Chapter 102 Chapter 102

Chapter 102 Chapter 102
At long last, the man who was always ten steps ahead was bested by his own blindness – impaired by the sight of his end goal within arm’s reach and missing the unpredictable fact that Suki manipulated him to use his own power to her advantage, preventing her mates from the high-frequency attack. 

Both men were panting, breathless from their never-ending battle, both of their minds and of each other. Finally free from Hadeon’s hold, they were able to fully bring their attention to their surroundings. 

Reynard’s brows furrowed as he saw the destroyed pillars and audio devices. The dust and debris floated in the air, fogging their vision. “Suki made him wreck all the speakers pointing at us and in our general area. She kept us safe from the main attack.”

“What?” Brendan asked loudly, his hands firmly pressed against his ears. 

Rey dropped his hands from his ears, rummaged through a small pouch attached to the belt of his fighting leathers, wincing and grimacing at the sharp ringing in his ears from afar before pulling out earplugs. He placed them in his ears first. “Here,” he said, moving Brendan’s hand and putting the first earplug in his ear, holding his shoulder.

Brendan’s cheeks heated at his touch. “I got it,” he choked out, snatching the other earplug and slotting it in his other ear, turning his back on him. 

“Let me see your neck,” Reynard requested, grabbing his shoulder and turning him back around. 

“No, don’t–”

Inhaling a sharp breath, Rey stepped closer. “Fuck,” he muttered, dragging his thumb across the bruising on his neck. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head and moved Rey’s hand. “I’m fine,” he said sternly, stepping closer, closing the gap between them and cupping the back of his neck. “You weren’t in control; neither of us were.”

A nod. “You’re right. We need to focus. We need to get to Suki.”

As the dust shifted in the air, Brendan’s eyes moved behind Reynard and spotted an opening ahead. Close to that opening were both Suki and Hadeon, collapsed on the ground. “Shit. Suki!” he called out, sprinting towards her. 

Reynard speedily followed behind. 

The sharp pang of the high-frequency sound plunged through their minds as they sped closer to the source, but neither of them cared. She saved them from their demise. They had to save her. 

Skidding to the ground onto his knees, Brendan scooped Suki into his arms and turned her over. “Suki? Love, wake up,” he panted. 

Her eyes fluttered open, heavy and struggling to stay open. She groaned but then whispered, “Hey, shadow boy.” 

He tittered, “I’ll allow that silly nickname one more time since you just saved our asses.”

She hummed a faint giggle, looked up at Rey and smiled weakly. “Rey.”

“Hey, Ki,” he knelt beside her and moved her hair out of her face. “Thank you for what you did for us.”

A tear slipped from her eye. “I couldn’t lose you both.” She whined. “Take this,” she exhaled, her trembling hand pulling out a device from her pocket. 

Taking it from her, Rey looked at it and scoffed with a half laugh, “You really thought of everything.” 

“What is that?” 

“A controller for the long-range acoustic devices.” Stepping over Hadeon’s motionless body, Reynard examined him, checking his pulse. “He’s out cold. Still breathing. Being more powerful seems to have its downfalls; his senses are stronger, but that also means that the high-frequency pulses would hurt him more.” He pressed the device’s button, turning off the high frequency. “Smart plan, Ki.” 

The sharp pulse attacking their ears vanished, leaving a soft hum lingering in the air. 

Reynard grabbed a rope nearby and tied Hadeon’s hand behind his back, and, for good measure, he also tied his legs together. 

Suki wheezed, “I don’t feel so good…”

Brendan pulled his earplugs out and listened to her heartbeat. “Her heart rate is slow; she needs medical attention now.” 

Reynard tapped the communicator attached to the collar of his leathers and tried to call for backup. “My communicator must have broken during our fight,” he exhaled and searched around. “If the other werewolves got impacted by the frequency blast too, we might have less backup than we think.” 

“Well, we have to do something,” Brendan hissed. 

“Stay calm,” he said, kneeling in front of him. “We can’t panic. She’s not got access to her wolf, so she can’t heal rapidly, meaning we have to treat her as if she’s human – we need to ensure there are no other injuries before moving her.” He stroked Suki’s cheek. “Talk to us, babe, are you feeling any pain anywhere?” 

“M-My ribs hurt a little.”

Checking her exposed flesh, Reynard hummed. “Aside from a few scrapes and bruising, everything looks–” He paused as he lifted her top. “Oh, shit…”

“Fuck, when did that happen?” 

She winced, trying to sit up. “What is it?” Her eyes dropped to the claw marks against her side. “Oh,” she sighed. “I must not have noticed while I was on the adrenaline.” 

Brendan shook his head. “And now your body is shutting down from the drop.” He hovered his hand over the wound, summoning his shadows to conceal it and prevent more blood from seeping out. 

“Is that going to work?” Rey questioned. 

“To stop the outside bleeding? Temporarily, yeah. It helps that we’re bonded and can share my power.” Meeting his gaze, Brendan’s eyes were filled with worry. “But if she’s bleeding internally–”

Reynard shook his head. ‘Don’t, you’ll make her panic. Her slow heart rate is helping her not bleed faster.’

‘We have to do something, Rey.’

‘I know, let me think.’

Suki breathed, “I don’t need the bond to know you’re talking about me…” She whimpered, trying to move. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

Brendan and Reynard exchanged a look and looked back at her. 

“I knew the risk when I chose to do this. It’s okay.” 

Brendan’s brows inched closer together as he frowned, annoyed. “Don’t talk like that; you’re going to be fine.” 

“Brendan,” she whispered, taking hold of his hand. “It’s okay.”

“Suki, stop,” Reynard retorted, his calm and cool facade finally vanishing. “I said the same thing to Brendan, and I’ll say the same to you. You’re not dying.” 

She reached out for his hand too and smiled. “Even if the other werewolves were on their way, I don’t think they would have what’s needed to help me.” More tears began streaming down her face. “Running me to the hospital could make my injuries worse. The only thing that could save me now would be a miracle.”