Chapter 86 87
The facility's sirens came first—long, wailing shrieks that tore through the sterile white silence. Then came the tremors.
The air itself shuddered. Lights flickered. And the scent of smoke began to creep through the metal vents.
“Intruders!” someone shouted. “They’ve breached the east wing!”
My eyes snapped open as chaos rippled through the ASA facility. Doctors scattered. Agents grabbed their weapons. Through the haze of pain and wolfsbane still burning through my veins, I smelled it—wolves. My wolves. Xander’s pack.
They’d come for us.
But before I could even move, the door exploded inward with a roar so loud it rattled the bones in my chest. A massive black wolf barreled through—Alpha Gregor. His fur was matted with blood, his eyes feral and burning with a red-gold glow that promised death.
Behind him, the hallway erupted into chaos. Wolves tore into soldiers. Guns fired, silver bullets shattering against fur and flesh alike. The sharp metallic tang of blood filled the air. And over it all, a woman’s scream of fury split the din—the Queen.
I twisted my head toward her just in time to see her shift. Her body contorted, bones snapping as her elegant gown shredded into black silk ribbons. A monstrous she-wolf emerged—silver-furred with eyes like dying stars. She launched herself straight at Gregor.
“Traitor!” she roared, voice a haunting blend of human and beast.
Alpha Gregor met her midair, their collision shaking the floor. The sound of claws raking flesh and teeth sinking deep echoed down the corridor. Their snarls blended into a brutal duet of hate and history.
I tried to get up. My wrists were still strapped, the IV burning wolfsbane into my blood. I yanked at the restraints until my skin tore. Pain flared, hot and dizzying. My wolf screamed inside me—shift, shift, shift!—but I couldn’t. The poison made it impossible.
Then a blinding light split the ceiling.
“MARIGOLD, MOVE!”
Barbie’s voice.
She appeared in the chaos like a vengeful goddess—hair whipping in the storm of mana around her, eyes glowing lavender. With a twist of her hand, she hurled a ball of crackling Fae magic straight into the lab’s control panel. The explosion that followed ripped through the room in a bloom of violet fire and flying debris.
The shockwave threw me against the wall. The straps snapped. The IV line tore from my arm. I hit the ground, gasping as glass rained around me.
Barbie staggered toward me, blood on her forehead but grinning. “You look terrible, babe. Ten out of ten for survival though.”
I groaned, half laughing, half choking on smoke. “You blew up a lab, Barbie.”
“Correction,” she said, yanking me to my feet. “I blew up three.”
Behind us, the door burst open again—ASA agents in full armor, wielding wolfsbane rifles. One fired. The bullet grazed my shoulder, searing like fire. I screamed, stumbled, and Barbie raised her hand, unleashing a shockwave of purple light that sent the agents crashing into walls like ragdolls.
Through the smoke, I caught sight of Gregor again.
He was a beast unleashed—slamming the Queen into a wall so hard the metal cracked. But she wasn’t going down easy. She bit into his shoulder, ripping out a chunk of flesh. He howled in pain and fury, throwing her off.
“Run, Marigold!” he bellowed through the mind-link. “Get out!”
“No!” I shouted, voice raw. “I’m not leaving you again!”
Barbie didn’t wait for my consent. She grabbed me, slung my arm over her shoulder, and began dragging me through the chaos. My legs barely worked, every nerve screaming. The wolfsbane still dulled my magic, my muscles trembling.
“Barbie, I—”
“Save your breath,” she snapped, eyes glowing brighter. “You’re heavy, and I’m too pretty to die carrying you.”
We burst into the hallway where Beta Xander’s wolves were locked in brutal combat with ASA soldiers. Blood slicked the tiles. Silver bullets clinked off armor. A massive gray wolf—Xander himself—lunged at an agent, ripping his arm clean off.
“Beta!” Barbie shouted. “We’ve got her!”
Xander turned, muzzle soaked in blood, eyes blazing. “Get her out! The Queen’s retreating but the ASA’s calling reinforcements!”
Alpha Gregor’s roar shook the facility again—pure rage and agony. The Queen must’ve landed another hit. The ground trembled beneath us.
Then the walls began to collapse.
“Time to go, darling!” Barbie yelled. She clapped her hands together, runes blazing under her palms. “Hold on tight!”
The magic tore through the air like a storm—Fae sigils spinning, the ground fracturing as light surged outward.
And then—boom.
A massive explosion swallowed the corridor. The ceiling gave way, fire and debris filling the air. The last thing I saw was Gregor breaking free of the Queen’s grip, roaring my name—
“MARIGOLD!”
And then everything went white.
When I came to, I was outside. The forest. Cold air. Smoke rising from the mountain behind us. Barbie was beside me, panting, holding me upright.
Her grin was tired but wild. “Next time,” she said, coughing, “we’re taking the back door.”
I coughed blood, laughing weakly. “You’re insane.”
“Obviously,” she said, eyes glowing faintly as the burning facility collapsed in the distance. “But hey, you’re alive. And I’m not done yet.”
Somewhere behind us, a wolf howled—deep, defiant, and furious.
Alpha Gregor.
Still alive.
Still fighting.
And this time—I swore to the gods—I wasn’t going to run.