AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ralph shook his head. “You go in there, Gunner—”
“No,” Simone interrupted.
Gunner lifted a hand to touch his mate’s face, but she backed away. “Baby—”
“No!” Simone and I both said at the same time.
I snatched the phone from Ralph’s hand.
“Dammit, Desarae, don’t look at that!”
I spun away from him and stared down at the glowing screen—a picture of my brother’s shredded body hung suspended by his arms. A large pool of dark red blood puddled beneath him on the floor. A thick river of crimson had flowed away from him and down a drainage grill set into the concrete.
The gentle, loving, human part of me gasped in horror.
But the wolf—the Breeder in me who had defended my pack without hesitation—she came forward and snarled.
I couldn’t look away. The rogue would never let my brother live. He’d torture Deck until it wasn’t fun anymore...or until Deck died from blood loss. There would be no trading places. No matter what, Decker would be the first to die.
Why? Why did you decide to be my hero now? You should’ve waited for us.
I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. Seff, Gunner, and Ralph—their combined natural scents exuded something new, heavy and warm, pure and true, like cedarwood and deep earthy musk, as though they feared nothing.
I opened my eyes and looked at each male in turn. Gunner and Ralph gave me a slight nod.
Seff lifted my hand to view the picture on the phone. “We don’t have much time.”
I gazed out at the horizon. The sky had taken on a dark purple hue, with a bright line of lavender running along the horizon.
The words I spoke held no emotion. “It doesn’t matter what we do. The rogue will kill my brother.” I focused, and because my brother and I were in close proximity to each other, I immediately found the thread we shared. “Decker...Decker is dying.”
Seff’s hands framed my face. “Desarae.”
I’d thought I couldn’t ever hurt more than I had when the rogues killed my pack, but I was wrong.
I inhaled a shaky breath and whispered, “He’s dying, Seff. I don’t want him to suffer anymore.”
“That’s why I’m going in there,” Gunner said as he lifted the duffle bag Ralph had set next to his feet.
Simone reluctantly helped her mate pull everything from the bag. Both Ralph and Simone assisted Gunner as he dressed in what looked like bomb unit gear. Ralph drew a large helmet with a plastic face shield from inside the duffle and handed it to Simone. When Gunner leaned down, Simone wrapped one hand around his neck and kissed him hard.
“I hate this,” she whispered. “I wish you would wait until Kern arrived, but I know we don’t have the time.”
“I’m as protected as I can be, baby.” Gunner pounded his fist against his chest.
“I know, just...don’t be reckless.”
“I love the fuck outta you.” He growled. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Simone helped him with the helmet and buckled it under his chin. She pulled up part of the jacket, snapping it in place to protect Gunner’s neck.
Gunner glanced at Seff and me and shrugged. “Ralph picked this up for me. I wasn’t about to face these bastards bare-ass-naked and unprotected.” He grinned, but his smile faded as his enormous canines lengthened, and his bright green eyes turned serious. “I need someone to stir this sonofabitch up. Light a fucking fire on his ass so I can get in there.”
Seff nodded and held his hand out for the phone.
I shook my head. “I’ll do it.” Seff’s approving nod let me know he understood.
I tapped the ‘recent’ icon, then tapped my brother’s number.
