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Chapter 24
Meira
Isprint away from the zombies, cutting across the grounds and hurrying toward the side of the fortress. Moments ago, I rode the wave of the undead, using them as a shield against the bullets. My pulse is still in my throat from doing that. And now it beats frantically after I had spotted Dušan darting after Mad. They headed down this wide path between the building and lofty fence. Several of his guards followed, and that worries the hell out of me.
I desperately bolt after them because I want Mad dead, and I don’t trust anything about him, let alone him not trapping Dušan.
The main yard is exploding with combat. There are so many Shadow Monsters that it’s difficult to discern who is who down there. I instructed the undead to run down to the building, hoping that was enough to drive fear into the guards and get them to back away. It seems to have worked with them desperately trying to get away from them.
My feet punch the ground, and with my head low, I sprint down the slope and toward the passage alongside the fortress.
Up ahead, two wolves are spiraling in a wild battle. Fur and fangs are all I see in the vicious fight. Dušan against Mad. Thunderous roars spill around us, primal and explosive. The way they tumble and bite into each other in violent motions has me shivering. Two guards still in human form watch them, and I don’t miss that one is holding a rifle.
Ice fills my veins.
Will he shoot Dušan?
My legs explode in rapid movement just as the gray wolf with black ears who has to be Mad is tossed aside from the fight. He rolls and lands on his side with a huff. Blood mats his fur, peppering his body, and he scrambles upright.
My Alpha stands tall, heaving for each breath, blood running down the side of his wolf face. But he remains strong, head high and a growl erupting from his throat, his teeth exposed. The image is terrifying. Yet seeing him this powerful, this brutal, warms my heart. I love every inch of him even more when he’s this dominant.
I duck behind several trees against the fortress. Everyone is too occupied with the fight to notice me, and I don’t intend to get shot, either.
Dušan doesn’t spare Mad a second. He charges him, headbutting him in the side, throwing him off his paws. But in that same moment, the two guards snarl and drop to their hands and knees. A heartbeat is all it takes for their clothes to shred and fall away as their bodies enlarge, giving way to an explosion of charcoal fur. The snap of bones fills the air.
It happens so fast that terror sinks through me. My wolf rises in me at my heightened anxiety. She pushes to escape, to deal with this for me. Except that would be suicidal. If I let her loose, I can never shift back.
“Dušan, watch out!” I scream, throwing myself out from behind the tree.
The two guards are already on him, the fight suddenly three against one.
Anger flares over me, my body heating with the rage of them all turning on him. Of course they wouldn’t make this a fair fight.
I rush toward them and snatch the first rock I lay my sights on, something the size of my fist, then I grab a short, thick branch.
My brain is numb from the horrendous, cruel sounds of their barbaric brawl. My head spins, but they all leap at one another, taking bites at Dušan. They move with tremendous speed.
The sight of my soulmate butchered will haunt me forever. I suck in shaky breaths and with all my strength, I hurl a rock at one of the guard wolves offering me a clear view of his side.
Thump.
It smacks right into his head, just below his ear, hard enough that it knocks him off Dušan. He teeters on his feet, then shakes his head. But I don’t waste a second and sprint toward him.
My knees tremble as I rush to him. Before he reacts, I jab the pointy end of my stick right at his ribs. With all my weight behind me, I drive the branch into him, piercing skin. It sinks in deeper than I expect.
He yelps and flinches away from me, sucking the branch right out of my hands, still jabbed between his ribs. His cries add to the chaotic sounds flooding the air. He collapses and starts transforming back into his human form, already passed out.
I turn to the fight, where I notice now it’s only Dušan on top of the guard, but Mad has slipped from the fight. My heart speeds up. Where the hell is he?
A sudden, loud whistle carves through the sounds. My head swings toward the back of the fortress.
Mad stands about fifteen feet away, naked, his body covered in bitemarks and bruises. He’s now holding the rifle the other guard carried. The butt is tucked into the pocket against his shoulder, one hand gripping the stock, and the other on the trigger. He’s pointing at Dušan.
Darkness sweeps over me, stealing all my thoughts… taking everything but the ringing of the gun firing.
I scream, catapulting myself toward Dušan. “Run!”
My heart thunders as my world dissolves and moves too fucking slow for me to ever reach him in time.
