An explosive shot sounds, and my attention turns to a guard aiming for the monsters running down toward us.
Meira. I can’t see her. Has she given the monsters a command? Where the hell is she if Mad’s men are firing? The terror of something happening to her grips me.
The wave of undead is like a tsunami, relentless, and it sends a shudder down my back.
“We need to move and find her,” I suggest. “We don’t know what order she gave them.”
Dušan swings around and runs up behind Mad, who’s distracted.
Bardhyl charges toward a guard who has his back turned to him and takes him down.
And suddenly, the walls of chaos close in around us. All I can think about is finding Meira, then finishing Mad, and I pivot toward the undead.
A sudden strike slams into my side so hard, it has me hissing, my spine arching inward.
I whip around to the guard pointing his gun directly at my chest, and a dull, cold ache fills me. My feet are glued to the ground while the commotion around me fades and only the pounding of my heart sounds that this is it.
Bardhyl
Zombies rush toward us while guards with weapons are running to stop them, shooting wildly.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
I frantically scan the area for Meira. One moment she stood at the top of the hill with the zombies, then she merged into their mass and vanished.
Fury skids across my mind as the siren in the distance howls like a wolf. Where the hell is she? With bullets flying, my insides clench at the thought that she’ll get shot.
A hard punch comes to my shoulder “Get the fuck to the ground!”
I grunt with pain and swing around, my fist swinging. Clipping the bastard in the head, I follow his fall, delivering two more blows into his face.
Someone shoves a foot into my back, driving me flat on top of the guard. Rapidly, I roll off the first guy, seeing the other culprit stumbling to catch his step from being pushed by a zombie. But he’s now lifting his gun toward me. So I kick out my leg, my heel striking him in the groin. He stumbles backward, crying like a baby, and I get up.
Several feet away, I spot Lucien iced over, looking at the man pointing a gun at his chest. I swallow hard.
Acid spills into my veins, scorching my insides. I don’t even remember moving, but I sprint over to them, slamming into the guard, coming in from his side like an avalanche.
He hits the ground as his gun goes off, shooting into the air.
My ears ring with a tremendous buzz.
Frantically, I snatch the man’s wrist and squeeze it until he drops the gun. I headbutt him in the face for good measure. My head spins, but it’s damn worth it. He cries out, blood spilling from his nose.
Lucien is there in seconds, punching the shit out of him as I climb to my feet.
“Always saving your ass.” I groan, smirking at my friend. He turns to me, a slash of blood across his cheek from the guy he just beat up. Looks like war paint, and it suits him.
“I had him right where I wanted him,” he answers, but he smiles his thanks. “Where’s Dušan? Last I saw, he was dashing for Mad.”
I scan the yard.
There’s madness all around, but there’s no sign of him. Did Mad take him? “We gotta find them and Meira.”
The zombies are closing in. They fan out, covering the slopes like locusts coming in for a feed. The three or so dozen guards don’t even bother with us anymore, not when they’re anticipating being eaten alive.
“Maybe it’s not a bad idea to stay out of the zombies’ way until we know they aren’t going to eat us,” I suggest. “And let’s take out these disloyal motherfuckers working for Mad in the process.”
“Hell yeah.” Lucien rips his top up and over his head, undressing so fast, he’s already half-transformed by the time his pants hit the ground. He bounds out as his gray wolf, and I call mine just as quickly, the sharp pain of transforming deep and agonizing, but I embrace it as I ready for war.
The moment I leap forward, the first wave of zombies reaches us. They scramble onward, not attacking, but slamming into whoever stands in their way.
Everyone is screaming as pandemonium strikes.
Lucien and I make a mad rush to the side and out of their way. From my perspective, not one undead has attacked anyone. They’re stopping once they reach the fortress, so that must have been Meira’s command.
Those terrified guards don’t seem to notice and deliriously shout, shoving against the creatures spreading around the yard, shooting them. But there’s no way they have enough ammunition for the whole herd.
And this is our moment. I exchange a glance with Lucien, then I crash into the masses, him doing the same. It’s a strange feeling to be pressing against the undead… monsters I feared my whole life, and now look at me. Rubbing shoulders with them.
It’s ridiculous.
But I also wonder if this is how Meira feels being immune around them.
Like she’s untouchable.
A squeal comes from my left from a guy shuddering, trying to avoid touching the monsters all around him.
Darkness slips over me and I have no regrets. It’s time to bring these dickheads their long overdue punishment.
Chapter 24
Meira
I sprint away from the zombies, cutting across the grounds and hurrying toward the side of the fortress. Moments ago, I rode the wave of the undead, using them as a shield against the bullets. My pulse is still in my throat from doing that. And now it beats frantically after I had spotted Dušan darting after Mad. They headed down this wide path between the building and lofty fence. Several of his guards followed, and that worries the hell out of me.
I desperately bolt after them because I want Mad dead, and I don’t trust anything about him, let alone him not trapping Dušan.
The main yard is exploding with combat. There are so many Shadow Monsters that it’s difficult to discern who is who down there. I instructed the undead to run down to the building, hoping that was enough to drive fear into the guards and get them to back away. It seems to have worked with them desperately trying to get away from them.
My feet punch the ground, and with my head low, I sprint down the slope and toward the passage alongside the fortress.
Up ahead, two wolves are spiraling in a wild battle. Fur and fangs are all I see in the vicious fight. Dušan against Mad. Thunderous roars spill around us, primal and explosive. The way they tumble and bite into each other in violent motions has me shivering. Two guards still in human form watch them, and I don’t miss that one is holding a rifle.
Ice fills my veins.
Will he shoot Dušan?
My legs explode in rapid movement just as the gray wolf with black ears who has to be Mad is tossed aside from the fight. He rolls and lands on his side with a huff. Blood mats his fur, peppering his body, and he scrambles upright.
My Alpha stands tall, heaving for each breath, blood running down the side of his wolf face. But he remains strong, head high and a growl erupting from his throat, his teeth exposed. The image is terrifying. Yet seeing him this powerful, this brutal, warms my heart. I love every inch of him even more when he’s this dominant.
I duck behind several trees against the fortress. Everyone is too occupied with the fight to notice me, and I don’t intend to get shot, either.