45|Basement

45|Basement
~Serena~

The place where Declan was held up is in the middle of the city, and I couldn’t exactly run here on my wolf’s form, hence needing Cora’s help to drive me here.

We sat inside her Yaris, looking over ‘Dream Plaza’, a three-star hotel in The City of Brille. ‘Dream Plaza’ in cursive writing glowed above the twenty-story structure, its gray walls, huge glass windows illuminated by bright yellow lights. The hotel was hectic, people poured in and out of the lobby, and there were no vacant tables in the restaurant on the ground level. Cars continuously circle the big fountain in front of the hotel, its underwater lights adding an aesthetic to the glass entrance.

“Declan’s inside?” Cora asked, her hands resting on the steering wheel as she scanned the hotel warily. Her green eyes were glowing gold, studying each person seated inside the restaurant.

“Yeah,” I murmured, creating a strategy in my head. Whoever took Declan knew any shifter couldn’t just storm inside that building. The client traffic in the hotel and the restaurant is gonna be a huge challenge in rescuing Declan. I’m gonna be tiptoeing around humans, careful not to reveal our kind’s existence or to make a chaos that would attract the authorities’ attention to us.

“You can sense him,” Cora murmured. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. She told me I could find Declan, and I followed her instructions, strengthening my connection with my mate. I’m sure establishing our link would have a catastrophic change in the mate bond, a change that I’m scared to know about.

I pursed my lips, tapping into my connection with Declan to find out his status. He’d been radio silent since Cora parked her Yaris, and my worry grew exponentially with each passing second.

“They’re keeping him in the basement,” I said. “Stay here while I get him out.” Any member of Cora’s pack hearing me commanding their Luna would have my head in the guillotine, but Cora’s feelings were the least of my concern at the moment.

Cora’s head whipped in my direction, her eyebrows tilting to the roof of the car. She wasn’t offended by my insistent instructions. Instead, she’s annoyed that I want her to sit tight while I rescue my mate. “You’re dreaming if you think I’ll stay here knowing Declan is in trouble.” She turned to the hotel with narrowed eyes. “Who knows what’s waiting for you inside?”

“I know,” I murmured, my tone clipped.

“What do you mean? You’ve been here before?”

I shook my head. “Every time Alpha gives us a job, we need to reckon the place for potential problems, and this hotel was one in Brille. The family behind that hotel has a history of hunting wolves, Cora.”

“What?” She winced, letting out a huge gust of air. “Hunters? I was born and raised here, Serena. I would know if there are hunters in this city. And there have been no incidents of our pack crossing paths with any hunter for decades.”

“Not until today.” I reminded her, compelled to tell her what I knew.

Questions crossed her face as she pinned me with a probing gaze. “That’s not possible.”

“Think about it.” I met her gaze. “The missing girls, the murdered ones, and the pub, do I still have to jot down every fact that there are hunters in this city? Quiet doesn’t mean there are no hunters, Cora.”

Her throat bobbed, dread pouring over her features like water running down a waterfall. “Is it possible that they are behind the missing girls?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t see any activity from this hotel that we should worry about, not until today.”

She gripped the steering wheel. “I can’t just stay here and do nothing, Serena. This city is my home.”

Her frustration filled the car, and I perfectly understand what she felt. Cora was a good Luna, and I would feel the same if this were my pack.

In the rare view mirror, a car rolled down the street, its headlights blinking twice. “You called Alpha Seth,” my face pruned as I pinned an accusing glare at Cora.

“He needs to know what’s happening to Declan,” Cora explained. “If the situation were reversed, Declan would want to be here to save Seth.”

I sighed. This was their territory, and I understand why she had to call Seth, but I need to go inside alone. There’s a good chance that these people would recognize a member of the Fallenmist pack. I explained this to Cora, “You can’t be seen inside. They could recognize you and Alpha Seth.”

She paused, mind linking my terms to Alpha Seth. “Jared is in the car. He wants to come with you.”

I groaned in frustration. “Fine! Tell him to keep up and not to get in my way.”

I slid out of the car, and Jared was already jogging in my direction. Rolling my eyes at him, I hurried towards the lobby, Jared catching up without a sweat. He tossed an arm around my shoulder, smiling at the valet and the guard station at the entrance. We moved with the traffic in the lobby, heading toward the restaurant, but slipping into the hotel hallway once we got the chance.

Jared followed my lead as I found the fire exit, the door hissing closed behind us as we reached the winding staircase.

“Where is he?” Jared asked, his voice echoing even though it was hushed.

“Basement,” I stated, my borrowed sandals rapping on the stairs as we descended. 

A thousand questions rolled off Jared, but he kept that all to himself until we reached the end of the basement parking. I was blindly following my connection to Declan while Jared trailed behind me in silence. We crossed the parking space, skimming the sides of the car as we went. 

The bond led Jared and me to another door on the other side of the basement parking; the door opened coincidentally as we finally reached it.

A man lighting up a cigarette paused in his step when he saw us. Recognition blanketed his face. He knew we were shifters, so he quickly pulled the gun from his waistband, but Jared quickly jumped at him, pinning him down on the ground with a knee against the man’s back.

The room was dimly lit, but with my heightened sense of sight, my heart galloped as I saw my mate in the middle of the room. Declan was still tied to the metal chair, his skin coated with his blood. His eyes were swollen and closed, the wounds on his skin were not healing, and I heard his gradually fading heartbeat.

Three men were inside the room, shocked as they gaped at their companion and Jared. They pulled out their guns, the silver bullets shining as they fired them. Declan’s fading heartbeat guided my reflexes to move. I sprinted left to right, a shadow in the dark, cold room, with my eyes laser-focused on my slowly dying mate.