“They will wait while we make our way downstairs, our footsteps catching the attention of the hunters awaiting our arrival. As soon as we have their attention, they will zip inside and start freeing the captured supernaturals below. A fight will be waiting for us, so be prepared to shift if necessary. King Julian and I will try to use our alpha blood to calm the wolves and have them submit to us while Miella and Agatha work on taming the vampires.”
Everyone nods in understanding, and with another sharp whistle from me, we silently make our way down the stairs,Hannah and I taking the lead despite my wish for her to hang back, while Miella and Agatha already vanish from our group.
“You hear that?” someone asks loudly from downstairs.
I signal for everyone to stop, waiting with bated breath as we draw the hunters’ attention to us, giving the vampires a chance to find an opening to move.
“I did. Go check to see if any of the intruders made it inside,” a feminine voice calls.
Sabrina takes this as her cue to start the next phase of our plan. After looking at Hannah, the little human takes a deep breath before running down the stairs.
“Help! Someone help me!” Sabrina shouts, her frantic footsteps echoing down the corridor.
I grin, counting to five as we hear the hunters below rushing to Sabrina’s aid. With a quick whistle, our group rushes forward, and within seconds, we hear the sounds of cage doors slamming open and the unmistakable sounds of furious snarls. It seems the vampires have released the rogues, and they are ready for revenge.
“Who the fuck released those mutts?” someone shouts furiously, the sounds of gunfire coming from below. By now, we have caught up to Sabrina, who is waiting for us at the last landing before the stairs turn toward the final descent. She looks terrified, her body shaking as she clutches her ears.
“Aliah,” I call to my warrior, gently placing a hand on Sabrina’s shoulder. “Take Sabrina back to the trailer and prepare our exit plan,” I order.
“Yes, Alpha,” Aliah answers, wrapping her arm carefully around Sabrina.
“Come on, hon, let’s get out of the way,” she says quietly, carefully leading Sabrina back up the stairs and away from the chaos of screams, furious snarling, and gunfire. The metallic tang of blood fills the air the closer we get, and I frown, smelling wolf blood in the mix. Was a rogue shot?
Shaking my head, we reach the base of the stairs, and without needing to be told twice, my and Hannah’s wolves rush into the room, quickly moving toward the hunters still fighting back. I duck just in time as a punch is thrown my way, standing straight to find a naked man snarling at me.
“Stand down!” I order this rogue, grabbing his wrist as another punch is thrown my way. Releasing the power inside me, I let the royal blood flowing through my veins alert the wolves to who I am. The snarling stops, and the wolf quickly submits to me before a bullet flies past our heads. I snarl, turning to find a hunter with blood dripping down his nose, pointing a gun at us. Before I can move, a blur of skin tackles the hunter to the ground, followed by him screaming in pain as his attacker sinks her fangs into his neck, drinking greedily from his veins.
Disgust fills me, but I look away, distracted by the emergence of vampires who quickly ignore us wolves and make their way to the hunters who are either fighting for their lives or taking their last breaths. It seems none of us will have to do anything as the vampires make quick work of turning each hunter into a meal.
Julian,Mikos calls into our link.Our part of the operation was successful. We took out all the hunters in the building.
I sigh with relief, my eyes meeting Hannah’s, who is ordering her wolves to grab the rogues and talk them into submitting. She freezes for a moment before her gaze turns to mine, relief in her blue eyes. It seems she got the news as well.
Then it happens.
A gunshot rings out, and Hannah’s body jerks back as shock and pain fill her eyes.
Static fills my ears, and I rush to her side, the world slowing down as panic settles inside me. The mate bond screams with the desire to save our mate while chaos erupts around us.
62
Hannah
Pain radiates from the burning bullet wound near my chest. My mind is blank, with only one thought running through it—I was shot with a silver bullet.
My body falls back from the impact of the bullet, and muffled shouts reach my ringing ears. How did this happen?
“Hannah. Hannah, look at me, baby!” Julian’s pleading voice cuts through the ringing in my ears, and I turn my head, finding his green gaze fixed on me. “There you are, Hannah,” he coos, pushing my hair out of my face.
“Julian, I need to remove the bullet,” another voice calls, her concern evident.
Julian snarls, pulling me tighter against his body, and I scream from the pain, tears streaming down my face.
“Damn it, Julian, you need to let me get the silver out before it kills Hannah,” the female voice shouts.
The ringing continues in my ear as Julian snarls at her, but I feel him prop my body up and carefully reveal the bullet wound. I can still feel the small metal embedded in me, my flesh burning around it. Silver is a bitch.
“Hannah, this is going to hurt,” the female voice warns before her cold, slim fingers reach into the wound.
