Chapter 22
Maverick
Maverick hissed at the wolfsbane that dug deep into his wrists. Sweat beaded his brow as he strained again and again to shift. If he could just break through the bracelet that siphoned his magic and give in to his wolf, then he could escape.
Zera was probably already in the dining hall with Gareth by now, and Maverick’s window was closing.
If he got out, he could save her. He wouldn’t allow himself to think about the alternative.
Because to think she would die at the hands of Gareth because of his own stupid carelessness would be unbearable.
She didn’t even know what she meant to him or how what she’d said by the river had affected him.
He hadn’t even gotten a chance to tell her that he did love her, too, and that he’d been an idiot to let something so small ruin what they had.
He would give everything to have that time back, to say the things he’d kept inside his heart. He’d been a coward.
But not her. She was the bravest woman he’d ever known, and he would do everything in his power to get to her. To save her. To kill anything and everything that threatened to take her or her family. Even if she never accepted his apology, she was alive, and that was all that mattered to him.
The desperation clawing at Maverick’s chest intensified, and he pushed against the magic-restricting bracelet, gritting against the searing pain of the wolfsbane-drenched ropes.
“It’s no use,” Felice said after trying over and over again to break her bracelets by using her voice. She winced. They had tightened with each attempt until circulation was almost cut off.
Even Irdeel, who was still rubbing a bruised head and ego from getting knocked out, shot Felice a glance filled with pity.
“We can’t keep straining like this,” the siren pressed when Maverick didn’t respond.
A ferocious look flickered across his face. “Are you saying we should just sit back and wait for Gareth to finish whatever twisted plan he has in store for Zera? For her son?”
Maverick gazed at each of them, from the siren to the vampire who stayed glued to the goblin’s side. Felice’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.
“To put it in terms I think you’ll understand,” Maverick began, his expression darkening with guilt and duty, “Zera and her family are civilians. You, of all people, should understand what that means.”
They were silent as the weight of his words settled around them like a heavy fog. The urgency of the situation was palpable, and each of them felt the gravity of the mission to rescue Zera and Cole from Gareth’s clutches.
“I swear, if that bastard hurts a hair on their heads…” Maverick growled, letting the threat hang in the air.
“We’ll make him pay if he does.” It was Cillian who spoke up. The vampire’s bloodred eyes were dim, his power drained by his bracelets.
“Yes, but what do you expect us to do with our magic siphoned and us trapped in this cell?” Felice asked. Her wild red locks clung to her shoulders in a damp sweat. The stagnant air of the cell barely provided enough oxygen for them all.
The ground shuddered above them, and their eyes rose to the ceiling. Dirt and pebbles sprinkled down from the cracks in the ancient mountain, a telltale sign of the chaos unfolding outside. Maverick’s jaw clenched.
“We’re running out of time,” he hissed.
The stone walls seemed to press in on them, the air was thick with tension, and the distant sounds of battle raged above. Maverick balled his hands into fists, his heart pounding with a primal urgency to protect Zera and Cole. Nothing else mattered to him except their safety.
A sharp pang shot through his chest, like a tug on an invisible tether—a connection to Zera that transcended the physical barriers separating them. In that moment, he could feel her fear and her desperation, and it ignited something deep within him.
Maverick’s eyes flashed with an alpha fire that promised retribution to anyone who dared harm his mate or her son. A guttural growl rumbled from his throat, and the others recoiled, instinctively sensing the raw, untamed force radiating from him that no siphon could quell.
Even Cillian licked his fangs nervously and shrank back in surprise.
With a surge of adrenaline, Maverick felt his muscles ripple beneath his skin as he strained against the wolfsbane-soaked ropes binding his wrists.
All he saw, all he felt was her. Her warmth and compassion for those she held close.
Her unwavering dedication to her son and deep sense of responsibility were just a few of the things he admired in her.
She was a beacon of good in a world of darkness, and he would give everything to protect that light.
His whole body shook against the restraints. Droplets of sweat stung his eyes. He bellowed as another tug down the bond sent him into a fury he’d never known before. The magic bracelets that circled his wrists dimmed then cracked and shattered, falling from his arms in a clatter of red fragments.
Felice gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. Irdeel clutched her goblin dagger, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the hilt tightly. Cillian extended his fangs and coiled his body with a predatory tension.
Maverick snarled, ripping through the ropes as if they were made of paper.
His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of Zera’s distress like a beacon guiding him forward.
With a primal roar, he slammed his shoulder into the cell door, the reinforced steel buckling under his supernatural strength.
But it wasn’t enough. His stormy wolf eyes glowed with flecks of gold lightning.
He reached within himself to shift, but his wolf was weakened by the wolfsbane.
What he wouldn’t give for one of Irdeel’s well-placed alchemical traps or even his belt of grenades.
He would blast right through this place to get to Zera and to keep her safe.
He knew she could handle herself, but not being able to get to her when that fear ripped down that bond would be the death of him.
Another desperate plea from her was all he needed.
A growl ripped through him again, and he shoved the bars with everything he had.
The steel groaned and creaked under his force, but it held strong. He gritted his teeth, feeling the blood oozing from his raw knuckles as he pounded on the metal. His wolf was howling in agony, desperate to break free and protect his mate.
Maverick’s primal instincts surged through him, a tempest of power and desire that threatened to overwhelm him. The connection to Zera pulsed with an intensity that fueled his resolve, igniting a fire within that burned brighter than anything he had ever experienced.
With a mighty roar that echoed through the confines of the cell, he sent all of his alpha power crashing into the bars, his muscles straining and bulging with the effort.
The force of it knocked the reinforced steel from its hinges, sending the bars clattering across the floor amid a shower of sparks.
The others watched in stunned silence as Maverick stepped out of the crumbling cell, his alpha wolf energy sending a clear message—bow or be crushed. The guards outside the cell stumbled back, their weapons drawn but their faces ashen.
“Let’s go,” Maverick growled to the others, his eyes blazing with determination.
“Guess we’re fighting out of this the fun way,” Irdeel said with a smirk, dusting her hands off on her maroon leathers.
Felice only grumbled something about wearing the wrong fashion armor for a prison breakout but followed them out of the cell, where the four guards waited for the ambush.
“It’s been a while since I had the taste of elven blood.” Cillian flicked his tongue across one of his fangs.
The guard closest to them was the first to turn his back and run for the door to cut off their escape. Wrong move.
Maverick lunged at him with all the force of an alpha, and the rest of the group sprang into action.
The sounds of tearing and ripping of skin off bones, like cleaning a deer, echoed off the shallow ceiling.
They would no longer be prisoners of this cell, trapped by magic or anything else.
Nothing could stand in his way of freeing his mate and her family from the evil that roamed these halls.
Once the guards were taken care of, Maverick and his team grabbed any weapons off their bodies and sprinted down the dimly lit corridor, the echo of their footsteps a rhythmic drumbeat urging them forward.
Maverick led the charge, his muscular form a blur of motion, his storm-filled eyes fixed on the path ahead toward the sugary blend of lilac and determination—the undeniable scent of his mate.
He could taste her fear and adrenaline on his tongue and feel that the weight of Cole’s safety pressed heavily upon her. If only he could get to her. Find her.
He knew these halls, had navigated them many times when he worked undercover for Gareth, but he’d never known the rage he now felt. The pure panic of knowing what the elven arms dealer turned drug dealer was capable of.
“This way!” he called, leading the way to the left and up out of the darkness toward the open foyer to the dining hall.
He prepared himself for the worst.
As they approached the foyer, Maverick’s heart pounded in his chest. Each step heightened his anticipation. What would he find? Zera was still alive—he could feel it—but he couldn’t tell what state she was in, and that unknown made it hard to breathe.
Maverick’s boots skidded to a halt as he reached the double doors. With a deep breath, he nodded to his companions before bursting through, ready for whatever lay ahead.
The scene that greeted him made his heart stop.
Zera knelt in the center of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around Cole. Her lavender eyes were locked on the small child who clung to her with his face buried in her shoulder.