AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jagger gives me an understanding nod. “Of course. Go ahead.”
I glance at Edirn, who seems to read my mind. Of course he does. I really hope he keeps a handle on that shit.
Psychic. What next?
We both pivot and head for the door, my strides long and purposeful. I can’t get to Cedara fast enough.
As we step out into the hallway, I’m brought up short by the sight further down the corridor. It’s Raura walking beside a well-dressed man in an expensive suit. Even from this distance, I can sense an aura of power and authority radiating off him.
“The man of the hour,” I mutter. This must be the police commissioner – Parker – that everyone’s been grumbling about. My eyes narrow as I study him. He’s impeccably groomed, his hair perfectly coiffed, his suit crisp and tailored. But there’s something off about him, too – a coldness in his flat brown eyes that doesn’t match his polished exterior.
Edirn has frozen beside me, his body rigid with tension. I glance over at him in confusion, only to find him staring at Parker with an expression of abject horror.
“What’s wrong?” I murmur under my breath.
Edirn doesn’t respond at first, his eyes boring into the man up ahead with a murderous look. Finally, he speaks in a low, strained voice. “I recognize him…from Whispering Pines.”
My brows knit together. “What do you mean?”
“He was there,” Edirn continues hoarsely. “Giving orders, instructing the others on what to do with us…”
A chill runs through me as the implication sinks in. This Commissioner Parker – if he’s really a police commissioner at all – is the kingpin behind the whole Whispering Pines operation, the illegal trading of shifters!
My gaze snaps back to Parker, fury and disgust roiling in my gut. This pretentious bastard is the one responsible for caging up Cedara’s family and so many others. And now he’s here in Steel Lakes under false pretenses…
What the fuck does he want?
???
Barrett
I don’t get a chance to find out because Edirn launches into action. His body tenses, muscles coiling like springs as a snarl rips from his throat. Rage contorts his features into a mask of pure hate as he hurls himself toward Parker.
Parker’s eyes widen in alarm as Edirn charges. His guards snap into action, seeming to materialize from every corner. They’re a well-drilled unit, brandishing firearms as they rapidly form a perimeter around their boss. Shouts of warning echo through the corridor.
We’re in danger! All of us!
Someone swings a gun up, but Edirn’s momentum barely slows. He plows straight into the line of guards, scattering them like tenpins.
More of our fighters pour in from adjoining hallways, alerted by the commotion. Tarkin and Callum are at the forefront, eyes blazing as their wolves simmer beneath the surface. They hurl themselves into the fray, fists flying.
The first gunshots crack the air like a whipcrack. Jagger storms out of his office, his powerful frame rippling.
I see Tarkin take a hit, red blossoming on the front of his shirt as he stares down at it, and then, unthinkably, he sinks to one knee. His face morphs into surprise and alarm as he clutches at his shoulder.
“Silver!” he chokes out, dropping further. “They’re using silver!”
Fuck!
Their ammunition is silver. They know exactly what they’re up against…and they came prepared.
I half-shift without conscious thought, my own rage boiling over. Parker’s smug face fills my vision like a red flag to a bull as I fling myself out of the line of fire, taking cover behind a nearby pillar.
I crouch low behind it, panting heavily as the acrid stench of gunpowder and blood hangs thick in the air. Edirn’s initial charge has devolved into a full-blown melee, our wolves trading blows with Parker’s guards. The sharp reports of gunfire punctuate the snarls and cries of combat.
A body slams into the ground nearby with a sickening thud. I risk a glance and feel bile rise in my throat. It’s Lyle, one of our younger recruits. His eyes are open and glassy, a bullet hole oozing blackened blood from his chest. The wound isn’t closing…the silver is keeping it open.
One of us…they got one of us!
