Chapter 206
Lynette's POV
The wolf lunged at me from the left.
I twisted. Felt claws rake across my shoulder—shallow but enough to sting. Blood welled up hot against my fur.
Three of them. Circling. Coordinated.
I was fast. Faster than most. But this body—my real body, finally—was exhausted. Hours of fighting. The ship rocking under my feet. And these Wild Hunt bastards knew how to work together.
One feinted right. I tracked him. Mistake.
The one behind me struck. Teeth sank into my hind leg. Pain shot up like fire.
I snarled. Spun. Ripped free and slashed at his face. He jerked back but not fast enough. My claws caught his eye. He howled and stumbled away.
Two left.
I could hear Cole somewhere behind me. Grunting. The wet sound of flesh hitting flesh. He was holding his own but barely.
The remaining two Wild Hunt wolves split up. One high. One low.
Classic pincer move.
I crouched. Calculated the angles. If I went for the high one, the low one would go for my throat. If I went low—
A black blur exploded from the corridor entrance.
Massive. Fast.
The wolf going high never saw it coming. The black wolf—bigger than any I'd seen tonight—slammed into him mid-leap. They hit the wall together. Hard. I heard ribs crack.
The black wolf's jaws closed around the Wild Hunt member's throat. One shake. The body went limp.
I froze.
That scent. Cedar and cold mountain wind.
No.
The black wolf turned. Amber eyes locked on mine for half a second.
Kael.
What the hell was he doing here?
The last Wild Hunt wolf hesitated. Looked between me and the newcomer. Then made his choice—went for Kael's exposed flank.
Bad choice.
Kael moved like liquid shadow. Dodged. Caught the wolf's front leg in his jaws and twisted. The snap echoed in the corridor. The wolf yelped and collapsed.
Kael shifted back to human form in one smooth motion. Stood there in the corridor. Blood on his knuckles. Those dark eyes found mine again.
"I'm late," he said. Voice low. Rough.
I shifted back too. Felt the change ripple through me—bones reforming, fur receding. Stood there in my torn clothes, breathing hard.
"How did you—"
A grunt from behind me. Cole's voice. "A little help here?"
Right. Still two more on him.
I turned. Ran toward Cole's position. Kael moved with me without a word. We hit the remaining Wild Hunt members together.
It was over in seconds.
I grabbed one by the throat. Slammed him into the wall. His head cracked against metal. He slumped.
Kael took the other one down with a brutal efficiency that would've impressed me if I wasn't so confused about why he was here.
The corridor went quiet except for our breathing.
Cole leaned against the wall. Wiped blood from his split lip. "Thanks."
I nodded. Turned to Kael.
"How did you find—"
The alarm—I suddenly realized it had been blaring this whole time. I'd been too focused on the fight to register it.
Red lights flashed along the ceiling. That mechanical female voice cutting through the chaos.
"Twenty-five minutes to detonation! All personnel evacuate immediately!"
Twenty-five minutes?
My stomach dropped.
"How long has this been going?" I said.
Cole's face went white. "Alpha we need to move now!"
Kael's expression stayed cold. Controlled.
"Rezar activated it before he died," he said. "We've already lost time. Drake's on the water with rescue boats. We need to get to the deck."
I stared at him.
"Rezar's dead?"
"Yes."
"You killed him."
"Yes."
Just like that. No hesitation. No explanation.
"He wouldn't compromise," Kael continued. His voice was cold. Matter-of-fact. "Said Wild Hunt would never stop hunting you. That even if I killed him, they'd come for your family. Your friends. Make it slow and personal."
My chest tightened. "So you—"
"I couldn't let him live." His eyes met mine. Dark and completely certain. "Not with that threat hanging over you."
Something twisted in my gut. Not fear. Not anger.
Something else I didn't want to name.
He killed for me.
Rezar—one of the most dangerous hunters alive—and Kael just... ended him. Because of me.
My throat felt tight.
"We can talk later," Kael said. Already moving. "Right now we run. Follow me. I know where the nearest rescue point is."
He didn't wait for confirmation. Just turned and headed for the stairwell.
Cole looked at me. Waiting.
I forced myself to move. To think past the weird feeling in my chest.
"Let's go."
We ran.
The corridors were chaos. Guests screaming. Shoving. A woman in an evening gown stumbled past me, mascara streaking down her face. A man in a tuxedo knocked into Cole, didn't even look back.
Everyone was trying to get out at once.
Kael moved through the crowd like he owned it. Broad shoulders clearing a path. People saw him coming and moved.
I stayed close behind him. Watched his back. The way his torn shirt clung to his shoulders. The blood on his neck from earlier.
He came for me.
Through Wild Hunt territory. Onto this ship. Killed Rezar.
For me.
My heart was beating too fast. And not just from running.
I'd spent twenty years fighting alone. Building walls. Never letting anyone close enough to matter.
And now this Alpha—this complicated, frustrating, stupidly attractive Alpha—kept smashing through every defense I had.
Focus. Not the time.
We hit the stairwell. Started descending. The alarm kept blaring. That mechanical voice counting down our deaths.
"Twenty-two minutes remaining."
Kael took the stairs three at a time. I matched his pace. Cole right behind me.
My mind kept circling back to what Kael said.
He wouldn't compromise. Said Wild Hunt would never stop hunting you.
And Kael's response was to kill him.
Not negotiate. Not threaten. Just... end it.
I'd done the same thing countless times. Eliminated threats before they could grow. It was logical. Strategic.
But having someone do it for me?
That was new.
And terrifying.
And I couldn't stop thinking about it.
We burst through a door into a lower deck hallway. Fewer people here. More space to move.
Then I heard it.
Roaring. Inhuman. Coming from up ahead.
Kael stopped. Held up a hand.
Around the corner, the hallway opened into a large reception area. Marble floors. Crystal chandeliers swaying from the ship's movement.
And three gene-spliced creatures tearing through the crowd.
They were massive. Seven feet tall. Muscle layered on muscle. Faces twisted—half-human, half-wolf, but wrong. Like someone had forced the transformation halfway and stopped.
Guests scattered. Screaming. One creature grabbed a man in a suit. Lifted him like he weighed nothing. Threw him into a pillar. I heard the crack from here.
"They've lost control," Kael said. Voice tight.
I clenched my fists. "We need to clear a path."
"I'll handle them." He was already moving forward. "You two keep going—"
"No." The word came out harder than I meant. "We do this together."
He looked at me. Something flickered in his eyes. Then he nodded.
"Together."
We shifted as we ran.
The transformation felt good. Natural. My real body responding the way it should. Bones lengthening. Muscles coiling with power.
I hit the first creature low. Went for the legs like I'd taught Kael. The thing stumbled. Tried to grab me. I dodged and raked my claws across its hamstring.
It bellowed. Swung at me with a fist the size of my head.
I ducked. Felt the air move above me.
Kael came in from the side. Used the same technique—targeted one spot, over and over. His claws tore into the creature's ribs. Once. Twice. Three times in the same place.
The creature's movements got sluggish. It swung again but Kael was already gone.
I saw my opening. Lunged. Went for the back of its neck—the spine connection point I'd figured out before. My jaws closed around the vertebrae. Bit down hard. Felt bone crack under the pressure. Tasted blood—bitter and wrong, like chemicals. The creature made a gurgling sound. Collapsed.
One down.
Cole had engaged the second creature. Keeping it busy but struggling. The thing was stronger than him.
I moved to help. But Kael got there first.
He came in fast. Brutal. No hesitation. Went straight for the back of the neck—the spine weak point like I'd shown him. His claws sank deep into the vertebrae. The creature tried to shake him off. Kael held on. Twisted and ripped sideways through bone.
Blood sprayed. The creature dropped.
The third one saw us coming. Tried to run.
Kael and I moved together. Flanked it. Cut off escape routes without needing to communicate.
It was... seamless. Natural.
Like we'd been fighting together for years instead of days.
The creature realized it was trapped. Charged at me.
I stood my ground. Waited.
At the last second, I dropped low. Let it stumble over me.
Kael was there. Finished it with a clean strike to the back of its neck—right where the spine connected to the skull.
Silence fell. Except for the alarm still shrieking.
"Fifteen minutes remaining."