Page 17

SAbrINA

The mine loomed ahead, a jagged scar against the mountainside as our convoy approached.

Logan’s security team was made up of ex-military shifters with hard eyes.

As they arrived, they fanned out in precise formation as they worked with the sheriff’s deputies and environmental inspectors in securing the perimeter.

My medical bag weighed heavily on my shoulder.

I had packed extra supplies in preparation for the worst-case scenario.

Workers in mud-caked boots and hard hats gathered at the entrance, their faces rigid with distrust. A few spat on the ground as we passed.

These weren’t just employees but Roberts’s loyalists, men whose livelihoods depended on the mine’s continued operation regardless of who got sick.

One burly man with a salt-and-pepper beard stepped forward, deliberately blocking our path.

“You got no business here,” he growled, eyes fixed on Logan with unmistakable hostility. “This is private property.”

The sheriff stepped forward, unfolding a document. “Not anymore. We have a warrant.”

Tension crackled in the air. Anger poured off the workers in waves. Logan positioned himself slightly in front of me, a subtle protective movement that didn’t go unnoticed by the miners.

“Victoria Song sends her regards,” another worker muttered, just loud enough for shifter ears to catch.

Logan’s shoulders tensed, but his voice remained measured. “Clear the area. Now.”

The police made sure the workers dispersed, though they moved with reluctant slowness. One lingered, his eyes meeting mine with a look of pure malice that chilled my blood.

I adjusted my bag strap, watching Logan direct his team with authority.

Rusted machinery and the layer of gray dust that covered everything gave the mine an apocalyptic feel.

The wind carried the stench of corroded metal and something worse, industrial chemicals that stung my nose and burned my eyes.

Even before reaching the main site, I could feel that everything here was wrong.

It was nature violated. Logan’s gaze flickered to me, concern etched in his tight mouth as he noticed my discomfort.

My heart pounded as I surveyed the operation. This wasn’t just about exposing corporate negligence anymore. I’d faced aggressive alphas and treated dangerous shifters, but something about this felt different. It was personal.

“Secure all exits,” Logan ordered his head of security, as his eyes constantly scanned for threats. “No one leaves until we’ve found Vance.” The team dispersed, radios crackling with status updates about evacuating remaining workers. Logan’s hand found mine, large and warm.

“Stay close,” he murmured, his breath warming my ear. “I don’t trust this silence.”

We moved toward the main office building together. Every shadow and rustle of wind against the sheet metal walls agitated my nerves. The office door stood slightly ajar. Setting off all the alarms in my head at its wrongness.

Inside, chaos greeted us. Papers were scattered across the floor, drawers were pulled out and emptied, and a computer monitor still glowed with a progress bar on the screen as files were being deleted. The place reeked of fear, sweat, and desperation.

“He’s destroying evidence,” Logan growled, kneeling to examine a half-empty filing cabinet.

The walls seemed to close in around us, the air thick with dust and lingering cigarette smoke. Outside, machinery creaked in the rising wind, metal contracting as temperature dropped with the setting sun. Each sound made me flinch.

Somewhere, a metal pipe clanged rhythmically. Then stopped. The silence that followed was worse than the noise.

I moved to the desk, rifling through scattered papers. My fingers brushed against something sticky. I brought my hands up and examined the dark red drops on my fingertips. Fresh blood. Someone had been hurt recently.

“Logan,” I whispered, showing him the blood.

He touched it, rubbed it between his fingers, then brought them to his nose. His expression darkened. “One of my security team. Nox. He was supposed to scout ahead.”

A silent communication passed between us. If Vance had taken down Nox, one of Logan’s best men, we faced someone far more dangerous than a corporate doctor covering his tracks.

I scanned the room, my medical training kicked in immediately. I observed for patterns and anomalies. That’s when I noticed it, muddy footprints that led toward the back door. Fresh. Still damp.

“Logan,” I whispered, touching his shoulder and pointing to the tracks.

His nostrils flared, taking in the scent trail. Before he could respond, a crash echoed from outside. The bang of metal against metal, deliberate and taunting. Logan immediately reached for his radio.

“Team Alpha, report position. Possible suspect movement behind admin building.”

Only static answered. He tried again, his expression darkening with each crackling second of silence.

“Communications are being jammed. Stay behind me.”

We moved toward the back door, with Logan walking in front.

The door creaked open to reveal a maze of metal shipping containers creating shadowed corridors. Perfect ambush territory. Logan stepped out first, shielding me with his body as his eyes scanned our surroundings.

The attack we expected didn’t come. Instead, Vance emerged from between two containers about thirty feet away. His suit was gone, replaced by tactical clothing. His eyes gleamed with a wild light that crawled over my skin. It was the look of a man with nothing left to lose.

“You’ve ruined everything!” he snarled, his voice echoing between metal walls. Behind him, I glimpsed a body on the ground, one of Logan’s security team, unconscious or worse.

The security team was nowhere in sight. With sickening clarity, I realized what had happened. Vance had methodically separated us from our backup, picking them off one by one while we searched inside.

Logan stepped fully in front of me, his growl so deep it vibrated off the containers around us. “This ends now, Vance.”

Vance’s lips curled into a sneer that revealed teeth already lengthening with his partial shift.

“You’re too late, Song. Victoria always has a contingency plan.

” His eyes flickered to me, calculating and cruel.

“The lawyers are already filing for emergency control of the mine. She’ll own it by morning. ”

The sudden shift in his focus set off alarm bells. His muscles bunched, and I knew with absolute certainty he wasn’t targeting Logan.

Without warning, Vance exploded into his wolf form, a massive gray beast with matted fur and wild eyes. He lunged forward with shocking speed, aiming directly at me. Not at Logan, the bigger threat. At me. Logan’s weakness.

Logan roared, a primal, ground-shaking sound. He shifted in mid-air, clothes tearing away as his body transformed into four hundred pounds of muscle and fur. His wolf was magnificent, midnight black with silver streaking his muzzle. Power radiated from every muscle.

As Vance and Logan crashed together in wolf forms, the violence sent me stumbling back against a container. The sounds of tearing flesh and snarls filled the air. My heart hammered against my ribs as I watched Logan fighting for both our lives.

His midnight fur gleamed with blood where Vance’s claws had ripped through fur and flesh. Through the bond, each strike against him felt like a physical blow to my own body. I couldn’t just watch him bleed. Logan fought for me, for the town, while I cowered. What kind of mate would that make me?

The word mate echoed through my mind, no longer shocking but feeling like a truth I’d always known. My hands steadied as determination replaced fear. I might not be able to shift and join the fight directly, but I was far from helpless.

Peering around the container edge, I spotted a security guard slumped against a wall, radio still clipped to his belt. Vance had been thorough, taking out communications one by one.

I darted from my hiding place, keeping low, and reached the guard. His pulse thudded steadily beneath my fingers—unconscious but alive. I grabbed his radio and pressed the call button.

“This is Dr.Wu. We need backup behind the administration building. Vance is attacking.”

Nothing but static answered. The signals were still jammed. I swore and turned back to the fight.

Logan’s wolf moved with deadly grace that spoke of years of battle experience. Though Vance was larger and fought with desperate savagery, Logan’s tactical precision gave him the advantage. He struck with devastating efficiency at the enemy’s vulnerable spots.

I couldn’t just watch. Desperately, my eyes scanned for anything useful. A length of heavy chain hung from the hasp of one container. I scrambled toward it, my hands shaking as I worked it free.

The battle intensified, and Vance landed a vicious blow across Logan’s right side. Blood spurted out, but he didn’t falter. His answering strike sent Vance skidding across the dirt.

The fight moved between containers. The clashing of bodies against metal created a hellish symphony. When Vance knocked Logan against a container hard enough to momentarily stun him, I saw my opening.

Chain in hand, I rushed forward. Vance was too focused on attacking Logan to notice my approach. I swung the chain with everything I had. It whipped through the air and wrapped around Vance’s back leg.

I yanked hard, throwing my entire body. It knocked him off-balance at the crucial moment. His attack went wide, giving Logan the opening he needed.

Logan lunged with lethal precision, pinning Vance to the ground. His jaws closed around Vance’s throat. It wasn’t a killing bite, not yet. The message was clear. Move and die.

Vance struggled beneath him, his larger size useless against Logan’s superior position. Logan’s massive paw struck with surgical precision at the base of Vance’s skull, rendering him unconscious.