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MARA

W hen life sends you death, time slows and stands still.

It’s a remarkable thing, really. You can hear your heart pounding loud, like a thunderous boom with a steady powerful rhythm that makes your entire body pulse with its beat.

Sound becomes nothing more than a hum, drowning out the world as it sings to you goodnight.

Teeth.

Rows of razor-sharp canines glistening with drool in the morning sun, and a dark black gullet lined in fleshy pinks and reds—a tunnel of endless pain.

That’s what came for me. That’s where I was going to meet my end.

And then it all sped up.

“Mara!” My name was screamed out once more, but I couldn’t shift my focus. Not now. Not as the hound came raining down on me.

I lifted my arms in a desperate attempt to protect my face. Closed my eyes and turned away, not wanting to see my own fate.

And then I was flying, shoved hard from the right, falling to the floor with an impact that sent a shock wave of pain up my left shoulder as it collided with the ground .

“ Umph! ” The air escaped me as the impact jarred all my senses. I looked to see what the hell happened, and my entire body went cold.

Matias yelled. The hound was on him, pinning him to the ground as it reared its head back, jaws opened wide.

“Noooo!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet, but I already knew I was too late before it even happened.

The beast snapped out like a cobra, striking down—hard and true—teeth sinking into the space where Matias’s neck met his shoulder, and then yanked back, tearing out flesh.

My stomach roiled as a shrill sound—high and piercing—shattered the morning, followed by the guttural desperate cry of the boy that just saved my life.

I was running then, slamming into the body of the hound, knocking the monster off him, and scrambling to do something— anything —to destroy this horrible creature.

And I did the only thing I could think of.

I shoved my thumbs into the mutt’s eyes, popping the firm yet fleshy eyeballs, as everything inside me squirmed at the feeling of blood and fluids oozing around my thumbs.

And I was screaming. I was cursing and crying and—oh my fucking god—I thought I was going to be sick.

The creature writhed underneath me, clawing at me and snapping its jaws, tearing my clothing, ripping my skin, and still I refused to let go.

I shoved my thumbs as far as I could until I swore I was feeling brain matter.

The creature howled and whimpered and writhed. And with one powerful move, it finally threw me off of it, and scrambled to its feet. Tail tucked and ears pinned back, it stumbled to the side, growling and crying and obviously incapacitated.

I didn’t care.

I looked at Matias and saw him gasping on the ground, choking. I scrambled to him, crawling on the floor, tears flooding my vision as I finally came up over him .

I could see bone—the skin and muscle completely ripped away, exposing white bone stained with blood that was pouring out of his body in a river I knew I couldn’t quell. My hands shook over him, and my entire body quaked as a sob racked my chest.

“Oh my god, Matias,” my voice was shrill—too many octaves too high. “What do I do? What do I need to do?”

He gurgled, and in that moment, I was back at REG Command, watching Jacob choking on his own blood, dying in my arms.

My fucking god, no. Please no! I can’t do this. I can’t do this again! Not him!

I looked up, seeing Javier being punched in the face by Harris as Wes fought for his life against the third hound.

And I knew this was only the beginning. Telvian reinforcements had to be on their way, and I suspected there were more hounds in the facility, fighting their way out to us.

I could hear their yips and yaps—the cacophony of calls that told me they were on the hunt, following a trail of blood that would lead them right to us.

And with them, their handlers no doubt, ready to kill us, or worse… take us captive.

Retrofit us.

Turn us into slaves.

It was all for nothing .

We did everything— risked everything—for nothing !

I looked back at Matias, watched as his eyes continued to glass over. Each beat of his weakening heart only drained him of more and more of his blood. And I was sobbing, tears falling from my eyes, drenching my clothing, dripping onto one of my best friends as his life slowly left him.

“Matias,” I muttered. “Why would you do that?” I yelled at him. “Why the fuck did you do that!” Rage was a beast inside me, tearing me apart. Because I would never have chosen to sacrifice Matias’s life over mine .

He blinked, bottom lip quivering as he tried to speak. “I-I…said I’d”—he coughed blood, making an awful wet sound as he did—“a-always come…back…f-for y-you.”

My entire face crumpled in agony and I inhaled sharp and deep. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” It was all I could say. All I could do. The boy from my past was dying, and just like my brother, there was fucking nothing I could do!

He choked on my name, the sound causing my stomach to revolt. His hand trembled as he lifted something and weakly shoved it into me. He gurgled again, managing to speak. “Take…it.”

I recognized the detonator. Taking it in one hand, I placed the other on his cheek. “I want you to know that you will always be special to me, okay? I will always remember you. I will always love you.”

A weak smile curled on his lips as blood bubbled up from his mouth. He coughed again, wincing in pain. “T-then I’ll d-die…a happy…m-man.”

This couldn’t be happening. Why? Why him?

I closed my eyes and kissed his cheek, not caring about the blood on his face or the sweat and grime that marred his skin.

I swiped his hair off his forehead, cradled his face in my hands, and I whispered to him, choking back my tears.

“I’m not leaving you, okay? I’m going to protect you until the end.

” I sniffed. “So just close your eyes. Nothing more will happen to you while I’m here.

You can go to sleep, and I’ll watch over you. Just rest.”

His body shuddered, and if eyes could speak, I would swear they were telling me he was grateful not to face the end of his life alone.

He tried to nod, gurgling again on the thick crimson fluid oozing from his mouth, and I just held him.

I stroked his hair as tears streamed down my face, falling onto his body and mixing with his blood.

And I didn’t care.

I didn’t care about the sounds of the hounds approaching, or the thunderous pound of boots looming, or the fact that it was all going to end right here, right now. Because fucking nobody was going to touch him, and I wasn’t going to leave him here to die alone.

I dared anyone or anything to approach me. Because I would claw out their eyes, like I had the hound. I knew Wes and Javier were both fighting for their lives, but Matias was already losing his. There was only one of me.

Just one.

And I had to be here. I had to be here to protect him until he gave his last breath. And that’s exactly what I did.

Matias gripped my wrist, holding on as I pressed my forehead to his. He inhaled once more, lashes fluttering as he looked up at me. And then Matias breathed out…one last time.