Page 105 of Unhinged Alphas
I swing with all my strength, connecting with a satisfying crunch of metal and sparks. The drone spirals away, smoking and beeping frantically.
Another drone dives for me. I duck and roll, coming up swinging. The branch connects again, but this time it splinters in my hands.Fuck. The drone I just hit whirs right back to life, chirping as it recalibrates.
A distant explosion echoes through the mountains, followed by the unmistakable sound of Wraith's enraged roar. Metal screeches and tears. Despite everything, a flicker of hope ignites in my chest. He's alive. Did he get his hands on one of them?
That's when I hear it. Boots crunching through snow. My blood runs cold as figures emerge from the treeline, firing on the drones, picking them off one by one with their assault rifles.
Vrissian soldiers.
Their stark white uniforms and white hair blend with the snow, making them look like ghosts materializing from the forest. The sight of themsends ice through my veins, colder than any mountain wind.
A snarl rips through the air, followed by panicked shouts.
"Holy fuck!"
Gunfire erupts, the staccato rhythm punctuated by Wraith's bone-chilling roars. I want to run to him, to help somehow, but my body won't cooperate. My legs give out, sending me crashing to my knees in the snow.
The soldiers are on me in seconds. Rough hands grab my arms, yanking them behind my back. Cold metal bites into my wrists as they slap cuffs on me.
"Target secured," one of them barks into a radio. "Omega female, early twenties. Initiating extraction."
I thrash against their grip, but it's useless. My body is beyond exhausted, pushed well past its limits. Black spots dance at the edges of my vision as they haul me to my feet.
"Let... me... go," I gasp out, my voice barely above a whisper. "Or… kill me."
One of the soldiers laughs, a harsh, grating sound. "Not a chance, sweetheart. You are far too valuable."
Valuable.
The word echoes in my head, filling me with fresh dread.
A scream pierces the air, followed by the sickening crunch of bones shattering.
"Forget repossessing the asset. Just kill it," another soldier snaps. "It's tearing through our men like tissue paper."
The asset? Repossessing? They must be talking about Wraith. Valek must be right. They are from the same lab.
Oh, god, no.
They're going to take him back there.
"Wraith!" I scream, my voice raw and desperate. "Wraith! Run!"
"Is that what you call that thing?" one of the soldiers jeers. They start dragging me toward a waiting hovercraft above the snow, the four fans below its tanklike steel chassis churning up the white powder and baring the dead grass beneath. I dig my heels into the snow, fighting with every ounce of strength I have left. It's not much.
A roar answers me, closer this time. Hope surges in my chest, only to be crushed as more soldiers pour out of the transport, weapons raised.
"Fire at will!" someone shouts. "Take it down!"
The air fills with the smellof ozone as energy weapons discharge. My heart leaps into my throat. Wraith may be nearly indestructible, but even he has limits.
I renew my struggles, throwing my weight backward. It catches the soldiers off guard, and for a moment, I think I might break free. Then pain explodes in the back of my head and the whole world goes dark.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
WRAITH