Page 34 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter thirty-three

Mason

" I want as many as you can spare," I snap at the Shifter, staring into the empty pockets of their eyes.

"Sir, we don't know-"

"I said as many as you can spare. We make our move today. The last thing I need is lip from any of you," I hiss, looking the creature up and down.

Loading vehicles and strapping on gear, those of us who are not humanoid creatures get our resources ready to raid the Precipice.

For far too long, we have sat back and allowed Xavier to make his moves from the inside.

And now, with Kaiden's absence, it has become clear what hold Forest has over those she values most.

The rest of us are just sitting ducks, waiting for the worst to happen.

I cannot afford to continue losing valuable allies.

Strapping vehicles with supplies and rallying what forces we have, Bekah eyes us down with a wary look I know all too well.

"Speak up," I snap, making my way over to her and her perplexed expression.

Looking around, she keeps her voice down.

"What if we make it in, find Xavier and the others, and they no longer stand with our side?" she questions, pacing back and forth.

"No longer stand with our side?"

"What if we are forced to put an end to Forest and Xavier entirely?" she questions, asking the one thing no one else would.

Even after everything she has been through with the Evermoore's and Blackburn's, she still chooses to see the worst-case scenario.

Just like me.

"Then that's exactly what we will do," I whisper, moving myself past her.

"Are you prepared for what would happen if-"

"If what?" I yell, looking her up and down. "The Prophet needs to die," I snap. "And there is only one way any of us know how to accomplish that. We can sit here and pretend like isolating the bastard and keeping him in confinement will be enough, but you and I both know what has to be done to fix all of this," I warn.

"Xavier will never allow that to happen," Bekah murmurs, keeping her head down.

"I fear Xavier no longer has a choice," I say with immense guilt. "Now, finish loading, we have a revolution to lead with or without its creator."

Pulling up to the grand city, the Revolutionists not residing in the Underground linger at the agreed-upon meeting point. Carrying supplies more used than our own, they marvel at what we have managed to bring with us. Jumping down from the driver's side of the vehicle, I shake hands with the woman leading the group, eyeing her up and down.

Niverna Marlins.

Our inside eye.

"Mason Veron, I presume?" she questions, a seductive undertone lingering in her voice.

Now is not the time to sit here and marvel at biological traits.

It's still difficult to process any woman looking at me with anything but disgust.

For so long I was shifted, stuck in an altered state.

Being a monster for so long, you struggle to remember what humanity felt like.

"Quite some firepower you've brought with you," she smiles, not looking at any of the supplies in our vehicles.

Great, flirting.

Something else I am absolutely horrid at.

"You sure they are in there?" I question, looking at the entrance to the Precipice, ignoring her attempts to get me to look at her with lust.

"I know they are. Watched them kill dozens of my men before grabbing Fallan," she snaps, clearly still pissed about the events that unfolded.

Why the hell is Forest doing all of this? What the hell is really going on?

"And they won't see us coming?" I question.

"The guards won't. We laced them all with a sedative. If timing is on our side," she whispers, pushing my chin to look toward the front entrance. "They should all be fast asleep."

Lying face down on the ground, the guards that normally protect the perimeter are motionless.

"Tell me, Mason, what exactly is your plan if you manage to liberate your friends?" Niverna questions, keeping her doubts about me.

Good.

Trust is a hard thing to earn these days.

"Our only goal has always been to apprehend the Prophet and take down his reign. Whoever stands in the way of that is collateral."

"Even Forest?" she questions, prodding for answers.

"Especially Forest," I warn.

"Xavier won't let you touch her-"

"Then Xavier better be prepared to become collateral."

Looking around, everything seems abnormally quiet.

Too quiet.

Something's wrong.

Waving my hand in the air, the men and women I brought with me grab their things. Keeping the vehicles parked at a safe enough distance to escape, if need be, I lead the charge toward the entrance to the city, sensing Bekah's presence as she comes up beside me.

"What's the strategy?" she questions frantically, her heart nearly beating out of her chest.

Scanning the crowd, I get a glance at Aaron, his eyes filled with a look of feral drive.

Whatever he tells the others, Kai's sudden absence has weighed heavily on his soul.

"Full honesty?" I question, a slight smile pulling up the corners of my mouth. "To shed blood."

Stepping over the motionless guards, we barrel through the front entrance, meeting the wide-eyed expressions of the citizens lingering near the front. Firing off multiple shots in the air, I make as much noise as I can. Dragging their claws across the ground, the Shifters trail behind us, snapping their teeth at anyone willing to get just an inch closer to us.

"Everybody stays the fuck back!" I yell, watching as crowds of people begin to funnel out of buildings.

The city is a spectacle, one much cleaner than New Haven.

What a shame they decided to bring in our enemy.

"The Revolutionists are raiding your city!" Bekah yells, pointing her pistol at the growing crowd.

Keeping ourselves on high alert, these people are one bad move away from seeing what a group with this many Marked can truly look like.

"What do you want?" one of the women in the crowd trembles, her eyes hazed over with the Veil this city has prided itself in using.

"Elyon Morgan," I yell. "We want Elyon Morgan and his daughter Forest Blackburn-"

"Mason," Aaron whispers, tugging on the sleeve of my jacket. "Forest was not-"

"I said I am ending the Prophet," I yell, getting in his face. "I will ensure I have every means possible to do just that."

Hearing shouts in the distance, Officials and guards not sedated by Niverna's team approach our group, ready to blaze us in a haze of bullets the minute we try and make another move.

Looking at Bekah, it's clear to both of us what has to be done.

Time to give Elyon a reason to step out from the shadows.

Shoving past citizens, I set my focus on the first Official I can. Winnowing behind the man, I wrap my arm around his neck. Pressing down as hard as I can on his throat with my forearm, he gasps for air, struggling to make any noise once I have crushed his airways.

"For every minute you choose to hide in the shadows, Elyon," I warn, crushing the man's windpipe until he no longer puts up a fight. "I pick off another one of you."

Watching the dust kick up as he hits the ground, every citizen around us takes a step back.

Shaking his head, Aaron draws his weapon, aiming it at the next closest Official.

"We are following orders," the Officials yell, clearly foreign to an ambush as sudden as this.

"So are we," Aaron hisses. "That's all war really is-"

"Quite wise words, Mason," her voice pipes in, her lips barely grazing my ear. "I thought I warned all of you to stay the hell away."

Unable to retain control of my body, my back skids across the ground, forcefully shoved away by the force of her Hold.

Scrambling to stand up, her golden bright eyes lock with mine, giving me a look I never thought I'd see directed toward me.

The look of a hunter, ready to kill its prey.

"Forest?" I question, holding my hand out as I stand.

Wearing a cloak, something protrudes from her torso, putting strain on the cloak.

"Why are you here?" she questions as if the answer to that is not obvious.

"Where are Kai and Xavier?" I question, countering her question with one of my own.

"Well, well, well, now we have a party," an annoying voice pipes in, forcing my focus behind me.

Atticus.

Walking with his hands tucked in his pockets, the smirk the man carries tells me all that I need to know.

They knew we were coming.

"Atticus," I snap, acknowledging the little pest.

"Shifter," he grins, making a conscious effort to avoid using my name.

He wants to piss me off.

He wants me to snap.

"Forest," Aaron pleads, her eyes barely looking his way. "Where are they-"

"That's enough."

Xavier.

Approaching the tense group, the Officials clear the way for Xavier, giving him a direct path to Forest. Kissing her on the head, his hand passes over her stomach, rubbing the strain.

No.

No, no, no.

Closing my eyes, I focus on the noise around me, listening to the numerous thundering heartbeats.

Hearing one far smaller and faster than all the rest, clarity washes over me.

She's pregnant.

"Where's Kai?" Aaron yells, starting to reach a breaking point.

Surging toward Xavier, Aaron grabs Xavier's front, tugging on his shirt.

Waving off Forest, she takes a step back, allowing Xavier to handle the frantic man.

Trying to move, my feet feel stuck in place, making it impossible to move.

What the hell?

None of them are focusing their Hold on me-

"Wrong Marked."

Feeling chills roll down my spine, the voice tethered to the words breaks me.

Kaiden.

Barely able to turn my head, his brown curls brush the back of my neck. A vengeful expression paints his expression. His eyes hide a dull gleam.

No. This can't be happening.

Forest would not do this to him.

"Kai?" Aaron breathily gasps. His eyes are wide, ready to release a wave of tears at any given moment.

"Hi, Aaron," Kai whispers.

His tone is icy, distant.

"What the hell did you do?" Aaron yells, looking at Atticus for an answer.

"What did I do?" Atticus questions, looking Aaron up and down. "You're asking the wrong person that question."

Turning toward Forest, my eyes widen.

Forest.

She wouldn't-

"I suppose you don't know me very well then," Forest answers, her Call already deeply buried in my mind.

"I warned you all not to come back here-"

"You think any of this will save your child from what's to come?" I yell, every set of eyes in the group snapping my way. "You think Elyon will ever allow your child to live a normal life?" I push.

Kai's hand wraps around the back of my neck, tightening his grasp.

"Watch it, Mason-"

Shoving myself backward, I hit the man in the chest. Turning on my heels once his grasp has loosened, I shove him away.

"I know you're all thinking it!" I yell, looking the group up and down. "Your child is not safe-"

"Mason, stop-"

"Why?" I hiss, fully aware of the countless Marked eyes on me.

Any one of them could kill me with no remorse.

I am in a den full of starved animals.

Seeing Forest and Xavier flinch every time I mention the child, a single thought enters my mind.

"Elyon doesn't know," I whisper, taking in Atticus's look of shock.

Clenching her jaw, Forest's hands run over her stomach.

He doesn't know.

"That's why you ran," I whisper, finally putting together Xavier's reason to leave and not return.

"Christ," I whisper, running my hands through my hair. "Damnit!" I yell, trying to piece together a plan in all of this chaos.

"He doesn't fucking know?" I question again.

Her only response is a slight nod.

"I need you all to leave the Precipice, Mason," she whispers. "Please."

Hearing the distant screams in the city, the Revolutionists have already begun to make their mark.

There is no stopping what has already begun.

"The Revolutionists are here, Forest," I whisper, waiting for Xavier to say something. "One way or another, the Prophet must fall."

"You know what that means," Xavier finally chimes in. "You know what is required to make that happen-"

"We know," Aaron chimes in, his gloved hand wiping away what I am sure will be the last tears he chooses to shed today. "We know what it will take. The question is, are you going to stand in our way?"

Straightening his shoulders, feral rage overcomes Xavier's expression.

"You know I can't let that happen," Xavier warns, both he and Kai moving in front of Forest, shielding her like guard dogs.

"I know you'll stand in my way," I hiss, drawing my blade from my side.

"You won't touch her," Xavier snaps.

"I guess we will see, won't we, Evermoore?"

That was the last thing I could say before all hell broke loose.