Wolf Freed Read online

  I let that thought bolster me as the truck rumbled along the road toward the gate into the Strand bunker, but it couldn’t slow the heavy pounding of my heart. Sariah was tucked into a nook up by the front of the truck, Doctor Shepherd’s bound hands were attached to a hook on the wall along the side, and Rhys, West, and I were stationed near the back doors.

  “Rhys,” I whispered, grabbing for his hand in the darkness, “I—I love you.”

  Then I blinked.

  That hadn’t been what I’d meant to say.

  I had intended to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything in the van, to ask if he’d double-checked our supplies. But none of that seemed as important in this moment as making sure he knew how much I cared about him. That even if my life began and ended at twenty-one years old, the few months I’d known him and his pack mates were worth it. That they had opened up my heart in ways I never could’ve imagined, and if I had to go through all of this again just to be with them, I would. In a heartbeat.

  His hand squeezed mine hard, and I felt West on my other side as Rhys’s strong fingers found my jaw, tilting my head up so he could press his lips to mine.

  “I still want my forever, Lexi. Don’t think you’re getting out of it.”

  His voice was a low growl, full of yearning, pain, and fierce protectiveness. He kissed me again, and I clung to his lips, rising up on tiptoes to prolong the contact just a little longer. West’s lips caressed my hair, his breath teasing the strands. I was sandwiched between the two men, held steady in their embrace as I turned to kiss him too, murmuring words of love and gratitude.

  We finally broke our kiss, but the three of us stayed like that, joined together as a unit, as we drove toward our destination.

  Sooner than I was ready for, the truck slowed and rolled to a stop. Voices sounded from outside, and I heard the deep notes of Jackson’s voice as he responded.

  Rhys’s grip on my hand tightened, becoming almost painful, as his whole body tensed.

  “Game time.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I worried they would crack. The blood rushing in my ears made it hard to hear, and I strained to pick up what the voices were saying.

  West moved toward Doctor Shepherd, sliding the knife from his belt with a snick. The threat might not be enough to keep him quiet, but I had to hope the press of cold steel against his throat would ignite some basic human instinct for survival. And if he did scream…

  Well, he wouldn’t scream for long.

  At least two guards had approached the truck, by the sound of it. Their gruff voices carried through the walls, asking to see identification.

  I heard Jackson’s voice again as he assented, the tone so even and casual I could hardly believe it.

  Damn. We picked the right person for that job.

  I was sure I wouldn’t be able to speak without my voice trembling or squeaking right now, but he sounded as bored and unhurried as a Strand employee delivering goods in the early morning hours actually might.

  There was a beat of silence, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. What was happening?

  The guard asked another question, and Jackson answered easily. Noah’s voice pitched in too, and there was another short pause.

  Fuck. Was it not working?

  A third question came, and I thought I detected a slight tension in Jackson’s tone as he answered, although he played it off with a laugh.

  My body tensed, and acid worked its way up my throat as I waited for the alarm to be raised. Waited for the sound of gunshots, the yells. Noah and Jackson were on their own in the front cab of the truck. We had to get up there. We had to help them—

  The vehicle lurched before driving slowly forward.

  A ragged breath poured from my lungs, and I sucked in fresh oxygen I hadn’t even realized I needed until now.

  “They bought it.” Jackson raised his voice to be heard through the wall separating the back of the truck from the front. “Jesus, I almost had a fucking heart attack. The guy kept asking fucking questions, and he looked at my ID for way too long.”

  “You guys all right back there?” Noah called, a note of relief in his voice.

  “Yeah,” I croaked, so low I wasn’t even sure they could hear me.

  “Just hang on. We’re almost—” He broke off. “Fuck.”

  Jackson growled a curse, and I leaned forward, straining to hear what they were saying through the wall. “What? What is it?”

  “They’re coming after us. The two guards. Goddamn it! They must’ve figured out something’s—”

  A loud pop pop pop came from behind us, and we ducked for cover as three holes appeared in the back door of the truck, letting thin beams of pre-dawn light stream in.

  “Shit!” Jackson bellowed, and the truck veered suddenly to the left, sending us careening into the side wall. More shots came, opening up more holes in the back door.

  “Motherfucker!” Noah’s panicked voice called out.

  The truck swerved in the opposite direction, rocking onto two wheels as it threatened to tip over. My body was squashed against Rhys’s as we fought to keep our balance. In the small slivers of light, I could see Doctor Shepherd sprawled on the floor—the jerky movements had thrown him away from the wall.

  Suddenly, a loud thud sounded at the back of the truck, as if something large and heavy had hit the doors. One of the guards must’ve managed to chase us down and leap onto the back platform. Another shot rang out, and one side of the double doors swung open, flooding the dark interior of the truck with pale light. Silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky, a Strand guard clung to the doorframe and brought his gun up to fire into the truck again.

  No!

  I moved as I shifted, slipping from Rhys’s hold as I charged toward the man.

  “Scrubs!” West shouted, but I was already leaping through the air.

  Clothes shredded from my body as my wolf burst forth, and I hit the man with the full weight of my lupine form just as he fired. His arm jerked, and the bullet flew harmlessly into the ceiling as he fell backward.

  The two of us hurtled through the air, bursting from the back of the truck and hitting the ground hard as the vehicle sped away. We rolled, a messy tangle of limbs and fur, skidding across the dusty ground. The wind was knocked out of me, but the man beneath me took the brunt of the fall. I recovered before he did, clamping my jaw around his neck and tearing.

  More pops sounded, and a patch of dirt a foot away from me exploded. I lifted the dead man by the neck, and his body shuddered as he absorbed a bullet meant for me.

  Shit.

  The second guard from the gate was bearing down on me, running and shooting.

  “Lexi! Duck!”

  I didn’t hesitate. Dropping the man from my jaws, I pressed myself to the ground as bullets whizzed over my head. One struck the guard in the shoulder, breaking his momentum and sending him reeling. The firing stopped, and I bounded forward, ending him with a snap of my jaws.

  When I turned around, Rhys still had his gun raised. The bag of explosives was strapped to his back, and he had a second gun holstered at his side. His nostrils flared as he gazed at me, then he jerked his head over his shoulder. “Come on!”

  The truck had pulled to a stop not far from the entrance to the compound, and West and Sariah were dragging Doctor Shepherd out. Rhys and I raced over, sprinting across the open space as fast as we could.

  We were almost to the truck when the front doors of the fortress exploded open. Bodies poured out like a stream of death, guards dressed in black tactical gear and armed to the teeth with guns and knives. They took in the sight before them at a glance as Noah, Jackson, and Sariah dove behind the truck for cover. Doctor Shepherd stumbled as West dragged him back too—his feet and hands were still bound, and he collapsed to the ground as soon as my mate let go of him.

  The group of them fired on the approaching guards, clearing a path for Rhys and me until we dove behind the truck too,
breathing hard. Gunfire mingled with shouts as the guards called out to each other, closing ranks around us. One made it around the side of the truck, grappling with Jackson, who grabbed his gun arm and bashed it against the hard metal siding. My mate head-butted him hard, and he careened backward.

  “Damn it! There are too fucking many. They just keep coming!”

  Noah shouted over the sound of his own gun as he fired on our attackers, but even as he spoke, another one made it past our defenses, rushing around the back end of the bullet-riddled vehicle. The guard fired, catching Noah with a glancing shot before Rhys body-slammed him into the side of the truck.

  The guard bared his teeth in response, his roar of rage transforming into a keening howl as he shifted.

  A lap dog.

  Motherfucker. Doctor Shepherd had goddamn lap dogs working as guards.

  Rhys fell backward, shoved away by the force of the man’s shift. The gray and white wolf leapt toward him, but my mate wouldn’t shift—he didn’t want to risk losing the explosives he and West would carry into the building.

  The wolf landed hard on his chest, and Rhys grunted, raising his forearms to block the snapping teeth aimed for his throat.

  The same kind of rage I’d felt when I saw Alpha Elijah attack bubbled in my veins, and I let my wolf take over completely. She lunged for the smaller predator immediately, yanking him away from Rhys with her firm jaws and throwing him to the side. The gray wolf howled, back legs kicking furiously as he tried to regain his feet.

  Around me, I was distantly aware that other guards had breached our temporary cover, trading shots and blows with Sariah and the rest of my mates.

  Screams and howls filled the air, blood and claw marks littering the ground as an all out melee raged.

  I rose up on my hind legs, meeting the wolf in an aggressive bear hug, each of us struggling to sink our teeth into the other. Swinging my paw with all my weight, I caught him on the muzzle and sent him flying. Almost before he hit the ground, I pounced, teeth tearing through fur and flesh.

  Rhys and Sariah had teamed up against two massive guards who brandished knives as large as my forearm. Jackson had shifted; he faced off with a burly man, growling low in his throat. Noah was still firing around the side of the truck, trying to keep the rest of the encroaching guards from reaching us.

  But he’d been right. There were too damn many of them.

  My gaze scanned the battle, searching for a way out. A way to get past their defenses and inside the building.

  We were so close. So fucking close.

  Movement near the truck’s back wheel caught my eye, and I glanced down. Doctor Shepherd was sprawled awkwardly on the ground near the first guard Jackson had taken down. His face was contorted in pain and concentration as he used the dead man’s knife to saw through the ropes binding his arms.

  Oh no, you don’t, you asshole!

  I moved toward him, teeth bared, and had just enough time to see him shrink back in fear before another lap dog intercepted me, snapping at my shoulder. I howled in pain and shook him off like a burr, splattering droplets of blood like rain.

  The fear on Doctor Shepherd’s bruised face slipped away, replaced by smug satisfaction. The guard in wolf form threw himself at me again, and I struggled to keep him at bay as the doctor resumed cutting away at his bindings. The ropes finally snapped free, and he crawled under the truck, screaming to his men for help.

  Burning rage filled my veins, and I turned to take it out on the wolf attacking me. But another joined him, lunging in from behind me and forcing me to dance out of the way.

  Damn it.

  The tide of the battle was turning, but not in our favor. Rhys, still in human form, had a gash above his temple that was pouring blood down the side of his face. Jackson’s wolf was limping slightly, even as he struggled to take down two human guards.

  And Doctor Shepherd had gotten free.

  My heart squeezed hard in my chest, and I tried to breathe through the constriction. Not only were we not going to make it inside the metal fortress that housed the Source… we weren’t going to make it out of here alive.

  The thought made desperate panic rise in my chest, and I threw myself into the fight with renewed fervor, snapping and snarling like a mad thing.

  A yelp from my right drew my attention, and I glanced over, my blood freezing in my veins.

  Jackson had been pinned against the wheel of the truck by a large brown wolf. He twisted and writhed, trying to evade the sharp teeth that snapped with the force of a bear trap.

  No. No no no!

  Suddenly, the wolf hesitated. His ears pricked as he lifted his head.

  A second later, I heard the same sound he had.

  A howl.

  It grew louder as it twined through the hazy dawn air, and other voices joined in until the sound filled the sky like a wavering alarm. The thundering of heavy paws beat like a drum underneath the keening cry, and as I looked up, nearly thirty wolves poured through the open gates of the compound, streaking toward us in flashes of gray, brown, and white.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Everything seemed to hang suspended around me as I watched the wolves barrel toward us, their howls still echoing in the air. As they neared, I realized I recognized the markings on several of them. I’d spent nearly a month living in the Montana forest with these wolves.

  The Lost Pack?

  How…?

  Before my mind could fully process the fact that they were here, the new wolves sprinted toward the forces guarding the compound. Several of the human guards still brandished guns, and they fired at the pack as they approached, scattering them. A smaller gray wolf took a hit to the shoulder, stumbling before righting herself.

  But the guards had hesitated too long, as stunned by the sudden appearance of our reinforcements as I was. Before they could mount a significant defense, the pack closed ranks again, colliding with the remaining guards in a flurry of snapping teeth, gunshots, growls, and screams.

  Jackson shoved away the wolf who’d pinned him, taking advantage of his distraction. He leapt after the shifter, clamping his teeth around the wolf’s neck and shaking vigorously.

  The remaining lap dogs fought like cornered animals, their panic making them wild, but the human guards began to unravel, their coordinated attacks failing as their comrades fell. The stench of fear filled the air, and it spurred on the Lost Pack.

  They were hunters, just like my mates and I were, and the fading yelps, whines, and screams of the guards sounded like victory to their ears.

  It was over quickly.

  The tide, which had turned so thoroughly against us, reversed like a tsunami crashing over the shore.

  My body hurt like hell, muscles strained and exhausted, cuts and bruises aching with each movement. But as I buried my teeth in a vicious lap dog’s neck, blood coating my mouth and muzzle, I noticed the strangest sound.

  Silence.

  Panting, I looked up to see the gathered wolves standing over prone bodies. No more guards streamed from the entrance to the fortress, which sat open.

  Disbelief warred with hope in my chest as my mind tried to adjust to the knowledge that this insane mission still might work. That my mates and I weren’t about to die—at least, not yet.

  If the Lost Pack wolves hadn’t shown up when they did, the guards would’ve wiped us out. Val had been right. Our numbers had been too small for the threat we’d faced. And while our group’s small size might’ve helped us sneak inside the gate, it’d been a liability the second we were discovered.

  Panting and licking away the blood on my chops, I searched the crowd for Val’s brown wolf. I would know it anywhere.

  My heart thudded harder when I didn’t see it. Oh, fuck, no. Had she died in the fight? There were several wolf bodies on the ground, but I couldn’t tell if they were all lap dogs or not.

  Then my gaze locked on a different form, and I blinked, shock ricocheting through me. I hadn’t seen him before—although his w
olf was so massive I should’ve noticed him right away. His muzzle was streaked with blood, and when his blue gaze met mine, he shifted back to human form.

  Elijah.

  Rhys and West made their way over to me quickly as the old alpha approached. They were the only two of us who’d remained in human form for the whole fight, both laden down with the explosives we planned to use to bring down the compound and destroy the source.

  I shifted in a flash and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Jackson, Noah, and Sariah flanked me too, watching Elijah approach warily.

  “What… what are you doing here?” I choked out.

  It was probably rude to start with that and not a heartfelt thanks, but my lagging brain couldn’t get past the simple question.

  “Val told me where you were headed before she and the others left on their rescue mission.” He pushed his unruly brown hair out of his face. The cut in his lip was healing, but an angry red mark still bisected his beard, which was dotted with blood. The hair would never grow back there.

  “And?” Rhys narrowed his eyes, looking slightly suspicious. I couldn’t blame him. The last time he and Elijah had exchanged words, the old pack alpha had punched him in the face.

  “And I decided out of all the shitty paths ahead of us, this was the best one. I convinced the others to join me.”

  His gaze flicked from Rhys to me, and he dipped his head.

  It was far from the fawning submissiveness I’d seen shifters like Marcus and Walker display, but it conveyed everything it needed to. Whether he ruled the pack or not, Elijah was still an alpha through and through, and it wasn’t in his nature to bow to anyone. He’d yielded to me in our fight, but this small dip of his head meant more to me than his submission had that night. It conveyed respect, understanding, and determination.

  “The best shitty path? Does that mean something to you?” Rhys asked, cocking an eyebrow at me before returning his watchful gaze to the old alpha.

  “Yeah.” I laid a hand on his arm, telling him without words to stand down. “Yeah, it does.”