Chapter 207
Lynette's POV
The alarm was drilling into my skull.
"Twelve minutes to detonation!"
That mechanical bitch voice again. Cold. Emotionless. Counting down our deaths like she was announcing the weather.
My legs burned. Lungs screaming. But I kept running. Kael ahead of me. Cole behind. The corridor lights flickering—on, off, on—throwing everything into strobe-like chaos.
The ship groaned. Deep. Metal twisting somewhere in the guts of this thing.
We were running out of time.
"There!" Kael pointed ahead. The door to the deck. Heavy steel. Emergency exit sign glowing red above it.
We hit the door together. Kael grabbed the handle. Pulled.
Nothing.
"Fuck." He tried again. Yanked harder. The door didn't budge.
"It's locked!" Cole slammed his fist against it. "Emergency lockdown must've engaged!"
My heart dropped into my stomach.
No. No no no.
We didn't survive Wild Hunt just to die trapped in a hallway.
Kael stepped back. His eyes went dark. Predatory. "Move."
I grabbed Cole. Pulled him aside.
Kael's hands shifted. Claws extending. Black and sharp. He grabbed the door handle. Braced his feet. And pulled.
The metal screamed. High-pitched. Grating. Like the ship itself was crying.
His shoulders flexed. Muscles straining under his torn shirt. Veins standing out on his forearms.
The door handle bent. Twisted. The lock mechanism inside cracked with a sound like breaking bones.
Then it gave.
The door ripped open. Hinges shrieking in protest.
Kael barely looked winded. Just turned to us. "Go."
I went.
We burst through onto the deck.
Wind hit me like a fist. Cold. Brutal. Whipping my hair across my face. The ocean was black below us. Waves crashing against the hull. White foam glowing in the moonlight.
The alarm was louder out here. Echoing across the water.
"Ten minutes remaining!"
I scanned the deck. Emergency lights casting everything in red. People everywhere. Screaming. Shoving. Fighting for the lifeboats.
A woman in a torn evening gown stumbled past me. Mascara streaked down her face. She didn't even see me. Just kept running.
"There!" Kael pointed to the starboard side. "Rescue point!"
I looked. Saw the lifeboat station. But it was chaos. At least twenty people crowding around. Pushing. Clawing at each other.
"We don't have time for that." Kael was already moving. Pulling out his comm device. "Drake. We're on deck. What's your position?"
Static. Then Drake's voice crackled through. "Alpha! I see you! Coming in hot on your six!"
I turned. Scanned the dark water.
There. A speedboat. Cutting through the waves. Running lights bright against the black.
Drake.
Thank fuck.
"Everyone get ready!" Kael shouted over the wind. "When that boat gets close, we jump!"
The ship lurched.
Hard.
My feet slipped. The deck tilted. Thirty degrees. Forty.
I grabbed for the railing. Missed.
Started sliding.
The metal deck was slick under my boots. I was moving fast. Toward the edge. Toward the black water below.
My heart stopped.
Then a hand clamped around my wrist.
Yanked me back.
I slammed into something solid. Warm. Arms wrapped around me. Held tight.
Kael.
His chest against my back. His arm around my waist. His breath hot against my ear.
The ship groaned again. Shuddered. But he didn't let go.
"I've got you."
His voice. Low. Rough. Right in my ear.
My heart was hammering. Not from the fall. From him. His body pressed against mine. His hand splayed across my ribs. His scent—cedar and cold mountain wind and something darker. Blood. Sweat.
I couldn't breathe.
"Eight minutes remaining!"
The ship leveled out. Slowly. Kael's arm loosened but he didn't step back.
I turned my head. Our faces were inches apart.
His eyes met mine. Dark. Intense. Something burning in them I couldn't name.
"You okay?" His voice was still rough.
I nodded. Couldn't trust my voice.
His gaze dropped to my mouth. Just for a second. Then back up.
Fuck.
"Alpha!" Drake's shout broke the moment. "Now! Jump now!"
I looked. The speedboat was right there. Ten feet below. Drake at the wheel. Two other Pinehollow guards reaching up.
"Cole! Go!" Kael ordered.
Cole didn't hesitate. Ran to the railing. Vaulted over. Dropped. Landed hard in the boat. The guards caught him.
"You next!" Kael looked at me.
"Together." The word came out before I could stop it.
He stared at me. Something shifted in his expression.
"Together," he repeated. Quiet. Like a promise.
He grabbed my hand. His fingers laced through mine. Tight. Warm.
We ran to the railing together.
"On three," he said. "One. Two—"
We jumped.
The wind rushed past. My stomach dropped. His hand squeezed mine.
Then impact. The boat deck slammed into my feet. Pain shot up my legs. Kael landed next to me. Didn't let go of my hand.
Drake was already gunning the engine. "Hold on!"
The boat lurched forward. Away from the ship. The engine roaring.
"Five minutes to detonation!"
I turned. Watched the cruise ship fall behind us. Still burning. Smoke pouring from multiple decks.
"Four minutes!"
The ship was getting smaller. But not fast enough.
"Drake—" Kael started.
"I know!" Drake pushed the throttle further. The boat's nose lifted. We were flying across the water now.
I grabbed the railing. Held tight. The wind was brutal. Salt spray hitting my face. Cold. Stinging.
"Three minutes!"
The ship was a burning dot behind us now.
"Two minutes!"
Still not far enough. If that explosion was as big as I thought—
"One minute!"
I held my breath.
The ship seemed to pause. Like it was taking a breath too.
Then it exploded.
The sound hit first. Massive. Bone-deep. The kind of boom you feel in your chest.
Then light. Bright orange. Blinding. The entire ship going up in a massive fireball.
The shockwave came next. Slammed into us. The boat rocked. Nearly capsized. I grabbed the railing with both hands. Held on.
Debris started falling. Chunks of metal. Burning wood. Splashing into the water around us.
Drake swerved. Dodged a piece of hull that would've crushed us.
Then it was over.
The ship was gone. Just burning wreckage on the water. Flames reflected on the black surface. Smoke rising into the night sky.
I stared at it.
I looked at the burning wreckage one more time.
Rezar was dead. The ship was gone. The evidence destroyed.
But Wild Hunt was still out there. His death would trigger consequences. I knew that. Kael knew that.
We'd bought time. Not peace.
My legs went weak. I grabbed the railing harder.
"Lynette." Kael's voice. Right next to me.
I turned. He was watching me. That intense look again.
"He's dead," Kael said quietly. "Rezar can't touch you anymore."
My throat felt tight. But my mind was still working. Still calculating.
"His people will come." I kept my voice flat. "Wild Hunt doesn't stop because one hunter dies. They'll—"
"Let them come." His hand found mine. Squeezed. "We'll be ready."
Not it's over. Not you're safe now.
Just we'll be ready.
Honest. Real.
My heart did that stupid thing again. That skip. That flutter.
I hated it.
I wanted it.
"You didn't have to kill him," I said. "Rezar. You could've—"
"Yes I did." His grip tightened. "He threatened you. Your family. Everyone you care about. There was no other option."
I looked at our hands. His fingers wrapped around mine. Strong. Warm.
When did I start needing this? Wanting this?
"Twenty minutes to shore!" Drake called from the controls. "Safe house is ready. Medical supplies waiting."
Medical supplies. Right.
I looked down at myself. Blood on my clothes. Torn shirt. The claw marks on my shoulder were still bleeding. Slowly. But bleeding.
Kael noticed. Of course he did.
"You're hurt."
"I'm fine."
"Lynette—"
"I said I'm fine." I pulled my hand away. Immediately regretted it. The cold rushed in where his warmth had been.
Cole appeared next to us. Breathing hard. "Alpha. We're clear. All of us made it."
I cast a final glance at the inferno behind us.
Then turned away.
Toward the shore. The lights. Whatever came next.
Kael moved beside me. Close. Not touching but I could feel him there.
"You can rest now," he said quietly. "For tonight at least."
Could I? Even for one night?
I didn't know.
But standing there on that boat. The wind in my face. Kael next to me. Cole behind me.
The boat cut through the dark water. Taking us away from the flames. Toward something new.
And I let it.