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We shift our weight, readying to launch ourself at the nearest bear as he strolls forward, his long lumbering steps casual, completely unaware of the death that waits ahead.
Arsenio pulls his pistol from his pack and takes aim at the bear on the other side of the clearing, who’s getting closer and closer by the second. I can only hope he can take all three out without much fight. Even still, the gunshots might alert any other guards in the area of the threat we pose, and the whole distraction will be pointless. Judging by the constant surveillance here, they know just how vital this storage is to their operation, and if it’s a question of his people or his stockpile, I have no doubt in my mind what Aldric would choose if he knew both were under attack.
Thunder cracks in the distance and the earth shakes beneath our feet a few seconds later.
That’s not thunder.
We glance at Arsenio, and he nods, confirming as the blast whooshes through the branches, bathing the sky with an orange glow and bringing a cloud of black smoke in its wake. The chemical scent burns the inside of our nostrils.
“What was that?” the shifter in human form bellows as he steps out from his place in the bushes.
The other three shifters rush back to the clearing, abandoning their check of the perimeter with mere feet to spare.
“I have no idea,” one of the bear shifters says, his tone panicked as he stands. The other two shift as well, and the first guard hands them rifles.
“Greg, if the area is secure, we need your team back here. We’re under attack,” a frightened man’s voice blares from a radio, and the main guard unclips it from his waistband to respond.
“Did you pick up anything?” The first man asks the others, sweeping the clearing again.
Panic grips our chest, but we don’t dare move, knowing even the slightest rustle of leaves will have their suspicions raised in an instant.
“No,” the other guards answer in unison, glancing towards the car parked to their right. Tension radiates through our chest—they must have loved ones back at the compound they’re terrified for. I would feel the same way, but I can’t let those thoughts cloud my judgment, especially not when the thought of reinforcements converging on some of the most important people in my life, my family now, threatens to do just that.
They know what they’re doing,I remind myself. They’ll get out before the bears are able to get to them.
“We just completed our hourly check, and it’s all clear. We’re heading back now,” the guard says before clipping his radio back at his waist and rushing towards the car. “Get your damn clothes on. Let’s move out.”
The three naked shifters rush to the backseat of the car and pull on their forest green shirts and cargo pants while the already dressed guard yanks the branches and leaves from the top of the camo-colored jeep that had been helping to disguise it.
One of the now clothed shifters pulls his phone from his pocket, frantically pushing buttons until the main guard catches it and snatches it away.
“There’s no time for that,” he snarls, ripping the driver’s side door open. “Get the fuck in.”
The frantic guard’s throat bobs, nodding silently as he hops into the back and slams the door closed.
“You idiots too,” the main guard shouts, slamming his door before the others jump in and do the same.
We crouch closer to the ground, not wanting to take any chances as the engine rumbles to life and the headlights flash against the bunker wall. The guard throws the jeep into reverse, the tires squealing all the way out to the main road. Our heart thunders as we wait for the jeep to launch into drive, and we finally let loose a deep sigh of relief when it does, the glow of the red taillights growing fainter and fainter as they rush towards the compound.
I want to wait a few minutes longer, just to make sure they’re gone. It’s almost surreal that our plan has worked this far when everything else has gone to shit before now.
Every moment we waste is a chance that something might go wrong or someone might get hurt.
I pull on my center, letting my human form take over once more, silently thanking my wolf for being here with me. Goosebumps erupt over my skin as the fur vanishes and my human limbs take shape. The cool, damp earth sinks into my skin, colder than it had been in my other form.
“We don’t have much time,” Arsenio says as he helps to unclip my pack.
“I know,” I whisper, still convinced they have to be watching us somehow. “Let’s get the explosives set up here though. I want to spend the least amount of time possible out in the open.”
“Good idea,” Arsenio says as he pulls out the charges and unravels the wires. I help him the best I can, copying his movements but letting him take the lead since destruction is his expertise, after all. Our instincts kick in, working together naturally, and although we’re both naked, it seems natural. We can’t afford to get distracted right now, but under different circumstances … my eyes would be drifting to places I’m carefully avoiding.
“You take the left, and I’ll take the right,” he instructs, handing me the bundles. I lift them gingerly, reminding myself that they aren’t connected to the detonator yet. Still, the gravity of these packages being an immediate death sentence weighs heavily on my shoulders.
He picks up his phone, and the time flashes back at us, quarter after eleven.
Fuck.
It’s only been five minutes since the explosions went off, and it takes about ten minutes to drive from the bunker back to their base.
