Chapter 51 The Exchange
The phone clattered from my hands. Hit the floor. Nobody moved to pick it up.
Aunt Clara. The only family I had left. Tied up. Terrified. Because of me.
“No,” Lycian said. Reading my face. “Absolutely not. You’re not going.”
“She’s my aunt. He has her because of me.” My voice sounded distant. Wrong. “I have to go.”
“It’s a trap. Obviously. He’ll kill you both the second you arrive.” Lycian grabbed my shoulders. Gentle despite his desperation. “We find another way.”
“There is no other way. He said alone. If I bring backup, she dies.” Tears burned my eyes. “I can’t lose her. She’s all I have.”
“You have me. You have this pack. You have a whole life here.” His hands framed my face. “Don’t throw that away.”
“I’m not throwing anything away. I’m saving my family.” I pulled back. Looked at Thaddeus. “Where would he take her? Where’s he been hiding?”
Thaddeus was quiet. Thinking. Finally, “We’ve tracked him to an abandoned warehouse. Industrial district. Twenty minutes from here.”
“Then that’s where I’m going.”
“Elowen, please.” Lycian’s voice cracked. “Let us handle this. We’ll send a team. Extract your aunt. Eliminate Marcus.”
“He said alone. He’s watching. Probably has people everywhere. If I don’t show up, he kills her.” I moved toward the door. “I’m going. You can’t stop me.”
“Yes, I can. I’m your mate. Your Alpha.”
I turned. Met his eyes. Saw the gold bleeding through. The wolf rising. Desperate to protect me.
“You could,” I said softly. “But you won’t because you love me. And you know I’d never forgive you if she died because you stopped me.”
Through the bond, I felt his conflict.
“We go with her,” Thaddeus said. “But we stay back. Out of sight. Ready to move.”
“He’ll see you. He’ll kill her.”
“He won’t see us. We know how to stay hidden.” Thaddeus’s voice was firm. “You go in alone. We surround the building.”
It was the best compromise I’d get. I nodded. “Okay. But you stay hidden unless I signal.”
“What signal?” Cade asked.
“You’ll know it when you see it.” “We leave in ten minutes. I need to change.”
I found clothes that weren’t soaked or bloody. Black pants. Dark shirt. Easy to move in. My hands shook while I dressed. Fear coursed through me. Cold and sharp. But also determination. Fury at Marcus for dragging an innocent woman into this.
Lycian appeared in the doorway.
“I know you’re scared,” I said. “I’m scared too. But I have to do this.”
“I know.” He crossed the room. Handed me a small knife. “Take this.”
I tucked it into my boot. “Thank you.”
He pulled me close. Kissed me hard. “Come back to me.”
“I will. I promise.”
We assembled in the garage. Armed. Silent.
“Positions,” Thaddeus said. “Cover every exit. Elowen goes in alone.”
We drove in separate vehicles. Mine in front. The others followed at a distance.
The warehouse loomed ahead. Massive. Dark. Windows broken.
I parked out front. Alone. Visible.
Through the bond, I felt Lycian. Close but hidden.
I stepped out of the car. The night smelled like rust and old concrete. My shoulder throbbed.
The warehouse door was open. Just a crack. Inviting. Threatening.
I pushed it wider. Stepped inside.
Darkness. Then a single light flickered on. Bare bulb. Hanging from the ceiling and illuminating a small space.
Aunt Clara sat in a chair. Still tied. Still gagged. But alive. Tears streaming down her face when she saw me.
And Marcus. Standing behind her. Hand on her shoulder. Possessive. Threatening.
“Right on time,” he said. Smiling. “I knew you’d come. Humans are so predictable. So weak.”
“Let her go. You have me. That’s what you wanted.”
“What I want is for you to disappear. To stop corrupting our way of life. To stop making wolves think humans can be equals.” His grip tightened on Aunt Clara’s shoulder. She whimpered. “But since you refuse to leave voluntarily, I’ll make you leave permanently.”
“She has nothing to do with this. She’s not even part of the pack world. Let her go and I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” He laughed. Cold. Cruel. “I want you dead. Will you die for her? Right here. Right now?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Elowen, no.” Aunt Clara’s voice was muffled by the gag. But I heard the desperation. The fear.
“It’s okay,” I told her. “I’m going to fix this.”
Marcus pulled a gun. The same kind Sarah had used. He pressed it to Aunt Clara’s temple. “Kneel. Hands behind your head. Or I kill her first. Make you watch.”
I knelt slowly. Hands behind my head. The knife in my boot felt heavy. Close. But I couldn’t reach it without him noticing.
“Good girl. You learn quickly.” He moved the gun. Pointed it at me. “Any last words? Something touching for your mate to remember you by?”
Through the bond, I felt Lycian’s rage. Building. Explosive. He was seconds from attacking. From revealing himself.
Not yet, I sent it desperately. Trust me. Not yet.
“My last words?” I looked up at Marcus. Met his eyes. “You’re going to regret this. Not because of what you’re doing to me. But because of what’s coming for you.”
“Nothing’s coming for me. I planned this perfectly. Your mate and his father think you’re alone. By the time they figure out where you are, you’ll be dead. And I’ll be gone.”
“You’re wrong about one thing.” I smiled. “They already know where I am. They’re here. Right now. Surrounding this building. Waiting for my signal.”
His expression flickered. Doubt. Fear. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” I tilted my head. “You really think Lycian would let me come here alone? You know him. Know how he is about me. Did you honestly believe he’d stay away?”
Marcus looked around. Saw nothing. But the seed of doubt was planted.
“Even if they’re here, they won’t risk your aunt. One move and I kill her.” He pressed the gun harder against her head. “Tell them to back off or she dies.”
“I can’t do that. Because I’m not in charge here. He is.” I nodded toward the shadows. “You want to kill me? Go ahead. But you’ll die seconds after. And what will that accomplish? You’ll be dead. Your movement will fall apart. Everything you worked for. Gone.”
“What are you offering?” Suspicion thick in his voice.
“A deal. Let my aunt go. Unharmed. And I’ll leave. Voluntarily. Tonight. I’ll reject the Luna title. Walk away from the pack. You win. No bloodshed. No war. Just me. Gone.”
Through the bond, Lycian’s fury exploded. No. Absolutely not. You’re not leaving.
Trust me, I sent it back. Please.
“You’d give up everything?” Marcus asked. “Your mate? Your pack? Your title? All for one human woman?”
“Yes. Without hesitation.” I meant it. Aunt Clara had sacrificed everything for me. I could do the same for her. “But only if you let her go first. Prove you’re a wolf of honor. Not just a murderer.”
He was thinking. Calculating. Trying to find the trap.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
“Because unlike you, I don’t lie. I don’t manipulate. I don’t hurt innocent people to get what I want.” I kept my voice steady. Strong. “Let her go. And I’ll walk out of here. Leave Lycian. Leave everything. You’ll never see me again.”
Marcus stared at me. Long and hard. Then slowly, he lowered the gun. Moved toward Aunt Clara. Started untying her.
This was it. My chance.
I reached for the knife in my boot.
But Marcus was faster. He spun. Fired.
The bullet hit my good shoulder. Pain exploded. White-hot. Blinding.
I fell back. Hit concrete. Tasted blood.
Then everything happened at once.
The warehouse exploded with wolves. Lycian burst through a window. Shifted mid-air. His wolf is massive. Golden. Furious.
Cade came through the east entrance. Damien through the west. All converging on Marcus.
Marcus tried to run. Didn’t make it three steps.
Lycian’s wolf hit him. They went down hard. The gun skittered away.
I tried to move. Couldn’t. Both shoulders now. Useless. Blood pooling around me.
Aunt Clara crawled to me. Sobbing. “Hold on, baby. Hold on.”
Through the bond, I felt Lycian. Felt his wolf tearing into Marcus. Felt the satisfaction. The vengeance. The absolute fury.
Then nothing.
Marcus was dead.
Lycian shifted back to human. Covered in blood. He ran to me. Dropped to his knees.
“No no no. Stay with me. Stay awake.” His hands pressed against my wounds. Trying to stop the bleeding. “Someone call Dr. Rivera. Now!”
I tried to speak. Couldn’t. Everything was fading. Getting darker.
“I love you,” Lycian said. Voice breaking. “Please don’t leave me. Please.”
I love you too, I managed through the bond. Weak. Fading.
Then darkness pulled me under.
And I didn’t know if I’d wake up again.