Chapter 29 Motherly love
Eva
Chained to a steel support beam with silver manacles, Lily was behind Ronan. Gagged, but alive, her eyes widened when she saw me.
"Let the kid go,” I said. “Then we talk.”
Ronan tilted his head. “You think you’re in a position to negotiate?”
I shrugged. “I’m the one with the torc locked around my neck and a gun to your dude’s head. Seems negotiable.”
Red Beard took a deep breath, swallowing hard as sweat beaded on his forehead.
Ronan’s gaze flicked to the torc, filled with hunger. “Do you even realize what you’ve done, little girl? That collar isn’t just jewelry. It’s a key. And I intend to turn it.”
He snapped his fingers.
From the shadows, six more wolves stepped into the moonlight, their guns trained on me. Silver gleamed at their throats, marking their loyalty to Ronan.
I smiled anyway.
Because the bond inside my chest suddenly roared like a freight train, and every wolf in the room flinched at once.
Ronan’s smirk faltered.
Glass shattered inward from the broken skylight above, cascading down like glittering rain.
A black wolf, the size of a fucking bear, landed in the center of the warehouse floor, moonlight reflecting off its midnight fur like oil. Silver eyes blazed with intensity. The torc around my neck blazed white-hot.
Malach shifted mid-air, landing on the ground as a human, naked and furious, blood already dripping from claws that hadn’t fully retracted.
He glanced at Ronan. He glanced at Lily. Then he looked at the torc locked around my throat, and his entire expression turned feral.
“Hello, baby,” he said, his voice calm and deadly. “The collar sends a hell of a signal.”
Ronan’s wolves raised their weapons, and Malach smiled, all teeth. “Let’s dance.” The warehouse erupted into chaos. Just as the first gunshot cracked, the torc around my throat pulsed once. Something inside me answered.
The first bullet struck the concrete at my feet, sending debris splattering against my shins. I didn’t flinch. My body hummed with energy; the torc served as a conduit for the raw, violent power coursing through my veins. Malach didn’t look at the shooters; his gaze was fixed on me. “Stay close,” he commanded before moving into action.
He was a blur of motion, a whirlwind of controlled violence. The first wolf, the one holding the AR-15, didn’t even get a shot off. Malach’s hand, already half-shifted, closed around the guy’s throat. There was a sickening crunch. The wolf dropped, his weapon clattering to the floor.
I wasn't idle. I fired two rounds into the chest of the nearest guard as I sprinted for Lily, my boots skidding on blood-slick concrete. I focused on the small, terrified form bound to the steel support. “I’ve got you, baby,” I said, the woman who’d never had a family to save before. I dropped to my knees, yanked the lockpick from my boot, and went to work on the cuffs.
Behind me, the warehouse erupted into chaos.
Ronan snarled from his perch, and his suit jacket ripped as he shifted. “Kill them! The torc is mine!” His remaining wolves obeyed, their guns firing in the confined space. I moved faster as I shielded Lily, the bullets whizzing past my ear, a terrifying sound. I had no idea how I was doing it; I just was.
“Both of you die!” Red Beard roared, charging from the stairs with a knife in his hand.
I didn't need to move. The sound of wolves filling the chamber was a brutal symphony. Chloe, her face a mask of fury and her clothes torn and bloodstained, led the charge. She hit Red Beard at a full sprint, bringing him to the ground and beginning to tear into him. Jed was just half a step behind her, his fists pummeling down on any wolf foolish enough to get between him and his daughter.
“That’s my baby girl,” he bellowed, voice breaking on the last word. “You don’t touch her!”
I didn’t look away. I had one job. The first manacle clicked open, and Lily sobbed in relief, trying to reach for me with her freed hand. “Almost there, sweetie. Just one more.”
Ronan, seeing his plan fall apart, lunged at me. Ronan, seeing his plan fall apart, lunged at me. Malach met him in mid-air. The collision sounded like two freight trains mating. They crash-landed and rolled, tangled in claws and rage. The floor trembled, and dust fell from the rafters.
Click. Second manacle open.
Lily was free.
I pulled her up and hid her behind the largest stack of crates I could find. "Stay here. Don't move until your dad or I come for you. Do you understand?" She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks and leaving clean paths through the dirt.
I turned back as Ronan's claws raked across Malach's ribs. Malach grunted, a pained and furious sound, before sinking his teeth into Ronan’s shoulder. A howl of pure agony split the air, the kind of sound that could curdle blood.
I needed a weapon. My Glock was down to three rounds, just enough to count on one hand. My gaze fell upon a length of silver pipe that someone had ripped off the wall during the fight. Perfect. I grabbed it. The metal felt cool and comfortable in my hands.
I stole another glance at Malach. Ronan broke free, blood streaming down his shoulder, and shifted completely into a scruffy blond wolf, hatred burning in his eyes. He lunged for Malach's throat. I saw my chance. I saw the exposed flank
I charged into the fray, a blur of human energy, screaming my own battle cry.
“Eva! No!” Malach’s warning was a second too late. The pipe came up like a baseball bat. The pipe swung up like a baseball bat. I struck back with all the power the torc was giving me, fueled by every ounce of fear for that little girl I had hidden and every shred of defiance I had ever possessed.
The pipe connected.
Not with Ronan.