46. Chapter Forty-Six #2
“They’ll never touch you again, Emma.” Soren shudders as he pulls me into his arms, tucking my head beneath his chin, enveloping me in the strong, clean line of his scent. His body trembles, the aftershocks of violence and relief vibrating through him.
For a heartbeat, I let myself collapse into him, gathering the warmth of all three—the fierce, desperate relief. The monsters are gone. And I am not alone.
Ronan stands back, his big frame battered but watchful, a silent sentinel against anything that might still threaten, but his presence brings me back to reality.
Asher leans in, his hands still shaking on my skin, and inhales sharply. His eyes widen and nostrils flare. His entire focus narrows to the scent pouring off me. My wild honeysuckle and vanilla is tangled thick with fear and adrenaline alongside the deeper, honeyed edge of my heat.
“Omega…” His voice is hoarse, warning and worry layered together, jaw tight as his eyes search mine. “Your scent. You’re going into heat. Love, it’s strong. Too strong. It isn’t safe for you here. Not now. Not with so many alphas and so much blood in the air. We need to get you out.”
My heart stutters. The heat is gathering inside me, the hunger and ache growing, but I shake my head. “It’s a little way off. We still have time.” I scan each of their faces, pleading. “Please, we have to find Leah. She’s so close. We can’t leave her. Not after all this. Please.”
Ronan, swiping blood from his jaw, nods grimly. “There’s another door leading out from that room. The commissioner must’ve slipped out through the back. That’s why we lost him. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of reclaiming her.”
Asher’s scent turns sharp, smoky and protective. He bares his teeth as he growls, “If you’re in danger, Emma, this mission is finished. I’m not losing you. Not for anything. Not even for Leah.”
I meet his furious gaze unflinching, desperate.
“Please don’t let them win. You need to clear your name and the only way to do that is catching him in the act.
I want you to be free. I don’t want to live in the shadows because we’ve done nothing wrong.
Stop them before they can do to someone else what they did to me. ”
Asher curses under his breath, rage and devotion colliding behind his eyes. Phoenix’s hand squeezes my shoulder, and Soren presses a kiss to my temple. “That’s our girl.”
After a heartbeat, Asher speaks into the microphone clipped to his sleeve, voice clipped and urgent: “Adrian, Cole—get to our position. Bring Gabriel and Jax, now. We need backup as fast as you can get here. The situation is urgent.”
It feels like hours pass in those long, tense moments, but it can’t be more than a few minutes before Jax and Gabriel come rushing into the corridor.
They’re a wall of calm power wreathed in formalwear.
Jax’s eyes sweep over me and then the corridor, lips set in a merciless line.
Gabriel glances at the bodies, the carnage, then raises an eyebrow and says quietly, “Looks like we missed the fireworks.”
Ronan jerks his chin toward the empty room the commissioner and his pack went into and disappeared from. “No one’s celebrating yet. The commissioner is ahead of us, with Leah somewhere close.”
Jax positions himself to my right, solid and reassuring, while Gabriel trades a glance with Phoenix—a silent exchange full of trust and determination. Jax lowers his head a little to meet my eyes. “You okay, sugar?” His voice is warm but undercut with an edge of ferocity. “You holding on?”
I nod, breath shaky but sure. “We’re not leaving without Leah.”
The muscles in his jaw flex, something like approval flickering there. “That’s right. Not a damn soul’s getting past us.”
The thrum of approaching boots pulls my attention to the far end. Adrian and Cole appear, faces drawn and intent, eyes landing on me with a mix of relief and horror at the mess strewn across the marble.
Adrian takes one look at the blood, the shattered glass, then at the tension in Asher’s tightly held frame. “Gods almighty. When you said you’d take them out, I didn’t think literally, but at least there’s less garbage in the world.”
Cole’s gaze softens when he takes in my state, the streaks of blood and torn gown. “You up for this, Emma?”
“I’m holding up. Let’s finish this.” I’m so glad my voice doesn’t shake.
Asher nods, his shoulders set in a rigid line. “Jax, Gabriel, Ronan—you’re on point. The rest of us form a wedge around Emma. If any alpha so much as looks at her wrong, drop him.”
Phoenix’s hand squeezes my arm, voice fierce in my ear: “We’re your wall.”
Ronan signals after he checks the safety of the corridor, then the whole world narrows down to the sound of my own heartbeat and the circle of alphas around me.
They’re a living fortress as we slip from the ruined hallway and back into the room we were ambushed, the stink of blood fading in the wake of our hope.
As we step through the hidden door left ajar in search of Leah, my pack protects every move I take.