Chapter 57

MISTY

When Adam woke me, the first thing that came to mind was that I was naked and would never sleep like that again, but the urgency of the situation had me dressed and ready within thirty seconds.

Dawn was already awake and waiting at the door but Chelsea was a bitch to get to. She’d woken from the noise and snuck into the kitchen, hiding in the walk-in pantry.

Adam was invaluable, partially because he grew up mostly human but also knew the palace well. It was impossible to avoid the fighting that was happening everywhere, and the bullets that ricocheted off everything.

We ended up going through the side door of the throne room and down the stairs that led directly into the kitchen, but none of us came through that unscathed.

~“You’re fine,”~ Cammy said, tiredly, after healing the deep lacerations on my back.

We huddled in the pantry for what felt like hours, while Adam kept going into the kitchen to see what was happening outside. The kitchen had swing doors which were unlockable.

The power went out, leaving us in pitch blackness.

We all tensed when rapid shots were fired, and Adam came hurtling back into the pantry. He told us to lie down flat, and no sooner had we done so than a spray of bullets ripped through the pantry.

And that’s when Chelsea was hit, right through the shoulder.

The merc then pulled open the pantry door, and Adam tore his throat out before he could raise his machine gun.

Whipping the night vision goggles off his head, he inspected them and whistled under his breath.

“What?” I asked, crouched in front of Chelsea.

“They’re recording, and from what I’ve seen, they are shooting indiscriminately.” He picked up the machine gun, the nozzle pointed upward, and said, “We have to move, but I have an idea.”

In single file, we slipped out of the kitchen into the herb greenhouse.

Even in the dark, I could see it had been shot to hell, broken pots and herbs lying on the floor. Adam pointed out the window at a small house on the other side of the lawn.

“That’s where we need to go.”

“What is that?”

“Substation. It’s easy to defend, and then we’re in charge of bringing back the power. There are different grids, and I can light up the place like a Christmas tree.”

“Okay.” I shrugged, not quite understanding how that would help us besides giving away our position.

“Every merc will pull off those goggles if we do that,” he explained. “But I think we have another problem…”

He trailed off as wolves rounded the corner, running for their lives.

Pushing the door open, he barked instructions as though he were the alpha. “When I start shooting, you run for the substation. Don’t stop, don’t look around.”

Mercenaries rounded the corner, and bullets flew in every direction. Adam opened fire, and I grabbed Chelsea’s hand and followed Dawn, dodging through the chaos.

There was nothing between us and the substation but open lawn—flat, moonlit, and deadly. We sprinted across it, the wet grass slick beneath our feet, bullets ripping through the air close enough to hear the whistle.

Dawn started running in a zigzag, and we followed. I badly wanted to look around but knew that was a bad idea. I heard harsh breathing behind me and almost shifted when the link came through.

~“It’s me, Nickie, Luna.”~

Our sprint seemed endless, and I hoped Adam was behind us because I had no idea how to flip the proverbial switch.

Dawn darted around the back, and we followed, all of us flush against the wall and panting. More gunfire echoed close by before Adam hurtled around the corner.

“Right,” he said breathlessly, using the butt of the machine gun to break the lock. “Inside.”

It was a great place to hide, even though it was horribly cramped. Still, brick walls and no windows ensured we wouldn’t be shot at, but we also couldn’t see what was happening or who was coming for us.

Adam nodded. “We need a plan. Let me check what’s happening outside first.” He handed me a spare machine gun, which he must have picked up somewhere, and slipped outside.

Nickie was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, tears streaming down her face.

“Nickie?” I crouched in front of her, my voice low. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up, her eyes red and brimming. “My best friend was shot in the head,” she sobbed.

I turned toward Chelsea, who stood pale and shaken, a tremulous smile barely curving her lips.

“I’m so sorry, Nickie,” I said softly, my voice raw with commiseration, unable to imagine a life without Chelsea.

Dawn sat beside her and pulled her into a hug. “I lost my mom and my sister because of Axel,” she croaked, voice thick with emotion. “And then my dad, so I know how you feel.”

Emotion clogged my chest, just as Lloyd’s link came through. I told him we were in the substation and momentarily safe, and that Adam could bring the power back and illuminate everything.

Moving to the door, I cracked it open, exhaling sharply when I saw Adam lying on his back, both hands clutching his intestines.

“Help me, Dawn,” I whispered.

Her face took on a strange look as she jolted upright.

“No,” she cried, and darted past me.

I grabbed her arm and stopped her. “He’ll be fine—let’s carry him in together.”

I peeked around the corner, my eyes widening in horror. Even in the moonlight, I could see bodies littering the lawn and hundreds of wolves locked in combat.

When I turned back, Dawn had already picked Adam up, bridal style. She buckled under his weight but put one determined foot in front of the other.

Once back inside, we tried to make Adam as comfortable as possible.

“I’ll be okay,” he grunted in pain.

“This is bad,” Dawn said, swiping the tears from her face.

“I’ll be okay, my beautiful mate,” Adam reiterated, a smile on his face.

There was no doubt in my mind that Dawn no longer cared about the age gap.

“We need to bring back the power,” I said.

“That’s all well and fine,” Chelsea said, looking slightly better. “But how do we flip the switch? I have no idea how any of this works.”

“I’ll direct you,” Adam said.

“Okay,” I said. “Once the power is up, I’m going. The rest of you stay.”

“I can’t let you do that, Luna,” Adam objected.

“Am I your luna?” I waited for him to challenge me. “Good, then do as I say. Chelsea, link Tanner and tell him the power is about to come back.”

“Okay, but I don’t like to distract him when he’s fighting,” she argued.

I ignored her.

“Adam, time to light up the sky,” I ordered and pushed the door open. Standing flush against the wall, I waited for the electricity to come back.

~“Will this work?”~ Cammy asked.

~“We have to find Lloyd.”~

The lights surged back with a thundering hum, flooding the lawn in harsh, unnatural white. I stepped into the open, the door creaking behind me, and the night transformed in an instant. Shadows fled and I gaped in horror at the scene before me.

For a breath, everything froze. Then came the chaos.

Mercenaries shouted, blinking hard, tearing off their night-vision goggles as the glare seared their eyes. Some cursed and stumbled, momentarily stunned, blinking at the flood of visibility that stripped them of their edge. Their movements turned frantic, jerky, and loud.

Shifters exploded from everywhere, fighting the mercenaries. Wolves collided with wolves, snarling and slamming into each other with bone-cracking force. Fur flew. Blood sprayed.

The air was full of it—rage, confusion, the sickening clash of muscle and fang. One wolf lunged at another, only to be tackled from the side by a third. They rolled, tangled, indistinguishable in the blur of limbs and growls.

A mercenary dropped to one knee, trying to recalibrate his scope, but a dark-furred wolf sank its teeth into his arm before he could fire.

Another soldier struck out with a baton, catching a shifter mid-shift in the ribs. The shifter howled, then turned with glowing eyes and leapt straight for the man’s throat.

The field writhed with violence. The light showed everything in stark reality. Infighting in the royal pack—wolves tearing into one another, snarling as if they’d never worn the same crest—confirmed what I feared.

Axel must have issued an alpha command before the lights came on, a cruel, last-minute order buried in their blood. This just cemented how little he cared for his subjects. He’d turned them into weapons and loosed them on their own.

And still, I couldn’t see Lloyd.

I moved through the chaos with no real direction, just blind purpose. Bodies flew past me—shifters mid-leap, mercenaries scrambling, teeth sinking into flesh.

I ducked as a wolf hurtled past me, another lunged too close, and I fell back feeling totally useless.

Without magic I was useless. I didn’t even have decent combat skills. A pressure sat on my chest as I scanned for Lloyd. I knew he was alive, somewhere in this hell.

I turned in circles, eyes stinging, searching every face, every flicker of fur for his outline. A wolf with golden eyes slammed into a gray one. Another warrior shrieked.

The yelps and screams were deafening, and with every step, the vise around my heart tightened.

Then, finally, through a break in the chaos, I saw him.

Lloyd.

He wasn’t alone.

Axel circled Lloyd, a big grin on his face. I stumbled forward, heart in my throat, when I got a clear view of him.

He was covered in blood and limping.