by Vivian Wood
She swallowed the lump in her throat, determined to think good thoughts.
44
They were only a couple of minutes away from touching down near the club that hid the Bunker when Maddie realized the males surrounding her were doing some weird silent communicating. A lot of raised eyebrows and scowls, plus a few hand gestures. She’d been too absorbed in staring at the smoking husk of the warehouse she’d exited not two days ago, mentally tallying how many humans must have been inside when the Legion attacked.
It was the middle of the night on a Saturday, which meant that the club would have been at capacity.
When she finally looked up at her traveling companions, she caught a meaningful gaze passing between Jasper and Shaw. Before he noticed her looking, Shaw made a hand gesture of some sort, but without context she didn’t know what it meant.
They were planning the fight out, she guessed. If that was so, she needed to know what was happening in order to help.
“What’s the plan?” she shouted into Jasper’s ear, trying to make herself heard over the helicopter’s engine and rotors. Jasper gave Shaw another heavy look, then shrugged and leaned close to shout in Maddie’s ear.
“We’re going in a back entrance, hoping that some of the males have made it out that way. Are you any good at first aid?” he asked, not quite meeting her gaze. Jasper and Shaw were up to something, but Maddie didn’t know what. It must be bad if they didn’t want to tell her. Had Declan heard bad news over the radio? Was her pack taking heavy losses in the fight?
“Yeah, I know enough,” Maddie shouted back. Before she could ask anything else, they were making a stomach-dropping descent that had Maddie clutching Jasper’s shoulders. The copter landed without an ounce of grace, and Maddie had to take a deep breath before she could open her eyes again.
When she did open them, she was face to face with Jasper and he was giving her a cautious look. He slid her off his lap and leaned close, giving her an awkward hug.
“Um, I love you too?” Maddie blurted, assuming he was trying to make sure she knew his feelings before they went into battle.
“I already regret this, Madd,” he whispered in her ear, catching her wrist in his steel grasp and slapping a hand cuff around it.
“Wh—” she started, staring as she tried to pull away from the cuff, but it was firmly linked to a metal bar near the top of the bench seat.
“Jasper, no!” she yelled, looking back at him. He jumped out of the helicopter, looking apologetic.
“Don’t waste any of these,” he said, laying two cases of bullets and two handguns on the seat next to her. “And don’t move, for god’s sake.”
“You bastard!” she shrieked, lunging at him as he turned to follow the other men. “I’m going to kill all of you!”
The cuff stopped her, clinking loudly as she gave a bellow of pure rage.
How dare he! How dare he leave her here!
Tears stung her eyes as he disappeared into the tree line, and she couldn’t help but give a soft sob. For all she knew, it was the last time she would ever see him again, she thought. Self-pity flooded her, making her want to flop down on the seat and bawl.
“No!” she said to herself. She couldn’t waste precious time on tears. Jasper might not know it, but he needed her down there. Wiping her eyes with her free wrist, she looked around for anything that would help free her.
After a two-minute search, she came up with a first aid kit and a hammer, neither of which were really helpful in this case. She slammed the hammer into the cuff attached to the seat a couple of times, barely making a dent despite her Shifter-enhanced strength.
Another quick search revealed nothing else of use, so Maddie set to hammering at the steel cuff. At this rate, the Bunker would be rebuilt before she got free.
Setting down the hammer, Maddie bit her lip. She tested the size of the cuff against that of her hand and frowned. Maybe…
Twisting her hand in a brutal motion, she pushed at the cuff while she pulled her hand. After a few seconds she stopped, panting with pain. She tried again, grunting as the cuff began to scrape off layers of her skin, going deeper and deeper as she went. She had to stop when she reached her thumb knuckle, repressing her need to cry out. There was only one way that she was getting out of this damned helicopter.
She grabbed the hammer with her free hand, holding the metal part and instead wielding the wood part. She took a deep breath, then slammed the wooden handle down against her thumb, nearly vomiting when a wave of pain slammed into her mind. Almost, she thought. She brought the handle down again, crying out as the bone snapped this time.
She dropped the hammer and leaned back against the seat, panting and crying. It was several minutes before she forced herself to remove the hand cuff, cringing as it scraped against her broken hand.
The second she was free, though, she was up and tucking the handguns into the back of her jeans. Her Shifter genes would heal the broken bone within the hour, so she just had to suck it up until then.
She took off in the direction she’d seen Jasper go, following his scent trail. He must not have expected her to get free, because his trail dead-ended at a poorly-concealed trap door only a few hundred yards into the tree line. He hadn’t bothered covering his scent or doubling back, and Maddie thanked her lucky stars for that.
Using her good hand, she hoisted the heavy trap door open and flung it back to reveal a skeletal set of metal stairs. Taking a deep breath, she carefully maneuvered herself down into the dark space. Only able to use one hand to steady herself, and unable to see anything in the waiting darkness, Maddie wobbled and stumbled down about a hundred rungs before her feet hit the packed-dirt floor.
Cursing her mate for the thousandth time, she narrowed her eyes and looked around. A compact tunnel presented itself, and she followed it what must have been half a mile before coming out at a set of steel doors just like the ones she’d seen in the dance club. She knew without a doubt that they led to the Bunker.
Pressing her uninjured thumb to the fingerprint scanner, she nearly cried aloud when a metallic clank announced that the doors were opening. She stepped inside, recognizing her location in an instant. She was just down the path from the large tree where she’d had her run-in with Donovan the first day. The spot where Jasper had nearly beaten a male to death, just for threatening her.
Trying to keep calm, Maddie put her back to a large tree and took in her surroundings. She could hear some shouting, but that was far off in the distance. Plus she couldn’t tell if it was good guys or bad guys, so she’d best leave that alone. Smoke drifted through the trees, distracting her and making it hard to catch a good scent. She hadn’t even known that someone could burn things in a Faerie Den. Then again, with the way Ennis McDonough had tinkered with it… who knew what was possible.
She heard the stamp of boots approaching, much too close for her liking. None of the men in the helicopter had worn boots except for Rhett, she remembered. This sounded like several people, none of them as large and heavy as the Louisiana Beta.
Maddie walked as quietly as possible away from them, waiting until she was far enough to break into a trot and then an open run. She wished she could shift, but with her hand broken, it would slow her down.
She closed in on a small clearing that she’d never seen before, slowing when she heard voices. She snuck up to the tree line, her heart leaping into her throat when she heard Jasper growl and release a string of curses.
“Move away from the woman!” a black-clad figure barked.
The figure was a man, suited in SWAT gear, and with LEGION proudly painted on his back in bright yellow. He had a gun pointed at Jasper, who was curled around an unconscious body. Gwen, Maddie realized.
“Fuck you!” Jasper said, his voice hoarse. He didn’t move from his position, shielding his Beta with his life. Maddie pulled out her gun to shoot the intruder, only to catch a faceful of flying tree bark when another man burst into the clearing with guns ablaze. The newcome
r aimed straight at Maddie.
“Shit!” she cursed, ducking and trying to regain cover. She loosed three rounds at her attacker, taking him down with the final bullet. She launched herself into the clearing and put the man down permanently with a bullet to the head, not flinching in the least at the gory result.
Too late, she realized she had ignored the other man. When she turned, she caught the movement of the soldier’s arm as he raised his gun and put two rounds into Jasper’s prone back.
The soldier dropped to the ground, dead, before Maddie even realized she’d shot him point-blank. Dropping her now-empty gun, she ran to her mate’s side.
“Jas,” she said, kneeling next to him and pulling out the second handgun. “Jasper, can you hear me?”
No response. Maddie tucked the gun at her side and lay down next to him, playing dead.
“Hold on for me, okay?” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the two horrendous bullet wounds on his back. One was close to his spine, and the other right where his heart would be.
His hand twitched, either from reflex or in answer to her question. Maddie stifled a sob, feeling more helpless than she ever had in her life. A twig snapped nearby, and suddenly she was on full alert again. She tried to relax her body enough to play dead. She prayed that if an enemy found her, he’d be stupid enough to turn his back long enough for her to shoot him.
Cautious footsteps approached, boots again this time. Maddie gripped the pistol where it lay tucked under her thigh and tried not to breathe, tried not to open her eyes and look at Jasper.
“Motherf—” came a voice, and then the footsteps quickened. Now or never, Maddie decided. Quick as a snake she rolled over, aiming the gun at where she thought her opponent would be. She eyed up the huge man approaching, not sparing him a glance as she lined up her shot.
“Maddie!” Rhett yelped, looking relieved. Maddie blinked, then lowered her aim.
“Rhett?” she said, overwhelmed. “I almost shot you, you idiot!”
“Are you okay?” Rhett asked, ignoring her insult. His familiar brogue brought relieved tears to her eyes.
“It’s Jasper and Gwen,” Maddie cried, letting the gun drop completely.
“Keep your weapon at hand. I’ll check on your man,” Rhett said, dropping to one knee next to the fallen Alpha.
“Is he going to be okay?” Maddie asked, afraid to look at Jasper’s wounds again.
“How did you even get out of the helicopter?” Rhett asked, not answering her question. Maddie raised her limp left hand, and Rhett cursed.
“I told him not to bother trying to keep you out of this,” Rhett said, rolling Jasper onto his back with gentle hands. Another wound marred his front side, and Maddie could clearly see that the bullet had continued right into Gwen’s body. There was blood everywhere, belching out of the wound on Jasper’s chest especially.
Maddie gagged at the smell of his blood in the air, at the fact that her mate had lost all the color in his face and hands.
“We have to get them out of here. Do you think you can carry Gwen?” Rhett asked, looking back at Maddie. Biting her lip, Maddie shook her head.
“She’s a lot heavier than me,” Maddie said.
“Okay. Pretend this never happened, okay?” Rhett said, almost to himself. He held out his hands and laid them gently on Gwen, concentrating. Nothing happened for a long beat, making Maddie confused.
Suddenly Gwen’s form began to ripple, and the unconscious female changed into her wolf form. Maddie’s jaw dropped, but Rhett simply moved over to Jasper and repeated the procedure.
“You can force a change?” Maddie gasped, stunned.
“Aye,” Rhett said.
“How powerful are you, exactly?” Maddie asked, looking at Rhett in a whole new light. A man that could force the change on the Alpha of another pack… Jesus, that was some kind of strength.
“Let’s not talk about it,” Rhett gestured, gingerly scooping up Jasper’s bloodied wolf. Maddie hurried to pick up Gwen, struggling to keep the weight off her injured hand and still support the other female properly. She’d be damned if she caused any more damage to the luckless Beta.
“Know how to get out of here?” Rhett asked, his Scottish accent so thick Maddie could barely understand him.
“Yeah, this way,” Maddie said, heading back the way she’d come. It was a painstaking and slow hike, especially since Rhett insisted on stopping every twenty yards to listen for enemies.
“This lot won’t get anywhere if we’re dead on the ground beside them,” was all Rhett would say when Maddie tried to argue.
At last they hit the spot where Maddie had come in, the tunnel entrance all but hidden from view. They hurried into the tunnel, glad to be out of the line of sight.
No sooner had they spotted the ladder than they heard the cocking of several guns. Rhett screeched to halt and Maddie bumped Gwen into his back in her haste to do the same. Looking around Rhett’s big body, Maddie spotted a familiar face.
“Kellan, it’s Maddie!” she said, relieved to find someone she trusted. The male stepped forward, and Maddie pushed past Rhett to show the other Shifter her burden.
“It’s Jasper and Gwen,” she cried, showing Gwen’s sleek brown coat to the group.
“Fucking hell,” Kellan said, and the group surrounded them.
“We have a chopper upstairs,” Rhett said.
“How will we get them up, though?” Maddie fired back, her eyes taking in the height of the metal ladder. It had seemed so much shorter on the way down.
“We’ve already taken a few up to safety,” Kellan said. “Tesh made a sort of sling, and we’ve got ropes rigged to pull it up.”
Maddie allowed Kellan to take Gwen from her arms, watching as he laid both wolves in a large hammock-like sling. Kellan called up, and the slack on the line tightened. The sling ascended in moments, and Maddie moved to follow her mate.
“Wait,” Kellan said, grasping Maddie’s arm. Rhett growled and moved as if to step in, but Maddie held up a hand to stop him.
“It’s okay, Rhett” she said, turning her gaze to Kellan. “What is it?”
“I need you to take the girl with you. Sadie,” Kellan clarified, sounding uncomfortable.
“Oh,” Maddie said. “Of course. I promise to take care of her, Kellan.”
“My thanks. We’re going to stay down here and try to find the survivors,” the Shifter said, looking away. The gruffness of his voice, the way he scowled… it was apparent that Kellan didn’t want to be parted from Sadie, even for such a short time.
“We’ll have backup here in an hour or so. Plenty of vehicles, and probably some medical staff too,” Maddie said, touching the male’s arm. Kellan nodded, moving off toward the Bunker once more.
“Let’s go,” Rhett said, pulling Maddie toward the ladder. She went up first, assisted by Rhett as needed. Already her hand was healing, although it still couldn’t support a great deal of weight. They made it topside intact, both squinting into the darkness.
There were two males posted up top, guarding several unconscious bodies. Sadie sat to the side, hugging herself and shivering in her thin sleeping gown. Maddie approached her, speaking in a soft tone so as not to startle her.
“Sadie,” she said. The young woman looked up at her, her wide brown eyes fearful. “It’s okay. Kellan asked me to look after you. Will you come with me?”
“Where’s Kellan?” the girl whimpered, tears welling in her eyes.
“He’s in the tunnel, rescuing some of the others like he did you,” Maddie said, making a guess.
“He’s okay?” Sadie asked, shivers wracking her small frame.
“Yes, but he needs to know that you’re safe with me,” Maddie said, offering the girl a hand. She heard someone mounting the metal ladder, and turned to find Declan crawling out of the tunnel.
“We have to go now,” she said, pulling Sadie to her feet.
Rhett handed Gwen over to Declan and picked up Jasper, barely bothering t
o explain as he led the way back to the helicopter. Declan, the blessed man, didn’t ask any questions, even when he eyed Sadie. After they loaded two more injured into the chopper, Rhett hopped out and headed back while Declan started the engine.
Maddie opened the paltry first aid kit, asking Sadie to look over the other two wounded males. In the meantime she tried to stabilize Jasper and Gwen, stopping the bleeding as much as she could and getting them covered up with a blanket.
Years of her life ticked by as the scenery whirred past. Maddie could do nothing but stare at Jasper and his Beta. She leaned her head back on the seat, keeping one hand on her mate’s face as if somehow that would make everything okay. The world was spinning, and here Maddie was clinging to the touch of his skin like he was the last good thing left in the world. And for her, he was. She finally understood what her brother must feel for Tessa; if she had to save one person, and only one, she would pick Jasper.
In that moment, Maddie realized that she’d been very stupid. Jasper was her mate, her everything. She’d wasted so much of their lives, wasted all this time with him, never realizing that what she needed was right in front of her. Never realized that she had surpassed the growing-pains childhood feelings she had for Jasper, that she had begun to love him for himself.
Now his life force was trickling out of his body, no longer forceful enough to gush. Maddie closed her eyes and prayed, waiting for the chopper to drop somewhere, anywhere that would save her mate.
45
Machines beeped and whirred, comforting Maddie as she lay curled up beside Jasper in his hospital bed. Declan had touched them down in some ramshackle little town, refusing to explain except to say that he had “friends” here. When Maddie saw the little hospital complete with a surgery suite, she’d broken down into uncontrollable sobs.