I flinch at first, not expecting it. Please don’t let that be about my men. Last time I heard that sound, Dušan had been tied up outside the settlement and left as food for the undead.
Blinking toward the compound through the gaps in the tree I’m perched in, I don’t notice any commotion. But beyond the fence might be a different story.
My fingers tremble as I grip on to the branch, and a deep pain bites into my chest.
What if they’re caught? And I’m waiting for them and they’ll never come?
I chew on my lower lip, gnawing it, unsure what to do. They said to remain up here, and I toy with the notion back and forth.
Stay.
Go and check on them.
Fuck!
The siren wears on me like a mosquito refusing to leave me alone. And well, this mosquito is screaming for me to run to the compound.
Determination flares over me. There is a growing need to find them, to help them.
I grasp the thick branch I’m straddling, fingers digging into the timber. Down below, there’s no sign of anything but the undead, who are near the tree, waiting for me.
Urgency furiously clings to me. While my throat tightens at the thought that I’m sending my wolves to their deaths by doing nothing.
Darkness feathers at the edges of my mind, coming at me in waves.
I’m shaking, fidgeting, anxiety knotting in my gut.
Choking on my breaths, I start descending, unable to stop myself if I tried. I will never be able to live with myself if I don’t check. And I have enough regrets to live with already.
I jump down and my feet kiss the ground.
The surrounding Shadow Monsters flick their heads up, eyes on me, suddenly attentive. Turning away from them, I sprint through the woods as quietly as possible in the direction of the compound, keeping to the shadows.
Please, let them be all right. Please.
Behind me, the undead move slowly, so I’m hoping if I’m quick enough, any guards at the gate won’t see the hoard of zombies coming their way.
I remember there were several trees not too far from the fence. If I climb one of those, it should give me a better look into the compound. The farther I move, the more sparse the trees become.
My skin crawls with the thought of being so easily exposed, but I’m not going to sit back if my wolves are in danger. As Dušan said, we have one chance to create the element of surprise… and that comes down to me. If Mad did capture them, then our plans change.
I duck under a branch and swerve around a large fir when a shadow falls over me. A shudder races down to my bones.
I turn and come face to face with a huge brute, with close-cropped, shaved hair and a crooked nose. A Beta, by his bitter scent, and definitely belonging to Mad, seeing as he’s this close to the settlement. Omegas and Betas aren’t made for each other, so to me, they don’t smell appealing.
Recoiling, I glance quickly to where the Shadow Monsters are… They’re still just shadows in the distance in the woods, making their way too slowly.
Shit!
I throw my hands up as he approaches. He grins, covering me in shivers, then I kick him in the knee hard.
A split second is all he gives me, but it’s enough. I whip around and jolt away, right for the edge of the woods. And my anxiety goes off… If there’s one guard, there are more and me bursting into the clearing will grab their attention. I keep looking back and the undead are still too damn far away, blended in among the shadows in the woods.
I swerve left and right to ditch the dickhead coming for me now.
The siren ends abruptly, and a deafening silence settles over the land. My ears pulse, my heart banging loudly in them.
The bastard snatches my top and yanks me backward. I stumble on my heels and slam into his chest. Despair floods me, along with images of him beating me until I’m unconscious. Then I’m no use to anyone.
His hot breath brushes over my cheek. “You’re not escaping this time, Omega bitch.”
Rage burns me, and I slam my heel into his foot, shoving myself away from him. Iron fingers snap over my wrist too fast for me to escape. Panic swallows me.
I swing back around, my fist crashing into the side of his head. Just as he snarls and wrenches me closer, I drive my knee deep into his balls, loving every moment of his fallen expression.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I shove my fists into his chest and he falls over, curling in on himself, moaning.
I snap around to escape, but I charge right into someone solid. Bouncing back, I teeter to catch my balance.
The new asshole snatches my hair and yanks me to him, sneering. “You dare raise a hand to us, you pathetic, plague-ridden filth?”
Pain roars over my scalp, and tears fill my eyes. I’m scratching his hand to get him to release me. Every inch of me trembles.
I grind my jaw, refusing to give in to them.
He’s suddenly hauling me by my hair across the land and right out of the woods. Desperately, I run to keep up with his long strides. I’m half-bent forward from his grip, so I can’t even look back to see how far the undead are.
Hell, if there was ever a time I needed them by my side, it’s freaking now.
The ass holding on to me pauses, growling. “Open the fucking door.” He bangs a fist against the door, and I crane my head up to see there are no guards on patrol on the fence.
Though from inside, the faint sounds of shouting reaches us. My stomach locks at the thought that maybe I’d been right all along and my men are captured.
Loathing for Mad burns all the way down to my gut. I want to make him suffer so much.
When the man goes to bang on the door once more, I drive a fist into his ribs, then another.
He sneers, his grasp tightening, wrenching me by my hair.
I cry out and twist around just enough to glance behind us.
The undead are emerging from the woods like a great wave, and I’ve never been happier in my whole life to see them.
A creak sounds from the door to the compound opening, stealing my attention.
“Get the fuck in here,” another guard bellows from inside. “We’ve got them.”
I yell and punch my captor’s arm, digging my heels in the ground to slow him. Anything.
I twist my head as the Shadow Monsters approach, closer and closer.
Just a bit more time.
“Well, look what I found.” He wrenches me toward his friend, whose eyes bulge out of his head. His gaze is locked on something over my shoulder.
“Zombies!”
I feel the man holding me shake against me as he whips around.
“Goddammit, where’d they come from?” His voice trembles.
I’m kicking and shoving against him to escape as he drags me into the compound. I drop to my knees, and his grasp slackens.
In desperation, I scramble over and push myself off the ground.
Thick arms loop around my middle as he yanks me into his arms. “No, you don’t.”
I scream, my hands reaching out for the undead.
“Run to me!” I screech.
In seconds, they descend upon us like a storm, running awkwardly, lopsided, but they thunder onward regardless. Thin, ragged things that today have become my saviors.
Aggressively, the brute manhandles me, shoving me over his shoulder, and darts past the enormous metal door and into the settlement.
The guard from the door drives it shut, just as several undead slam into the entrance.