Page 73 of Alpha Hunt
Her mind?
Our eyes lock, and again, I’m overwhelmed with the sensation of running, weaving through trees, bounding over rocks and streams. And then more… Images flash through my head. Visions of her. Her face, her eyes, the curve of her cheek…the feeling of her lips as my mouth meets hers.
I whine. My chest hurts all of a sudden.
“That’s it.” Her voice chokes. “Come back to me.” Her eyes are welling with tears.
I feel the sensation of running again, of catching her, pinning her to the ground. But there’s no thought of killing her. I hunted her because…
I go still.
Instinctively, I fling my head back and call out to the moon. Within a second, the answering howls echo around us. I lower my head and stare back at her. She starts to laugh, a strangled sound that bubbles through tears.
“God…oh, God…please let it have worked,” she says anxiously, glancing around quickly. Then she reaches for the door to the cage and flicks at a heavy-duty latch there. “Here goes nothing,” she says under her breath, then swings the door open.
It takes me a second to realize that freedom is within reach. But instead of rushing out, I pad cautiously over the threshold. I stop in front of her and sniff her. Taking in deep breaths. And the world comes into focus again.
Casey!
She’s my mate.
When her hands slide over my shoulders and back, I brush against her, rubbing my pelt on her skin, letting her scent coat me.
Mine. My mate.
“We have to get out of here, Edirn. They’ll be here any second!” She’s still glancing around. “Shit.”
The wolves have stopped howling, but they’ve begun moving about anxiously, jumping at the bars and yipping and snapping at us.
“We have to get them out,” she mutters. My first thought is to stop her. As she moves toward a cage, I bar her path.
What if they’re like I was? What if they want to kill her? I know I should be able to get into their thoughts like I did with her, but I can’t. There’s nothing concrete.
“We can’t leave them here, Edirn.” When she steps up to one of the doors, I start to growl. I swear I’ll rip out throats if they so much as breathe in her direction. But there’s no time to second-guess this now because there’s a shout from outside. Boots thunder down the hall.
“Something’s going on in there!” someone shouts.
“Get the tranq guns!” someone else calls out. There’s more slamming, more shouting, boots come closer. But my mate is ignoring them.
I watch in alarm as she rushes down the line of cages, flinging open doors. What is she doing? These wolves could be feral like I was a moment ago. They could attack her without a second thought. But she’s oblivious to the threat.
I’m torn between the threat from outside and the threat from within. As the first wolves emerge, everything inside me goes on high alert. I could take out a couple…but there are seven of them.
I leap to her side, positioning myself between her and the emerging wolves. A growl builds low in my throat as I face them. The wolves prowl out of their cages slowly, their eyes darting between each other and us. I probe with my mind, trying to get a sense of their thoughts, but it’s chaos. Anger, fear, confusion. I can’t tell if they’re friend or foe. All I know is that I have to protect my mate at all costs.
Casey’s hand falls on my back, her fingers curling into my fur. “It’s okay,” she murmurs. “We have to trust they won’t hurt us.”
Us? It’s not me I’m worried about. But there’s no time to deliberate over this. They’re out.
And we have new worries. The door to the lab flies open with a crash that echoes through the room. I pivot to face the new threat, a snarl ripping from my throat.
Men pour through the doorway, heavily armed and clad in black leather. They fan out, their weapons trained on us. I can see the glint of tranquilizer darts loaded in the chambers.
“Jesus!” one of them yells, his eyes widening as he takes in the scene. “They’re out! They’re all fucking out!”
“How did she get in here?” another demands.
“Who cares?” a third snaps. “Dart them. All of them. Now!”