Chapter 33 Rhys #2
Through the bond, I felt the moment the weapon’s payload activated. It was specifically engineered to disrupt supernatural physiology. Her vampire nature recoiled from the foreign magic while her wolf side tried to heal damage that was designed to resist supernatural recovery.
What the fuck?
My wolf lost its mind with protective rage, but the beta part of my brain was busy doing the math. She was hurt, and from the way she was holding herself, this wasn’t something she could shake off. The weapon had been designed to cause maximum damage while preventing supernatural healing.
“I’ll cover you!” Eve shouted. She shifted and launched herself onto the attacker, tearing his throat out with her bare hands.
I was at Sable’s side before I consciously decided to move, catching her as she swayed on her feet. The scent of her blood mixed with the chemical shit in that dart, and my wolf want to tear apart everything in a fifty-mile radius.
“Get Sable!” Astrid shouted. She picked up a gun from a fallen guard and started shooting at the ceiling to give more cover.
“Hey,” I said, supporting Sable’s weight while scanning for immediate threats. “Talk to me. How bad?”
“Bad enough,” she managed, silver magic flickering weakly around her uninjured hand. “But I can still fight.”
The thought of losing her, right here, right now, was completely fucking unbearable.
Before, it was because of the mate bond, and then some fucked-up supernatural dependency.
But somewhere between wanting to strangle her and wanting to protect her, I’d fallen completely for the stubborn, bold, absolutely fearless woman in my arms.
“Sable.” My voice came out rough, the words dragging past everything I wasn’t ready to feel. “I love you.”
The words came out before I could stop them, raw and honest and probably terrible timing given we were in the middle of a firefight. But looking at her—injured, bleeding, still ready to fight for prisoners she’d never met—I couldn’t hold back.
Her eyes went wide with shock, then soft with something that made my chest tighten. “You picked a hell of a time to figure that out,” she said. A hint of a smile broke on her face.
“Yeah, well, timing’s never been my thing.” I helped her stand, keeping one arm around her waist for support. “But I needed you to know, in case we don’t make it out of this.”
“We’re making it out,” she said.
The moment those words left my mouth, our bond changed—whatever the hell we’d been before, my wolf sat up and took notice. Like someone had rewired my entire nervous system while I wasn’t paying attention.
“I love you, Sable.”
She didn’t answer, but I didn’t need her to. Her abilities blended with mine, the intensity a full step greater than before—vampire speed I had no business possessing, supernatural senses that made my enhanced hearing look amateur.
I wasn’t borrowing it from her. We’d developed a kind of supernatural power-sharing arrangement. I fucking loved it. We were next level synchronized, and my wolf growled with delight at the power rushing through us.
“I heal, you fight,” Eve called. “I’ve got a few seriously wounded shifters here.”
Cover me, Sable said through the bond, and I felt her gathering power that was somehow both hers and ours. I’ve got an idea, but I need thirty seconds.
You got ’em. Thirty seconds in a firefight—might as well ask for thirty fucking years. But I’d learned not to question her tactical brain when it came up with plans that sounded insane but somehow worked.
My wolf charged forward as I stayed in my human form, making myself the biggest, loudest target in the room while she got into position for whatever brand of hybrid she had in mind.
The next guard to target her got a face full of my enhanced wolf reflexes that were being boosted by a vampire speed I shouldn’t have possessed. My knee to his solar plexus sent him flying with enough force to crack the stone wall behind him.
That felt different, I said through our bond, testing the new limits of our shared abilities.
Better different, she replied, silver magic building around her, brighter than anything I’d seen from her before.
I rolled left, came up behind another guard, and introduced his head to the stone wall—with enthusiasm definitely enhanced by whatever power-sharing we’d unlocked.
That left two vampires with military training versus two supernaturals who’d discovered they could share abilities—some kind of mated pair power-up.
I really liked our odds now.
Ready, Sable said through the bond.
I looked back to see her hands wreathed in silver fire that had somehow become pure white, blindingly bright and carrying power that made the air itself recoil.
“Whatever you’re planning, do it fast,” I said, dodging another dart with a speed that for sure wasn’t mine.
The magic that erupted from her hands was fundamental. The last two guards went down under a combined assault that was part silver magic, part enhanced wolf brutality, and entirely more effective than either of us could have managed alone.
Silence fell over the chamber, broken only by the sound of cages opening as Eve’s magical lock picks did their work.
“Well,” I said, looking at the unconscious vampires scattered around us, “that was new.”
Sable leaned against me, her wound healing faster than usual. “Think we can do it again?”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to,” I replied, but I was grinning.
Prisoners started crawling out of their cages, moving like they weren’t sure this was real yet. The kids came first, probably drawn by whatever calming mojo Eve was projecting. Even I was feeling pretty chill given the circumstances.
“Rhys.” Sable’s voice was soft, almost wondering. “Look at them.”
I followed her gaze and saw kids hanging onto freed adult wolves, pack members from territories that were supposed to be extinct helping each other limp ahead.
The bastards hadn’t managed to wipe them out after all. Supernatural beings were tougher than the fuckers who thought they could be bought and sold.
Eve came out from behind the maze of busted cages, herding a group of freed prisoners.
“We’ve done what we can,” she reported. “Some prisoners took off the second their cages opened—can’t say I blame them for wanting to get out of here.” She gestured to the group behind her. “Several are sticking with us. Crux wolves, kids, those who need medical attention.”
I took inventory of the rescued supernatural beings, my wolf picking up scent signatures from packs that were supposedly absorbed. Walking, breathing proof of the conspiracy we’d blown wide open.
“We need to haul ass upstairs,” I said, my tactical brain finally kicking back in despite the adrenaline making my hands shake.
“Show this whole fucking operation to the Council. Let every pack leader get a good look at what’s been happening while they’ve been arguing about hunting rights.
Even if some of them are responsible for it. ”
Sable nodded, silver magic sparking around her fingers as she scanned for more trouble. Through our bond, I felt her vampire senses picking up movement in the passageways beyond the chamber.
We had maybe ten minutes before this place turned into a full-scale war zone.
“Everyone who can walk, stay close,” I called to the freed prisoners. “We’re going topside, and we’re doing it fast.”
Then Sable’s voice cut through the air, sharp with panic that made my wolf’s hackles rise.
“Where’s Astrid?”