They took off running. Elise forced her stiff legs to move, adrenaline overriding the screaming protest of muscles that had been bound for hours. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as they sprinted for the exit, and she was sure they wouldn't make it.
That certainty only got worse when Austin stepped out from behind a stack of crates and blocked their path. He placed himself squarely in their escape route, and the smile on his face was all teeth.
It was one-on-four. They could take him, but Elise was shaky. Her wrists were raw from the ropes, and she remembered the deadly efficiency Austin had orchestrated to take her and Nico off the street without a fight.
She refused to underestimate him.
The Iron Runner beta looked furious. His suit jacket had disappeared somewhere, and the sleeve of his shirt was not only ripped, but there was also a streak of blood on it. Fresh blood, still wet and dark against the white fabric, ran from his shoulder to his elbow. He glared at them and curled his lip.
"What do you think you're doing?" He was looking right at Reece and Javi, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "We do not work with witches." He held up a purple stone that glowed with a sickly light.
Elise could feel the magic rolling off of it, and it made her stomach roil. Whatever that rock did, it was bad news.
Delainey lobbed her magic at Austin, but he dipped his shoulder and dodged it like it was nothing. The spell sailed past him and exploded against a metal support beam, leaving a scorched mark on the steel. "Little annoying witch, do you want to see what my new toy does? I was hoping to save it forthem.The sorceress who sold it to me said it would flay the skin off a witch's bones."
He took a deep breath. Elise suspected there was some kind of trigger word to the charm, and she braced herself. Her magic rose instinctively, gathering beneath her skin in preparation for whatever horror was about to be unleashed.
Nico didn't hesitate. He launched himself forward and smacked the rock out of Austin's palm. His hand connected with Austin's wrist in a sharp crack of bone on bone, and the stone went flying through the air. The move was so sudden that the Iron Runner beta didn't have time to jerk out of his reach. The stone fell to the floor and shattered, the magic inside of it releasing harmlessly into the air around them. Purple light burst outward in a dying flare before dissipating into nothing, leaving only broken shards of dark rock scattered on the floor.
"You do not get to harm my mate," Nico roared.
He drove his fist into Austin's jaw, sending him sprawling. Knuckles met bone with a satisfying crunch, and Austin's head snapped back, blood spraying from his split lip. Austin crumpled to the ground, out cold.
Nico stood over him, chest heaving, and kicked him once in the ribs for good measure. The kick landed with a dull thud, and Austin's body jerked but didn't wake.
"We have to move!" Delainey yelled, grabbing Elise's other arm. They took off running, away from Austin's unconscious form.
Elise was ready for more of a fight, but as they ran the rest of the way through the warehouse, she saw a few fallen wolves and no one in any position to face off against them. Bodies lay crumpled between crates and pallets, some breathing shallowly, others ominously still.
They ran through the parking lot and down the street to a second parking lot about a block away where Briana's Jeep anda truck that Elise didn't recognize were parked side by side. Her lungs burned with each gasping breath.
Reece opened the door to the truck, and all of them piled in. Javi, now fully human, sat in the driver's seat with Aya beside him. Elise and Nico were squished together in one seat in the back while Delainey and Reece were next to them.
Elise took the opportunity to send another burst of magic through Nico and heal anything that she might have missed earlier. He sent her a look that told her he knew exactly what she was doing and that she didn't need to be doing it. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, her lips brushing against skin still damp with sweat. If the silly man thought that she was going to let him hurt when she could do something about it, he was out of his damn mind.
"Come on, come on, where are you guys?" Reece was muttering, his eyes fixed on the warehouse entrance.
"Serena, get the fuck out of there. Briana, come on!" That was from Delainey, her hands gripping the back of the front seat hard enough to make her knuckles white.
The rest of her coven was still inside, as were Nico's fellow betas. They had all come for them.
Elise watched, heart thumping so fast she thought it might explode. Then she saw figures sprinting for their lives coming around the same corner the rest of them had run from several minutes before. They burst through the warehouse door in a desperate scramble, and even from this distance, she could see the pack of wolves pouring out behind them.
Reece let out a curse and jumped out of the truck, transforming into a wolf between one breath and the next. Bones cracked and reformed with sickening speed, fur rippling across skin, and his clothes tore away as his body reshaped itself mid-leap. Delainey was out of the truck right after him. She threw magic at the wolves that were chasing Briana. Bolts of cracklingenergy streaked through the air, forcing the pursuing wolves to scatter and dodge.
Cole was carrying a half-slumped-over Serena, and Hugh had transformed into his wolf form. He kept barking at the wolves that were chasing them. He took up the rear, ready to fight anyone who got too close. Hugh's snarls were vicious, all bared teeth and raised hackles, daring any of them to try getting past him.
Cole, Serena, and Briana passed Delainey and Reece. Then Hugh caught up to Reece, and both of them stood their ground while Delainey stayed right behind them and covered them with her magic. She sent spell after spell into the advancing wolves, each burst buying them precious seconds.
Javi turned on the truck while Cole, Briana, and Serena got into Briana's car. The engine roared to life, and Elise could feel the vibration through the seat beneath her.
"Come on, get back here, motherfucker," Javi was saying under his breath. Aya gave him a look that Elise couldn't interpret at this moment.
Her brain was kind of fried by now. She was doing her best to just stay conscious.
Delainey summoned a wall of fire that grew up between the wolves of Nico's pack and the wolves that were chasing them. Flames erupted from the asphalt in a roaring curtain, heat distorting the air and forcing the pursuing wolves to skid to a halt or risk being burned alive. Then she stumbled backwards and fell to her knees before starting to crawl back to the truck.
Doing something like that tooka lotof power. That kind of magic usually required the entire coven, and Delainey was going to pay for that. Blood trickled from her nose, red against her brown skin, and her arms shook as she tried to drag herself forward.
