“You… saved me. Sin… my angel,” I whispered.
I peered up in time to see the faintest trace of a smile curving his lips.
I could feel, from the others, an uncomfortable urgency, but Sin was still calm, so I sank into his presence in the bond, not wanting to shoulder anything else going wrong today.
We were… together.
That should be enough.
Vandle was weak, still. I knew he’d been hurt earlier. I craned my neck to see Karma helping him along.
That was good…
“Fuck!”I heard Phantom’s curse, and it was enough to startle me up a little.
“Potty mouth,” I muttered. I thought I’dtoldhim.
But I realized it was relief that was flooding down the bond from him despite the curse.
I adjusted my head, watching at an odd angle as his form sprinted away down the hall. I almost giggled as it went blurry the further it got from me, like a strange Phantom blob, going all funny shapes as he—I guessed—spread his arms out. Or something like that.
I was dazed, pulled between the agony of heat and delirium.
“Is that…?” Karma asked.
“Bug,” Sin said from above me.
“Huh. Rumours weren’t wrong—though I think you’re a bit more than a‘super alpha’...” Bug’s voice trailed off. “But I can’t hold this door open forever. Get on with it.”
“Why?” Phantom asked.
Bug snorted. “We have integrity. What made you doubt us?”
“We didn’t even trust our Redgrave deal,” Phantom said. “Fucking Wakefields lied to us.”
I was close enough now to see Bug frown at that. “The Redgraves are good for their deals, man. Would fuck up their reputation if?—”
“We got that,” Phantom said dryly. “It’s why Holden did this at night—locked us out. Guess they couldn’t have gotten around Dominic’s guys otherwise."
Bug’s mouth made an ‘O’ shape in surprise and I giggled.
Phantom spun to look at me. “We need to go. We’re…” He trailed off, looking helplessly at the rest of the pack.
“Here…” There was a moment, and I heard the familiar clink of my nest. “Firefly.” Sin’s voice was gentle in my ear. “Mind if we give them this?”
It was a key.
“Is that for thecontrabandroom?” Bug asked, audibly startled.
My pulse raced.
“We got another one on the way,” Sin said to me.
Okay… wehad. In fact, the key that had unlocked the cage to my alphas was still clutched in my fist.
And this one I’d actually got touse.
I nodded. I think I could manage it.
