Page 139 of Broken Wolf Heart
The guard at the stairwell door motions for me to hurry, but I hesitate as a familiar scent hits me. It’s nearly lost to the other smells coating this place, but it’s there.
Andy.
Slipping past the guard, I follow it up to the third floor. There are no cubicles up here. Instead, there’s a narrow hallway that opens into a space lined with reinforced glass cells. All of them are empty except for one.
“Andy!” I shout, shifting back into my human form so I can reach the keypad mounted beside the door.
She’s slumped against the wall, blinking slowly at the sight of me. “Took you long enough.”
Relief punches through me so fast I almost drop to my knees. “Are you hurt?”
“Drugged,” she slurs. “Woozy.”
The keypad doesn’t respond to my thumbprint, and trying to crack the passcode would take time we don’t have. I look around for another wolf or a guard with a weapon that can break this lock, but there’s no one else here. Desperate, I call on my wolf. Half-shifted, I rip the panel off the wall and shove my claws into the wiring. Sparks fly. The lock disengages.
Andy stumbles out, and I catch her before she can hit the floor.
Already, the smoke is becoming too thick to see through. It clogs my nose, leaving us both coughing.
“Can you shift?” I wheeze.
“Not yet. But point me in the direction of that asshole Severin, and I’m sure my wolf will find her claws again.”
We start back toward the stairs.
And then he steps into view. Not Severin.
Vincenzo.
Except that he’s… wrong.
Taller. Broader. His skin looks too tight, like it’s trying to contain something boiling underneath. His eyes glow gold—not a natural color. More chemical.
“Going somewhere?” he growls.
I shove Andy behind me.
“Move,” I snarl.
He smiles. “Now-now,principessa. Is that any way to speak to your future king?”
Through the bond, I send a warning to Grey. A call for help. Because I know there’s only one way this can end. And something inside Vincenzo’s eyes tells me that serum has done its job. He’s powerful. More lethal than I’m equipped to take on.
Even my wolf knows she’s met her match. She can’t do this alone.
“Franco called himself a king too, and look how that turned out.”
He steps closer, and the scent of chemicals grows stronger.
“I heard about your little ritual,” he says. “Two alphas. One soul. How romantic. But unnecessary. All you needed was one last dose of my new serum—binding your genes to his. Kind of like I did with her. And then you would have been unstoppable.”
Andy growls behind me.
Shock ripples through me at what he’s saying, but I hold my ground.
“You’re still a mortal,” I say.
“Am I?” His eyes glitter with the promise of death. “Only one way to find out.”
