn.

  Clearly, he was not amused.

  “Too true,” her father agreed readily. “As you can imagine, Frances made several attempts at winning over Annabelle. Failed attempts, of course. But he wouldn’t give—”

  His words abruptly ended as a shot rang through the air.

  Hayden struggled to bring her senses back up to speed, finding herself all but supporting her father’s weight. She looked down, her hands staining with crimson and Logan suffering out an exhalation of breath.

  She screamed.

  It was the only thing her mind was capable of doing.

  Julian cursed loudly. He reached for their father, his own face slack with shock and horrified realization. Rough hands abruptly grabbed Hayden around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Away from her father.

  No. No!

  “Run, Hayden!” Nicolas demanded of her.

  However, his arms remained like solid bands as they carried her away from her father. Perhaps he was startled with the sudden attack that he didn’t realize he was contradicting his own orders by holding her firmly and desperately.

  “Dad!”

  Logan slumped to the ground, his eyes wide with surprise and pain. Cole was there to grab Julian, doing much the same to him as Nicolas did to her. Hayden trembled madly in Nicolas’ arms, horrified and in shock.

  She couldn’t leave her father.

  No.

  A heavy weight collided with her, abruptly causing Nicolas to drop her. He fell to the ground next to her before he leaped up, snarling wildly. Hayden heard flesh meeting flesh and knew he was fighting against someone.

  She closed her eyes and laughed madly.

  It had to turn out like this, didn’t it?

  There were no happy endings in war, at least not for her. She’s survived off luck this long, it was due time she succumbed to fate. Across from her, Logan turned limp, face down on the ground. He wasn’t moving. He didn’t even appear to be breathing.

  “Get up, Hayden!” Julian yelled, reaching for her.

  She somehow stumbled to her feet, heeding his order. Turning, she spied the man who’d sent her to the ground. To her dismay, Nolan stood opposite of both Nicolas and Cole, his height dwarfing both well-built Slayters as he easily fended off their attacks.

  Even with his fading enhanced strength, Cole couldn’t keep up with Nolan.

  Suddenly, another figured soared out from behind Nolan, taking Hayden by surprise. Stumbling back, she stared in disbelief as a familiar face waved a gun in the air.

  “Tobias?” she exclaimed with incredulity.

  Tobias, the very same werewolf whom Nicolas had humiliated over the position as Slayter Alpha. Celeste had clearly created another, willing Carrier.

  “Sweetheart,” he purred in greeting. “It’s been far too long.”

  Julian charged, only for Tobias to push him away with the mere palm of his hand. Her brother stumbled back an exaggerated distance, his eyes wide and a scowl affixed permanently on his face.

  “I look forward to reclaiming what Slayter took from me.” Tobias raised his gun and leveled it with the back of Nicolas’ head. “Why don’t you sit back and watch?”

  Hayden’s heart skipped a beat as she lunged for Tobias, her canines elongating.

  From the top of her lungs, she screamed, “Kieran!”

  Before she could land a single finger on him, Tobias growled and slammed the butt of the gun into her temple, instantly knocking her unconscious.

  17. Chapter Seventeen

  “Hayden.”

  Even in blackness, her world spun frantically. Hayden struggled to regain her stability. She’d lost control and she so desperately wanted it returned.

  “Hayden.” A pause. “Wake up.”

  Vaguely, she recognized the persistent voice as her brother. Julian’s voice seemed muffled, but perhaps that was due to her foggy senses. She didn’t want to awaken, not when she anticipated the worse. Nicolas was gone. Cole was gone. Her father too.

  She’d survived again by chance, so had Julian.

  If that was the case, she just wanted it to end. Surrounded by constant death had somehow seemed bearable with Cole and Nicolas around her. Without them, she didn’t know if she could pick herself back up again.

  She was tired of picking herself up.

  “Wake up, Hayden.”

  It was not Julian this time.

  Her eyes fluttered open upon hearing him. Submerged in inky darkness, the cool, icy command snagged her undivided attention. As a response to his order, Hayden roused herself from the depths of her unconsciousness.

  Nicolas.

  Slowly, her surroundings took shape around her. Her cheek pressed against white, sterile tile. It was bright where she was, so very bright. An artificial light nearly blinded her and a disquieting smell of disinfectant and silver fragranced the air.

  Intricate, clear walls encased her in a holding cell. It didn’t look like glass, but something more durable. Unbreakable. Clearly, her captors had experience holding werewolves. Something told her she wouldn’t be able to break out of this prison as easily as she had with the Hunters.

  To her immediate right, Julian sat in an adjourning cell.

  He wasn’t the sight she wanted to see upon waking, but it was welcoming nonetheless. Like her, he appeared exhausted, worn, and utterly defeated. He raised a simple eyebrow as if sharing her sentiments.

  Hayden placed a hand on the sterile floor and gradually pushed herself up.

  Immediately, her attention fell on Nicolas.

  He sat across from her in his cell. Disheveled pieces of hair fell into his face, a far cry from his usual pristine appearance. Faded bruises lined his jaw and Hayden could only imagine what injuries he’d sustained fighting against Nolan.

  “Cole?” she asked worriedly.

  Nicolas’ gaze slowly moved to her left before refocusing on her face.

  “I’m here, Hayden.”

  Hayden sighed loudly, relieved to see Cole sitting to her left. They were all imprisoned, but they were alive. But why? “Why?” she found herself asking aloud with skepticism.
“They had us. They could have killed us.”

  “Your guess as is good as ours,” Julian responded.

  “Dad?”

  His face darkened at her inquiry. “I have no idea. The last I remember, he was unmoving. It’s unlikely that he survived.”

  Ignoring the persistent ache in her head, she sat up fully and dragged herself to the back of the cell. As she settled into the corner, with her knees drawn to her chest, a loud bang echoed just behind her.

  Hayden flinched, staring at a hand.

  Situated in a cell behind her, a man huddled against the back of his cage. Through the glass, Hayden noticed the whites of his eyes were a dark yellow. Vibrant crimson veins crisscrossed in the sea of yellow, making the sight far more alarming.

  When her shock died, she looked past his obvious sickness.

  He was afraid and desperate.

  It didn’t appear as if he could breathe easily. His lips were chapped and the emotion in his eyes pleaded her to do something.

  Reaching out, Hayden lay her hand on top of his through the glass.

  “Celeste must have us.” At her offer of companionship, Hayden watched as the lines of tension and pain eased across the stranger’s face. “She’s the only one who’d do this to her own people for the sole purpose of experimenting.”

  “It is her base,” Cole confirmed.

  “It can’t be her,” Julian argued. “Our father didn’t make it.”

  And if Logan didn’t survive, Celeste would perish alongside him.

  “He survived,” Nicolas mused thoughtfully. “I highly doubt Celeste would send her men to kill her lifemate. Kind of a silly notion, don’t you agree? I assume they wounded him with the intentions of weakening him.”

  Hayden watched as the stranger on the other side of the glass slowly drifted off to unconsciousness. It was an unrestful sleep, she noticed. His hand slipped down the glass, but his fingers remained pressed against the wall, reaching for her in his sleep.

  “How is the head, my dear?”

  Her ears twitched at Nicolas’ accustomed pet name. Keeping her attention stubbornly on the ill stranger, Hayden simply nodded.

  She was tired.

  Silence washed over them after that. False encouragements did not break the stillness, simply because they recognized the severity of their situation. They were separated, confined, and in enemy’s territory.

  Hayden felt nude.

  Someone had stripped her of her coat, her knives, and her sword. Vulnerability caused her to shiver and the sense of dread made her nauseous. Fortunately, her hair had come loose from its confinements and veiled her face.

  She was afraid the others would see how truly fearful she was of their situation.

  The last thing she wanted was their condolences.

  Hayden knew Nicolas’ eyes were on her. She felt his sharp focus and his stifling attention. Any other time, she would have met his stare firmly, savoring his responsiveness. Now, she was too afraid to reveal her helplessness.

  “We will get out of this,” Cole said. For her.

  Clearly, he’d sensed her uneasiness through their foggy link.

  Hayden kept her attention firmly on the unconscious stranger. “No,” she responded to Cole quietly. “We won’t.”

  “The others will come. Kieran will come. He had to have heard us.” Julian sided readily with Cole. He shifted restlessly in his cell. “We’re alive right now, that’s all that matters. It means we still have a chance.”

  Hayden turned her head to the right, staring directly at Julian. Nose to nose. He had positioned his back against hers through the glass, mirroring her posture. She observed their similar features, wondering when Julian had aged so quickly.

  Before Hayden could reply, a door opened and shut quietly.

  A set of footsteps leisurely made their way down the corridor.

  A head of dark, raven hair came into Hayden’s line of vision before the rest of the female came into focus. The features were familiar and Hayden quickly identified her as Sophia, Celeste’s beta, and Julian’s apparent love interest.

  For a brief moment, Hayden allowed hope to flicker.

  Sophia had assisted Cole and Troy by contaminating Celeste’s serum.

  “Sophia!” Julian pushed off from his position against the glass and hurried to the front of the cell. He placed a hand against the glass, leaning against it as if he could somehow touch her. “Thank god.”

  Only, Sophia didn’t appear nearly as relieved to see Julian.

  Hayden leaned further against her corner, watching the proceedings through heavy-lidded eyes. She did not look away as Sophia’s dark gaze landed on her, dense with disdain.

  “Cole,” Sophia acknowledged with a semblance of respect as her attention jumped to Hayden’s neighboring cell. Her face then soured when she looked back at Nicolas, clearly finding him just as disagreeable as she did Hayden.

  “Please get us out of here,” Julian urged.

  Sophia shook her head. “I can’t do that.” Clothed entirely in earthy tones and camouflage, Sophia clasped her hands behind her back and adopted a soldier-like stance. “I asked you to do one thing, Julian, and you failed to accomplish it.”

  Clueless, Julian shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t understand.” Sophia squinted at Hayden. “Your sister is a bad influence. She has a way to derail a male’s sense of duty to suit her own needs.”

  “Leave Hayden out of this,” Julian defended unexpectedly. “You—”

  “You were supposed to kill your father,” Sophia whispered fiercely. “I asked you to do that one thing for me and you failed. You set us back several steps!”

  Hayden stirred in defense of her brother and father.

  “That favor is completely depraved. It wasn’t a faceless stranger you asked him to kill, but his own father,” she countered fervently. “Who are you to decide Logan’s fate?”

  “Considering he has wronged me and my family, I’d say I’m just as entitled to his fate as anyone.” Sophia dismissed her coldly and turned her attention back on Julian. “You’ll have to stay in here longer. I can’t show my hand yet. I still need her to trust—”

  Abruptly, she cut herself off.

  Hayden perked up, having heard the door and the approaching steps of three or more individuals. She looked hurriedly to Nicolas. He remained leaning against the wall of his cell, his expression hard and dangerous.

  “Sophia,” a woman greeted with sickly sweet insincerity. “A pleasant surprise.”

  A cold hand of dread grabbed Hayden around her chest as Celeste’s voice rang clearly through the holding cells. With fluid grace, the redheaded woman appeared just behind Sophia, a pleasant expression settling across her flawless features.

  She was a preening predator eyeing her next, easy meal.

  Hayden hunkered lower, watching as Sophia revealed absolutely nothing on her face.

  “I’m just visiting Julian,” she informed neutrally, yet respectfully. “I haven’t seen him in ages. I apologize. I should have asked permission first.”

  Celeste’s green eyes landed on her son and a true, fond smile lined her lips. “He’s grown up beautifully, hasn’t he?” She stepped next to Sophia and gazed at the petulant Julian. “Though his behavior leaves much to be desired. Much like his father.”

  Here, Celeste looked pointedly at Hayden.

  Something sparkled in her eyes as she moved away from Sophia and approached Hayden’s cage. Behind her, Tobias and Nolan settled near her, serving as further intimidation.

  “My, Hayden, I don’t remember you being so young!” A lipless smile stretched languidly as she stepped back and surveyed both Nicolas and Cole. “Quite frankly, I don’t understand what you see in her, Nicolas. She is but a frightened child to her elders.”

  Nicolas stood and leisurely prowled to the edge of the cell.

  “Frightened? Of whom? You?” He grinned unkindly. “I assure you, Celeste, she’s faced far wo
rse things in life to be intimidated by your unassuming presence.”

  Hayden lifted her chin, watching Celeste impassively. She wouldn’t let the woman’s goading get to her. Though she was uncertain of the situation, she was not trembling in the corner, afraid of her fate.

  She’d accepted death already.

  These past few months assured her death was never too far behind. The dark entity was almost like a welcoming presence now. A familiar acquaintance.

  However, that didn’t mean she had to appreciate her situation.

  A strong, suffocating hate burned through her body as she observed Celeste. The woman was as elegant as always. No matter how flawed her soul, she was the definition of grace and strong, feminine beauty.

  She had a way with words, a way of carrying herself, and a way of twisting everything to her favor. Hayden hated to admire anything about Celeste.

  Nevertheless, she reluctantly acknowledged Celeste’s startling resilience.

  “They say a mated pair strongly influences the other after intimacy,” Celeste continued airily as if she hadn’t heard Nicolas. “I wonder if you have softened or if she has inherited your cold-blooded cruelness. Though, considering your current position, Nicolas, I suspect the former.”

  She moved to stand directly in front of Cole and Hayden lifted her lip in a snarl.

  Protectiveness curled unpleasantly in her stomach.

  “And Cole,” Celeste greeted warmly. “You valiantly sacrificed yourself to help destroy your enemy. When you return, you find your lifemate has bonded with your brother. How upsetting. I have to say, however, that you played the role of a brain-dead servant so well. Too well. I can see why Hayden would lose interest.”

  “Stop!” Hayden growled loudly, her hackles raising and her claws elongating.

  “Have I hit a nerve, Hayden?” Her red eyebrows rose superiorly. “Despite the faults of our current guests, I can only marvel at how wonderful my new collection is.” Celeste took a few steps towards Sophia. “Don’t you agree, Nolan?”

  The large, hulking man simply grunted, appearing uninterested.