I grunt. The sound is raw, wrenched from somewhere deep as agony rips its way through me.
Between the sea of bobbing heads, I see the moment Viper smells my blood.
‘Oh, frack. Viper, no!’
His eyes darken, and then he detonates.
The roar that tears out of him is inhuman, a sound that rattles my bones and makes the ground shake.
Pandemonium unleashes.
Betas shriek in panic at the sight of an Alpha in Blood Lust, scurrying like prey.
Most dart to escape Viper, shoving past each other in blind desperation, tripping over fallen bodies, and scrambling back to their feet.
Some fight back, revealing concealed weapons. Viper’s arm lashes out, backhanding the nearest civilian mid-swing. The metal pipe clatters onto the dirt, a hand still grasping it, severed from its owner.
My breath sticks in my throat as Maddie shuffles us to remain in the center of the turmoil, protected by a wall of civilians.
Panicking, a male survivor stumbles away from the chaos, shoving bodies aside, a gun swinging in wide, dangerous arcs. As he backs into the shadow of the treeline, his finger slips and the gun goes off. Someone in the crowd drops to the ground with a scream.
The branches above the man shake.
Blaze drops from the canopy above like a hunting cat. They hit the ground together in a tangle of limbs and terror. The man gasps, but the sound cuts short as Blaze drives his boot down on the side of his neck.
There is a wet, splintering crack that I hear even over the cacophony.
The man’s body twitches once, then goes limp.
Others who were darting for the trees skid to a halt, confronted with Blaze’s manic, unblinking stare. They hasten back to us.
Knox joins the fray.“On your knees, Beta!”
His Alpha Command slices through the mob. It’s strong and somehow still controlled despite his turbulent emotions.
Knees slam into the ground, unable to resist his primal order.
For a split second, I feel relief. In a moment, Maddie will fall to her knees, I’ll run to the safety of my Pack, and no one will get hurt.
Except Maddie doesn’t waver. Neither does the Beta at my back.
The relief slips away as quickly as it came.
Alpha Commands don’t work on a crowd, and in the heaving masses, Knox is unable to focus his order on only Maddie.
Prime Alpha Zero follows Knox’s lead.
“On your motherfucking knees!”His bark joins with Knox’s, and his Alpha Command drops another handful of survivors.
It’s still not enough.
Maddie stands unwavering.
The other Alphas join in.
“Get on the ground!”
“Hands behind your heads!”
