Chapter 35 Wolf
Wolf
“N
ora,” I repeated, voice low, lethal.
“Don’t turn around.”
But her breath hitched—
a tiny, terrified shock of air—
because she heard it too.
A shift of weight.
A faint scrape of boot on concrete.
Right behind her.
Trigger and Havoc snapped their rifles toward the sound, but they couldn’t fire —
not with Nora in the line.
Sheriff Tate swore, aiming low.
Saint dove behind the nearest concrete pillar, shouting, “How the hell did he get in—?!”
But I knew.
A third signature wasn’t outside.
It was inside.
Already in the bunker.
And I had one priority.
I moved.
Fast.
I grabbed Nora by the waist and spun her behind me just as a man stepped out from the shadowed corner —
a place so dark and quiet even the cameras hadn’t picked him up when he’d slipped in behind Sheriff Tate and me.
Sharp.
Silent.
Calculated.
He wasn’t tall like the others.
But he was broad.
Powerfully built.
Hair shaved close.
A faint scar down his left cheek like someone had traced it with a razor.
And his eyes—
Cold.
Dead.
Unblinking.
He tilted his head at me, like assessing prey.
Then at Nora.
And I swear—
the smallest smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
A smile of possession.
Trigger lifted his rifle an inch. “Wolf—give the order—”
“NO SHOTS!” I barked, stepping between Nora and the man. “He’s too close to her.”
The stranger didn’t flinch.
Instead, he stepped forward one slow, deliberate pace.
Sheriff Tate growled, “You’re not getting near her.”
But the man just stopped, hands loose at his sides, and said in a voice that felt like gravel dragged across bone:
“Hello, Nora.”
Nora froze behind me.
I felt her fingers curl into my shirt —
not pulling me back,
but anchoring herself.
I kept my gun up, center mass. “Move another inch and you die where you stand.”
The man’s eyes flicked to me with mild amusement.
“Wolf Maddox. Ranger. Tracker. Loyal to a fault.”
He clicked his tongue softly. “Always were predictable.”
Ice washed through my veins.
He knew my name.
Trigger’s eyes widened. “Wolf, you KNOW him?”
“No,” I said, steady but cold. “But he knows us.”
The man took another step—
not toward me.
Toward Nora.
I lunged.
He moved first.
He was fast —
unnaturally fast —
closing the gap with sudden ferocity.
Trigger shouted, “WOLF!”
I shoved Nora sideways, directly into Havoc’s arms—
—and collided with the man full force.
We crashed into concrete, pain shooting up my shoulder.
He struck fast — elbow, palm, fist — trained hits meant to disable and kill.
I countered.
He blocked.
I feinted.
He anticipated.
This man wasn’t just trained.
He was trained like me.
No—
He was trained like someone who’d hunted Rangers before.
And then — he said it.
He whispered it in my ear as he tried to slam my skull into the wall:
“She was marked long before you.”
A roar tore out of me — primal, protective, enraged.
I drove my knee into his ribs.
He grunted.
I grabbed his arm, twisted.
He reversed, nearly wrenching my shoulder from its socket.
Trigger tried to fire — couldn’t line up a shot.
Sheriff Tate moved to flank — the second man outside slammed something into the bunker door again, and Tate spun back, firing through the gap.
Saint shouted, “They’re pushing in at BOTH ENTRANCES!”
Chaos erupted.
But all I saw was the bastard in front of me.
He lunged again — palm aimed for my throat —
I blocked, countered, and slammed him into the pillar.
He laughed.
Actually laughed.
“You don’t know, do you?” he rasped. “What she is.”
“Shut up,” I snapped, landing a blow across his jaw.
He grinned — blood in his teeth.
“She was chosen.”
Nora gasped from behind Havoc. “Chosen for what?!”
The man looked at her —
dark eyes gleaming with something twisted.
“For correction.”
My blood went ice cold.
Correction.
I’d heard that term before.
Trigger’s breath caught. “Wolf… that’s from those old foster ops—”
Saint’s voice trembled. “Wolf… he’s from that unit— the one tied to experimental behavioral programs—”
Nora stumbled, shaking. “No… no, that can’t be…”
The man looked directly at her, voice softening like a memory brushing poison across her skin.
“You were the only successful subject. The only one who didn’t break.”
Nora’s hand flew to her mouth.
My heart stopped.
I stepped forward. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
He turned to me — smile fading into something hard and cold.
“She doesn’t remember. They made sure she wouldn’t.”
Made sure.
Foster home.
Older man.
Watching her.
Evaluating her.
My stomach twisted.
Nora whispered, voice breaking, “What did they do to me?”
The man tilted his head.
“They didn’t do enough. That’s why we’ve come to finish our work.”
Nora let out a soft, horrified sound.
And that—
That was the last sound I allowed this man to hear unpunished.
I hit him.
Hard.
A bone-crunching punch that knocked him back into the wall.
Trigger yelled, “WOLF—TAKE HIM DOWN!”
Havoc grabbed Nora, pulling her behind the emergency barrier.
But the man recovered.
Too fast.
He pulled something from his belt —
a small black device.
A detonator.
Saint screamed, “HE’S TRIGGERING THE CHARGES—!”
I launched myself at him.
Fingers closing around his wrist—
But he clicked the detonator.
Small pops shook the ceiling —
not explosions —
distractions.
Trigger shouted, “They’re breaching! Wolf MOVE!”
In the blink of an eye, the man used the flash of dust to slip from my grasp — pivoting, rolling across the floor, disappearing behind the emergency maintenance hatch just as a second intruder forced the bunker door flinchingly open.
Two men.
Inside.
Now.
Sheriff Tate fired.
Havoc charged.
Trigger cursed, taking cover.
Saint dove for safety.
And I—
I reached Nora.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Her pupils blown wide with terror.
Her lips trembling as one truth hit her:
These men knew her.
From before she remembered.
From before Wolf.
Before Eagle River.
I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me.
“Nora. Look at me. Right here.”
Tears streaked her cheeks.
“Wolf… what am I?”
My heart cracked.
“You’re mine,” I growled. “And you’re safe. And whoever they were — whatever they did — they don’t get another second of your life.”
Another explosion rocked the hallway.
Trigger shouted, “WOLF WE NEED YOU NOW!”
I kissed Nora’s forehead — fierce, final — grabbed my weapon, and stood.
She reached for me. “Wolf—!”
I turned, eyes burning with purpose.
“They want a war?” I said.
“Good.”
I chambered my weapon.
“Because they just found one.”