“They’re covering a lot of ground,” Ryder noted. “But Bellefleur is what they’re really after.”
Grayson’s attention was drawn to a stack of folders on the desk. He flipped one open and immediately froze. Black-and-white surveillance photos spilled out, all of Cora. She was captured in various moments—leaving the bakery, walking to her apartment, and standing at the forest's edge. Each image was marked with a timestamp and a set of coordinates.
His stomach roiled as he realized just how closely they’d been watching her, but another thought clawed its way forward, stoking his fury. Why hadn’t they taken her already? They’d tried once before, so what had changed?
It didn’t take long for the answer to click into place. They weren’t watching her to strike immediately; they were studying her. Waiting. Given that they had denied her the potion that would restore her magic naturally, Cora’s magic was unpredictable—volatile at best, dangerous at worst—and Theodore’s network thrived on control. If they took her without fully understanding how her power worked, she could become a liability instead of an asset. They were likely gathering intel, looking for patterns or weaknesses they could exploit.
“They’ve been watching her,” Grayson growled.
Zane leaned over his shoulder to look at what he’d found. “That’s not just surveillance. That’s targeting.”
Grayson’s vision tunneled, and his wolf snarled just beneath the surface. He shoved the folder into his bag, unwilling to leave it behind for fear of what it represented. “We need to move. Now.”
Before they could leave, a distant clang echoed through the compound, followed by hurried footsteps. Grayson swore under his breath. “We’ve been made.”
“Ryder, cover the rear,” Zane ordered. “I’ll take the lead.”
The snarl came first, low and throaty before a group of Theodore’s men burst into view. There was no time to strategize. The first attacker lunged, already mid-shift, and his form stretched into something inhumanly massive. Grayson met him head-on, shifting in an instant, and his wolf surged forward with claws extended. Their collision was brutal. Grayson’s claws raked across the other shifter’s chest, sending a spray of blood against the walls, but the blow wasn’t enough to stop him.
The shifter countered, swiping with claws nearly as large as Grayson’s own. The strike caught him across the ribs, and pain burned through his abdomen. He ignored it and threw hisfull weight into the next attack. His teeth found the shifter’s shoulder, and he bit down hard. The attacker howled, thrashing as Grayson tore through muscle and fur, and with a final shove, the man crumpled to the ground.
Ryder was beside him, his wolf larger and bulkier, taking on two attackers at once. One snapped at his flank while the other darted in with speed that blurred the edges of their movements. Ryder spun, clamping his jaws down on the closest enemy’s hind leg. He yanked hard, sending the shifter crashing into the wall before pouncing on the second. The sound of bones crunching lit up the corridor as Ryder tore into his opponent, leaving him motionless on the ground.
Zane moved like a shadow, and while his wolf was smaller, he was impossibly fast. He dodged under a claw swipe, leaping onto the back of another shifter mid-charge. His claws sank into the man’s shoulders, and his jaws locked onto the back of his neck. The shifter bucked wildly, trying to shake him off, but Zane wasn’t about to let go. He dragged him down to the ground in a savage flurry of fur and blood.
It was obvious now that this wasn’t a random encounter—Theodore’s men had been waiting. More shifters flooded the corridor, and their forms twisted and shifted as they prepared to attack. Grayson’s heart pounded, but he didn’t let his adrenaline take hold. He needed to keep his head if they were going to get out of this alive.
Keep moving! he barked through the pack mind as he lunged at another shifter.
This one was leaner, faster. Grayson barely dodged the teeth aimed at his throat and countered with a swipe of his own. The shifter ducked, but Grayson anticipated the move and rammed his shoulder into the man’s midsection. They hit thefloor in a tangle, and Grayson drove his claws into the attacker’s side. The shifter howled, thrashing as blood pooled beneath them, but Grayson didn’t stop until the man went limp.
Grayson!Zane’s voice rang out.We’re getting boxed in!
Grayson’s head snapped up. The corridor was too narrow, and there were way too many attackers to count. They couldn’t hold their ground much longer. He looked around, searching for anything they could use. His line of sight landed on the fuel tanks at the far end of the space, and an idea took shape.
Zane!he shouted, jerking his head toward the tanks.Ignite them!
In the blind of an eye, Zane shifted back to human form and dodged between attackers with impossible agility. Grayson and Ryder moved to cover him as they held the line. Grayson took down one shifter with a well-placed bite to the neck, then spun to block another charging from his left. Claws raked across his back, and he stumbled, but Ryder was there, slamming into the attacker with brute force.
Zane reached the tanks and grabbed a piece of broken metal piping from the debris scattered nearby without missing a beat. He struck it against a jagged edge of the tank, and the friction sparked bright enough to catch the leaking fuel.
The world seemed to hold its breath for a split second before the flames roared to life. An instant later, the explosion tore through the compound as heat and force rippled outward in a deafening blast.
Then, the explosion.
The blast boomed through the compound in a wave of fire that ripped through the shifters still standing. Grayson was thrown backward and slammed into the wall with bone-rattlingforce. Pain exploded through his side as he hit the ground, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He pushed himself up with his vision, swimming just in time to see the attackers scrambling, disoriented and panicked.
Move!he shouted, his voice rough with pain.
Ryder hauled him to his feet, and they stumbled toward the exit. Zane was already ahead of them. Flames licked at the walls, and smoke curled thick in the air as the compound began to collapse. Grayson forced himself to shift back alongside Ryder, and once they were human again, every step sent fresh pain radiating from the gash in his side.
They burst into the open, and the tree line was only a few yards away, but it felt like miles as Grayson’s legs wobbled beneath him.
They reached the trees, and Ryder turned back. “Grayson—”
“I’m fine,” he bit out, though the words felt like a lie. His vision blurred, and the ground tilted beneath him.
“You’re not fine,” Ryder snapped, catching him as he stumbled. “You’re bleeding.”
