Fingers crawl up my back, when I realize it’s a third hand and not Lucien’s. Breaking from our kiss, I whisper to him, “Please take care of them.”
“Love you, babe. We got this.”
When I turn to Bardhyl, he grabs my waist and has me off my feet in seconds. I gasp and grip his shoulders as I snap my legs around his hips. His lips are on fire. And we kiss like this is our last day on Earth, ravenous and desperate. I adore how he’s always rougher with me, and I’m left with bruised lips afterward.
In moments, he pulls from my mouth, and with strong hands, he lifts me higher as he turns us toward the lowest-hanging branch. “Grab hold and I’ll give you a boost.”
I snatch a branch that is rough under my fingers.
Bardhyl’s hands run down my legs and he grabs the back of my thighs, then pushes me higher.
In haste, I throw a leg over the branch and shuffle up until I’m sitting. I glance down and blow Bardhyl a kiss.
“Love you. Behave and stay up there,” he commands.
“I promise,” I say.
One last look my way with heartfelt smiles, and the three of them slide into the woods amid the undead, vanishing from view. The density of pine needles on this tree makes it difficult to see too much. Slowly, I get to my feet, grasping on to the trunk, reminded of my days living in trees. A time that feels so long ago.
I climb up to the next branch, which offers a better vantage point. And right there in the distance stands the lofty, metal fence of the compound with a small view of the back door. Nerves tangle inside me that Ash Wolves will ambush my men. I chew on my lower lip and just need to shove those thoughts aside or they will drive me crazy.
Settling down, I get comfortable and straddle the thick branch, my back to the trunk.
Now I stare out and wait, hoping that everything goes according to plan.
Bardhyl
I suck in every rapid breath, filling my lungs. We’ve run the whole fucking way back to the cave and through the tunnels. Now we’re catching our breath inside Kinley’s house at the back door.
Lucien peers out the window through a gap in the thick curtains, while Dušan has the door slightly ajar, staring out into the backyard that flows into the woodlands inside the settlement.
“Is it clear?” I ask, glancing back into the empty living room. We helped Kinley into her bedroom, and she shut the door, closing herself in to stay safe until this is over in case the fight breaks near her home. We told her the bare minimum but enough to know what’s going to be happening outside.
Dušan’s plan is simple, but the best ones usually are. Going for Mad directly exposes us easily to his guards. We’d be overpowered. So a massive breach in the settlement will make him less protected by his guards as panic spreads. And that is when we strike.
I’ve known the dickhead long enough to not expect Mad to get his hands dirty. He sends his men out to search for us in the woods while he sits back in the compound, taking it easy. Sonofabitch. His little rise to the top is going to be short-lived.
“Area’s clear,” Dušan whispers. “We make a break into the cluster of trees leading up to the rear entry of the compound. We’ll be less likely to be spotted this way, then we can open the gate for Meira.”
The door to the house swings open, and we’re on the run.
A strong wind collides into us. My gut tightens and I hold my head low, stealing looks from either side of me. No one to see the three of us cut across the wide grounds and burst into the cluster of trees running along the edge of the settlement. It’s not enough to conceal us completely, but the shadows are a cloak should anyone glance this way.
I can’t stop thinking about Meira and praying she’s safe. She’s surrounded by zombies, but Ash Wolves are in the woods, and I hope to hell and back she remains up in that tree.
We pound the Earth, rushing up the slope, staying close to the trees. I remain behind Dušan and Lucien, and I keep checking over my shoulder. My skin crawls being out here; I feel damn exposed. I loathe how I feel anything but safe in my own home. And this is why I want to murder Mad slowly, make him squirm and cry. And, well, those worms who follow him blindly will also feel my wrath. I’ve taken down a list of names. None of them have escaped my attention. I don’t forget.
Dušan glances back, and with two fingers, signals we’re heading left and toward the rear door, where the woodland inside the compound spreads, offering us better coverage.
We move swiftly, and I scan the rolling landscape that leads back down to the fortress… the home we will reclaim.
About a dozen pack members roam near the back of the building, and I can only assume they’re guards. Since Mad’s forced takeover, most of the pack seem to remain hidden in their homes. It’s better this way, as they’ll stay out of danger.
Lucien swings right sharply, along with Dušan, just as the hairs on my nape start lifting. The air thickens, and I sense someone near. I snatch the back of Lucien’s top, just as a group of figures emerge from up ahead where the woods are thicker, darker. Dušan pauses with us.
Guards, maybe twenty of them, come at us so suddenly, I retreat.
A hum carries on the wind, closely followed by thundering steps racing up behind us as well. My nerves wound tight, I snap around just as a fist crunches right in the middle of my face.
I groan, the pain zigzagging across the bridge of my nose, and stars dance in my vision. “The fuck?!”
Fury blasts through me, and I’m already lunging at the enemy before I can clearly see who it is. Who gives a fuck when I’m tearing him down?
Punch after punch, I finish him, my fury a blinding bull pushing and pushing me. If our war has begun, I won’t back down.
Someone smashes into my side, throwing me to the ground. I roar and leap up to my feet when a wall of guards rushes toward me. Lucien and Dušan are fighting their own battles, but they’re outnumbered.
This isn’t part of the plan… we made a grave mistake. We assumed that Mad would leave this entrance manned with the usual number of guards.
More men charge at me, and I’m knocked backward from their sheer force. Fire lashes over my back from the hard, rocky ground.
Instinct has me scrambling back up, recoiling, searching for a rock or something as a weapon.
I recoil, my legs slipping out from under me down the slope while I lose sight of the other two. My wolf shoves forward when the siren abruptly goes off, right as more guards emerge from the direction of the back entrance. Except the alarm has nothing to do with a breach. It’s to announce to Mad that we’ve been caught. This was a damn trap.
Fuck!
Sucking in hard breaths, I meet each of my attackers’ eyes. Asshole Alphas and Betas at the bottom of the pack hierarchy.
Then they charge at me.
Fists, knees, knuckles. They find me. Pummel into me. I lash out as ferociously as possible, needing a few seconds to change, but more pile on top.
Blood drips from my mouth and nose, and for the first time in too long, fear creeps over me at the realization that maybe we’ve chewed off more than we can handle.
Chapter 22
Meira
A sharp, siren wails through the air. Sudden and loud.