Page 95 of Into the Fire: Before

Within minutes, I’d buried three fingers in her cunt while Brooks filled her ass. Caine kneaded her breasts, bringing his full lips from my mouth to hers and back every few heartbeats. Lin had settled in behind me, fingers dipping into my own drenched pussy to lubricate his cock for entry.

A single sharp ring jolted through me like a sword through the ribcage. I sat up straight, eyes locked on the low glow of Lin’s phone screen on the bedside table. The men did as well, none of us breathing. Taryn writhed between Brooks and me, whimpering, begging our stilled bodies to move again.

Then there was a distant thud. Another. Then a metallic crash.

The gate being rammed. Had to be.

I couldn’t even hear my own growl over the three men’s as they sprang from the mattress as one. They pulled on just their boxers before grabbing the few weapons we’d managed to get ahold of—some knives, a bat, a sledgehammer.

Caine rushed over to me, hands on my shoulders. “You remember the directions?”

I nodded, fear like lightning in my veins. “Yes.”

He swallowed, gripping my face and leaving a fierce kiss on my forehead before he whispered, “Until my last drop.”

I nod. “My last breath.”

He planted a quick kiss on my lips before pulling away. With that, he left behind the others, slamming the door behind him. Taryn mewled as I leapt off the bed, pushing the frame until it barricaded the door. The standing bureau was next, and I grunted as I pulled it forward to crash against the scuffed wood floor; it filled the space between the end of the bed and the wall nearly completely, effectively using the wall itself as a lock against the door.

It wouldn’t stop them, but it would buy us time.

Roaring engines approached the front of the house. My skin crawled as I dragged my now-sobbing omega from her nest.

“I need you to listen, baby.”

There was no time to fear. There was barely time to breathe. I sprang toward the corner of the room, digging through the discarded pile of clothes and grabbing what we’d need.

My heart pounded, mimicking the noises now emanating from the formerly quiet downstairs. I pushed them from my mind, focusing on my omega.

Must keep my omega safe.

I dragged Lin’s too-large t-shirt over Taryn’s head. The hem fell nearly to her knees. I pulled Caine’s shirt over my own head in a flash and grabbed the last remaining knife—brought from the men’s kitchen. I caught Taryn’s hands as they scrabbled to relieve herself of the fabric that irritated her ultra-sensitive skin.

“Alpha…Alpha, please…”

“I need you to focus, Teacup,” I whispered to her. My hands framed her face, and I pushed every bit of courage and love down the bond toward her, begging her to fight her way past the haze I knew clouded her mind.

Tears flooded her eyes. “Hurts, Alpha.”

“I know.”

A rough booming from downstairs. I couldn’t help my flinch, and the momentary flash of fear sent my omega clinging to me. Her nails dug into my shoulders.

I swallowed down every emotion that wasn’t stoic determination.

“We have to go, Teacup,” I whispered again, pulling her to the small doorway Caine had showed me. In the corner, half hidden by the thick drapes. Pulled her through after me. Down the narrow staircase and out through the small backyard shed and past abandoned trash bins. I eased the door open. The rain was so much louder down here, so thick it felt like looking through cataracts as I scanned our surroundings as best I could. My heart raced as I eyed the thicket of woods. Fifty, maybe seventy yards away. And nothing between the house and that shelter of trees.

There was nothing for it. I stole a deep breath and pulled my omega into the maelstrom.

Our bond vibrated with the agony of her unsatisfied heat, with the confusion and terror of an omega who was only half aware of what was happening around her. But my girl—the bravest, toughest of them all—grasped my hands and kept her feet as I tugged her along after me.

We were drenched in seconds, but the downpour was a godsend. It would help dampen our scents, keep them from following us. Shield any noise or movement someone could catch from the cabin.

Taryn slowed behind me. Sobbing, her tears invisible in the rain. “Can’t, Alpha. S-sorry, I—I can’t—”

I shushed her, planting a quick kiss at her temple before I lifted her onto my back and locked her arms around my shoulders. “Hold on tight, Teacup, okay?” She nodded againstmy shoulder. Her body was dead weight on top of me as I took off again.

Almost there…almost there…

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