I glare and step back from him, my glare sharp enough to cut. Is he for fucking real right now? “Yeah, once byyou, and once by the bitch that you idiots let lock you in a fucking hallway. Seriously, guys?”
Luca hovers beside me, shaking with the need to check me over. And I don’t care what he needs right now. This is all his fault. I rub my temples with my index fingers. Seriously, how did they think they could do this without me? “Did you at least find the omegas?” I ask.
“Yeah, they’re—”
“Great,” I interrupt Ryan. “Because Sarah called for backup, and we need to get out of here right the fuck now.”
My blood runs cold in that moment, because no sooner have I finished my sentence, does a mindlink from the warriors comes through. My blood turns to ice. It’s too late.
They’re here.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Luca
My heart thunders erratically in my chest. Adrenaline courses through my veins. My mind spins with all the possibilities of what is happening. This has gone from a quick, planned-out mission to an all-out battle. The omegas can’t shift or fight with the collars they are wearing. We have no idea how many enemies are coming.
And most important of all, my mate is here in the middle of it, and she’s hurt. She won’t even let me check her over, but the coppery scent of her fresh blood lingers in my nose. My wolf claws at me from the inside, a hurricane of panic and rage. There’s too much blood. She should be healing. Why the fuck isn’t she healing?
“Sofia, you need to get out of here,” I urge when the mindlink comes through. She scowls at me.
“Luca, you need to go fuck your own face and stop trying to tell me what to do,” she snaps. Her words are acid in my ears, but worsethan that—she’s right. I already stripped her choice once when I put that dart in her. And she hasn’t forgiven me. Why would she?
“That being said, I can’t actually fight—or shift right now. That bitch got me good. And the omegas can’t fight with those collars. I presume you tried breaking them off?”
“They won’t come off,” one of the omegas responds. “They’re imbued with magic that’s unbreakable with strength.”
Sofia steps over to one of the fallen bodies, wincing as she removes a gun from a holster on his hip. As if she’s been handling guns her entire life. “Any idea where we’ll find more guns?”
My chest seizes and my mouth goes dry. A heavy weight descends on me. Ryan lets out a loud growl and mutters to himself about making everyone suffer, and yeah, same buddy.
“Yeah, there’s an armory upstairs,” Jordan informs her. “I’ll take you.”
My wolf lets out a guttural howl, trying to get out. Ready to tear through me to stop him being anywhere near Sofia.
“The fuck you will. That’s my mate,” I snarl at him. It really doesn’t help that he’s standing there unabashedly naked after shifting back into his human form. I guess his pack has embraced the nudity that comes with shifting forms more than we do in Lunar Eclipse. We tend to cover ourselves, if possible, but this guy is right there with his dick out trying to go somewhere with my mate.
Sofia whips on me, all steel and fury. Fates, even injured, she is majestic as fuck.
“Grow up, Luca. Now isn’t the time for pissing matches,” she snaps before turning to address the omegas like she’s their alpha. “Girls, anyone who wants to fight, I suggest you come with me now and get a gun. If you want to go back downstairs and wait it out, that’s totally fine too. Either way, no one gets left behind when we burn this place to the ground.”
“Fuck yeah,” Katie says, her voice echoing Sofia’s, full of fire and hunger for retribution. She beckons the omegas to follow up the stairs. And just like that, they’re moving. Ready to follow Sofia into battle. The way I should have.
My pulse spikes. She can’t. She’s too pale, too slow. I can smell the blood that’s still flowing from her. I reach for her, fingers clamping around her arm before I can stop myself. My wolf snarls inside me.Don’t let go. Don’t lose her.
“I don’t have time for you to underestimate me right now, Beta,” she snaps, yanking her arm back.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sofia
The sound outside swells into complete chaos—snarls and growls, clashing jaws, and claws tearing through flesh. Ryan, Jackson, Caleb, and his brothers are already in wolf form and joining the melee. Their bodies collide with the enemy in a blur of fur and blood.
Or is that my vision blurring?
But Luca doesn’t move. He stands there, grasping my arm, holding me in place. His eyes stare into my soul, blazing with desperation.
“I’ve never underestimated you. I just can’t live without you. Even if you’re angry at me. Even if you hate me. I love you, and I need you to be alive and safe. Promise me you’ll be safe.”
