Page 20 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 20

Mathis

T he scent hits me before the first sound does—sharp, acrid, foreign. It’s not right. It doesn’t belong.

They’re inside the building and close. The screen shows only one small part of the puzzle. While Torin has his nose glued to the security feed, my suspicions are confirmed.

My wolf rises as I whirl on Ren and Flora.

"Get somewhere safe. Now!" I bark.

My hackles lift and a snarl peels my lips away from my teeth. I’ve already marked the entrances to this room, all three of them, and I scan them again.

Flora freezes, her hand hovering near the stove. But Ren? Of course, she doesn’t listen.

“What’s going on?” she demands.

Her head swivels like she’s trying to catch the same scent. She knew something, though, before she forced Torin to check his feeds. She sensed it the same way I did, a thickening in the air, a reek, an energy that wasn’t there seconds before.

Torin bares his teeth. “ Move! ”

Ren jumps off the countertop, but that’s as far as she gets.

Flora grabs her by the arm, dragging her toward the door. “Come on, you heard them!”

Ren fights her every step. “I can help! Let me go! Whatever’s happening, I want to help?—”

“Go!” Torin and I say in unison.

“Let’s let the alphas handle this one.” Flora doesn’t give her a choice. “We should warn the others. Make sure they’re safe.”

She hauls Ren out the opposite door and into the hallway, Ren practically kicking and screaming the entire time. I don’t breathe easier, though.

The moment they’re out of sight, I pivot back to Torin, who’s moving some kind of square box on the wall to reveal a control panel for his mechanics. He presses one of the buttons, and a shrill alarm blares overhead.

The light extinguishes from the overheads and wall sconces, and a single red strobe blinks from the corner, casting the room in an ominous crimson glow.

My gut plummets.

Torin doesn’t spare me a glance as he punches at his phone. “I can’t believe they got inside. How the hell did they sneak past my security?”

“I’m telling you,” I grunt, bristling at the way he ignores me, “Andras is smart. Smarter than you think?—”

“Impossible,” Torin interrupts with a snap. “My systems are top-of-the-line. All movement in or out of this building, I know about.”

“Are you sure ?”

I brought my pack here under the assumption that the Steel Claw building would be safer with their technological advances, and still Andras’s pack broke in easily .

How am I going to trust Torin now?

After he dials, he speaks into the receiver with sharp efficiency. “Code Midnight. Get here. Now.”

I catch a murmur of Noble’s muffled response, but Torin hangs up before he finishes, already striding into the hall.

I trail him out. Fuck, he’s got a single strobe in every room, in direct eyesight. The steady blinking red light sets my nerves on edge.

And then it hits—the sound of bodies crashing through glass, growls erupting like thunder in the distance, and the pounding of feet against the floors.

“Fuck,” Torin says. “You coming?”

He races toward the front hall with me right on his heels.

Then we see them. My blood curdles, my head filled with a roar and my pulse thundering in my ears.

Andras’s pack—in both forms—race forward toward us. My wolf beats at me for control and it’s instinct, it’s instant.

I don’t even have time to tear off my clothes before the shift rips through me, shredding my clothes at the seams. Fur sprouts, bones readjust, and by the time the first wolf lunges for me, I’m an animal once more.

Torin stands behind me like a statue dressed in Versace, and then there’s nothing but the lust for battle. I crash against one of Andras’s wolves, snarling and biting, hoping to reach something soft enough to tear through.

I get him right under the neck, clamping my teeth down to pierce his skin, and blood sprays, metallic and hot.

I let the body drop. There’s no time to celebrate the kill. Another wolf charges, bigger than the first, his eyes crazed and teeth bared.

He’s on me in an instant and the impact of his massive form sends us both sliding into a wall. The back of my head makes contact. Reeling, I sink my claws into his ribs, twisting as he howls in pain.

Someone grabs me by the scruff of my neck and yanks me backward. Snapping my jaws, I whirl around to see a balding man with a flash of silver in his hand.

A knife .

I growl, my hackles lifting, but he’s strong. He holds me just out of reach and bears down with the knife.

Torin comes out of nowhere, his movements precise and brutal, his suit vest unbuttoned and knuckles bloodied. He grabs the man’s arm and twists it so hard bones snap, and the knife clatters to the floor.

The brute curses Torin, but he’s in full attack mode as well. “How did you get in?” he demands.

Before the man has a chance to answer, Torin pounds his fist into the man’s face, breaking the nose and several teeth in the process. With his attention fractured, the man drops his hold on me and I scramble backward.

Torin punches him again. “Where the hell are your wolves?” he barks to me, ducking a punch from a second attacker.

I grunt. I should be asking him the same thing. I spin and chomp at the wolf’s leg. What the fuck kind of operation is Torin running where two alphas are left alone without any delta or gamma backup?

And where are the Grey Valley wolves when I need them?

As if on cue, I hear them—my pack, their howls rising as they pour into the fray, joining the fight. Torin’s deltas aren’t far behind, our two groups uniting in a storm of fur, claws, and snarls.

The hallway transforms into chaos and bedlam, instinct and duty driving us all. Wolves crash into each other, growling and snapping, the air thick with the scent of blood, sweat, and adrenaline.

I dig my front claws into the chest of a wolf with a black mask pattern across his face. He leaps back with a yelp but not far enough to avoid injury.

A scream splits the air and fills every molecule in my body with dread. I jerk toward the sound, distracted. Flora .

Where is she?

Panic dries me past two wolves, both of them snapping at my heels to keep me contained. Someone else will deal with them. Flora, Flora .

I skid around a corner through the living room, flying down the short hallway separating the dining room from the kitchen. Just in time to see a brown curly-haired wolf speeding after a man who has Flora slung over his shoulder, both rushing to the door to a separate stairwell.

My stomach clenches. The curly-haired wolf is Flora’s mate, Owen, trying desperately to take Andras’s man down without injuring his pregnant wife.

She’s kicking and screaming, her fists pounding against the man’s back, but he doesn’t stop. Doesn’t slow or look over his shoulder.

Rushing forward, I roar, bellowing out a command.

Before the man makes it to the emergency exit, Owen dives for the fucker’s legs, nipping at his ankles until the guy stumbles. Flora uses the confusion to plunge one of her sharp nails into his eye.

The man howls in pain, with blood streaming down his face, but he doesn’t let go. He kicks Owen donkey-style and makes contact, with a sickening crack of bone, then bolts toward the door with Flora.

No! I tear after them .

I bolt forward, knocked to the side with dizzying swiftness by another wolf. This one’s muzzle is stained with blood. A small whimper somehow pierces the droning in my ears as I fight off the wolf.

“Flora! No!”

Oh, fuck me.

Ren shouldn’t be here. I crane my neck, my back legs keeping my attacker from tearing my insides to shreds. She’s fighting madly, held by both arms by another man who, I’m pleased to see, is struggling to restrain her.

Her teeth snap as she thrashes, her back bowed. Ren kicks, hoping to land contact, her screams ripping through the air.

Ren, or Flora.

The woman I crave, or my faithful omega.

The decision is ripped from me before I have a chance to choose. The man holding Flora disappears into the chaos, and the one holding Ren tightens his grip, dragging her farther away from me.

Not again.

Not Ren. I won’t let them take her. Was that the whole point of this attack? Did they come for her, or for the rest of my people?

Does it matter? Because they knew we’d be here. I bolt toward Ren and reinforcements crash into the fray. Fortunately for me, Dax and Noble barrel into the fight, flanked by more Steel Claws.

Dax shifts mid-air, his wolf massive and terrifying, crashing into the nearest attacker like a wrecking ball. He beats the wolves back with his landing.

He’s a force of pure instinct, tearing through Andras’s wolves with a manic energy that almost gives me pause. Blood coats his muzzle, and his golden eyes gleam with a feral joy that’s both terrifying and oddly reassuring.

This is where Dax thrives—in the kill, in the chaos. He’s like a damn kid in a candy store, his wolf reveling in the carnage.

Noble, however, is singular in his focus. He doesn’t waste a second assessing the scene. The moment his eyes land on Ren, still thrashing in the grip of the man dragging her away, he charges. Human or not, it doesn’t matter.

His need to get to his mate makes him even more dangerous than Dax.

“Let her go!” Noble roars.

He shifts as he runs, his human form replaced by the sleek, powerful lines of his cinnamon-colored wolf with massive paws, and launches himself at Ren’s captor.

The man doesn’t stand a chance. I’d almost feel sorry for the asshole if I didn’t want to destroy him the same way.

Noble’s jaws clamp down on his arm, the sickening crunch of bone audible even over the noise of the fight. The man screams, his grip on Ren faltering, and she doesn’t waste the opportunity she’s given.

Ren twists, driving her elbow into the man’s ribs and kicking backward with all her strength. Which is considerable now.

Noble rips into her captor with a savagery that makes my wolf growl in approval.

“Ren, out! Now!” Torin shouts as he wrestles with another foe. I may never understand why he prefers his human side to his animal, but I will admit that he’s just as deadly with his hands and feet as his claws and teeth. He knows how to wield both forms with deadly precision.

Ren hesitates for a heartbeat, her wide eyes darting between Noble and the rest of the fight. But to my relief, she listens, scrambling toward the safety of the corner, behind a fallen display cabinet.

A second wolf lunges for her hiding place, but Noble is right there, slamming into the would-be attacker and sending him sprawling.

With a yip, I pounce on a nearby wolf and bury my claws in his chest.

Meanwhile, Dax is a whirlwind of death. He’s already taken down two others, their lifeless forms lying in pools of blood, and he doesn’t slow. He is driven by instinct and power, snapping jaws and slashing claws, his movements almost too quick to track.

His giant golden wolf turns to me, blood dripping from his muzzle, and he lets out a low growl that almost sounds like a laugh. Then he dives back into the fray.

Yes, he’s enjoying this, and I’m not about to muzzle him anytime soon.

“Mathis.” Torin appears at my side. He’s covered in blood, his usually pristine hair a mess. “We’re caged-in here. Trapped. They’ll kill us all. Which is what I suspect they want.”

He’s right. The entire point of bringing my pack here was to keep them safe in a place Andras had no access to. And now that his men have breached the walls, we’re like fish in a barrel. Easy pickings.

I made a mistake .

They took Flora. Carried her off, and despite the way Owen gave chase, I know she’s not coming back. Just like I know Flora isn’t the only female Andras stole with this ambush.

Andras. This is his game. Death, fear, taking what doesn’t belong to him.

Flora’s screams echo in my head .

“We have to find a way out,” I grunt. “Now.”

Torin’s shout slices through the chaos like a whip. “Code Crimson!”

The words jolt every Steel Claws into action, their movements immediate and purposeful. A few of them break off, heading for the edges of the room, securing the perimeter or setting up for something I can’t quite see yet.

Noble remains vigilant, standing over Ren, physically blocking her from the carnage with his body.

Torin spins toward me and his face looks carved from stone. “Mathis, call your wolves. We need to retreat.”

Retreat? My animal roars at the mere suggestion and I shift back into human form, my muscles weakening in pain. “You want to run ?” My vocal cords aren’t all the way changed and the words rumble through me.

“Trust me, damn it!” Torin snaps. His eyes burn with an intensity I can’t ignore. “Get your wolves to follow mine!”

For a moment, I hesitate, every instinct warring against the idea of backing down. But something in his expression—the urgency, the sheer determination—cuts through my resistance. He has a plan.

I give a sharp whistle, and bark out the command: “Fall back! All of you, follow the Steel Claws!”

My wolves hesitate, their growls vibrating through the room, but loyalty overrides instinct.

Torin moves to another alarm panel on the wall, his fingers flying over the buttons. A low rumble echoes through the room as part of the wall shifts, sliding backward to reveal a dark tunnel hidden behind reinforced steel.

A damn escape hatch.

The fucker has this entire building outfitted in case of an attack. Okay, so maybe I’m not the complete failure I think I am. Because he certainly has a better setup than I do, yet his building was just as easy to penetrate.

However they did it…we’ll figure it out once we’re all safe.

My stomach twists, the bitter taste of retreat burning in my throat, but there’s no time to dwell on it. I shove my wolves toward the opening, my voice a harsh growl. “Go! Move!”

Dax and Noble are already at the rear, covering the retreat with sharp efficiency. Ren lingers for a moment, her gaze darting toward the fight still raging behind us.

“Ren, move!” I bark.

Noble, in human form now, grabs her arm, guiding her toward the tunnel. “Come on, baby, we’ve got to go.”

One by one, my wolves disappear into the darkness, their movements quick but reluctant. Torin’s pack follows suit, though a handful of his deltas remain behind, forming a defensive line.

As the hidden door begins to slide closed, Torin and I step inside. Just before it shuts completely, a thunderous bang echoes from the other side and a barrage of lights flash.

Gunshots. Smoke bombs.

The sound makes my blood turn to acid. “What is that?”

Torin’s deltas are using weapons and holding the line as the door seals them off from us.

“They’re buying us time,” Torin says sharply. “We need to keep moving. Follow the tunnel. Don’t stop until you’re out.”

I glance at him, my wolf bristling at the thought of leaving anyone behind, but there’s no time to argue. “You’d better pray this works,” I mutter.

For once, there’s no biting response back. He just nods .

Torin takes the lead, his pace relentless as he guides us deeper into the tunnel. The walls are damp, the passage narrow, the air thick with the scents of earth and stone.

Ren stumbles beside Noble, her breathing labored but steady. Still in his wolf form, Dax moves like a shadow, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light. All of us are here to make sure she stays safe.

Andras didn’t get the Moonstone. That has to count for something.

I bring up the rear, my gaze darting between my packmates to ensure no one gets left behind. The sound of distant gunfire fades as we press deeper into the tunnel, soon replaced by the echo of our footsteps and the heavy breathing of those who’ve been pushed to their limits.

Retreating feels like swallowing shards of glass. But I know Torin was right. As much as it stings my pride, my pack has taken too many hits, and the Steel Claws aren’t built for this kind of savage warfare—not like the Blood Moon pack, who thrive on raw brutality.

Fleeing wasn’t just the smart move—it was the only move.

The suffocating dark gives way to the fluorescent glow of an underground parking garage when we finally emerge from the tunnel.

The space is eerily quiet, the air heavy with the acrid scent of oil and exhaust. Rows of sleek black SUVs and luxury sports cars glint under the harsh lighting, the pristine setting a stark contrast to the chaos we just escaped.

The sight seems wrong. Too polished. Too calm.

It’s as if the violence and bloodshed are already a distant memory, erased by the sterile, orderly surroundings. My stomach turns itself into complicated knots.

I glance back at the tunnel entrance, half-expecting Andras’s wolves to burst through at any second. But the heavy steel door remains sealed shut. The deltas who stayed behind bought us this chance, but the cost lingers in the air, heavy and bitter.

Even a single wolf down is a huge loss.

“Get everyone loaded up,” Torin says as he moves toward a line of SUVs.

“Right.” I turn to the scared and bloodied faces of what’s left of my pack, my family. “Let’s go, everyone. We’ll address everyone’s wounds the moment we regroup.”

My pack moves quickly, piling into vehicles with tense, weary movements. Dax leans against the hood of a car for a moment, a human once again. His chest heaves and blood is smeared across his face and knuckles. There’s a deep gash across his bare chest, but most of the blood on him doesn’t seem to be his.

Noble keeps Ren close, his arm around her as she shakes off the remnants of the fight, her eyes burning with determination even through her exhaustion. He helps her inside the car.

When everyone has been loaded into the SUVs, I step inside to the passenger seat just as Torin slides into the driver’s seat. His expression is unreadable but his movements remain stiff. It’s clear he hates fleeing as much as I do.

“This isn’t over,” I say to him.

Torin glances at me, his blue-gray eyes flashing. “No shit. It’s just beginning.”

I give a sharp nod.

The rumble of engines echoes through the garage like war drums.

For the first time in my life, a new, wild hunger for vengeance swirls inside me. For blood and death and carnage .

Is this how Dax always feels? But now I understand.

We’ll lick our wounds. We’ll regroup. And we’ll strike back.

For every soul we’ve lost tonight, for all the men and women Andras’s has taken from my pack, for Flora—I’ll make sure that when we meet the Blood Moon pack again, we won’t just win.

We’ll destroy them.