Chapter 11 Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Chapter 11
MIRA

The safe room was in the basement of the pack house, behind a reinforced steel door. It had supplies, communications equipment, and enough space for about twenty people.

Currently, it held me, Nina, Dr. Hayes, and five other pack members who couldn't fight. An elderly couple, a pregnant woman named Sarah, and two young children.

"It's going to be okay," Nina kept saying. "The Alpha will handle this."

But I could hear the sounds of fighting through the walls. Growls, screams, the crash of breaking furniture.

"They shouldn't be able to get in here," Dr. Hayes said. She was trying to sound calm, but her hands were shaking. "This door can withstand almost anything."

That's when the lights went out.

The children started crying. The pregnant woman whimpered.

"Emergency lights should kick on in a second," Nina said.

They didn't.

"Maybe the backup generator—"

The door exploded inward.

I don't know what they used. Explosives, maybe. All I know is that one second there was a door, and the next there was a smoking hole and armed men pouring through.

No, not men. Wolves in human form. Rogues.

Nina shifted immediately, placing herself between them and the rest of us. "Get back!"

One of the rogues laughed and shot her.

Nina went down with a yelp of pain, blood spreading across her shoulder.

"Nina!" I ran to her side.

Strong hands grabbed me from behind. "Got her!"

I struggled, kicking and screaming, but the rogue was too strong. He dragged me toward the hole where the door used to be.

"Leave the others," another rogue said. "We only need the girl."

Dr. Hayes tried to stop them, but a rogue shoved her aside. The elderly man made a grab for me, but they kicked him in the chest.

I was hauled through the pack house, which was in chaos. Rogues were fighting pack members in every room. Bodies littered the floor—I didn't know if they were dead or unconscious.

"Kade!" I screamed. "Somebody help!"

But Kade was at the border. Too far away to hear me.

They dragged me outside to a waiting van. I fought every step, but there were three of them and one of me. They threw me in the back and slammed the doors.

The van started moving immediately.

I scrambled to the back doors and pounded on them. "Let me out! Please!"

No response.

The driver laughed. "Calm down, sweetheart. We're not going to hurt you. Yet."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To our Alpha. He's got plans for you."

Damien. They were taking me to Damien.

I thought about the baby. About what would happen if Damien got his hands on me. The things he might do.

Terror gave me strength. I looked around the van for anything I could use as a weapon. It was mostly empty except for some rope and a toolbox.

I grabbed a wrench from the toolbox and waited.

The van turned onto a rough road, bouncing over potholes. I braced myself and waited for the right moment.

When the van slowed for a particularly bad section of road, I slammed the wrench against the back door latch. Once. Twice. Three times.

The latch broke.

The doors flew open, and I jumped.

I hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and rocks. Pain exploded through my body, but adrenaline kept me moving.

I heard shouts behind me. The van was stopping.

I ran into the forest, branches whipping at my face. I had no idea where I was or which direction led back to the pack house. I just ran.

Behind me, I could hear them crashing through the undergrowth. They were faster than me, stronger than me. They'd catch me in minutes.

But maybe I could hide. Maybe I could—

A wolf appeared in front of me, blocking my path.

I skidded to a stop and tried to turn around, but there were more behind me. Four wolves, circling, cutting off every escape route.

"Stupid girl," one of them said as he shifted back to human form. "You just made this harder on yourself."

"Stay away from me."

"Can't do that. Boss wants you." He stepped closer. "But he didn't say we couldn't rough you up a little first. Teach you some manners."

He reached for me.

That's when the howl split the air.

It was unlike anything I'd ever heard. Pure rage and fury and promise of death.

Kade.

The rogues froze, looking around nervously.

Another howl, closer this time. Then another, and another. The whole pack was coming.

The rogue who'd been reaching for me backed off. "Shit. We need to move, now."

But it was too late.

Kade's wolf burst from the trees like a force of nature. He was covered in blood—I couldn't tell if it was his or his enemies'—and his eyes blazed with killing intent.

He didn't slow down. Just slammed into the nearest rogue at full speed, jaws closing around his throat. The rogue's scream was cut short.

The other rogues tried to scatter, but more Northern Ridge wolves were arriving. Jax. Marcus, somehow still alive and fighting. A dozen warriors I didn't know.

It was a slaughter.

I should have looked away. Should have covered my eyes. But I couldn't. I watched Kade tear through the rogues with brutal efficiency, watched him protect me the way I'd never been protected before.

When it was over, when all the rogues were down, Kade shifted back to human form and ran to me.

"Are you hurt?" He checked me over frantically, hands running over my arms, my face, my stomach. "Did they—"

"I'm okay. A little banged up from jumping out of the van, but okay."

"You jumped out of a moving van?"

"I didn't know what else to do."

He pulled me into his arms, holding me so tight I could barely breathe. "Don't ever do that again. Do you understand? Don't ever risk yourself like that."

I should have argued. Should have pointed out that I didn't have a choice. But I was too tired, too scared, too relieved to be safe.

"The baby," I managed. "I need to make sure the baby's okay."

Kade pulled back, his expression shifting to concern. "Right. Of course. Jax, call Dr. Hayes. Tell her we're bringing Mira back immediately."

"Already on it, Alpha," Jax said from somewhere behind us.

Kade scooped me up like I weighed nothing and started carrying me through the forest.

"I can walk," I protested weakly.

"Let me do this. Please."

So I did.

The pack house was a disaster. Broken furniture, blood on the walls, bodies being carried out on stretchers. But my pack members had won. The rogues who'd infiltrated were all either dead or captured.

Dr. Hayes was waiting in the medical wing, looking worse for wear but functional. She examined me quickly, her hands gentle but thorough.

"Remarkably, you're fine," she said. "No signs of trauma to the pregnancy. The baby's heartbeat is strong."

I could have cried with relief.

"However," Dr. Hayes continued, "you need to rest. Complete bed rest for at least forty-eight hours. Your body's been through a major shock."

"I can do that."

Kade stayed with me while Dr. Hayes finished the exam. When she left, he pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down.

"What happened at the border?" I asked.

"Damien's dead. His rogues scattered after I killed him." His voice was flat, emotionless. "We're hunting down the survivors now."

"And Derek? Was he involved?"

"Jax is investigating. If Derek really made a deal to hand you over to Damien..." His hands clenched into fists. "He'll answer for it."

"Nina. Is she—"

"She'll be fine. The bullet went through her shoulder. Painful but not life-threatening. She's already demanding to be released from the medical wing."

I smiled despite everything. "That sounds like Nina."

Kade was quiet for a moment. "When I heard they'd breached the safe room, when I thought they might have taken you..." He looked at his hands. "I lost control. Completely. I almost got my warriors killed because I wasn't thinking clearly."

"But you saved me."

"Barely. If you hadn't jumped from that van, if you hadn't slowed them down..." He met my eyes. "You're braver than you know."

"I was terrified."

"Bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's acting despite it."

We sat in comfortable silence for a while. Outside, I could hear the pack cleaning up, treating wounded, assessing damage.

"Kade," I said quietly. "Why did you make that announcement? About me being under your protection?"

He was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer.

"Because when I thought about you leaving after the baby was born, I realized I didn't want you to," he said finally. "I know that's selfish. I know you didn't ask for any of this. But the thought of you walking away, of never seeing you again..." He shook his head. "I couldn't handle it."

"I don't understand. You barely know me."

"I know enough. I know you're strong and stubborn and kind. I know you put your baby's needs before your own. I know you make me feel things I've never felt before." He reached out and took my hand. "I know that for the first time in my life, I want something beyond just duty and pack responsibilities."

My heart was racing. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want you to stay. Not just until the baby's born. Not just as a protected pack member." He squeezed my hand gently. "I want you to stay with me."

"As what?"

"As whatever you want to be. A friend. A partner. Eventually, maybe..." He trailed off.

"A mate?"

"I know it's too soon for that. I know you just broke your bond with Derek. But maybe someday, if you ever felt the same way..." He looked vulnerable in a way I'd never seen before. "Is that completely insane?"

"A little bit," I admitted. "But also... not entirely unwelcome."

Hope flickered in his eyes. "Really?"

"I'm not ready for a mate bond. Not yet. Maybe not for a long time. But..." I squeezed his hand back. "I'm not opposed to seeing where this goes. If you're patient."

"I can be patient."

"And if you promise not to be overprotective and controlling."

"I'll try. No promises, but I'll try."

I smiled. "Then I'll stay. For now."

He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. "That's all I ask."

There was a knock on the door. Jax entered, looking grim.

"Alpha, you need to see this."

"Can it wait?"

"No. It's about Derek."

Kade stood reluctantly. "I'll be back soon," he told me.

After he left, I lay back on the bed and thought about everything that had happened.

Derek had sold me. To a monster. The mate who was supposed to protect me had traded me away like property.

And Kade, who owed me nothing, had fought an army to keep me safe.

The choice between them wasn't even a choice anymore.

I placed my hand on my stomach. "Your father's a good man," I whispered to the baby. "Complicated and intense and a little bit scary. But good. I think you're going to like him."

The baby fluttered in response, as if agreeing.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, feeling safer than I had in months.

But in the back of my mind, I knew this wasn't over.

Damien was dead, but Derek was still out there. And if he really had tried to sell me to the rogues, he wasn't going to just let that go.

The war had only just begun.