Page 21 of Freed Wolfsbane

“Wrong choice, mutt. I need you mostly alive, not unharmed. If you’re not going to come with me willingly, I guess I’ll have to weaken you enough that I can take you without a fight.” Anson lowers his gun and fires twice into my stomach.

I can’t help the scream that works its way out of my throat at the fiery pain ripping through already damaged tissue. The force of the bullets’ impact causes me to stumble back a step. I lose my footing and fall, landing hard on my back. I try to struggle up, but I can’t get any of my limbs to cooperate. Eventually, I give up and sag against the tile floor.

My vision is going in and out as I fight to stay conscious. Through blurry eyes, I see Anson raise the gun to aim at my heart. I thought he needed me alive, but I guess not if he’s going to put a bullet through that vital organ. I squeeze my lids shut and brace myself for more bullets to rip through me.

CHAPTER11

MALACHI

EARLIER THE SAME DAY

“Alpha team is ready to go,” Rhys reports into his walkie-talkie as we stand out in the deep snow.

An icy wind whips around us, but I don’t pay much attention to how it stings my skin through my tactical clothing. I run an impatient hand down my black tactical gear as I survey our team. The mages are strapped with weapons while the enforcers I brought with me don’t bother with knives or guns. Our claws and teeth work in pretty much all situations.

We’re standing outside the first of three mage barriers that protect a nondescript squat building. Underneath the single-story structure is the Knights of Aeneas facility we think Briar is in. It’s the only one in the search perimeter Saint narrowed down for us, so we’re fairly confident this is it.

Unfortunately, with the mage protection spells, we’re unable to get a good idea of what we’re walking into. Most Knights of Aeneas supernatural holding facilities are laid out similarly, so we’re operating on the assumption that this one is the same.

With four entrances, we have four teams assembled. That way, we can stop anyone trying to leave and make sure one of the Knights doesn’t slip Briar past us.

“Beta team is ready to go,” Declan’s voice crackles over the radio. Rhys Gallagher, Declan O’Brian, Logan Shanahan, and Bishop St. James are the four mages who own Elemental. Because of the complexity of the mission, all four of them are spearheading the operation today. Xander, Bastian, Saint, and I are all on different teams so there’s at least one of us on the team that locates Briar.

“Gamma team ready to go,” Bishop confirms.

“Delta team is ready to go,” Logan choruses.

“We breach on my signal.” The ten mages with Rhys all raise their hands and aim at the barrier. Rhys takes a deep breath and calls, “Now!Abolere.” The other mages follow suit and shout the Latin word for destroy. Electricity crackles in the air and skates over my skin before a deafening blast sounds. I can’t see the magic, but by the way the mages are running past the barrier line, I’m guessing they successfully dismantled the protection spell.

Once the mages rush through, the enforcers and I hustle to follow them. They repeat the process three more times before we come to a stop outside a metal door with flaking white paint.

Rhys bends down and puts his hands on his knees. The other mages look similarly drained as they stare at the door with apprehension. When Rhys straightens up, he and the mages get into position. With a shout, they blast the spell with their magic. Nothing seems to happen for a moment before an invisible force explodes out and tosses us backward.

I land with a grunt in the cold snow. Slightly dazed from the impact, I stare at the evening sky for a long moment before I catch my breath and scramble to my feet. I’m the first one up and at the door, but it doesn’t take long for the mages and wolves to follow my lead.

Without another word, I shove through the doorway and come face-to-face with a terrified Knight. I give him a savage grin. We don’t have time for me to hurt the guard like he deserves, so I simply punch my fist through his all-too-human chest and rip out his heart. The whole thing takes a few seconds at most before his body drops to the ground with a thud. I carelessly toss his heart next to him and stalk further into the facility.

We make our way through the maze of hallways, killing any Knights we come across. While the mages and my wolves take turns dispatching the guards, I’m still covered in blood and gore by the time we’re almost done clearing our section.

While we haven’t seen Briar, we have seen plenty of terrified shifters running past us. We’ve collected a sizable group that’s tagging along in the middle of us. We weren’t sure what we would find here, so we tried to plan for most contingencies. There’s a rally point set up with transportation for any supernaturals being held here. However, we can’t spare anyone to show them out of the facility until we clear the whole building.

Some of the shifters have opted to follow our directions on how to get out, while the remainder have chosen to stay with our group. We’re doing our best to protect all of them while also getting rid of the guards and searching every room for Briar.

Our final hallway to clear is to the left. I can’t help the disappointment coursing through me that we haven’t found Briar yet. All I can do is hope that one of the other groups will find her. Otherwise, well, it’s best if I don’t think about that. The last thing we need is my alpha wolf rampaging through the facility.

When I round the corner, I freeze in my tracks. My heart thunders in my chest as I lay eyes on my mate, who I haven’t seen in almost two weeks. Relief soars through me at finally finding her. It’s quickly replaced with worry when I see her passed out on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of blood. That worry turns into blinding rage when my gaze settles on a human standing over her about to shoot her in the chest.

I don’t really know what happens next. One moment, I’m at the end of the hallway. The next, I’m behind the man with my hands around his head. I twist his skull to the right hard enough to snap his pathetic human neck before he has a chance to fire a shot at Briar. Or, I should say, another shot once I catch sight of the two bullet holes in her stomach.

When I take a step toward my mate, a tiny ball of blonde fury streaks toward me and slams into my legs. The young shifter pounds her small fists into my thighs as she bares her teeth at me. “Leave her alone!” she shouts.

Shaking myself out of my shock, I crouch down until I’m level with her. I capture the little fists she aims at my face and let my wolf bleed into my eyes. “I would never hurt her. Briar’s my mate.” My voice comes out deep and raspy, my wolf making himself known.

Her brown eyes go wide when she sees my amber ones. “Wolf,” she whispers.

My eyebrows raise at the realization that the girl was able to identify what I am. Usually, shifters that young can’t differentiate between species in their human forms. “Yes. Will you allow me to tend to my mate?” I ask, even though I can easily get past her. The little girl probably hasn’t had anyone respect her choices in a long time, so I try my best to make her feel like she has a say.

She gives me a small nod, and I let her go. Running back over to Briar, she drops to her knees on the grimy white tile next to my mate. Her tiny hands comfortingly stoke Briar’s raven hair sprawled around her. Tears run down the little girl’s round cheeks, but she doesn’t say a word as she stares at my mate with anguish.

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