Hah!Before I could retort, helicopter blades whirled in the distance. I broke awayand saw a look of sadness etched onto Kai’s face.
Devonand Alexa burst through the trees in human form and immediately began shifting.This was only Alexa’s second shift.
“Kai,they will capture, experiment, and torture every last one of us now,” Alexasaid as she was shifting.
Shescreamed in pain, but the shift was happening with as much grace as she couldmanage.
“PlanB,” I told Kai. “Let’s leave the country. Let’s run.”
Kailooked at me, his look said good bye and I didn’t like it. “Too late.” Heshifted.
Shit!I shifted too. Max stayed human and held up a gun. Men were repelling fromropes. Max pointed the gun right at them and let bullets fly. One guy droppedto the ground with a sickening thud. This isn’t what I wanted. Why couldn’tthey leave us alone!
Icounted twelve RAIDOS guys, heavily armed, running at us through the trees.
‘Whereis the rest of the pack?’I askedKai. I knew Seattle pack drove home the night before, but India pack was stillaround, and our pack as well.
‘Myfather’s pack is split, fighting the vampires in Portland and here on themountain. Half of our pack is at the park meeting with the humans. The otherhalf is guarding Emma and the women. It’s just us.’
Themen were moving closer and Max shouted over the noise. “Go back now and no oneelse gets hurt. There are things you don’t know. The vampires are killing yourpeople and keeping them hooked on heroin. We want to help stop that. We’re onthe same side.”
Good,he was trying to reason with them.
Oneof the men responded by pulling the trigger on a harpoon type of gun. A thicksilver chain net flew through the air and wrapped around Kai’s body. It clinkedtight underneath his belly with some sort of magnets. His head was sticking outand he was trying to shake it off.
‘No!’I took off running and clamped my teeth down onthe metal chain trapping Kai’s body. One of my teeth snapped off. It wasburning his skin, I could smell it. Why didn’t he take the silver immunityserum!
Iheard Devon and Alexa growling and fighting, Max’s gun was going off. It waslike time was going by really slow, but at the same time everything washappening too fast.
Theman holding the other end of the harpoon pulled on the net and Kai almost fell,but kept himself upright. Kai bared his teeth and bit down lightly on my neckskin, just enough to break the skin. Ow!
‘Aurora,I name you Alpha of this pack. I transfer pack bonds to you willingly. Blood ofmy blood.’
No!I felt tons of little strands of energy, like ropes binding themselves to me.‘Alpha,Alpha, Alpha,’the pack chanted.
‘What?Kai. No!’I screamed.
Anothersilver net flew through the air toward me. In one quick motion, Kai clampeddown on my neck skin, like a lion mother would to her cub. He picked my body upand flung me high up in the air, tossing me forty feet into the side yard. Myhowl cut through the crisp morning air and I hit the ground hard, knocking thewind out of my lungs. My ribs snapped. The empty net hit the ground right whereI had been standing. The man who had Kai, hooked the net line onto the helicopterline and all of a sudden Kai was being hauled up into the air like a circusanimal.
‘Kai!!!’Hearing my desperate scream terrified me. There was nothing I could do.
‘Weneed back up at Max’s, now!’Ishouted into the mind of the entire pack, which I could feel wasmypack.Alpha power coursed through my veins.
Istarted to run and I felt myself limping as my bones tried to regrow from myfall.
‘I’mcoming, Kai, hang on,’I told himas they loaded him into the helicopter.
‘No,they want you. They want to kill you. Stay back,’he pleaded.
‘Noway!’
Iwas headed for the harpoon gun guy, who looked at me with a sadistic grin. Hedropped the harpoon gun and raised another, sleeker more deadly looking gun. Ididn’t care. He would die for taking my mate. If I didn’t get to Kai soon, I couldlose him forever.
Theman raised his gun toward me and I picked up my speed, launching myself intothe air and knocking him over. I was tearing at his neck when I heard Max’svoice from behind me.
“Lookout!” Max screamed. I slowly turned just in time to see Devon leap into the airbetween me and another RAIDOS agent who had a huge samurai sword. He cutDevon’s head cleanly off.
‘No!!!’I began to shift and the half human, half wolf wail that came from me soundedlike it was from another planet. Mist poured from my skin uncontrollably. Treesshook. The samurai man grabbed his ears screaming. Devon’s eyes were open andstaring vacantly at the sky. A sharp pain struck my chest as Devon’s essenceleft the pack bonds. Then I felt Emma’s pack bond crumble in despair. No. No.No.
