Page 98 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

“Leaving is our last resort. That thing will follow us all fleeing. Once we have a better handle on the situation, we can send the medical staff for a proper transfer. We don’t have the resources on hand to transport patients at his level of care.”

My growl worked free again.

“Have a little trust,” she said.

“Do something to earn it, and I might,” I snapped back.

“That goes both ways, panther.” Yelena sighed. “I’ll overlook your insubordination for the moment since you’re afraid for your brother, but I won’t accept another outburst.”

I stuffed down the flare of anger. We stayed safe by playing this game. Pissing off Yelena would be worse for Seth, but I despised being under her power.

The three shifters who had crammed into our back seat were shivering with fear. No one had any idea what was going on except for a few of us. They were all leaning forward, straining to listen to the glimpses of conversation that might give them context for the evacuation preparations.

Yelena put a hand on my shoulder and I checked the urge to shrug it off. “If it breaches, you have to trust Haru to keep Logan safe. Multiple lives depend on you to get us out of here.”

I nodded sharply. I didn’t trust Haru with anything, but I wasn’t about to sacrifice three innocent shifters by assuming he was incapable of getting Logan to some form of safety. We’d find one another again. Hecate had brought us together once and she could do it again if we got separated.

We stayed out there for an agonizing hour with the Protectors checking the wards. Logan had shared her new ability with me so I could finally see what was chasing us, and part of me was grateful I hadn’t been able to see it before. She was slumped over Haru’s back, barely awake after using her magic on Haru, Kendrick, and me. I wasn’t certain how big her energy stores were, but we’d need to figure out how to replenish them if using her magic was going to wipe her out.

The entity raged the whole time we waited, shrieking and hurling itself against the wards, but they held.

“We should post guards,” said Yelena. “If it hasn’t gotten in yet, the odds of it getting through are slim enough we can get people inside.”

“No one will be able to leave,” I told her. “Anyone who goes out there will end up like Seth, or worse.”

Yelena cursed. “So, we’re caged in with limited supplies, then.”

At least the cage was safe. If we were trapped, we could stay with Seth. Maybe we could figure a way out before we ran out of food and medicine.

Yelena slid out of the vehicle and went to confer with the other Protectors as to what should be done. I was itching to get Logan inside and see how Seth was doing. I thought about just leaving without permission, but I had to keep reminding myself that we needed to stay in Yelena’s good graces.

People filtered inside bit by bit with the Protectors monitoring the influx. I kept my gaze fixed on the creature as we waited. Our group was the last allowed in. My jaw ached from grinding my teeth as I watched everyone else return to the nest. Part of me wondered if Yelena was keeping us until last just to piss me off, but another part wondered equally if I was even worth that much of her notice. Kendrick had hightailed it at the first opportunity while Yelena supervised everyone else and organized a guard rotation with the help of the blonde Protector.

Logan was fully asleep by the time Yelena allowed us to go in. I collected Logan off Haru and he switched over to his regular wolf size to follow us. A few people were left to return the vehicles to the garage. I didn’t feel any better going inside. The entity hadn’t ceased its shrieking.

Just inside the main doors, Yelena stepped up to a covered panel like the one in her suite. She punched in a code and pressed a button. “Attention all residents. Effective immediately, we are in full lockdown. No one is to leave the wards and all shipments in will be temporarily ceased. If you are not already aware, a malevolent and dangerous entity is at our gates. If it catches you, expect to die. This is not a drill. Please be vigilant and return to your duties. Updates will be provided as they become available.”

A multitude of eyes turned in our direction and everyone started to swarm, but Yelena held up her hand and they froze in place before quietly turning away. I wasn’t certain if it was from some magic I wasn’t aware of or if they simply accepted her authority to such a level that was all it took for them to back off.

“We’ll need Logan’s help to boost the warding mechanisms,” Yelena said as we boarded the elevator to her suite. “She’s the only witch here and no one else is going to be able to come help us with that thing here.”

“She’s only had access to her magic for a couple of days. You can see she’s tapped out.”

“Well, she needs tountap. We don’t have a choice.” Yelena crossed her arms and focused her golden gaze on Logan. “How does she replenish?”

I stuffed down my growl. “We don’tknowall of that yet. The only thing that’s done anything so far is sex and that isnotsomething I’m letting anyone force on her.”

Yelena’s eyes widened and Haru lifted his head to sniff at Logan. I held Logan tighter.

“You can unclench your jaw, panther,” said Yelena. “Sex magic is about pleasure, not force. She needs to want it or anything anyone does would be useless in that regard.”

Her acknowledgment of that helped soothe my rising hackles. Slightly.

“What ifyougave her the pleasure?” Yelena asked. “Oh, don’t give me that look. As I said, she is our only witch and if that thing gets inside we will likely all die. Her powers need to be figured out, and quickly. You’ve already seen them work and we could set up a series of experiments to help Logan understand her talents.”

“I’m not making a single decision until she wakes up and gets a say.”

Yelena sighed. “ObviouslyLogan gets the final say here. I am merely asking if you’re amenable to the idea. Otherwise we’ll find Logan an alternative partner to experiment with to learn her magic.”

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