Chapter 37
Nyxeris
When Lowe severs another soldier’s head with pure glee on her face, I am stunned into near-paralysis.
She’s been wreaking havoc all around us, and I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since she joined the fight.
Only minutes after the arrival of Arlowe, Rodrigo, Lucas, and the Russian Alpha I still don’t know the name of, a huge batch of GBE reinforcements arrived, far better armed and armored than the group that was already here.
When she puffs beside me, she starts speaking fast. “The small backup team sent to help Mira and her crew didn’t make it.
Rodrigo got worried, so we all went to make sure Mira was okay.
” She disappears then reappears holding a severed head by its helmet that she tosses to the ground with a look of disgust. “It was a good thing we did, because shit hit the fan.”
As I zap a few incoming soldiers, Lowe, seeming a bit out of breath, pulls out two handguns from thigh holsters and begins to fire in front of her.
“Are they okay?” My voice is a near shriek.
“Oh, yeah. Of course.”
That was kind of the most important thing to tell me…
“They did their thing, too. The truth is being broadcast all over the globe as we speak. Fight. You know what I mean.”
She changes clips, and I realize the tips of my fingers are nearly numb, swap to the rifle on my back with a huff as I swing it around on its strap.
“Where are they?”
“We sent them home with another pack for protection.” She sounds like a leader, someone calling shots.
And I can’t help but wonder if that’s because of her connection with Rodrigo.
“We came here to help you guys because we were pretty sure the truth coming out was going to make things difficult on you. And we were right.”
That must be why the alarm sounded before we even infiltrated the facility. The GBE was panicking over the information distribution.
Lowe puffs away and back again, this time with more filled clips in her grasp instead of a severed head.
I have no idea where she got them from.
“We were afraid of what they’d do to the prisoners if you hadn’t gotten here yet. And look at you! You got here, freed the prisoners, and we arrived in time to help with reinforcements. I call that a win.”
That Lowe is seemingly back to her snarky, smartass self after months of moping around and crying—I don’t know what to make of it. Her scent hasn’t changed at all, so I know she hasn’t mated with anyone.
In my peripheral, I see her Alphas fighting yet always keeping an eye on her, like my pack is doing to me.
Zephyr rushes up beside us, far more chipper than he’d been in the basement. “How are we doing, darlin’?”
“Okay, I think.” I fire a single shot into the forehead of an incoming soldier, part of my brain questioning why death doesn’t bother me the way it had only months earlier.
Maybe having a pack to fight for freedom with has changed my outlook on the future, and what I’m willing to do unapologetically in order to achieve happiness.
Or, maybe Arlowe is rubbing off on me.
“Laurant told me Lucas has been escorting the injured prisoners outside. They have pilots at the ready to commandeer choppers the GBE reinforcements brought in.”
Arlowe shouts over a growing commotion, “They’ll be brought to a local safe location for treatment and recovery before being transported any further away.”
She really is in on all the details.
Something changes in the air, like the mayhem surrounding us grows muted, and a heaviness begins to suffocate me.
A strange, loud pounding grows closer, something big and mechanical.
When the floor begins to move along with the pounding, everyone starts to look around, Cursed and GBE alike, all of us seeking the source, wondering if it’s friend or foe to us.
When I swing around to my right, I know the answer.
Breaking straight through the double glass doors at the front of the building is an enormous mech unit, bathed in black and red, the GBE’s colors. This thing is manned, a soldier seated inside of it, encased in metal from head to foot, rising up as it walks to reach seven feet or more in height.
The words “What the fuck?” slip past my lips the moment one of those mechanical arms rises, pointing straight at me, and begins to glow.