Storm nodded once before pulling something up on the device. “Down this hall, let’s go.”
We formed a barrier around our Queen once more, this time with Storm taking the lead. As much as I wanted to trust her, I couldn’t fully, not even with Hawk’s assurance that she was on our side.
I touched his arm briefly and sent him a single thought.Keep our mate in your line of sight. I will walk with the female shifter. We are the only ones we can truly trust with our mate’s safety.
The male looked up and gave me a single nod without responding. He took our fated’s hand and must have relayed the message to her, because she gave me a look of concern.
But she didn’t stop me as I walked ahead. At least the bear was at her back. He was large enough that he covered her completely, forming a safe barrier between her and anyone who might try and attack from behind. And I knew Hawk would protect her now, even without his memories.
Storm didn’t look up at me as she opened one of the locked doors. “There are secret stairwells and elevators all over the compound,” she said. It appeared to be a storeroom of sorts; one filled with basic medical necessities. I’d seen some of these things in the room they’d had my fated strapped down in. “There’s a camera in here. He wouldn’t have one in a storeroom if it weren’t important.”
I looked over my shoulder, meeting Cato’s eye. The male shrugged, though he entered behind the female, fitting better than I could. The room was small, but in the back the walls were made of metal rather than stone.
“She has a point. There were whispers that he had his own way around, but I never believed them,” the male said, joining Storm in moving equipment and shelves out of the way to reveal the back wall.
I helped after a moment, moving the shelves so at least we could get Ivy into the room where she was protected.
But my heart raced with fear. “What if he knows we’ve found his stairwell?” I asked, staring at the metal wall ahead of us. “What if he’s waiting on the other side?”
Storm looked back at me with an uneasy expression. “This is our only way out.” Her eyes went behind me to my fated. “He could be waiting, but he could also be hiding. I don’t know if he’ll risk letting anyone else know about these. He doesn’t want them questioning him.”
“Open it up,” my fated replied, her voice stronger than before. “And if he’s waiting, then we fight.”
43
Ivy
It was getting harder trying to ignore the pain growing in my stomach. It reminded me of bad period cramps. Only the pain radiated throughout my body, not just my lower belly and back.
I was starting to think it was another bout of the twins growing, turning from what should be tiny foetuses into something bigger. Something closer to being birthed. Whatever the spell was, it must have been kicked into overdrive, because when I pressed my hand against my stomach, which felt more bloated, firmer than earlier, I thought I felt a flutter.
It should have been impossible. But I couldn’t remember my last period. The birth control charm Marion supposedly put on me was meant to stop my periods altogether.
Obviously, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Knowing the twins belonged to Adrian and Elias gave me some perspective, at least. I had to have slept with them within a few days, so I was guessing it had to be at the safe house. The first one specifically. Or maybe after I completed the bond with Maeve. But then someone would have caught on, wouldn’t they?
Sable did. She’d known before anyone and made certain to hide it.
Sable. My hands fell away from my stomach, the crampsturning to a dull ache as I looked at the female shifter. “Do you know anything about Sable Archer?” I asked.
Pity filled her dark eyes. “I know she was brought here,” she replied, putting the comms device on her belt and stepping away from the metal wall. “I don’t know where she’s being kept. Dante wanted her close. Closer than you, surprisingly.”
A chill rolled down my spine, stomach twisting with fear. “Dammit,” I muttered, looking away. The storeroom wasn’t very big, barely fitting the four human-sized creatures, let alone Xerxes or Thor. The bear stood just outside the door, though he had his back to us now, keeping watch.
“I did see the chaos of the Pit and cages, though,” the shifter replied, her eyes alight as she drummed her fingers against the metal. “A lot of bodies trying to tame the feral wolves specifically. I’m pretty sure the cage with Greer’s mates was let open and they’re helping free the shifters.”
I sighed in relief, heart fluttering with the knowledge that they were out. But there was a chance none of them would escape. Not with Dante and his army focusing on them.
It was a good distraction for us, but it could mean their deaths.
Before I could ask more, the shifter grunted, unveiling a hidden rune. It was like the charms Adrian hid under his skin. The right spell or movement could activate it.
The rune lit up, giving off a faint silver glow before revealing a split in the metal. I couldn’t help but hold my breath as it opened silently, the metal sliding into the wall on either side of the tunnel beyond.
A musty smell perfumed the air. It was a stone hall, with witch lights carved into the ceiling, illuminating the way.
“Are we sure there are meant to be stairs?” I asked.
