Page 14

Marinah

He’d thought about our children. Knowing that made the idea feel more real. But not now, not here, not on U.S. soil. I wanted any child we brought into this world to be born on our island, after the danger from the hellhounds and the Federation had passed, after we were living in peace. It might have been a dream, but it was a dream that would keep me going when things got rough.

What didn’t sit as easily with me was the burning need for my mate. It went far beyond anything physical. It was about closeness, sharing food, thoughts, space, and simply being one. I’d never understood the bond between two people in love before. Maybe our Warrior side amplified it and pushed it into something even deeper. Why didn’t matter. I needed King like I needed air.

Patience wasn’t a strength of mine, and I didn’t do well with downtime. King understood that better than anyone. That’s why we had the quick sparring match. It had been for me, to burn off my restless energy. When we finally returned to the island, I planned to kidnap him for a month. The other Warriors could handle saving mankind and dealing with the extra bullshit. We needed time, just the two of us, away from everything.

The remaining hours passed in preparation. After a quick lunch, we left the building we’d been holed up in and scouted nearby high-rises around the Federation’s camp. Some were too unstable to reach, but we found several that would work.

“Your strategizing is improving,” King said after we climbed to the top of one promising building.

I gave him a questioning look. “How so?”

“You’re thinking like a Warrior,” he replied. “When you first arrived on the island, even after we discovered your secret, strategy was foreign to you. But now you’ve embraced the part of you that sees the bigger picture.”

“Did you wait for me to voice my opinion earlier?” I asked curiously.

He nodded. “I always do.”

“I’m gaining confidence.”

“Yes.” His gaze swept over me with obvious appreciation. “You are.”

We were in the middle of a war, planning an assault on a heavily armed enemy, and yet, King’s praise made me want to jump up and down like a child. He understood me more than I realized. He got what I was going through when it came to figuring out my capabilities, and that connection gave me a boost of confidence I hadn’t known I needed.

We made it back to camp before the others, but it wasn’t long before Axel and Garret arrived. They said all the right things as they unpacked their bags, but something about the way they carried themselves put me on edge. It was subtle, but it was there. What bothered me more was that King didn’t seem to notice. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. I trusted Axel implicitly, but Garret? Not as far as I could throw him.

Axel and Garret began unloading their haul, spreading out their finds for us to inspect.

“It wasn’t as much as we’d hoped,” Axel admitted, “but at least they hadn’t been picked completely clean. We also found a buried grocery store with canned goods. No one’s entered it since the bombings. It’s a goldmine.”

He looked at Garret in a way that made my stomach churn, like there was a private conversation happening between them that I wasn’t privy to. Garret snapped his gaze away and addressed me without fully meeting my eyes.

“Once this is over, I’ll bring a larger team to transport everything we found. It’ll supplement our food stores and help us prepare for winter.”

I didn’t say anything, just nodded, but I couldn’t help the protective feeling rising in me for Axel. Something was going on, and it was eating at me.

Before Axel and Garret could even settle in with MREs for dinner, Beck and Labyrinth arrived, bickering as they entered.

“It was once an hour,” Labyrinth said defensively.

“He took at least seven breaks. That’s more than once an hour,” Beck growled back.

“He didn’t go all the way to the latrine on three of them. Those don’t count,” Labyrinth argued, throwing his hands up.

Beck’s irritation boiled over, and his voice rose. “When you’re on guard duty, you don’t leave your post. Ever. People die when the guard doesn’t do his job.”

Labyrinth crossed his arms defiantly. “If you gotta go, you gotta go.”

“Then piss in your pants,” Beck shot back like a hammer. “You don’t abandon your position for any reason.”

“Okay, boys,” I said, keeping my face straight even though the usually quiet, serene Labyrinth was clearly baiting Beck. He’d been doing it more and more lately, testing the limits of the other man’s patience. “Why don’t you eat and get rid of the hangries?”

Of King’s guard, Labyrinth was the one most unknown to me. The different color of his eyes always gave me pause. Add in his goliath size and calm demeanor, and he was more than just a mystery. I rarely saw his playful side like now. Sometimes he defended me in meetings, and at other times he rejected my thoughts. His comment about temper tantrums the night before had surprised me and hit home just a little more because I hadn’t expected it from him.

Beck I understood. Nokita was also easy to read, and his antics were legend. I could even understand Cabel. He wasn’t the newest guard, but he was the newest to me. Axel was simply my friend. But Labyrinth… He’d easily deferred to me when we were held by the Federation, but I simply didn’t know him like I knew the others. I wanted to question King about him, but that would bring on the mating rage, so I couldn’t.

Two sets of eyes drilled into me and brought me out of my wool gathering. I couldn’t help the grin that slid into my expression. “Or not,” I added with mock innocence, throwing in a dramatic shiver for effect.

Of course, King growled over my shoulder, his warning clear to the men for daring to look at me like that. Sheesh, his overprotectiveness could be exhausting.

Surprisingly, Labyrinth and Beck finally shook off their bickering and joined the group. Even more surprisingly, Labyrinth winked at me when King wasn’t looking, and Beck just grumbled under his breath as he began his report.

“The tents hold supplies. We didn’t spot extra weapons, which is good news. The bad news is a hundred more hellhounds came in today. The containers are full now. The guards switch out every five hours, but they’re lax and sloppy.”

Labyrinth grabbed the stick King had used earlier to draw maps in the dirt and started sketching the layout again. “The hellhounds are locked in with a simple slide bar. That’s all that keeps them contained. The problem is, with all four cars full, one beam won’t hold. We’ll need at least two. If they get even one container open, it will be much harder for us to accomplish the mission.”

He glanced at Beck before delivering the other news, and Beck’s gaze shifted briefly to King. “They’re using whistles or something similar. It’s a sound frequency that controls the hellhounds. The closer the hounds got to the soldiers, the louder the buzz. It’s irritating, but it doesn’t affect us.”

Something sparked in my memory. “Could they be playing with sound waves? That’s what they hit us with when we were trying to leave Washington.”

Beck nodded. “Well, whatever they’re using now works. We need to get our hands on one of those whistles.”

The meeting broke up after that. We all needed rest for what was coming. King took the first watch, leaving me to lie down and try to settle my thoughts. Beck and Labyrinth were snoring in unison, and Axel and Garret were huddled in the corner, talking in voices so low even my Warrior-enhanced hearing couldn’t make out their words.

I pulled my rifle close on one side and my sword on the other. A few hours of solid sleep was all I needed to be ready. Tomorrow, we would fight.

I slept until King gently shook me awake.

∞∞∞

“We leave in fifteen,” King said, standing over me.

I didn’t grumble or make any snide comments. I just wanted to get this over with. K-5 sparked through me, and I let Ms. Beast send a little more into my system. We were going to need it.

The streets were dark and eerily quiet as we made our way toward the Federation camp. When we reached the building King and I had scoped out earlier, the men left me to set up. I hadn’t told King, but I was shifting to human the moment I got into position. I couldn’t afford to miss a shot because of my claws.

I found my spot and set up the rifle. It wasn’t technically a sniper rifle, but this baby would do the trick.

My shift was seamless. In the early days, Ms. Beast and I fought for control, but now we’d reached an understanding and we worked as one unit most of the time. Her forte was killing, and especially when we were on the same page, she didn’t mind my human side taking the lead.

As the last prickle of the shift rippled through my skin, I stretched my shoulders and got to work. I grabbed a hair tie and wrapped it around my braids. Then came the boots.

Lovingly, I lifted them from my pack and slid them on, savoring the feel of the leather hugging my feet. After a small caress, I set my sights back on the task at hand. I picked up the AK, brought my leg up for stability, and rested my elbow on my knee.

Yeah, I couldn’t help admiring my sexy booted feet for a second before I focused. Through the scope, I scanned the Federation camp below. Using the marks on the reticle, I calculated the linear distance. At 330 yards, the AK was well within its effective range.

I exhaled slowly, steadying my aim. Showtime.

I brought the scope to my eye and swept the area near where I knew King and the men were heading in. A few seconds later, I spotted them, their figures moving swiftly toward the camp. King’s powerful muscles devoured the distance, his frame imposing even in the shadows. He and Labyrinth carried one beam, while Beck and Axel hefted the other. I looked back at King, unable to tear my eyes away. Watching him move sent a surge of excitement through me. I whispered a quick prayer for his safety, for the men’s safety, and for my ability to keep them covered.

Movement flickered in the corner of my eye. I adjusted the scope slightly and found a sentry, his figure barely visible in the low light as he moved closer to King and the others. Another shadow caught my attention. It was Garret. He appeared silently behind the guard, and with a single, lethal strike he took him down. The fluidity and speed of his action gave me reassurance. Garret could handle himself, and that knowledge settled some of my earlier doubts.

I shifted the scope, scanning the camp for the remaining guards. I located one, standing near a railcar, but the other eluded me. My breathing remained steady.

I reminded myself of the reality we were facing. Many of the Federation soldiers had been conscripted against their will, forced into this horror. But there was no threat the Federation could have made to compel me to kill children. These men had made their choice, and I wouldn’t carry guilt for their deaths.

If they’d captured the outpost survivors and taken them away, we would have followed. We would have fought to free them. But the soldiers had chosen annihilation instead. They’d left us no alternative, and they deserved what was coming.

I steadied my hands, my eye locked on the scene below. This was war, and there was no room for hesitation.

Another flash to the left caught my attention. I spotted Garret closing in on the second guard. His quick, methodical kill ensured the man was down. For a brief moment, I thought we were in the clear. A gunshot cracked through the darkness, aimed at King and the men as they reached the metal shipping containers. My pulse spiked as I scanned the area, spotting the shooter as another muzzle flash gave him away. I inhaled sharply, steadying my aim. I pulled the trigger, and the man dropped.

“King and Labyrinth slammed the beam into place and sprinted toward the makeshift barracks. Gunfire erupted again, and I caught sight of two soldiers bolting from a nearby building. I took them both out with quick, precise shots. My heart clenched when King reached the thin aluminum siding of the barracks. The material wouldn’t stop a bullet, and every instinct in me wanted to yell at him to move.

A set of doors on the far-right building burst open, and a hail of gunfire erupted. Soldiers streamed out, firing blindly at the Warriors’ positions. I didn’t hesitate. My scope found two more targets, and I took them out before King and the Warriors surged into action.

My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to turn my attention to the rest of the camp. Movement to the left drew my focus. Two men dragged Garret between them, his body limp, his head lolling as though unconscious. Rage flared hot, and I lined up my shot. My first bullet dropped one man with a clean headshot, sending Garret tumbling to the ground. The second tried to run, but my next shot buried itself in the center of his back. He fell, lifeless.

Garret wasn’t moving. Panic clawed at me, and I knew he could still be alive. If I didn’t get to him, it wouldn’t be for long. I slung the rifle over my shoulder, adjusted the sword at my hip, and headed to the stairs.

I hit the debris-strewn street at a full sprint, angling north to approach from a direction that avoided King’s position. Garret had been about halfway between the north entrance and the metal barracks. If King handled the soldiers where he was, I could get to Garret and take him to safety.

It wasn’t the plan, but sometimes plans were about improvising and surviving.

I crept into the camp, sticking close to the shadows of half-demolished buildings. My eyes locked onto Garret where he lay sprawled and motionless. Keeping low, I circled wide, scanning for any lingering soldiers. Gunfire cracked in the distance, coming from King’s direction. Frustration gripped me because I didn’t know what was happening.

Spotting no immediate threat, I darted forward, heading straight for Garret. A bullet whizzed past my head, close enough to make my ears ring. I dove behind a crumpled vehicle, heart pounding. From the leather strap across my chest, I pulled a handgun and gripped it tightly, preparing to peek around the edge.

That’s when I heard the voice.

“Well, well, what do we have here, boys?”

Crap. That voice was burned into my memory. General Smythe.

Fury exploded in my chest. Ms. Beast raged in my head. K ill, kill, kill , her voice nearly drowned out rational thought. It took everything I had not to shift. My vision blurred with red as the haze of rage threatened to consume me.

Smythe might not know I was a Shadow Warrior, which gave me the upper hand, or at least, that’s what I told myself. It was four against one, and even if I wanted to shift and rip their faces off, it wasn’t the smart play. King was right, a bullet would stop me.

“You have four rifles trained on you, Ms. Church. Do the smart thing, or they’ll fire.”

After inhaling deeply, I dropped the gun and raised my arms slowly, making no sudden moves.

Where the heck was King?

The kick came out of nowhere, smashing into the side of my head and sending me sprawling onto the dusty pavement. My cheek hit the ground hard, and blood filled my mouth. Before I could recover, Smythe leaned down, pressing the cold barrel of his gun against my temple.

“How many Shadow Warriors are with you?” he demanded.

I turned my head just enough to spit blood onto the ground and sneer up at him. Smythe’s boot came down on several of my braids, pinning me in place. The pressure sent pain across my scalp, but it didn’t faze me.

My gaze shifted to Garret. His fingers twitched, moving slowly toward the knife strapped to his side. Relief bloomed in my chest. He was alive. I just needed to keep Smythe and his lackeys focused on me.

“There are nearly two hundred Warriors raining down on your head right now,” I said, my voice dripping with hatred.

Smythe leaned in, my braids still pinned beneath his boot. His finger trailed down my cheek in a mockery of tenderness. “You’re a liar, little miss defense secretary, a traitor to your country. And you know what the punishment for treason is, don’t you?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s death.”

He straightened, aiming his rifle at my head again. I barely registered the movement behind him, but Smythe heard a noise. I seized my chance. My hand shot up, gripping the barrel of Smythe’s rifle. I twisted hard, ripping it from his grasp as I propelled myself off the ground.

Using the rifle, I slammed the butt into his face. His nose crunched, and he dropped like a stone statue.

A gunshot cracked, the bullet slicing past my ear, too close for comfort. Spinning with the rifle still in my hands, I swung it like a club, driving the stock into the stomach of the next soldier. He doubled over, gasping, just as my other hand reached for my sword.

Garret was on the ground, locked in a rolling struggle with one of Smythe’s men. Another soldier froze, his gun half-raised, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes.

I locked onto his gaze, my voice low and full of his promised death. “Run.”

The word barely left my mouth before I let Ms. Beast take over. The shift was explosive. The soldier’s scream echoed through the air as I lunged. He didn’t get more than two steps before my claws caught him, dragging him toward me. My teeth sank into the back of his neck, and with a vicious push of my hand against his spine, I ripped his spinal column free. Blood sprayed in a wide arc; the metallic tang sharp in the air as his body crumpled.

But I was already moving. Garret’s attacker barely registered me before my claws raked across his throat, the gurgling sound of his death cut short. I kicked the lifeless body off Garret and dropped to my knees beside him.

Blood soaked the front of his shirt, the fabric clinging to his chest. My claws made quick work of tearing it open. “Where are you hit?” I demanded, scanning the mess of crimson for the source.

Garret wheezed. “Chest… knife… deep.”

I gritted my teeth while my hands worked frantically to find the wound. “Stay with me,” I growled. “I’ve got you.”

I tore Garret’s shirt completely off, revealing two puncture wounds. Using the halves of the ruined fabric, I pressed down hard on the bleeding injuries. I worked quickly, reaching for the extra strap on my chest. It was designed for moments exactly like this. King had insisted I practice buckling and unbuckling the leather in Beast form until it became easier in most circumstances.

“You’re not dying on me,” I muttered, tightening the strap securely around Garret’s chest. “Stay with me, okay?”

He coughed, the sound wet and rattling deep in his lungs. My stomach sank. This wasn’t good. “I’m not going anywhere,” he groaned weakly. His breath came in short, labored bursts.

My gaze flicked to Smythe, still alive but unconscious. We needed him for answers. I couldn’t leave him here indefinitely, but Garret wouldn’t last if I didn’t get him out of this mess first. Adjusting my weapons, I bent down and hoisted Garret into a fireman’s carry.

Before heading north, away from King, I delivered a swift kick to Smythe’s head, ensuring he’d stay out cold.

“Marinah,” Garret’s voice was faint. “You need to let me go. Leave me here. Help King.”

“No.”

“You must.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, adjusting my grip on him and ignoring his protests. The best spot to take him was my previous sniper position. King knew he would find me there. My muscles burned as I sprinted, leaping over debris and scaling cement walls nearly seven feet high with Garret over my shoulder.

Gunfire cracked sporadically from the camp behind us, the sound chasing my every step.

“Go to your mate,” Garret ground out between wheezes.

“Oh, shut up, you whiny baby,” I growled, forcing my legs to move faster. “You’re responsible for the loss of my Doc Martens, and if you die on me, I’ll chase you straight into hell to get my revenge.”

He didn’t respond. By the time I reached the building, he was unconscious. My heart hammered as I raced up the stairs, taking them four at a time.

I laid him down as gently as I could once I gained the rooftop. His chest heaved unevenly, the wheezing louder now. Blood soaked the makeshift bandages, and I tightened the strap around his chest, trying to slow the bleeding. It wasn’t enough, but it was all I could do.

I brushed Garret’s hair from his forehead, then picked up my rifle. Resting my eye on the scope, I scanned the area below. Whatever was coming, I would protect Garret, and my mate, with everything I had.

King and the others were pinned behind one of the buildings. I scanned the camp through my scope, waiting for the next muzzle flash. When it came, I fired, dropping the man. Another flash, another shot. I ran the scope across the camp, searching for movement, but the only sign of life came when Labyrinth’s head popped out briefly. No gunfire followed.

The Warriors left their cover, pushing deeper into the camp. I tracked them as they approached the spot where Garret had gone down. No sign of Smythe. My stomach twisted.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

The look on King’s face when he bent down to pick up one of my tattered, bloodied boots didn’t help. He shook his head, and even from this distance, I could feel the fury radiating from him.

Oops.

He barked an order at Labyrinth, but I couldn’t read his lips from this angle. Maybe it was better I didn’t know what he said. A faint noise from Garret drew my attention, and I lowered the rifle, crouching beside him. His pulse was weak beneath my fingers.

“Can’t breathe,” he rasped, his chest heaving shallowly.

“I’ll get Axel,” I said quickly, but he groaned in protest.

“No time,” he gasped. His eyes cracked open, glassy with pain. “Tell him it would’ve been great. Please tell him.”

I slipped my clawed hand beneath his head, lifting it slightly. “You’re not dying on me,” I growled. “I just went through hell to save you, and the only chance I have of surviving King’s wrath is keeping you alive.”

His lips twitched faintly, like he might argue, but then his eyes rolled back, and he went limp.

His words replayed in my head, and suddenly, it clicked. This was why Axel didn’t trigger King’s mating rage. My mate had known, but of course, he hadn’t shared. I felt like an idiot for not piecing it together sooner.

Axel needed a mate, and Garret, apparently, had been the answer all along. I thought about what had gone through my head. Odd, strange, those were the words. I felt bad now because I hadn’t understood. Garret had to live. Axel deserved happiness just like the rest of us. There was no time to dwell. I lifted the rifle again, returning to my task of keeping Garret alive.

I found King in the scope and fired a shot over their heads, ensuring they saw my muzzle flash. Another shot followed, drawing their attention upward. Smythe could wait. Right now, Garret’s life was the priority.

The Warriors understood the message. King turned on his heel and charged back the way they’d come, heading straight for me.

“Hurry,” I whispered, my heart pounding.