Page 85 of Alpha Chained
My eyes widen in disbelief. “He’s going to blow the whole place up?”
I feel a hand slip into mine and glance over to see Willow, Riot’s sister, standing beside me. We’d met briefly when I returned with the files, both of us united in our fear for Riot’s safety.
“That’s what he said.” Callum looks at me.
My breath catches as I stare up at the mountain. “But… But we have to go back and get him!”
“It’s too late to go back there, Raura.” Jagger’s hand is on my shoulder. “But he’s tough, he’ll be fine.”
“Fine?” I stare at that. “How can you—?”
Suddenly, the sound of sirens pierces the air. The ground beneath our feet begins to tremble, and a deafening explosion rips through the mountainside. I scream, lurching forward, desperate to run toward the flames. Strong arms wrap around me, holding me back.
“Raura, no!” Jagger shouts, his grip tightening. “It’s too dangerous!”
“Let me go!” I cry, struggling against him. “I have to find him! I have to—”
My words are cut off by a choked sob. Willow’s hand tightens around mine as we watch the fire plume into the sky, thick smoke billowing from the ruins of the Enclave.
I’m paralyzed, staring up at the exploding facility in abject horror. A wail of anguish rips from my throat as I watch flames erupt from the mountainside, consuming the Enclave in a blazing inferno. Thick plumes of smoke billow into the sky, obscuring everything in a choking haze.
“Riot…” His name catches in my throat, barely audible through my choked sobs.
Jagger’s arms are like vises around me, restraining me from rushing headlong into danger. I fight against him, thrashing wildly as tears stream down my face. Every instinct screams at me to run up there, to find him…to save him somehow.
“Let me go!” I plead, my voice raw. “I have to get to him! Riot!”
Willow clings to my hand, her face ashen. We’re both stricken, united in our anguish as the fire rages unchecked.
My chest heaves with ragged breaths as I helplessly watch the Enclave crumble under the force of the explosion Riot triggered.
Is he still inside? Did he make it out in time?
Panic claws at my heart, an icy fist squeezing the air from my lungs.
“Please,” I whisper. “Oh God, please…”
Riot, my mate, my everything… All of it over before it could even begin. The thought of losing him after all that we’ve endured is unfathomable.
I can’t accept it. I won’t.
With a guttural scream, I renew my struggles against Jagger’s iron grip. “Riot! Please!” My voice cracks, dissolving into wretched sobs.
He can’t be gone. He can’t!
“Wait!” someone shouts.
Willow is tugging my hand. “Raura! Raura, look!”
I blink rapidly, trying to clear the tears from my eyes as a shape begins to materialize through the billowing smoke and debris. At first, I think I’m hallucinating, my mind conjuring a desperate illusion to shield me from the crushing weight of loss.
But then the figure solidifies, the haze parting to reveal a lone silhouette striding out from the ruins. My heart thunders in my chest as realization washes over me in a dizzying wave.
It’s Riot.
Alive.
A strangled cry tears from my lips as I drink in the sight of him – his clothes torn and singed, his face streaked with grime and blood. But those piercing silver eyes are clear and focused, burning with an intensity that sears straight through me.