Page 96 of Taken by Moonlight

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I’ve never hada fear of small, dark places, but walking the length of the tunnel to the main lodge tested my resolve. The small beam from the flashlight cut through the inky blackness, but I could only see a few feet ahead. I heard the noises above me and aroundme.

When I finally reached the round metal door Felicia told me was the secret entrance, I gave it atug.

It opened to a large metal container, and moredarkness.

Fear coursed through me. But I wasn’t about to turn back now. Chin up,Peyton.

To get inside, I crawled on my hands and knees. And then I shone the flashlight around the metal box. A latch on the opposite side was on the metal door. I turned it downward and the door swungopen.

Cool air rushed into my sweating face. I breathed it in and crawled out and when I gained the ground, Ilaughed.

The entrance had been concealed by a fake washingmachine.

“Clever Dante,” I muttered, and shut thedoor.

Though the basement was pitch black, I felt more confident, knowing I was in the lodge. In a few minutes, I found the steps and crept upstairs. I had no way of knowing how the battle raged, or if Earl and his minions had managed to break through Dante’s defenses into thelodge.

The lodge was quiet, though I could hear fierce fighting raging outside. I made my way toward the dining hall. I wasn’t sure what I could do, or how I could use my powers, but I had to dosomething.

A red and silver glow pulsed from the kitchen, calling me like a neon beacon. I recognized the striations in theaura.

Alex. But why was he here and not out with Dante in thefray?

He looked up from the sink, where he washed his hands. My heart raced at the blood swirling down thedrain.

“You’re hurt!” I grabbed his hand, but it wasclean.

Red stained his bare chest. He grimaced. “It’s not mine. It’s Dante’s. I stitched him up using the healing threads we keephere.”

“Where ishe?”

Clearly too upset to question why I was in the kitchen, Alex braced his hands on the sink. “In a safe place. I forced him to lie low until he heals. He’s in wolf form. We heal faster that way. Dante…he shouldn’t have been thatinjured.”

Then he looked up and down at me. “You’re supposed to be in thebunker.”

“I escaped. You need my help. Tell me whathappened.”

Alex scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s bad, Peyton. Earl didn’t lead the attack. He waited, the sly bastard. He waited. He sent his brother, Cal, and a small contingency. We thought we could handle them, so Dante left us to fight while he went to check the back gate Paul was guarding. He was in skin form so he could communicate with Paul. He told us he had an oddfeeling.

Drawing a deep breath, he continued. “I broke off from the fighting and followed him. When I got to the back gate, they had already attacked him. I managed to pull him away, get him here. The bastard slipped past our guard and attacked Dante from the rear. Luckily, Gabriel had planted a few of our men in the rear and they came to ourdefense.”

I felt sickened. “Is Dante going tolive?”

“Brown got him good before Brown retreated with a dozen of his males and hid in thewoods.”

Nausea rolled through me. Dante injured? My brave, wonderful alpha could havedied.

“How could Earl have gotten on the property? Everything wasguarded!”

“Not everything. We have a traitor.” Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Paul let them in through the back gate, the one the cooks have a key to, the one that they allow in foodtrucks.”

Paul, the slim, friendly wolf, the sous chef who had admired my appetite had turned traitor and could have led to Dante’sdeath?

“He set Dante up for the fall. Fortunately, our guys saw what was happening and aidedDante.”

I wanted to throttle Paul, but the greater issue was the fight raging outside and savingDante.