Page 102 of Mated By the Alphas
“The whole building is coming down!” Wyatt cries as we all burst through the front door.
Five massive wolves hit the ground with thunderous impact as the building crashes down behind us. I look around to make sure everyone is safe. There’s a spotlight on us. Shouting. Cars are screeching to a stop, helicopters are approaching and circling.
We’ve been spotted.
“Run, run, RUN!” Remy screams.
And we do. Jaxton leaps into the air and when we touch down, we’re out of the spotlight’s beam. Each wolf tears off in a different direction, running for all they’re worth, winding through alleys and back streets, keeping to the dark and shadows, until joining back up many blocks away. Daisy and I hang onto Jaxton for dear life, and I may have taken up prayer for a few minutes. The helicopters chase us for a while, butfinally the sound of the rotors fades. We’ve lost them. By the time we do, none of the cars have been able to track us.
None of us stop moving until we all get back to The Den. We rush through the doors, Jaxton skidding to a stop and lowering himself so we can get off.
“Fuck, this is bad,” Hayden’s face is a mask of worry when he shifts into his true Human Form. “Really bad.”
“That didnothappen in my vision!” I scream. “It ended right when Jaxton killed the vampire!”
“Do we run or do we hide?” Wyatt asks, a tremor in his usually gentle voice.
“It’s too risky to run right now,” Hayden says. “They’ll be looking for us. They didn’t track us here, though.”
“I’m checking all the surveillance equipment now,” Storm says, moving to the cameras. After a few seconds, he announces, “We’re clear. No alerts except the ones we triggered ourselves.”
“We could hide here, for now. Move to a safehouse later. It’s doable, but it’s risky,” Remy says. “But they know we’re in Chicago. They won’t leave until they find us. We will eventually have to leave.”
“Or fight them,” Storm says. “Ansley, do you have any souls in you that can kill Crimson Templars? Maybe a giant Gundam or something?”
“A what?” I ask, trying to convince my pounding heart to slow down.
“No,” Daisy declares defensively. “She doesn’t have a giant robot inside her. Those guys were shooting missiles. We need like … the fucking army or something.”
“We’ll lay low for the next couple days, then we’ll reassess,” Hayden says, turning to me. “But I’m sorry, Ansley. We’re probably not going to be able to stay in Chicago. We have to think of the baby, too.”
He doesn’t have to tell me that. I already know I have to put the baby’s safety first. My hand goes to my stomach and I nod. “Yeah, I understand.”
We won.
Then we lost.
CHAPTER 35
Hayden
Our pack has a future.
My child is growing Ansley’s belly. Three months from now, and the first baby born to a wolf in centuries will need his mother’s milk, his diapers changed, and all the love he deserves.
Now?Nowis the time the fucking Crimson Templars decide to show up?
It’s been two days since they spotted us outside Lincoln Elementary School. We’ve watched our surveillance cameras and spotted vehicles we think belong to them, patrolling the city, especially at night.
We’re in The Den where we used to live together as a pack, before we started doing more to blend in. Houses. Cars. Permanent Third Forms in public for everyone except Jaxton. We were so careful. So, so careful.
Now the vampires have ruined everything. They’ve stolen our home from us. One last kick in the nuts from the onyx heart Jaxton smashed.
As much as I want to fight, I can’t risk my brothers’ lives. I can’t risk Daisy’s life, Ansley’s life, or our baby’s life. This is what being an Alpha truly means. My brothers all understand that now, because they’ve found their place in this world. The pack bond is complete, and protecting our mate and our offspring means more than pride or revenge.
“Everything is still clear on the surveillance, but Storm isn’t taking his eyes off those screens unless Remy takes over to give him a break,” Wyatt sighs, sitting down at the table beside me.
“This is a fucking nightmare, brother,” I exhale my frustration in a long, slow breath. “We don’t even know what kind of weapons they have now. Not really.”
