Page 23

Gabriel POV

We were almost there.

I looked out the window as our bus drove by a large yellowing field. A tree that had already lost its leaves was in the middle of the dying grass. The sky was overcast and full of dark, menacing clouds. The hairs on my arms stood up — a sure sign that it was going to rain.

Along with that horrible video, Axel texted me the address of where he was keeping Summer held hostage. In his message, he demanded that I come alone within two hours or he would kill Summer.

When I first saw Axel’s message, my stomach dropped and there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I sprinted out of the kitchen with only one thought in my head: save her.

Summer’s mom caught up to me at my front door and demanded to know what was going on. I wanted to run past her, jump into my car, and drive until my Mate was safely in my arms and Axel was dead.

But I realized Summer’s mom deserved to know that her daughter had been kidnapped. Summer wouldn’t want her mother to be kept in the dark about something like this. When I told her, the petrified look on Summer’s mom’s face mirrored my feelings. When I told her my plan to go alone, Summer’s mom pointed out that Axel would have other Rogue wolves with him and I wouldn’t be able to fight all of them by myself.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell Summer’s mom that I’d kill a million Rogues to save her daughter. But when I looked past my fear and anger, I knew she was right. Axel would have Rogues stationed at all entrances and I wouldn’t be able to fight them off by myself.

I needed an army.

Filled with manic energy, I contacted the other Alphas and Alpha inheritors who had traveled with the warriors to help coordinate them . I stationed fifty warriors at WaterLock to help my dad protect our pack.

Then, I stationed fifty warriors at my compound to protect it. I told my guards at the compound to move everyone to the hospital or my home. That way, the guards would have a smaller area to protect. My dad said that he was going to employ this same strategy at WaterLock. These precautions were in case Axel was using Summer's kidnapping to distract me because he planned to attack WaterLock or my compound while I was gone.

Summer's mom and aunt promised me that they would protect Grayson with their lives.

Once the army arrived at my compound, I rushed onto one of the four buses holding the shifter army.

I knew that we were going to cut it close to the two-hour time limit Axel had given me and he had demanded that I come alone, but I couldn’t defeat a group full of Rogues by myself.

While we were driving, I texted the other Alphas that we were going to execute Plan S — which was named after Summer since it had been her idea in the first place. I also described to them what Summer and Axel looked like in their human and wolf forms.

“Stop here,” I called to the bus driver when I looked down at my phone and saw that we were two minutes away from the address Axel had texted me.

We needed to sneak up on the Rogues so Axel wouldn’t know until the last possible second that I had brought reinforcements.

I got up from my seat, and terror filled me as I strode to the front of the bus.

It was not fear for myself, but fear for Summer. What kind of hell had Axel put her through in the time it had taken me to get here? This bus ride had been the longest hour of my life. I was caught between white-hot anger toward Axel and cold fear for Summer.

What if he had already killed her?

No.

She was still alive. She had to be. I couldn't live in a world where she didn't exist.

I faced the brave men and women who were going to fight alongside me and took a deep breath to steady myself. I would be of no use to my Mate if I allowed my terror for her—or fury aimed at my ex-best friend—to overwhelm me.

“I want to go over the plan one more time,” I announced to the warriors.

I’d instructed the other Alphas to give this speech to their buses of warriors, too. It was crucial that we were all on the same page.

“Summer is being held in a building that is just over this hill,” I pointed to the dying field. “Does everyone remember what she looks like in her human and wolf form?”

All of the warriors nodded in response.

“She is our main objective. This is a rescue mission. Our main goal is to save her. If you find an opening between Rogue wolves, take it, and bring her to safety,” I stressed, wanting to make this point very clear. “Now, does everyone remember what Axel looks like in his human and wolf form?”

Again, everyone nodded.

“He will probably be with Summer,” I continued. “Once she is safe, the main objective will be to corner Axel and find me if I don’t get there first.” My fists clenched. “I am the only one who has the pleasure of killing that bastard.” I paused, and the bus was silent for a minute.

“Regarding the rest of the Rogues, if we can manage it, we need to keep some of them alive to gain information from them. We will bring them to my compound so that we can learn more about the Rogue army,” I announced and then looked down at my phone as it vibrated with a message.

“Our last bus to arrive is two minutes out. Once they get here, all of us will get into position. We have four teams surrounding the building Summer is in and we are going to rush the Rogues from all sides at once,” I explained as my heart ached for my Mate and the pain she must be in right now.

I’m coming for you, love. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore.

Once the last bus was in position, we filed out. I told the bus driver to start driving away so she wouldn’t be in danger and I’d call her when we needed her.

At the bottom of the hill, I gathered the warriors together.

“We need to wait for all of our teams to be—” I started but was interrupted by a loud noise.

A loud snarl came from a short distance away and then a howl of pain.

Shit.

The Rogues had found one of our teams too early.

“We need to move!” I yelled to the warriors.

My team and I shifted into our wolf forms as the bus drove away. As my teeth sharpened and my nails elongated into dangerous points, I allowed the fury I’d been suppressing to fill me up until I was overflowing with rage like a boiling pot of water.

I’m going to save her.

Then, I was going to kill him.

I led the charge up the hill and felt the first raindrop hit my head as soon as I was on higher ground.

The Rogues were waiting for us.

Fifteen large wolves were stationed outside what looked to be an empty building. Even from this distance, I could see that their teeth were bared, the hair on the back of their backs was raised, and they were crouched, ready to strike.

Only fifteen of them?

There were thirty shifters in my group alone. This portion of our army was almost double their size. I hoped that was the same case for the other three battles as well.

Just for a moment, our two groups sized each other up, looking for weak points in the other's defenses. A couple of the Rogue wolves' eyes widened as they took in our army that was double their size.

Then, a loud crack of lighting came from above, and the sky lit up. It was quickly followed by a rumble of thunder.

As if this was our cue to start the fight, our two sides began running at the same time as rain poured down on us.

I dug my paws into the dirt and propelled myself forward, aiming for the largest wolf in their line. He was a giant gray wolf who saw me coming for him.

We lunged at the same time and collided midair. My Alpha inheritor strength surged through me and I used my momentum from running downhill to push the Rogue to the ground with a hard thump. The gray wolf gnashed his teeth and tried to lunge for me, but he was the one in the vulnerable position. I held him down easily—the high-intensity training I'd been doing since I was eighteen coming in handy.

I scanned the side of the building for an entrance.

There’s a door!

Summer, hold on, baby.

I’m coming.

Please don’t let me be too late.

The Rogue snapped at me again. Had this asshole helped Axel kidnap summer?

My body trembled with anger. I shot forward and sunk my teeth into the Rogue’s neck. The taste of metallic blood filled my mouth. I bit down harder and shook my head from side to side—ripping his throat out.

When I looked down at the gray wolf, lifeless eyes stared back at me.

Only after he was dead did I remember my plan to keep some of the Rogues alive. I hoped the rest of the shifter army had more self-control than I did.

Sounds of grunts, whimpers of pain, and howls of victory or defeat surrounded me as I stalked closer to the door—closer to Summer. The rain was really coming down now, making the field muddy. All I could smell was blood and grass.

I quickly scanned the battleground. Our side was winning. Since our army was double their size, Rogues were coming down hard and fast. I was glad to see that some of the Rogues were injured but still alive.

Summer.

It had been over two hours since Axel had texted me. What if he already…

No!

My Mate was alive just behind that door and I was going to save her.

I sprinted toward the door, running faster than I’d ever had. Soon, the door was only twenty feet away.

So close…

Ow!

I howled with pain as my right hind leg burned with agony. A reddish-brown Rogue had clamped its jaw around my leg—probably to stop me from getting through the door. My blood began to drip past his teeth.

A rush of raw power ran through me, and I managed to kick the Rogue’s head with my other leg.

He loosened his grip just slightly, but it was enough for me to pull away from him—my leg screaming with pain as I did so.

I spun around and lunged for this throat.

This one died faster than his friend.

Wasting no time, I changed into my human form since I couldn’t open the building door as a wolf.

I rushed into the building—closing the door and locking it behind me so the Rogues couldn’t follow me in. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark, empty building. When they did, I scanned the area for Summer.

What looked to be the light coming off of a phone screen was illuminating a space in the middle of the cement floor. Someone with long hair was sitting in a chair, and an eerie shadow was behind her.

Summer!

I ran flat out. The adrenaline in my body allowed me to ignore the pain in my injured leg.

But when I was ten feet away from my Mate, I skidded to a stop.

No!

Anger and dread pumped through me.

Summer was covered with cuts and bruises. Her blue eyes were wide with terror.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

Axel was standing behind her, and he had a knife to her throat.