Chapter 11 The Fall of the Alpha
"Brace for impact!" Miller’s scream was nearly drowned out by the roar of the wind.
The helicopter jerked violently as the missile clipped our tail. The metal groaned, and a smell of burning oil filled the cabin. We weren't flying anymore; we were falling. The world outside the window spun in a dizzy circle of black sky and green trees.
"Leo! Hold onto me!" I yelled, pulling my son into my lap. I wrapped my arms around him, using my body as a shield. My other hand gripped Xavier’s arm so hard my nails dug into his skin.
Xavier didn't pull away. He leaned over both of us, his massive frame acting like a secondary cage of muscle. His golden eyes were fixed on the black helicopter hovering above us. He wasn't scared. He was furious.
Boom!
We hit the treetops. Branches shattered against the glass like gunfire. The helicopter slammed into a slope, sliding through the dirt before coming to a dead stop against a massive oak tree.
Silence followed. It was the kind of silence that hurt your ears.
"Leo? Leo, baby, answer me," I gasped. My head was spinning, and I could taste blood in my mouth.
"I’m okay, Mommy," Leo whispered. He was shaking, but he was alive.
I looked at my father. He was slumped against the door, unconscious, but I could see his chest moving. Miller was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but he was already reaching for his rifle.
Then I looked at Xavier. He was dead weight on top of us.
"Xavier?" I pushed against him. He groaned, shifting his weight. A jagged piece of metal from the cabin wall was sticking out of his thigh. He had taken the hit, so it wouldn't reach me.
"I’m here, Elara," he rasped. He looked down at my stomach, his hand trembling as he touched it. "Is... is the little one okay?"
"We're fine. But we have to move. Now."
We scrambled out of the wreckage just as the black helicopter began to descend into the clearing. The searchlights cut through the dark woods like giant, angry eyes.
"They're coming for the data," I said, clutching the device in my pocket. "And they're coming for Leo."
"Go," Xavier commanded, standing up despite the metal in his leg. He ripped the shard out with a snarl of pain, his Alpha blood already working to seal the hole. "Miller, take them toward the river. There’s a cave two miles north. I’ll lead them away."
"No!" I grabbed his hand. "You can’t fight a whole squad alone!"
"I’m not alone," Xavier said. He looked at the shadows of the trees.
Suddenly, dozens of pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the dark. The Omegas. They hadn't died in the explosion. They had followed us through the woods. The scarred woman stepped forward, her claws already out.
"We owe the boy our lives," she said, looking at me. "Go, Luna. Protect the heir. We will handle the humans."
I didn't want to leave him, but I looked at Leo’s pale face and remembered the life growing inside me. I had to choose. Again.
"Come back to me," I whispered to Xavier.
"Always," he promised. He kissed me deeply, a taste of salt and copper, before turning toward the approaching soldiers.
Miller led us into the thick brush. We ran until my lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass. Every shadow looked like a soldier. Every rustle of leaves sounded like a gun cocking. My father was awake now, leaning on Miller as we climbed the steep, rocky terrain.
We reached the riverbank just as the moon came out from behind the clouds. The water was fast and cold.
"Across the rocks!" Miller pointed. "The cave is on the other side!"
We were halfway across the slippery stones when a voice stopped us cold.
"It’s over, Elara."
Director Vance was standing on a ledge above the river. He wasn't wearing a suit anymore. He was in full combat gear, and he was holding a long, silver rifle. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the device in my pocket.
"You have something that belongs to me," Vance said. "Give me the data, and I’ll let you and the boy disappear. You can live your quiet little human life."
"You’ll never stop hunting him," I yelled over the roar of the water. "You’ll never stop trying to turn him into a weapon!"
"He is a weapon!" Vance roared. "He’s the most powerful thing on this planet! Do you really think a mother's love can protect him from the rest of the world?"
"I know it can," I said.
I pulled the device from my pocket. I held it over the rushing water. "One step closer, and I drop it. All your research. All your names. Gone."
Vance’s face twisted in rage. He leveled the rifle at my head. "Then you'll die for nothing."
He pulled the trigger.
The sound of the shot was deafening. But I didn't feel the bullet.
I looked up. My father had jumped in front of me. The silver bullet hit him square in the chest. He fell backward into the water, the current instantly pulling him away.
"DAD!" I screamed, reaching for the water, but it was too late.
Vance laughed, reloading his rifle. "One down. Two to go."
But then, a dark shape dropped from the trees directly onto Vance’s back. It was Xavier. He had found us.
They tumbled off the ledge, falling toward the jagged rocks below. I saw Xavier’s claws sink into Vance’s throat just as they hit the water together.
The splash was massive. Then, there was nothing but the sound of the river.
"Xavier!" I screamed, running to the edge of the bank. "XAVIER!"
The water stayed dark. No one surfaced.
I stood there, shaking, my father gone and the man I loved swallowed by the river. I felt a small hand touch mine. Leo was looking at the water, his eyes glowing white again.
"Mommy," Leo whispered, pointing toward the trees on the opposite bank.
A man was standing there. He was tall, dressed in a white suit that looked completely clean despite the mud and blood everywhere. He wasn't a wolf. He wasn't a soldier.
He looked exactly like Xavier, but older.
"Who are you?" I gasped, stepping back.
The man smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.
"I'm the one who signed the Blood Oath," the man said. "I'm the one Xavier was actually afraid of. I'm his brother."