Page 99 of Mated By the Pack
“Switch back to the electro-rounds!” our father calls out. “The bullets aren’t stopping them!”
The boy who betrayed Calla bolts. I start to go after him, but Gideon is too fast. He nips both Achilles tendons. A scream echoes as the boy collapses, still crawling away. Gideon leaves him there to suffer and goes after more peace officers.
“All I wanted to do was make you better!” our father yells, then he turns and runs.
“Don’t let Dad get away!”Knox calls out. He starts moving toward our old man, but he can’t get enough speed, and almost gets zapped by an electro-round.
“I got him,”Caleb growls, peeling in the direction our father is running.
“Go!”I yell, ushering everyone forward, and moving to protect Knox.
Vance is still by Calla’s side. There are no peace officers threatening their position, but he’s putting our mate’s safety first. She’s safe now. There aren’t many left.
“Finish them,”Gideon orders, dodging an electro-round and tearing through the arm of the peace officer who fired it.
A flurry of crimson erupts as we kill the last of the peace officers. We’re all panting and soaked in blood. As soon as I catch my breath, I turn in the direction Caleb went. Some smoke clears and Caleb appears, dragging our father by the arm. Our old man is screaming and trying to free his arm, but Caleb’s teeth are clutching bone like the bleeding flesh isn’t there. Caleb throws him at our feet and Gideon shifts, hauling him up.
“I’m your father! Please, Gideon, I love you!” the old man pleads, his eyes radiating with fear.
“No, we’re nothing but lab rats to you,” Gideon growls. “You never loved us.”
“Silas!” our father says, turning his attention to me. “I’m so happy to see you, son. Talk to your brother. Please!”
“I think we’ve done enough talking,” I say. “I vote we kill him. Any objections?”
The silence might as well be deafening. It’s broken by our father, begging and pleading for his life, but Gideon throws him to the ground. Nobody interferes as Gideon raises his enormous foot and slams it down on our father’s throat. He shakes, coughs, and blood runs from his mouth as he starts to choke on it.
“I’ll take care of Calla,” I growl, turning toward her.
Vance moves out of the way, giving me a nod as he joins our brothers.
“They may still have peace officers around the tunnels, but we can take them,” Gideon says, looking around.
“Easily,” I agree, scooping Calla up and making sure the blanket is secure. “Knox, are you okay to travel?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Knox mutters, wiping blood away from his hip. “I’ll survive.”
“Wait,” Jace says. “Clyde.”
“Right,” Vance mutters, looking in the direction of the trail of blood leading into an alleyway. “I got him.”
Vance runs into the alley. There’s a scream, several thuds, then silence. Vance emerges wearing more fresh blood. Enough to make it clear there’s nothing left of the boy who betrayed Calla.
“You know you’ve fucked up when Vance has no problem tearing you apart,” Caleb chuckles. “Alright, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
My brothers shift and I follow, keeping up with them the best I can on foot. Knox stays at my side, mostly because he’sstruggling. The others slow down enough to let us catch up when we fall behind. The streets aren’t full of people, but there are some around. They mostly scatter and scream as five wolves and a naked man clutching a woman in a blanket run past them.
We turn a corner, then another, and we’re in a different part of town. More people, but the same screams and scattering as we blow past. I see some peace officers, but they aren’t armed like the others. Their uniforms are different, and not made out of armor.
“Wolves!” one of them screams, but that’s his last breath because Caleb clamps down on his throat.
The other peace officers suffer similar fates, getting torn apart by my brothers. I kick down the door, cradle Calla, and we push into what appears to be an old store. The shelves are bare except for a few boxes. Gideon leads us into the back room, and I see the hatch. The others shift and open it. Gideon goes down first.
“Take Calla,” I call out, leaning down to lower her to my brother. Once I’m sure he has her, I let go. “Alright, everyone else down.”
Knox has the most difficulty, but he makes it. Once we’re all in the tunnel, I take Calla back in my arms. The tunnels are clear, and it’s an easy path to the exit. I halfway expect an army to be waiting on us when we push through the hatch, but the only thing we see is The Tangle.
“We took care of that asshole Clyde, our father, and the peace officers,” Jace mutters. “Hopefully that’s enough to stop their slavery business for a while.”
