Chapter 35
Hayden
Our pack has a future.
My child is growing Ansley’s belly. Three months from now, and the first baby born to a wolf in centuries will need his mother’s milk, his diapers changed, and all the love he deserves.
Now? Now is the time the fucking Crimson Templars decide to show up?
It’s been two days since they spotted us outside Lincoln Elementary School. We’ve watched our surveillance cameras and spotted vehicles we think belong to them, patrolling the city, especially at night.
We’re in The Den where we used to live together as a pack, before we started doing more to blend in. Houses. Cars. Permanent Third Forms in public for everyone except Jaxton. We were so careful. So, so careful.
Now the vampires have ruined everything. They’ve stolen our home from us. One last kick in the nuts from the onyx heart Jaxton smashed.
As much as I want to fight, I can’t risk my brothers’ lives.
I can’t risk Daisy’s life, Ansley’s life, or our baby’s life.
This is what being an Alpha truly means.
My brothers all understand that now, because they’ve found their place in this world.
The pack bond is complete, and protecting our mate and our offspring means more than pride or revenge.
“Everything is still clear on the surveillance, but Storm isn’t taking his eyes off those screens unless Remy takes over to give him a break,” Wyatt sighs, sitting down at the table beside me.
“This is a fucking nightmare, brother,” I exhale my frustration in a long, slow breath. “We don’t even know what kind of weapons they have now. Not really.”
“I’ve gotten in contact with some of the bear shifters in Canada. There’s been a few upgrades. Newer armor, some kind of alloy that protects them from our fangs and our claws. Made from the same stuff as their weapons,” Wyatt says. “Bullets that can pierce even an Alpha’s hide.”
“I feared as much,” I growl, shaking my head.
Ansley approaches and I reach out to take her hand, pulling her into my lap and holding a hand on her belly.
I can feel the first pulses of my child’s life.
It’s simultaneously an energizing and calming feeling, despite the chaos around me.
I’d do anything to make sure this baby and his mother are safe.
“Tired of playing with your sword?” I tease playfully, nuzzling her neck.
“I still can’t get the fire to come back,” she huffs, leaning against me. “Maybe it only happens when I need it? That seems to be when I have my visions.”
“Perhaps,” Wyatt says. “The vampire called you divine fury.”
“And little angel child when he was trying to bite my neck,” Ansley replies, shivering. “Maybe there’s an angel soul inside me? I mean, maybe that’s why the sword caught fire?”
“We’re so far outside the realm of understanding what you are that I would believe it,” Wyatt smiles as he reaches for my hand.
“You certainly are an angel,” I chuckle, squeezing Ansley’s ass. “Except when I have to spank you for being a naughty little devil.”
“You wouldn’t spank me,” she teases, rubbing her ass against my crotch in a way she knows makes me hard. “I’m pregnant.”
“That baby can withstand much worse than a spanking,” I laugh, bending her forward a little and swatting her ass. “We’ve got a strong bloodline.”
“Yeah, well, I hope the baby comes out and bites you for it,” Ansley says, settling back into my lap.
“Guys, we’ve got a problem!” Storm yells.
Suddenly, it’s high alert. I shift Ansley to the seat beside me and get up. My other brothers beat me to the monitors, but I push to the front.
“What’s happening?” I growl.
“Our accounts. They’ve been hacked,” Storm shouts, dragging a hand across his face. “No, no, fuck! They know who we are! Our Third Forms.”
“No fucking way,” I yell. “We made sure the identities couldn’t be traced! You said they were safe!”
“I thought they were! I don’t know how they figured it out,” Storm snaps back. “But we’re exposed. The shell companies. The LLCs. Identities. Everything.”
“They know about the safehouses,” Jaxton points out. “And The Den. We have to move, and we have to move now.”
“Everyone! Grab what you need, we have to go!” I yell out.
It’s panic and pandemonium. We shift into our Third Forms and get dressed. Even if we’re exposed, our Third Forms are safer. Except I have to do a double take when I see one I haven’t seen since my youth.
“Jaxton! Damn,” I say, nodding in approval. “You can use your Third Form again.”
“Our mate,” he says, glancing at Ansley, who is trying to explain to Daisy that alcohol isn’t a priority. “She’s incredible.”
“Let’s get a move on,” I call, walking towards Ansley and taking the bottle of whiskey. “For once, I agree with her. Grab a few bottles.”
We settle on two SUVs. I’ll drive the first one, with Remy, Ansley and Wyatt. Storm will drive the other, with Daisy, and Jaxton. Storm’s a better driver than me, even before becoming an Alpha, but I have to protect the woman carrying my child.
“One of the safehouses just went up in flames!” Storm yells, slapping the side of his SUV. “Move, move, move!”
It’s dark. If they burn all our safehouses, they’ll light up the city. We won’t be around to see it. Maybe that’s for the best. I don’t want to watch everything burn. Neither do my brothers.
We’ve got cash, a good amount of that. We’ve got cryptocurrency on thumb drives. More than enough to start over. We’ll still be wealthy men, wherever we land, but first we’ve got to find somewhere safe.
We make it close to the edge of the city before I hear the helicopters approaching.
“No, fuck, no!” I yell, slamming my hand on the steering wheel. “Storm, can you hear me? We’ve got to get off the road. Kill the headlights.”
“I hear you,” Storm replies across our mental link.
We turn off the headlights and roll along in the dark. There’re no cars out this way, which is for the best, but the faster we get off this road, the better.
The thumping against the sky gets louder until it’s almost thunderous, then everything around us lights up with a beam of intense light.
“Out of the vehicle! Now!” I scream across the mental link, grabbing Ansley in my arms before I kick the door.
I’m not strong enough to budge it in this form, so I have to open it like a human.
We pour out of the SUVs, right as the missiles whisper through the air, then detonate behind us.
I have to cover my eyes from the blinding light, but I don’t stop moving.
I zig and zag, not wanting to give them a target they can hit as I shift into my true Human Form, and take cover.
A few missiles hit, but everyone is safe. The helicopters start landing. More are approaching.
“Run!” I call out, then I shift into my wolf, lowering myself so Ansley can get on.
We dash out of cover as more helicopters show up. We run as fast as we can, but then Remy lets out a scream of pain that pierces my eardrums. I feel it down my spine and Ansley does too. She jerks at my fur and spins, looking back.
“Remy!” she screams.
I turn to see my brother on the ground, some sort of wire wrapped around his legs. He shifts into his true Human Form, but that just makes it worse. It’s cutting into his skin. Ansley jumps off my back to try and help.
“Fucking bolo,” Remy moans.
“We can’t run, we’re going to have to fight,” Jaxton calls out.
I look up to see that the helicopters are landing, at least a half dozen of them. They almost have us surrounded. They’re not shooting missiles now. No, now they’re coming for us.
Crimson Templars pour out of the helicopters.
There’s a lot more of them than there are of us.
I count two dozen, before I have to take a fighting stance.
They look different than I remember, but their form fitting red plate armor is still recognizable.
The white cross decorating their chests still branded into my memories, every one of them painful.
“Finish the wolf shifters, but don’t kill the women!” A Templar yells. “Them we burn, after we figure out what they are.”
They advance on us and Ansley pulls her sword out of the scabbard. She tries to focus on it, but nothing happens. We don’t have time to wait for it. We’ve got to defend our mate, even if it costs us our lives.
“Been waiting a long time for this,” Jaxton growls, moving in front of Daisy. “Ansley, even if that sword lights up, you don’t fight these guys. They’re not like vampires. They will kill you.”
The Crimson Templars get closer and we form a line in front of Ansley and Daisy. The Templars stop and aim weapons that look like rifles, but are more futuristic than anything I’ve seen.
“Time to find out if I’m faster than a bullet,” Remy growls.
“Let’s hope we all are,” Storm mutters.
We rush the armor-clad men and bullets ring out. We dodge them, and I glance back to make sure Ansley is safe, then catch one in the shoulder. It goes into my tough hide like an arrow cutting through paper. I howl with pain and hear the same echoes from my brothers.
Jaxton makes it to one of the Templars and while he can’t tear through his armor, he tears his head off his shoulders, which accomplishes the same thing. Then he goes for another, and I push through the pain to sink my fangs into one too.
Shots still ring out. I feel more pain and burning as bullets sink in. Wyatt goes down, and I want to rush to his side, but then I see Storm fall beside him.
“No, no!” I scream, then a bullet knocks me to the ground.
Remy is on the ground next, bleeding, wounded, whimpering as he tries to crawl away. Jaxton is the last to fall, and he fights valiantly, but even he is no match for the multitude of bullets, or the knives they use to finally take him down.
“I’m sorry, brother,” he whispers across our mental link.
“Grab the women!” a Templar yells. “The wolves can watch them burn at the stake while they bleed out.”
I crawl on my belly towards Ansley. She’s standing her ground, holding her sword, but it’s not on fire.
Daisy looks like she’s ready to fight, if that’s what it takes.
A true Mitra, ready to die by her best friend’s side.
She’s a blessing to this pack, and her death would be mourned for generations if this wasn’t the end of ours.
“Ansley!” I transmit, choking on blood. “No!”
Then something above my head catches my attention. It looks like a falling star, descending to earth, and it’s moving fast.
The Crimson Templars notice it, too.
“What the heavens is that! Back, get back!” one of them yells.
It’s not a falling star. It’s a man. He has hair that shimmers like gold, and he’s wearing a business suit that looks rather expensive. I notice that, even as I gasp for my next few breaths.
He lands in front of Ansley.
“Some kind of Scion! Kill it!” a Templar yells, and they open fire.
“Ansley!” I scream, trying desperately to crawl towards the woman I love.
The bullets never reach her. The man starts to shift.
Or transform. Enormous wings shoot out from his back, one in front of Ansley, the other in front of Daisy.
He expands and grows, muscles getting bigger and broader as his suit gives way to golden armor.
His hair cascades into long flowing locks, his features now sharper.
Just when I think it couldn’t get any stranger, a golden halo appears over his head.
“It’s an angel! Run! Run!” a Templar screams.
A few more gunshots ring out, but then the Crimson Templars start fleeing. The angel rushes forward, and as he does, a sword appears in his hand that doesn’t look much different from the one Ansley is holding. It erupts in flames and he cleaves through a Crimson Templar.
That’s the last thing I see before I lose consciousness.