47. Honey
Honey
Iona has convinced me not to be scared. She told me what happened after I left, how Apostle Clement scrambled. He was so afraid of me escaping that he moved the whole House of Apostles overnight.
She told me that I have great power if I can make an alpha bend like I did with Alpha Clement. I want to believe her, but all I did was run.
But her points about Lazarus feel true. That he’s strong, he wants me, and he’ll fight to keep me. Just like I know the twins are coming for me too.
The sound of motorcycles is one I won’t forget, and Iona laughs as she hears them.
She pushes up from where we were sitting on the floor and starts pacing in the small room. “I knew you’d be the one to do it.”
Her excitement is contagious. I want to walk right along with her, but there isn’t a lot of space in this sequestering room.
We heard Lazarus and someone else unlocking doors and offering to rescue the omegas inside. We’re just waiting our turn. We’ll be safe next. My heart hammers at the thought that soon I’ll be home with Lazarus and Phoenix and Zephyr, and life will once again be good.
But the door opens to our room, and it’s not someone wearing a Night Wraiths cut. It’s Apostle Clement.
“Oh, good, they left the two we want.” He flags someone behind him with a curl of his arm, and two other alphas rush into the room.
Iona waits until an alpha is close to her.
He grabs her, pulling her arms behind her, and Iona pushes up onto her toes, ramming her head into the alpha’s nose.
He stumbles back and cups his now-bleeding face.
The other alpha reaches out to grab her arm, and she dodges, kicking out, hitting him in the stomach, and pushing him backward.
He lets out an angry grunt as he hits the wall behind him.
Apostle Clement’s shadow charges up from around his feet and wraps around Iona, caging her in.
It’s tight against her, and she struggles, unable to move.
I try to push past the alpha with the bleeding nose, but he wraps an arm around my waist. I wildly kick, trying to free myself, but his shadow wraps around my legs, pinning them together.
I shove my arm behind me, trying to use my elbow to fight back.
But the shadow readjusts and confines me there too.
Iona snarls and struggles harder. The shadow wraps around her mouth when she starts to speak.
Clement just laughs. “Bring her, the helicopter is waiting.”
“No.” I protest, but the other alpha Iona kicked grabs me from the alpha who is still bleeding from the nose.
Clement uses his shadow to drag Iona down the hallway behind him. He keeps her mostly upright despite her thrashing against his hold.
Once we’re outside, loud bangs and motorcycle engines can be heard.
The sounds of shouting and screaming from other community members echo through the air.
We’re on the cusp of whatever action is going on in the center.
I can see movement through dark shadows but can’t make out what exactly is happening.
We’re forced between buildings toward the dark woods.
Where the trail splits, we’re pulled left and down a ways. We emerge into a big open area with a single building, and a loud engine roars to life, blades start to spin above, and in seconds, the wind of a thousand gusts pelts us with loose leaves from trees.
We’re dragged even closer to the helicopter when a beta in a Night Wraiths vest comes out of nowhere. He hits Clement hard around the middle, tackling him to the ground.
It loosens Clement’s shadow on Iona, and she flings herself at the alpha holding me, and the three of us go tumbling down into the dirt. I’m unable to push my hands out to brace my fall, and my head slams back, hitting the alpha’s chest, before I’m pressed into the ground.
The world is spinny and dizzying, but I scramble away from him when his arms loosen around my waist.
“Run, Honey,” Iona yells over the sound of the helicopter, and I take off, staggering as I try to get away.
I don’t look back even though I want to. Even though in part I should stay and help. But the last time Iona told me to run, I found Lazarus, Phoenix, and Zephyr. Maybe if I run this time, I’ll find them again and bring them back to her now.
With their help, maybe we can save her.