Page 69

His eyes flicked to the side, usually a sign of someone speaking telepathically.

“Shit. I have to go. The jet is about to take off.” Both hands gripped her face. “Promise me you’ll go to the castle.”

Ella’s mind whirled with a million thoughts.

“Promise me,” Mack demanded.

“I promise,” she said softly, nodding.

Then he kissed her harshly on the mouth and held her eyes with such ferocity Ella couldn’t breathe.

Then he teleported away.

Staring at the vacant space he’d left as her heart pounded, Ella began to shake..

What in the ever-loving shit just happened?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

MACK

The flight to Finland was a long twenty hours, and mostly quiet except for a bunch of banter. Typical of warriors trying to keep themselves sane.

All of them knew the risk they were taking, despite being vampires. The Russian Bratva had the serum. All of them had been shot with the incapacitating shit in recent months, so knew how fucked they’d be if it happened while out on this mission without back up.

No Moretti soldier’s or medical team would swoop in and save them while completely unconscious.

If they weren’t enslaved, the sun could kill them.

Mack had watched all the male’s saying goodbyes to their mates, the females waving as they drove to the airfield. Mack had almost lost his mind when he’d not been able to reach Ella. But leaving the team had been unacceptable.

Until it wasn’t.

They were on the tarmac loading the plane, and she’d called. At no time, until the words left his lips, did he plan to tell Ella he loved her.

Never.

Jesus.Her silence had been deafening...and understandable.

But Mack had decided he wasn’t leaving this fucking life without her knowing how he felt about her.Hadfelt about her for almost his whole life.

As long as he could remember.

Going a step further and telling her she was his mate wasn’t possible. There was no time and still a lot to talk about. They’d already made love, and the bond had been triggered. It was why he was so itchy and ready to grab the closest parachute and return home to her.

Kurt was watching him closely.

“Okay there, hybrid?”

“Yup.” His knee bounced up and down.

Kurt watched him a little longer, then glanced away. Clearly thinking he was holding it together. He was.

For now.

They’d chosen Finland for its rugged and lightly patrolled border. Once on the ground, they would tap into some local smuggler routes to cross into Russia. It was either that or arrive via the Black Sea, but sourcing low profile vessels such as a yacht or fishing boat would take far more time than they had.

Nikolay would be scrambling to get the serum produced if he hadn’t already done so. As the head of the Bratva, he was a connected and influential human.