Chapter Thirteen
The chamber stank of oil, sweat, and fear.
Kamon slipped into the room shoulder to shoulder with Rune, his tiger snarling inside him, begging to tear apart the man who had chained their mate to the wall.
Klarissa sat at a battered metal table, pen in hand, her movements steady despite the bruise blooming across her jaw.
Children huddled against the far wall, wide-eyed and pale.
Their breaths came shallow, their small bodies trembling, but they clung to one another with stubborn resolve.
The bodies of their dead teachers had been left where they fell.
Caruso stood behind Klarissa, a gun pressed against her temple. His eyes gleamed with triumph as he saw them enter. “And who are you?” he sneered, voice oily with contempt.
Kamon’s chest expanded with a growl. “We are her mates.”
Caruso laughed, cruel and sharp. “Abominations. Mutants. Pollution of the species.” His spit hit the floor inches from Klarissa’s shoe. “You disgust me.”
Rune tensed beside him, claws threatening to burst free. Kamon’s own tiger pressed hard against his skin, every instinct demanding he leap across the room and end Caruso where he stood. But Klarissa’s gaze snapped to him, her eyes steady, commanding. Hold. Not yet.
Caruso strutted, waving the gun as if it were a conductor’s baton. “See how weak they are, daughter? Chained by fate to beasts. Is this the legacy you dreamed of? A legacy of filth?”
Kamon’s throat rumbled with suppressed fury. He took a slow step forward, his muscles coiled tight. Rune mirrored him, silent, deadly. Klarissa shifted in her seat, her pen still moving, the scratch of it almost absurdly calm against the chaos around them.
“Eyes on me,” Caruso snapped, shoving the barrel harder against Klarissa’s temple. “Not on her. You two want to live long enough to watch me tear her apart, then you keep your gaze where I tell you. I have men in the crosswalks above us, just waiting to put bullets in these children.”
Caleb’s voice cut through the tension. “Not anymore.”
Wyatt’s deep growl preceded the thud of a body hitting the floor. One of Caruso’s guards lay sprawled at his feet, throat torn open. Ivan dropped another corpse beside him like a sack of grain. Blood pooled across the concrete, the metallic scent thick.
The children shrieked, pressing tighter against the wall. Klarissa lifted her head sharply. “Stop that! Not in front of the kids!”
The room froze. Then a boy, older than the rest, maybe twelve, spat on the ground. “We don’t mind. The more assholes that die, the better the world will be really.”
Klarissa’s lips curved, blood staining her teeth. “Good point, sweetie.”
Caruso roared, slamming his fist against the table.
“Enough of this farce! I am the future. I have an ally in the shifter council who shares my disgust of you abominations, one who knows the truth—one who will help me cleanse this world of your mutant stain!” His voice climbed higher, manic.
“Soon, the council itself will fall, and from its ashes I will rise!”
Kamon felt his claws slide free. His tiger raged, but he forced himself to listen, to take in every word. Klarissa’s pen moved faster, scratching lines across paper. His mate’s brilliance burned even now, even under threat.
Caruso staggered suddenly, coughing. He pressed a hand to his chest, his face mottling red. Sweat poured down his temples. A guard near him doubled over as well, hacking violently. Blood flecked his lips.
Kamon’s eyes snapped to Klarissa. “Was this you, waan jai?”
Her lips twisted in a fierce grin. “Hell, yes. I told you I’d be the one to take his ass out.”
Caruso’s eyes bulged. “How?” he rasped, spit flying. His gun trembled as he pointed it wildly between her and Kamon.
Klarissa lifted the pen, her hand steady despite the sweat glistening on her brow.
“This. I perfected the formula, turned it into a concentrate. Every stroke of this pen releases it into the air. Invisible. Fast. The more I wrote, the more it spread.” She tapped the page.
“And these compounds on the paper? Common in confectionery. Just part of the ruse. I needed a delivery system.” She shot him and Rune a grin.
“They do say that the pen is mightier than the sword.”
Caruso’s knees buckled. He gurgled, blood streaming from his mouth, his nostrils, his eyes. “You—mutated it—”
“I did,” Klarissa said, her voice steel. “But this time it only affects humans. Not shifters.”
Kamon’s heart slammed against his ribs. He saw her hands tremble, saw the pallor of her skin, the sheen of sweat across her forehead. She was swaying in her chair.
“No.” He lunged toward her just as Rune did the same. “No, waan jai, tell me you didn’t—”
She slumped forward. They caught her together, lowering her gently to the floor. Her breath came shallow, each exhale weaker than the last.
“Klarissa, stay with us,” Rune begged, his voice raw. “Stay here. Don’t you leave us again.”
Kamon’s throat tightened, his vision blurring. He pressed his forehead to hers, whispering hoarsely. “If you go, we follow. Into the arms of our ancestors. Don’t ask us to live without you.”
Her lashes fluttered, her lips curving faintly. “I’ll be fine... I took the antidote. Just ... mild exposure. I’ll wake ... promise...” Her voice trailed off.
Her eyes rolled back, her body going limp in their arms.
Panic tore through Kamon, sharp and unrelenting. He pressed a hand against her chest, feeling the faint but steady beat of her heart. Rune’s grip tightened around her hand, his face a mask of fury and fear.
Caruso’s last curses gurgled into silence as his body became still. The air stank of blood and chemical rot. But Kamon had no eyes for him. Only for their mate, their anchor, lying pale and unconscious between them.
“Klarissa,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “Please ... come back to us.”
And as her head lolled against his chest, he prayed to the fates with everything left inside him that this was not the end.
****
“So, this is really the end, huh?” Violet’s dry voice carried from the couch, cutting through the thick silence of the Pride House common room. “No more immediate threats to the Pride?”
Klarissa sat upright between Rune and Kamon on the couch, the lingering ache from her father’s blows still humming through her body but the effects of the toxin were gone.
Their warmth flanked her on both sides, Rune’s hand resting against her knee, Kamon’s arm draped protectively along the back of the couch.
She was sore, bruised, but alive—and with them.
Klarissa swallowed and answered Violet. “It feels like it. For now.”
The room was crowded. Pride warriors leaned against walls, weapons still strapped across their shoulders.
The Holt brothers stood near the doorway, battle-scarred but grinning faintly.
Ivan and Victor loomed in one corner, silent as carved stone.
The Drake brothers stationed themselves by the exit, and Josie sat curled in Kieran’s lap, his arms wrapped tight around her, Liam braced protectively at her side.
Violet sprawled like a queen between her two leopards, Jacob and Mason, her sharp eyes softer than usual.
The tally came next. The number of Caruso’s men taken down, the losses among their own, and the collateral damage to the human population.
Too many, though fewer than it could have been.
The children from the warehouse were safe, though still shaken.
The elementary school had been cleared with minimal casualties other than Caruso’s men.
The hospital held. But the traitor in the council remained at large, a shadow over all their victories.
“We’ll find him,” Victor rumbled, his voice carrying the promise of retribution. Ivan nodded, eyes dark. “Leave it with us. This is now priority one for ESE.”
The Holt brothers approached Klarissa then, their smiles edged with mischief. Caleb tipped his chin at her. “Congratulations, sweetheart. Did you really have to make him bleed from every orifice?”
Klarissa arched a brow. “Yep. Don’t mess with a virologist.”
Wyatt let out a low whistle, Jackson shaking his head. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
They turned then to Kieran, clasping his hand firmly.
Caleb said, his grin wide. “Good fighting with you,”
Kieran’s mouth curved. “Same here. You’d be welcome if you ever need a Pride to stand behind, ours is open.”
Caleb’s grin sharpened. “Nah. We’ll just start our own.”
The three brothers laughed, clapped shoulders with the Pride members they had fought with and beside, and left, their easy swagger hiding the weight of the war behind them.
Rune turned to Ivan and Victor. “Thank you both, for everything,” he said carefully. “If you need us, call.”
Ivan’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes flickered. “You have done the ESE proud,” he said flatly. “We will reach out if we need you, brothers.”
Victor clasped Rune’s forearm, then Kamon’s. “ESE is better for having had you with us, brothers. We’ll be in touch.” They inclined their heads to Kieran. “Pride Leader.” And then they were gone, their footsteps heavy as the door shut behind them.
Silence lingered until Liam exhaled, lifting Josie into his arms. “We’re taking our wife home.”
Kieran followed, pressing a kiss to Josie’s hair. “Speaking of home...” His eyes flicked to Rune and Kamon. “You’ll want one of your own. Near the Pride House?”
Rune’s throat tightened. “If it’s possible.”
Kieran’s answering smile was warm. “Of course.”
Klarissa shifted, frowning faintly. “But can we afford it?”
From the couch, Violet snorted. “Oh, honey. You can now. Think of it as your inheritance. Daddy dearest was a bajillionaire. And guess who just inherited every dime?”
Klarissa blinked, stunned. “You’re serious?”
Jacob stood, stretching. “She’s serious. She was laughing like a lunatic when she cleared out all his accounts and put the cash into yours. His legal accounts only, his illegal ones went into a fund for the families of the victims from today.”
“Oh,” Klarissa gasped. “I love that idea, thank you!”
“Anything for you, bestie,” Violet said, blowing her a kiss. Klarissa loved having Violet for a friend, more like a sister.
Mason scooped Violet up over his shoulder.
She squealed, swatting at him with mock outrage.
“Shut the door on your way out,” he tossed over his shoulder.
“We’ve got ... fun time planned.” Jacob laughed as he followed them, their laughter trailing up the stairs to the roof, leaving Klarissa alone with her tigers.
Rune cupped her face gently, his thumb brushing her cheek. “You scared us.”
Kamon’s voice was rough. “We thought we’d lost you. Again.”
Klarissa’s throat tightened. “I’m sorry. I had a plan. I thought—”
“Don’t,” Rune interrupted, his tone firm but gentle. “Don’t keep plans from us. Not when it’s your life at stake.”
Kamon leaned closer, his forehead pressing against hers. “Never go into the jaws of danger without us. Promise.”
She nodded, her eyes burning. “Promise.”
For a moment, silence wrapped around them, warm and fragile. And then Rune’s lips curved into a slow smile. “Now ... about that loving you owe us.”
Klarissa laughed, breathless, her heart thundering as both her mates drew her close. The war might be over, but their future was just beginning.