“They’re just beyond here,” Slade whispered as he came to a halt.
“How many?” I asked softly.
“A lot of them.”
Talon pushed in behind me. “What is the plan?”
None of us were using our bond, in case Emme picked up on it, so we had to huddle close and keep our voices low.
“We should wait,” I said, infusing my entitled alpha power into my voice. “We cannot risk being outnumbered and not making it back to Emme.”
Slade huffed but didn’t argue as he leaned against the wall. “Okay. Let’s conserve our energy while we wait.” He did pull out his phone, and somehow even underground, managed to figure out how to log into a network and check on Emme at the hockey.
“Fucking Warrick,” he muttered, right before he stashed his phone again.
“Is Slalon ready?” I asked as I joined him against the wall, forcing my muscles to relax.
Talon answered first. “We’re not perfect, but we’re working well together.”
“We’re ready,” Slade rumbled softly, the hint of his annoyance still strong. “We’ll be enough.”
Holding on to that, we all fell silent, our breaths the only noises to infiltrate this desolate tunnel as we waited. Checking in with Emme kept me entertained, as she fully enjoyed herself at the game.
Long after my skin grew icy, and my beast moved restlessly in my chest, the silence was broken by footsteps. We tensed as we waited to see if this was our backup, or those associated with Jewels. When a familiar tea tree scent filtered through, I relaxed and nudged Constantine.
“Light,” I murmured. He’d extinguished it when we’d waited here, in case anyone stumbled in or out of the tunnels.
When it flared to life in his palm, I found myself staring at a familiar face. “Will,” I said, keeping my voice low. Behind him were dozens of faces, all of them outfitted in Reeves industry tech.
He lifted a bag he’d been carrying and shoved it at me. “Your assistant said you might need some extra gear.” The quieter his voice got, the stronger his German accent grew. “We brought all we had.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took the gear. “If we get out of this shithole alive, remind me to give Casey a bonus.”
Constantine and I strapped vests on and pocketed weapons, but the dragons declined. “We’ll be shifting,” Slade said shortly.
Will nodded, and the bag with the extra gear was left in the hallway at our feet. “You believe this is where the witch is holed up?”
“We do,” I said, adrenaline starting to course through me. “We haven’t confirmed it, but if Jewels is here, we cannot let her escape. This might be our only chance.”
Will’s expression was one of determination, no concerns visible. It was harder to see the others, but none of them backed away. “We’re here to fight by your sides and save shifters from her curse. Whatever happens, we won’t bail on you. Lead the way.”
Slade took off, as if he’d barely been holding himself back all of this time. We followed just as fast, and when the tunnel narrowed, we had to move nearly single file to make it through. At the entrance to the bunker or whatever was down here, Slade took out additional security, leaving their dead bodies off to the side.
The entrance was blocked by a heavy door with bright lights on either side of the entrance.
“That explains the power,” Talon noted, and I wondered how the hell they’d managed to make this happen. There was no way this had been constructed in the days since the street attack. This was years in the making, even if it had only recently come into use.
The door opened easily to reveal an entrance, already lit up to showcase a wall of weapons. Mostly knives, daggers, and axes. There were also a ton of boots and shoes scattered below.
It remained well-lit as we pushed on, and when we entered the first real room, I almost lost control of my beast at the sheer fucking size of it. The round space spanned out for at least a mile in all directions, with camp beds surrounding the full perimeter. Bedside drawers in between each bunk.
Some of the beds were occupied with sleeping shifters and witches, blissfully unaware that there was an enemy in their midst. Silently, we moved forward, and following our noses, found ourselves in an area containing an industrial kitchen and dining facility.
A dining facility filled with at least fifty shifters, and almost as many witches.
At our appearance, everyone turned to us, and silence descended so fast it was eerie. A low laugh rang out, and from the middle of the tables stepped a far too fucking familiar shifter.
Blaine’s grin was lopsided and too large. It made him look even more unhinged than usual. “Well, well, look who stepped right intothe fucking shit.” His gaze moved between us and our allies. “Jewels was really hoping you’d be stupid enough to try and track her using me. I’m happy to see that she was right. Again.”
