Wrecker’s voice: “With pleasure.”
The charges lit the morning like lightning, a ripple of controlled fire running the length of the east wall. The ground trembled. Shards of rebar and debris ripped through the first rank of wolves. They scattered, howling, and the survivors fell straight into the crossfire from Arsenal and Gunner above.
It was chaos on the screen: bodies moving, some falling, some charging. Dagger and Vex regrouped, huddled with Rook behind the burning hulk of the U-Haul. I scanned the field for Axel, but he was gone, vanished into the mass of panic and blood.
In the war room, Pearl let out a sigh of relief. “Beautiful work, Parker.”
Maddie high-fived me, her palm sweaty and shaking.
I took a breath, felt the mate bond hum in my chest. Wrecker’s pulse, alive and sharp.
I watched the monitors as the enemy forces tried to pull back, only to find the way blocked. The vampires started moving in now, fangs bared and faces twisted in something like joy.
Dagger screamed at his men to hold, but the line broke almost immediately. The young wolves dropped their weapons and ran. Vex shot one of them in the back for cowardice.
I clicked over to the next phase. “Bronc, Juliet, you’re up.”
On the screen, Bronc, Juliet and their squad burst from the north wing, flanking the stragglers. Gunfire echoed. I felt every shot in my bones.
The demons? They didn’t react. They just watched, smiling. I realized then that they weren’t here to win. They were here to watch us suffer. It made my skin crawl.
In the chaos, I finally saw Axel running with three others, bleeding from the leg. He ducked behind the bus, eyes wild. For a moment, he looked right at the camera—at me. I didn’t know what to feel. Rage, pity, love, grief. All of it.
I hit the general comm. “This is it, boys and girls. Bring it home.”
The wolves of Iron Valor emerged from the hidden bunkers, weapons drawn, fangs bared. The fighting was close now, brutal and fast. Every second, Greenbriar’s numbers thinned. My stomach twisted, but I kept calling the plays, kept the voices calm.
“North wing, you’re clear. Juliet, take your group around to the south. Wrecker, close the east loop. Gunner, Arsenal, cover the stragglers.”
The plan worked. It was merciless and efficient, and over in little more than an hour.
When it was done, the feed showed only bodies and broken vehicles, the ground slick with blood and burning rubber. The demons melted into the woods, gone. The vampires, all but one, lay dead or dying. Lucia and her men were relentless.
I slumped in the chair, every muscle shaking.
Pearl hugged me from behind, her arms warm and strong. “You did it,” she said. “You did it, girl.”
I watched the cameras, scanning for Axel. He was gone.
Wrecker called in, voice breathless: “Youokay?”
“Yeah,” I said. “You?”
Just then I saw movement from behind a barrier. Axel.
“Wrecker, behind you! Axel.”
He turned in time to see my brother. I could hear Wrecker's voice crackle through my headset.
"Axel, if you want to live, put your gun down. It doesn't have to end like this."
Axel's head swung left and right as though he thought maybe there was someone coming to save him.
"How else is it supposed to end, man? We all gonna live happily ever after? My own fucking sister set us up,again."
Wrecker just shook his head. "You came here to help slaughter the pack who did everything for you and your sister when you lost your parents. That says way more about you than her."
Axel sneered. "Yeah, well, things worked out just great for me didn't they? If my life is shit, I think hers should be too. Here you go, Parker, cuz I know you're watching somewhere." He raised his gun to Wrecker's head.
