Lana couldn’t argue with that. “Okay. I’ll tell Dr. Saunders that we’ll have no problem coming up with volunteers. Now it’s just a matter of whether Zane can survive until then.” She sighed. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back inside.”
She turned toward the door only to jump as the sound of a roaring engine echoed in the night. Heart pounding, Lana spun around in time to see two big, gray SUVs jump the curb and speed straight at her and Megan.
Lana’s werewolf instincts immediately took over and she leaped to the side to get out of the way. Megan slammed into her at the same time, sending her flying. She hit the ground hard, rolling a few times to avoid the vehicle sliding to a squealing stop on the sidewalk a few feet away.
She scrambled to her feet, her instincts screaming at her to run. But then she froze. Megan lay on the ground near the front bumper of the vehicle, unmoving. Megan had been hit when she’d shoved her out of the way.
No…
Heedless of the vehicle and the people in it, Lana hurried over to Megan, dropping to her knees. She sagged with relief as Megan groaned. She was hurt, but she was alive.
“Come on,” Lana whispered urgently, helping Megan up even as the petite werewolf started getting to her feet.
She’d barely gotten Megan to her knees before she heard the thud of heavy boots behind her. The men’s scents hit her at nearly the same time, making her whole body go rigid. Fangs and claws extended, Lana straightened and spun around, shielding Megan.
She found herself face-to-face with Boyd and the other man who’d been at the Galleria Mall. Three other men were just now getting out of the second SUV, and they were all carrying the same automatic rifles as before.
“Damn,” Boyd laughed, an arrogant smile spreading across his face as the man raised his weapon and pointed it at Lana. “I thought this would be a lot more difficult. But I’m not complaining, especially since it looks like I’m going to get two of you freaks for the price of one.”
“She’s not a werewolf,” Lana lied. If they thought Megan wasn’t a werewolf, there might be a small chance they wouldn’t hurt her. “You can let her go.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” Seth sneered. Even though she hadn’t seen his face last night in the alley, Lana recognized his voice. “The freak is trying to protect her friend—like we’d give a shit if she’s a werewolf or not. She’s with you, so that makes her as bad as you.”
Lana tensed. She’d never been in a fight and didn’t know the first thing about throwing punches, but she had the feeling her inner wolf would help with that. She doubted charging the men would do any good, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. Hopefully she’d be able to take at least one of them with her and make it easier for Max and his pack later.
Thinking of Max made her heart seize. The knowledge of how much her death would hurt him was more painful than the idea of the hunters killing her.
She fixed an image of Max’s face in her mind, then transferred her weight onto one leg, getting ready to attack. She would have liked to take out Boyd, but something told her he’d be expecting that. Instead, she’d go for the guy on the far right. He was the smallest of all the men, and if she jumped on him fast, her unexpected move might keep the other hunters from killing her too quickly. Maybe then, Megan could get away.
Boyd must have read her mind because he moved a step closer and adjusted the aim of his weapon, his face completely emotionless, like he was simply stepping on a bug.
Lana growled, about to pounce, but suddenly gunfire erupted around her. She instinctively dropped to the ground, covering Megan with her body. A split second later, one of the hunters fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. The SUVs didn’t fare so well, either. Glass shattered and metal shrieked in protest as bullets hit them. One tire blew out with a loud pop, then another.
Boyd and the other hunters returned fire, facing out into the darkness. That was when Lana realized what was happening. Jayna and her pack were the ones shooting the hunters. Lana hadn’t even realized Megan’s friends were carrying weapons, much less automatic rifles.
The hunters were shooting in every direction at once, occasional muzzle flashes in the darkness the only thing giving away the other werewolves’ locations. Lana’s first instinct was to attack Boyd, but that wouldn’t gain her much of anything—except vengeance. So instead, she took advantage of the distraction and dug her fingers into the collar of Megan’s jacket and started dragging her toward the shadows along the side of the clinic. Even though Megan was delirious with pain, she must have realized what Lana was up to, because she started kicking weakly with her right leg, trying to push herself across the ground.
They made it less than ten feet before someone grabbed Lana by the hair and savagely jerked her back. She tried to spin around and claw at whoever was holding her but stopped cold when she felt the hot barrel of a weapon against the back of her neck.
“Get inside!” Boyd yelled, using Lana as a human shield as he dragged her backward toward the shattered glass doors of the clinic.
Lana prayed they’d leave Megan, but one of the other hunters hoisted her up, bringing her with them. Another grabbed their injured companion and brought him, too.
Lana wasn’t surprised when the shooting from the darkness immediately ceased. Jayna and the other werewolves weren’t trained SWAT officers. They weren’t going to risk hitting her and Megan.
Moments later, they were inside the clinic, the hunters fanning out and gathering up Lacey, Triana, Saunders, and the other doctors and nurses, pushing everyone against the wall to one side of the main hallway. Dr. Saunders immediately dropped to a knee to check on Megan. She was still conscious but pale.
“Her leg is broken,” Dr. Saunders whispered to Lana. “Her hip, too, I think.”
“Hey!” Seth shouted from inside the lab where Zane was resting. “That werewolf we shot at the cop’s house is in here. He’s full of tubes and wires, and covered with cooling blankets. I think he’s in cryogenic suspension.” Seth poked his head out the door. “Should I kill him?”
Lana’s stomach plummeted, sure Boyd would give Seth the okay, but then another voice sounded from the far end of the building. “There’re more of those damn freaks outside this door. I can’t see them, so I can’t tell how many, but I can see the glow of their fucking eyes.”
“Keep an eye on them. If they come out of the trees, shoot them,” Boyd ordered, then looked at Seth. “Don’t do anything with the werewolf Popsicle. We might need him for something.”
“Hey, Boyd. Jesse is bleeding pretty good over here.”
Lana turned to see one of the hunters down on one knee beside his injured buddy. The guy had gotten shot in the shoulder, and while it was bleeding profusely, unfortunately, it didn’t look bad enough to kill him.
