Page 113 of Crossed Fates

But it also made them exceptionally easy targets. I assumed they all had on armored vests, just like me, which left their necks as the only viable place to put a bullet. And now that I had on a helmet, I could hear again.

See, not so much. This thing had night vision enabled—something I didn’t need as a shifter—and it was distorted to a human-grade sight.

I ducked behind a massive tree, listened for the sources of the flash grenades, and focused on their footsteps over leaves and grass and the scrape of boots against rocks. It helped me paint a visual of our surroundings, locating each assailant by sound alone.

I was wrong.

There were only eight of them. Seven now that I’d taken one down. And according to Paul’s thoughts—which I remained tapped into—these men were supposed to distract us with flashbangs as they surrounded the automobiles to detain us.

They’d almost succeeded.

Now their footsteps told me they were scattering, searching for me while also trying to continue distracting the vehicles.

I’d divided their focus.

What now, Paul?I asked him, my voice darkened by a hint of violence.Are you waiting for Bortex to save you?

I didn’t understand how the whole hive-mind thing worked, but I caught his responding growl, just as I heard several of my wolves whining at the fury pouring off their alpha, and most importantly, I still felt Makayla. She’d almost returned to awareness, her thoughts syncing with mine.

Betrayed.

Trap.

Trial.

She was no longer muttering about dots but piecing together the events in my head with everything she’d learned through her interrogation earlier.

I took out two approaching men, their trajectory given away by their heavy stomps, and then I rolled behind another thick cluster of bushes. The flashes stopped, the men shifting the proverbial spotlight to me—the real threat.

A few of them cocked their weapons.

I grinned.Decided it’s okay to kill now?I mused.

Paul’s terror radiated outward, the sensation stoking my inner ire.

Yeah, you should be scared,I told him.I’m going to fucking destroy you.

The spike of his fear confirmed that he heard every word I said to him. However, the coward refused to reply. Not that I needed him to say a damn word. I could read every thought in his mind.

Start counting,I taunted.Three down. Six to go. Because yeah, I absolutely include you in that list, Paul.

The forest fell silent around me as the last of the flashbangs died.

About damn time.

This was the kind of moment I’d prepared all my life for—I could see again, hear every breath and sound for several yards in every direction, and I couldtastemy impending victory in the air.

I concentrated on another approaching set of footsteps, taking aim, and then paused upon sensing Paul’s resolve.

He wanted to use Jude as a shield.

Control him,I heard Makayla breathe, her mind opening up to mine to explain how alpha links worked for her kind. It was a crash course that I absorbed directly from her experiences. I took in as much of it as I could with the few seconds I had to spare and swallowed as the facts unfolded in my head.

The hive mind encompassed all my wolves, granting me access to their thoughts. Their life sources were formally tied to mine as their pack alpha. And that attachment allowed me a strand of control.

Not as a puppet master, but as a commander.

The lead wolf.