Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Her words rattled me as we sprang into action.
We crossed the gravel driveway, and Randall was able to keep up, despite the younger wolf’s injuries. If his face was bruised like that, I could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like. They hadn’t given us any food or water since I’d been there, so there was no telling the last time he’d eaten, which would slow his healing. A weaker shifter might not have been able to push through.
More confident in Randall’s stamina, I kept my eyes forward, trying to ignore the corpses lying all over the ground. Even though we’d killed in self-defense, death still haunted me; there had been too much of it, and I was raised to always mourn the dead, regardless of the situation. In our attackers’ minds, they weren’t the bad guys, and in fairness, we could be viewed as the bad guys through another lens. It was all about perception.
By the time we reached the tree line, the rumble of an engine was purring faintly in my ears. Shit, they were getting here faster than I’d anticipated. They couldn’t be more than a couple of miles away now.
Wings flapped overhead, and I glanced up. Rosemary’s dark feathers almost blended into the night sky, which was saying something, given my better-than-normal vision. She grunted, “Hurry up. They’ll be here in minutes if not sooner.”
Even if the trees hid us, they’d pick up our scent easily. It was fresh and strong, and though Julius and I could easily outrun them on a night like this, we would be held back with Randall’s injuries. He might be a trooper, but they would catch up to us, even with our head start.
Griffin ran faster as the crunching of gravel grew closer. The other two kept a steady pace behind us.
The only reason I wasn’t panicking was because I could hear the engine of the car Griffin had rented to trail my kidnappers’ car from the coffee shop where they’d grabbed me, which meant we were getting closer to Sierra. We’d known the kidnapping was going to happen because Carter—the shop’s manager, and my boss—had informed us this time around. We couldn’t risk our enemies identifying Griffin’s or Killian’s vehicles, so we’d rented one and left it in the school parking lot overnight. Griffin had driven me to work at the shop like usual in his car so that nothing would seem suspicious, and then he, Killian, and Sierra had been able to stay under the radar in the rented car. Rosemary had followed in the sky.
Fortunately, the plan had worked. They’d remained undetected until we had to act when four additional men came here a day earlier than expected to retrieve me from Julius.
The trees grew thicker, helping to cover us from the silver moon’s bright light. That would buy us a few minutes before the new arrivals realized what had happened. Well, maybe not that long—the bodies were easy to see.
A small break in the trees came into view. That had to be where they’d hidden the vehicle. How close to the road is it? Maybe we’d have a chance to get out of here after all.
It’s a cutout, so not even a quarter-mile, Griffin answered, not missing a beat. I want you in the front seat with me, okay?
Julius needed to be in the far back seat so he wouldn’t be close to a door. I wouldn ’ t have it any other way.
The enemy vehicle had arrived at the house, and the sound of doors opening and closing made my skin crawl.
“What the hell happened here?” one guy asked, clearly at a loss for words. His baritone voice sounded worried. “How the hell did this happen with Julius being a fucking silver wolf?”
“I don’t know,” another guy spoke as he sniffed. “But they aren’t far away. He must be chasing them because his scent blends with theirs. Do you smell how fresh it is?”
They would be on us soon if we didn’t move our asses. They wouldn’t be able to catch us, but if they were anything like the others, they had guns and could blow out the car tires.
Black peeked through the thinning trees, revealing the rental car about fifty yards ahead. They’d rented a Chevrolet Traverse to go unnoticed. The car didn’t stand out, and no one would expect these young alphas to drive something so standard; everyone was used to Killian’s fancy truck and Griffin’s Navigator.
Our group increased the pace, but one guy’s raspy voice yelled, “She came this way.”
“What do we do then?” the baritone asked.
“We were instructed to kill the Shadow City alpha, too, if he interferes,” the raspy guy answered. “Don’t chicken out now. We’re in too deep.”
Don’t chicken out? And now Griffin was a target. My being his mate had put a target on his back. The realization sank in before I could do anything about it.
“I’ll distract them,” Rosemary huffed, and flew toward them, trying to buy us time.
I hated that she kept putting herself in danger for me, but I’d gladly take her help. I normally wouldn’t be as accepting, but her wings protected her in ways that none of us could equal.
Our breathing grew ragged as we rushed ahead. I could now see Sierra jump out of the driver’s seat and dive into the back. She was as ready to get the hell out of here as the rest of us.
“Angel!” the baritone screamed. Rosemary must have begun her attack. “I’ll take her, the rest of you go after them!”
At least that would keep one of the guards busy. Gunfire started once again, which wasn’t surprising. These guys had the one consistent way of fighting, which still seemed so strange to me: they fought like humans instead of animals. Yes, guns were deadly, but our animals empowered our magic and made shifters the most formidable enemy. I used my wolf as much as possible, which I believed was one reason we kept winning, despite being outnumbered.
We reached the car, and Griffin pointed at the front seat. “Sterlyn goes there. The rest of you get in the back.” He ran straight to the driver’s seat and got in. “Sierra, move so that Killian can sit in the far back with Julius.”
Sierra nodded and climbed into the middle bench seat as I opened the back door, hoping to help speed up the process. Julius frowned, pausing.
Get your ass in there. He obviously didn’t want to sit in the very back, but he was going to have to learn his place in our circle…sooner rather than later. I might have pushed for you to come, but if you put my family at risk, I ’ ll leave you here without a second thought. I shoved forward those feelings, wanting him to know that I meant them. If you don ’ t believe me, then test it.
He huffed and climbed over the middle seat into the back while his conflicted feelings of both respect and hatred hit me. I wasn’t sure why he felt either, but I could analyze all that later.
Killian and Randall reached the car door, and the poor kid jumped in headfirst, no doubt desperate to get out of here. I couldn’t blame him. My skin crawled after being in that basement half a day, and he’d been there for a week, if not longer.
Grunting, Killian climbed over Sierra and into the back with Julius. He growled, “No funny business, jackass. One strange look, and I’ll kick your ass.”
The three guards darted toward us and broke through the thinning trees. They raised their guns and fired at us as Sierra reached for the door.
Griffin gunned the engine, causing the SUV’s wheels to spin and fling dirt before we lurched forward.
“Close the door,” Julius yelled, as Sierra bent and grabbed the door handle.
“I’m doing it, dumbass,” Sierra growled back as another shot fired and Killian yelped in pain. The door slammed shut, but the metallic scent of blood filled the SUV.
Our attackers continued to shoot as Griffin spun onto the road, taking off toward Shadow Ridge. The bullets hit the plastic of the SUV, but luckily didn’t hit the tires or any spots that would make the vehicle stop. Though their shots continued, we were out of harm's way as Griffin pushed the car, making the engine redline.
Since we were out of immediate danger, I turned around and scanned Killian, looking for the injury, as Randall leaned over the back of the seat to help his alpha. Killian bent forward, helping Randall survey the injury.
Blood soaked Killian’s shirt at the shoulder. “Did the bullet exit?” I asked. The memory of when I’d been shot flashed through my head, the sensation of the phantom bullet turning my stomach. Griffin had gotten it out, but the extraction had hurt like a bitch, worse than when I’d been shot in the first place. But it was better to get the bullet out before your shifter healing set in, instead of having to reopen the wound later.
“I have no clue,” he whispered, in pain.
“Aw.” Sierra glanced over her shoulder, her face slightly pale. However, she felt good enough to make a jab. “Do you need some tissue?”
Ignoring her, Julius rolled his eyes. “Of course he doesn’t. Lucky for you, I had to learn how to tend to injuries,” he grumbled as he leaned over and lifted the sleeve of Killian’s shirt. The material was soaked and sticking to his skin, and I was surprised when Julius gently moved the fabric away, taking care not to hurt him even worse.
Killian hissed and grimaced.
“What are you doing?” Randall asked, and shoved Julius away.
The silver wolf’s hand dropped, yanking the shirt with it.
“Damn it,” Killian huffed as his face tensed. “That hurt.”
“You asshole,” Randall yelled as he punched Julius in the face. “I’m going to kill you.” There was so much hatred in his voice, it unnerved me.
Get him off me, or I’ll hurt him , Julius linked. I swear to God, I ’ m about to lose it.
“Randall!” I shouted, leaning over the center console and catching his arm. “Stop. He wasn’t hurting Killian. He was checking out the bullet wound and needed to move his shirt. Of course it’s not going to feel good.” I barely knew Randall, and I hated talking to anyone like that, but he needed to get his shit together. There was no telling what he’d endured in that house—and Julius probably deserved his anger—but there was too much going on to be acting this way.
“She’s right.” Killian backed me up. “He wasn’t doing anything on purpose to hurt me. At least, not this second.” Mistrust dripped from each word.
“Can I proceed, or are you going to start hitting me again?” Julius’s jaw twitched, and he sneered at the young man.
“Fine,” Randall snapped as he jabbed his finger in Julius’s face. “But one wrong move, and I’ll punch you again.”
“Do you think you could actually beat my ass? Don’t you remember what happened back in that house?” Julius’s expression filled with disgust. “I’m holding back because you all let me come with you, but that’s it. Do one more thing out of line, and I’ll hit back. And you know my punch is going to hurt you worse than yours did me.”
“Boys!” Sierra snapped her fingers and gave each one a level look. “Behave, and concentrate on the man who’s injured and not the pissing match you two have going on. There are more important things than revenge and personal agendas.”
At that moment, I could tell that Sierra was an oldest child. She’d obviously helped look after her siblings, and thus, she knew how to put misbehaving idiots in their place.
Griffin glanced in the rearview mirror at Randall and said, “Julius is going to check Killian because he’s the one with experience. If he pulls any funny shit, I’ll handle it. Got it?”
“Yeah.” Randall nodded and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms. His lips mashed together as he glanced out his window, staring into the darkness.
“Okay, let’s try this again.” Julius rolled his neck from side to side and reached across Killian’s body. This time, he was able to move the shirt completely out of the way while Killian gritted his teeth.
“He’ll be fine.” Julius put his shirt back in place and sat back in his seat. “There’s an exit hole, which you can see at the back of his shoulder. I wanted to make sure it was there. The wound is far enough from any main arteries, so it may hurt like a bitch for a while, but he’ll be fine.”
His heartbeat remained steady, nothing indicating a lie. “Thank God.” I blew out a breath as I looked at the man who was my brother in every sense except biologically. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Welcome to our world,” Killian said through clenched teeth. “Now you know how you make Griffin and me feel at all times.”
I didn’t want to keep the focus on his discomfort, so I smiled and turned back around in my seat.
“Dude, don’t even try to compare yourself to me,” Griffin teased, trying to ease the tension. “She’s my fated mate; there’s no competition. Think about how I’ve been suffering.”
“Yeah, okay.” Killian snorted. “She’s my sister, so it’s pretty much the same thing.”
Julius huffed loudly in the back. He ’ s your brother? He laughed bitterly in my head.
Not by blood. For him to act this way pretty much confirmed my suspicions. He didn’t like Killian calling me sister, but there was no reason he should care...unless he was my brother. But how could he know about me and not try to find us? The questions were on the tip of my tongue, and my mind reeled. There were so many damn unknowns.
“No, it’s not.” Griffin wrinkled his nose. “When you meet your fated mate, you’ll understand.”
“Okay, boys.” Sierra chuckled. “We got it. You both care about her. Can we just be quiet, for the love of God? After all that commotion, a little silence would be nice.”
“I agree.” I leaned my head back on my headrest and closed my eyes.
“Uh…what’s going on?” Griffin's words startled me from my doze. “Killian, those are some of Shadow Ridge’s police cars.”
I blinked a few times before reality came crashing back in. We were passing by Shadow Ridge University, and there were indeed a few police cars parked in front of the school with flashing lights. My chest tightened.
What the hell had gone wrong while we were away?