by Rachel Jonas
I tried not to dwell on the fact that I’d checked and re-checked this area daily since Evangeline had been taken. I had to keep the faith, had to believe we hadn’t been led astray. If I thought about it too long, doubt would creep in and I’d start thinking this had all been for nothing. But I had to trust that we were in the right place.
Things were quiet, too quiet for this town to be the hideout for an entire lycan army. Still, this was where we were told we would find them.
“Is everything in place?” Dallas whispered into his radio, waiting for the reply of a guard. Once he got confirmation, he gestured for us to move forward.
All of us—Elise, her boys, Hilda, Nick’s brothers and friends.
No one stayed behind because this mission was too important. Twenty-four hours after being told with certainty that Evangeline was here, we had something we hadn’t had since she left.
Leverage.
With so many loose ends to tie up, we had no choice but to bring in help. Had it not been for those willing to lend a hand, tonight’s plan would only be another battle in a long-standing war.
But if all went according to plan, we would be closing the door on this chapter of our lives.
For good.
“How do we know they’re not already waiting for us?” Lucas rambled, overflowing with nervous energy. “Or, better yet, how do we know they’re not already surrounding us?”
“Man, I think you need to look up the meaning of the word ‘better’, cause what you just described ain’t it,” Chris sighed, following the rest of us as we headed into town.
We had a tight time limit to get in, get Evangeline and Beth, and get out. The deadline: midnight.
“We’ll take the main road in,” Dallas decided. “Doesn’t make sense to go in quietly. Not with all the noise we intend to make in a few, right?”
I was in total support of his full-steam ahead approach. Whatever got us in and out the fastest. The streets looked abandoned, but that didn’t mean anything. There were likely lycans watching us from the windows of the many abandoned warehouses and shops we passed. But we were getting nowhere.
“You sure this is the place?” Lucas asked, scanning the area.
“It is. Now pipe down,” Dallas snapped.
He was far nicer than I would have been.
We stopped and took a moment to assess our odds.
“Gentlemen, I believe it’s time we make ourselves known,” Ethan chimed in, and at his words my heart raced just at the thought of finally ending this.
“Good enough for me,” I said only to our team, speaking loudly the next second, addressing whatever enemies were close enough to hear.
“Show yourselves!” I called out, stopping in the middle of the street to see if any dared to come out of hiding. “Stop waiting for the Sovereign to give an order. Show yourselves and fight like men.”
My voice echoed, being carried off in the wind.
Nothing.
No one responded or made a sound. They weren’t budging because they didn’t dare make a move without Sebastian telling them to do so.
When I reached for the duffle bag Dallas carried on his back, he eyed me curiously as I removed the large rifle. After checking to make sure it was loaded and ready to go, I clutched it, aiming for the vacant windows.
“What are you doing? This isn’t in the plans,” he reasoned.
I glanced down at my wrist, checking the time. The minutes were disappearing quicker than I cared to admit, and we all knew what would happen at midnight.
“Way I see it, there are only two ways to get them out here. One is for Sebastian to command it. The other is if we force them out,” I explained. “Considering our deadline, I’m going with option B.”
The next sound to be heard was that of bullets blasting out windows. I’d completely destroyed an entire floor of a hospital before stopping myself. The only reason I came to my senses was the realization that Evangeline and Beth could have been somewhere inside. Had it not been for that, I would have reloaded and fired until someone came out to play.
However, my soundcheck seemed to have finally gotten the attention of a few, because, all of a sudden, this was no longer a dress rehearsal … the show was getting ready to begin.
“Stay out of trouble and stick to the plan,” I said as a final warning to the team before we fanned out. And with a short whistle, our entire clan poured out into the open.
Sebastian brought this war on himself, and he was about to find out how hard I, and the others, were willing to fight for our queen.
I was either coming out of this with her … or I wasn’t coming out at all.
***
Evie
Something was going on out there. Not only could Beth and I hear it, but bright bursts of light, explosions, could also be seen from our small, barred window.
She stood on the tips of her toes to get a better look while I lie on the mattress. I’d learned to cope with the slight pain that lingered after last night’s spike. I guessed it hadn’t left completely because my stomach continued to grow while I got what little sleep I could. It still wasn’t completely distended, but had rounded significantly.
So much so, Beth could now see the difference from the day before.
With the change, I was also aware that I no longer had the ability to shift, and probably wouldn’t again until after the child was born. Speaking of … there was something else that suddenly made this experience more real … movement. I actually felt the baby now, which was way sooner than I imagined most women did. He or she bumped around in there every so often, surprising me every time.
I glanced around at the walls, wondering how, or even if I’d ever get out of here. This whole time, I’d been so afraid to embrace the idea of motherhood. The chaos we existed in had stolen that from me. And now, as I lie there staring down at the evidence of a love so powerful not even time could erase it … I wanted nothing more than to enjoy the experience. I had to hold on to the hope that, one day soon, I might get that chance—an opportunity to share this all with Liam.
My eyes shifted toward the window again as another loud blast just outside it rocked the entire building. I had to believe that was him, he’d come for me and … I don’t know … maybe it was safe to start hoping now.
Maybe.
Beth moved away from the window and began to pace. She’d been so levelheaded this entire time, only now did I see her ironclad bravery beginning to waver. It had never been our intent for her to fill the role as my Keeper, but based on what I’d been told about them, she fit the role to a tee. She was a warrior, one who’d dedicated herself to protecting me while I was unable to protect myself.
We were locked in here like animals and, with things quickly falling apart outside, it wouldn’t take long for them to get worse in here, too.
“We need to move,” she panted. In a fit of desperation, she rushed toward the door and slammed it with her foot, backing up to do the same again and again.
Not even a dent, but that didn’t stop her from trying another few times before giving in.
“They can’t keep us here like this,” she breathed. “Someone has to—”
The words were stolen right from her mouth when a sound at the door had both our attention. A metal tinkering in the lock maybe made her heart race just like mine. With the creak of the hinges, the door we’d stared at for more than a week … was finally open.
On the other side of it, our savior, the one who had only given us handwritten messages until now, promises we had no idea he intended to keep. A black, fitted mask covered most of his face, but his eyes … they were so familiar. With the way Beth stared, I was certain she recognized him, too, but …
“Errol …?” Her voice was shrill. It wasn’t until she said his name that I understood why he was so familiar.
During our stay at the Damascus Facility, he and Beth had gotten close, their budding interest in one another only being hindered by our abrupt extraction and return to our
respective homes. Now, somehow, he was here.
Saving us.
“What are … I don’t understand,” Beth rambled, reaching for my hand while she spoke, helping me to my feet.
I followed her back to the door where she stared into the eyes of the boy she’d only let go of because she had to.
“It’s me,” he panted, handing over what looked like two dark cloaks he expected us to put on. “We have to go,” he urged, his nervous energy quickly transferring to us.
I slipped the rough material over my head without question and Beth did the same. The next second, she took his hand and mine and we were led from our cell.
Our pace was slow and incredibly cautious. At every corner we had to crouch behind Errol as he checked for guards, or worse yet, Sebastian and Blaise. I had the sense of this place crawling with lycans while we were held here, but now, with the fight that had been brought to them outside, I gathered that most had gone out to defend their newly claimed territory. When the coast was clear, he gestured for us to move forward.
The pain in my abdomen spiked with each step and it felt like my heart would leap from my chest. I wouldn’t dare ask them to stop, though. Not when freedom was so close, not when our lives depended on it. My only option was to draw on the strength I knew I had inside and keep going.
We came to a narrow hallway and stopped when two deep voices echoed off the walls. Errol extended his hand, silently instructing us to duck down again before he peeked from around the corner to check. Only, when he did, one of the guards spotted him and a loudly spoken, “Run!” sent Beth and I scurrying for the open door we passed a few feet back.
She slammed and locked it behind us. It was a tightly confined supply closet, but it was also the only thing shielding us from whoever Errol scuffled with on the other side.
Beth’s face was riddled with concern. I knew that, had it not been for my condition, she would have stayed with him and fought. However, her extreme loyalty had her standing not by my side, but in front of me like the protector she was as we huddled in a corner listening.
Listening and waiting.
The hallway went quiet and we didn’t move an inch. I even held my breath as I stared at the door when someone approached, hoping and praying it would be—
“Errol!” Beth gasped, only letting go of my hand when she couldn’t help herself, when she rushed toward him and threw her arms around his neck.
He embraced her tightly as he panted from the altercation.
“I told you I’d get you out of here,” he said, his words being spoken into Beth’s hair as they clung to one another. “But we have to move. More guards will come and I have strict orders to get you all someplace safe for extraction.”
“Whose orders?” I asked quietly, following him and Beth from the closet we hid in.
Errol kept his eyes trained straight ahead as he shrugged. “There’s an entire network,” he explained. “All I know is I take orders from the people who planted me here. No clue who calls the shots for them, though.”
We stopped and crouched again when a large door came into view. It was across a wide-open common area I felt incredibly uneasy about crossing. Granted, it looked like we were alone here, but I wasn’t so sure. If someone popped up while we were making a run for it …
“Let’s move,” Errol instructed, being careful to stick close to the wall to minimize exposure. Still, I was sweating bullets.
With a hard shove he flung the door open and I breathed deep, taking in fresh air for the first time in over a week. I had no clue where we were headed from here, but anything was better than where we’d been—stuck in a dark, musty prison, knowing our days were numbered.
“Go, go go!” Errol urged, commanding us to run ahead of him where we could hide behind an old shed on the property. He checked for eyes again and then rushed across the yard to where we waited.
“Where are you leading us?” Beth asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.
Panting and keeping watch, Errol smiled a little.
“Well, I was told to take you all someplace high up, someplace I least expected Sebastian to find you. So, I figured what better place to hide you from a devil … than a church.”
Beth and I followed his gaze as bullets and explosions accompanied the screams and earthshattering growls that surrounded us. Our eyes locked on the small, white building at the top of a hill.
This was it. We reached the end of our journey and, from here, we’d know whether we won this fight or lost it.
As the little one inside tumbled around, making my will to survive that much stronger, I had to hope for the best.
Chapter Nineteen
Nick
Outside was a warzone.
Everything we anticipated, our worst fears, were manifesting right before our eyes. My own included.
My wrists ached where the chains had cut into them for days, and every other part of my body matched the pain. This—being locked away and forced into being sired by Sebastian—had been a living hell.
With nothing in my system other than his blood, I felt oddly powerful despite not being fed. When they took notice of the shift from being weak and disoriented to alert and showing signs of increased strength, they were quick to reinforce the chains with thicker ones that would do a better job of holding me here.
I hung there, staring at the covered windows that surrounded me. Breathing deep, my nostrils flared as I let my eyes close, feeling my veins swell with darkness. In the time I’d spent here, I wasn’t sure if it was that I now had Sebastian’s wickedness swirling around inside my head, but … I no longer felt the duel need to kill and save Evie. Only one inclination remained. I didn’t care that she once meant something to me, didn’t care that her life meant something to so many. I only wanted her dead.
My next thought was of Roz, how she’d feel if she saw me now, if she were to see what I’d become. Being near her had made it easier to fight what I really was, made it easier to be a better man.
Now, I didn’t even consider myself a person. I was something completely different.
Something that lived, breathed, and thrived on darkness.
Slow footsteps approached from behind and I didn’t bother trying to maneuver my body that way to see who’d come. I knew who’d come, could feel his life source coursing through my veins like it was my own.
“We’ve reached a crucial point in our time together, Nicholas,” Sebastian sighed. “It’s been brought to my attention that our other guests have been … released without consent,” he shared. “And I’m certain you’re aware of why I can’t have that.”
Even before he’d come in with the update, I knew Evie had gone, because I felt her. My sense of her had gotten so keen in the passing days, I knew exactly how many yards separated us. Knew exactly how many steps I’d have to take to get to her.
Sebastian circled me once before coming to a stop at my feet. He scanned me, his eyes tracing the dark veins that lined muscle—muscle that had swelled to nearly twice it’s size with the transformation. At the sight of my new appearance, a pleased, wicked grin parted his thin lips.
“I haven’t come around to visit in a day or two, and it looks like you’ve … come into your own,” he remarked.
The very next second, he gestured for a guard to approach.
“Keys,” he stated, holding his hand out expectantly.
The guard’s gaze rose to meet mine and I noted the fact that he didn’t seem as sure of this as Sebastian did. However, he had no choice but to obey.
I focused on the glint of metal in his palm, watching as he took it upon himself to release the chains that weighed down my ankles. The prospect of being released had my heart racing double time.
Sebastian leveled a glare as he gestured for a second guard to lower me from the rafter I’d been strung from since I first arrived.
A mechanical whirring filled the room and my chest heaved with relief the second my feet were flat on the ground. The chains around
my wrists rattled when my arms lowered, no longer stretching the sore tendons beneath them.
I had Sebastian’s full attention as he stared through me. I guessed he was only hesitant because, with me being different, he couldn’t be certain the sire bond had taken completely.
I didn’t move, just stood in place as he observed, and eventually used that same key to undo the chains on my wrists. Again, the pleased smile twisted his otherwise darkened expression.
“Well … I suppose we can consider our little experiment a success,” he announced, his deep voice reverberating off the walls.
The few guards who stood watch around the room were still visibly skeptical—maybe because a few had taken advantage of my immobility and used excessive force just for kicks and giggles. Now that I was free, they seemed unsure of what my next move would be.
“How do you feel?” Sebastian asked.
A question to which there was only one answer. “Never better.”
“That’s what I love to hear,” he said approvingly, backing away before testing the next leg of this process. One I enjoyed based purely on the sheer terror it brought his guards when he uttered one word.
“… Kill.”
A deep roar forced its way from my lungs. I was instantly on one of Sebastian’s men, feeling the resistance of his flesh beneath my claws just before the satisfying tear as they first pierced his arms, then his legs … his eyes. Once he was effectively pinned and defenseless, I bit down on his neck. The taste of his blood only made me stronger, more ferocious. I locked my teeth around an artery and ripped it free, causing blood to spurt from the gaping wound and onto the floor and wall.
This, the killing was … satisfying.
“Enough,” Sebastian called out, prompting my entire body to freeze other than my heaving chest and shoulders. “That was all I needed to see. You’ve convinced me of your loyalty.”