Chapter 198
Kara
"GO!" Asher roared, and we did, taking the stairs as fast as our wounded could manage. Blake's arms were like iron around me, his body positioned to shield me from falling debris even as he pushed forward with superhuman speed. Through our bond, I felt his terror—not for himself, but for me and the child growing inside me.
We're going to make it, I sent to him, to all three of them through our connection. We're all going to make it.
Damn right we are, Blake sent back, and I felt Cole and Asher's fierce agreement. I didn't come this far to lose you now.
We burst out of the building into the freezing Alaska night just as the fourth floor gave way. The shockwave knocked us all flat, and I felt Blake curl around me protectively as chunks of concrete rained down around us. Someone was screaming—I thought it might be Anna—and through the chaos I heard Dmitri shouting orders, trying to get everyone to the vehicles.
"Medical team standing by," a voice called out, and I saw a woman in EMT gear rushing toward us. "Get the critical ones to the helicopters. We've got a trauma surgeon waiting—"
"The pregnant one first," Blake snarled, already moving toward the medical team with me in his arms. "She's been through hell, and she's carrying—"
"Blake." My hand on his face stopped his panicked rambling. "I'm okay. Help Anna and Sol first. They saved my life."
"Kara—"
"Please." I looked up at him, letting him see through our bond how important this was. "They risked everything for me. We help them first."
I watched the war play out on his face—his wolf's desperate need to ensure my safety versus his growing understanding that being my Alpha meant respecting my choices, even when they terrified him. Finally, reluctantly, he nodded.
"But you're next," he growled. "And if anything—anything—feels wrong, you tell me immediately."
"I promise."
As Blake carefully set me down and moved to help get Anna onto a stretcher, I turned to look at the building we'd just escaped. It was collapsing in on itself now, floor by floor, like a house of cards in slow motion. Somewhere in that destruction, Diana was still alive, still screaming her rage at the sky.
We'd won this round. We'd rescued my parents, saved Anna and Sol, and escaped with our lives. But as I watched Diana's sanctuary crumble and felt the malevolent fury radiating from its depths, I knew this wasn't over.
Diana had spent decades—maybe centuries—building her empire of stolen bodies and trapped souls. We'd dealt her a serious blow tonight, but she was still out there. Still dangerous. Still obsessed with taking my body for her own.
"Kara." Dmitri approached slowly, his weathered face streaked with tears as he looked at me. "I'm your grandfather. Your mother's father. I know you don't know me, but I've been searching for you for ten years. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from—"
"You're here now," I interrupted, and surprised myself by meaning it. "You came to help rescue me. That's what matters."
Through our bond, I felt my Alphas' attention sharpen. They'd been so focused on the immediate crisis that they hadn't fully processed this revelation. Now, as we stood in the snow watching the building burn, the implications began to sink in.
I had family. Real family, beyond the parents who'd just been returned to me. A grandfather who'd spent a decade trying to find me, who'd risked everything tonight to help my Alphas bring me home.
"We need to go," Asher said quietly, his hand gentle on my shoulder. "The building's not structurally sound, and if Diana manages to get out—"
A massive explosion rocked what remained of the pharmaceutical plant, sending a pillar of flame shooting into the night sky. The heat was intense even from where we stood, and I watched in horrified fascination as the entire structure began to collapse in earnest.
"The ritual chamber," Dmitri breathed. "The blood magic wards are imploding. Anyone still inside—"
He didn't finish, but he didn't need to. Diana had been in the depths when we'd escaped. If she was still down there when the wards collapsed...
Is it wrong that I hope she burns? I sent to my Alphas, not quite brave enough to say it aloud.
No, all three responded in unison, their protective fury a warm weight in my chest. After what she tried to do to you, to your parents, to all those women? She deserves worse than burning.
The medical team was loading everyone into vehicles now. Anna and Sol were already in the first helicopter, the trauma surgeon working frantically to stabilize them. My parents were being helped into the second chopper, both of them looking back at me with expressions that broke my heart—love and regret and desperate hope all tangled together.
"Go with them," I told Dmitri quietly. "They're going to need family when they wake up properly. Someone who can explain everything, help them understand what happened."
"What about you?" His eyes were shrewd despite the tears. "You're family too. You should—"
"I need to be with my Alphas right now." I glanced at Blake, Asher, and Cole, who were hovering close enough to intervene if needed but giving me space to handle this conversation. "They came for me. They didn't give up even when it seemed impossible. I need... I need them."
Dmitri's expression softened with understanding. "The mate bond. Of course." He reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away, and gently squeezed my shoulder. "We have time now, Kara. Time to build a relationship, to be a family. Your parents are alive. You're alive. That's what matters."
He left then, climbing into the helicopter with Connor and Celeste. I watched it lift off, carrying my family away to safety and medical care, and felt the weight of everything that had happened tonight settle onto my shoulders.
We'd done it. Against impossible odds, we'd rescued my parents and stopped Diana's plan to steal my body. But the cost...
"Kara." Blake was there instantly as my legs gave out, catching me before I could fall. "I've got you. I've always got you."
"I know," I whispered, and felt Asher and Cole press close on either side, their warmth and scent surrounding me like a protective cocoon. "I know you do."