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I had to keep going.
The light grew bigger, stronger, but it didn’t make me feel better, because there was no telling what I’d find when I got there. The air was hot, far too still, and I could barely breathe.
Bjorn grunted from behind me. The big bear made sure no one could get me from behind. I looked back at him; his face was in deep shadows, but he nodded, like he approved of what we were doing.
The sound of voices became clearer. Human voices.
My heart dropped. I picked up my pace, careful of the craggy footing to make sure I didn’t fall flat on my face. There was no telling what we’d find, and even though I wasn’t exactly in fighting shape, I needed to be at my best.
When we got to the end of the hallway, the lights looked modern. They weren’t fire. There was actual electricity here. Whoa. Not a good sign on two counts—they’d been here a while, and they were using modern equipment.
A metal door had been left open a crack. Seemed like a mistake, but I would use it to our advantage. I opened it slowly, cringing as it creaked, announcing our arrival. The wolves squeezed past me.
Bjorn stayed with me. Always the protector. I appreciated that.
Around the corner, there was yelling, barking, howling, and screaming. Some of our wolves were attacking people dressed in white coats, while others were freeing humans who had been tied to metal stakes in the ground. Women, men, and a few shifters that had been caught in the crossfire.
“Hannah!” Zoe called to me from the corner. Her arms were still bound behind her back, and I hoped it was the shadowy lighting making her face look like she’d been drained. Literally.
I rushed to her, and my numb fingers fumbled with the thick, tightly knotted ropes. Whoever had tied this meant business.
“I’m so glad to see you. I thought I was gonna die down here. We have to hurry, Hannah. They’ll know you’re here.” Her eyes were wide, panicked.
A roar shook the mountain, stopping everyone in their tracks, but for only a moment.
“Oh, they know we’re here.” I was getting frustrated with the ropes. I couldn’t get them free. “Stay still. You’re making the knot tighter.”
“It feels like it’s cutting through my skin.” Zoe’s face was a purply grey. It was no lighting effect. I had to get her out of here.
One of the wolves came over and bit through the rope, tugging it away.
Zoe tried to pull herself up, but her arms were like limp noodles. She needed my help, but she was like dead weight.
“What have they done to you?”
“Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything.” But before we even made it to the door, she passed out.
Bjorn picked her up and carried her down the narrow, dark hallway. The wolves were helping the others who were too weak to make the trip on their own. I stumbled out into the sunlight, not believing my eyes as those zombie beasts that had seemed like such a threat before we’d gone into the mountain were literally melting back into the earth.
“Where’s Lars?” I could hardly breathe. He was nowhere to be found. I assumed that horrible roar that shook the mountain came from Leif, and I’d been too busy trying to save Zoe to even think about what was happening with him.
But now, it was all I could think about.
What if his brother had access to a spell that had done the same thing to him?
I fell to the ground beside Zoe. My body ached with the heaviness of all I had seen that day. Closing my eyes felt like a luxury, each blink too long, my brain overwhelmed and exhausted by the otherworldly scene that I wasn’t sure I completely understood.
What was happening to Tanyth? I rose on shaky legs, clapping my hand over my mouth when I saw another squatch on top of her.
Had Leif resurrected more of them? Or had he found a way to create new ones?
I was foolish to think I could help this ancient squatch, but if she needed me…so many emotions flooded through my body as I rushed over to her. I didn’t know how I’d defend her against a zombie sasquatch, but there had to be something I could do.
“I love you so much.”
Sweet moon, Lars was back in his natural form, holding his mate, as she faded back into the earth.
* * *
