Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

32. Leigh

THIRTY-TWO

Leigh

I had no idea how long we’d been down here, but I was feeling antsy. Shouts and loud thuds occasionally made it to us through the thick walls, and once, the castle rocked as if there was an explosion. But still, no sign of our men.

Shay was pacing the back wall, eyes aglow. She’d stripped down to her underthings, in case she needed to shift in a hurry, because we had no spare clothes down here. An oversight we’d rectify when this whole fiasco was over with.

After a while, it grew quiet, as if the action had moved away from wherever we were in the bowels of the castle. But then a scraping sound reached us, and the little hairs on my arms stood on end. There was a sound of crying and muffled footsteps down the tunnel that we’d come through, and I stood with the gun.

Shay was at my side in a heartbeat. “Stay here. Keep a clear line of sight on the tunnel. I’m going to shift and creep up that way. If it’s an enemy, one bark. If it’s a friend, two barks.”

She didn’t wait for me to answer before she shifted into her cocoa-furred wolf with gold eyes, and then she was gone, silent paws carrying her into the tunnel .

I turned to Bri and Olivia. “You two go into the bathroom, turn off the lights, and lock the door.”

“Absolutely not. If you’re staying out here, we’re staying,” Brielle argued.

“Bri, I love you, but if something happens to me, you two can fix me. I will be less than useless if one of you gets hurt. Get in the damn bathroom!” I used my alpha bark, but she just narrowed her eyes at me as Olivia started shuffling toward the bathroom, my order carrying her against her will.

“That doesn’t work on omegas, Leigh, but I take your point. Why don’t you go in with us?”

“Because I’m not leaving Shay up here alone. If she runs down here with people on her ass, I’ll shoot them, and then we’ll all lock ourselves in the bathroom.”

“Fine,” she sighed, and followed Oli into the bathroom after grabbing a pistol off the nearest gun rack. A second later I saw the line of light disappear under the door and heard the click of the lock.

I waited on pins and needles for something to happen, but time seemed to turn to molasses. Sometime later, there were two yips from the tunnel, and I could finally breathe again.

My jaw dropped and I lowered the gun when Shay walked in trailing a string of disheveled household staff, at least a dozen chefs and housekeepers in uniform, tailed by Cristian, the butler. He was wearing an impeccable suit with tails as usual, but blood was spattered across his face and smeared over his hands as if he’d stepped out of some weird, pseudo-historical horror film.

“Are you all okay? Nobody followed you?” I asked, setting the gun on the nearest chair, facing the wall.

“We’re all okay, thank you, ma’am,” one of the housekeepers said, and then I swear to the Goddess, she curtsied like I was some sort of princess. We were under attack, there was blood in her hair, and she curtsied , to me, a half-breed nobody .

“Okay, one, my name’s Leigh, and you’re free to use it. Two, I feel weird when you curtsey, so no need. I’m from Texas, not the queen’s palace,” I joked with a grin, trying to put her at ease before I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

Her clothes were askew, and I noticed that she had blood smeared down the side of her neck too. On closer inspection, it was a gash that hadn’t closed up yet.

“Bri, we’re going to need you out here. Got some wounded staff that could use your and Oli’s attention,” I called over my shoulder as I guided her to the sofa. Good thing it was black and wouldn’t show blood, because when I cast a glance around the rest of the group, I saw that only two didn’t have blood somewhere on their person. One of those two was buck naked, clearly having shifted to defend herself.

That’s what I’m talking about. We don’t take anybody’s shit in this pack.

“Everybody, make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll see about some fresh clothes and snacks while the docs do their thing.” I used my most soothing cruise director voice and didn’t even jump when Bri and Oli burst out of the bathroom like bats out of hell.

As soon as they started checking folks over, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bunch of bottled water from the fridge to pass out. A very naked Shay appeared at my side and grabbed a bunch of jerky sticks and followed me back into the main sitting area.

Olivia seemed to have forgotten about her anxiety about the tunnels, because she was all efficiency as she examined wounds and administered first aid from a kit they must have found in the bathroom while they were in there. Pride surged in my chest at how we all pulled together, tending to our new friends seamlessly.

Brielle straightened as I finished handing out my last water bottle. “Kane and his team have landed. They’re checking the perimeter now. They’ll be heading in shortly.”

A quiet cheer went up around the room, and I smiled as I went on the hunt for clothes.

They had to be in here somewhere because we shifters were always losing our clothes. It would be a massive oversight for whoever set this place up to have forgotten. I poked around in the large bathroom without luck, then headed into the bunk room. It was bigger than it looked from outside, opening up into a room with twenty bunks tidily made up around the walls of the room. The center of the room was open, a large Persian rug making the space look cozier, despite the cold stone walls.

I checked under a bunk or two and then made a beeline for the door at the end of the room.

“Bingo!” I crowed when I found a walk-in closet. Shelves had been drilled into the stone. Each one held clear bins full of clothing all tidily labeled with a size and whether it held shirts or pants.

I grabbed a few sets of medium sweatpants and T-shirts, then headed back to what I’d decided to call the living room. When I walked back out, a large projector screen had been dropped from the ceiling, and Cristian was flipping through security footage with a remote.

“Dude,” I mumbled with my eyes glued to the screen as I offered the clothes first to the naked woman. She accepted them with a smile.

“Thanks, and yes, I didn’t even know this was down here. But I’m sure glad it is,” she said sadly as she glanced around. “I can’t believe they got past the perimeter. And poor Mary let them in before Cristian could stop her, and they killed her.” She choked on a sob as she settled the T-shirt over her head.

“They’re going to get what’s coming to them,” I said with a snarl .

“There were just so many. I don’t know what eight men are going to do against more than thirty,” she whispered.

“Cristian took out at least five himself before we got to the tunnel. Did you have any idea he could fight like that? Because I didn’t,” another woman offered, squeezing the first’s hand. “The high alpha has the power of the packs. He’ll have no trouble wiping them off the face of the planet,” she said with a bloodthirsty curl of her lip.

“I agree with—” I paused, not knowing either woman’s name.

“Ivy.” She offered me her hand to shake, blood and all. “And this is Gabby.”

I shook it and then turned to Gabby to do the same.

“Nice to meet you both. I agree with Ivy. Kane and his crew are going to wipe these assholes off the map.”

Shay sucked in a worried breath, and I spun around to see what was wrong. Cristian had stopped the video feed on a massive black wolf that could only be Dirge, still holding his ground in the Alpha’s suite.

He had a gaping wound on his side that slowly dripped blood into a good-sized puddle on the ground, but four other bodies littered the floor of the room, all shifted back to naked strangers in death.

“Why would they do this?” I asked no one in particular.

Cristian was the one to answer my question. “With High Alpha Kosta recently murdered, they probably thought now was a good time to strike, before High Alpha Kane could establish a strong foothold in his father’s place. But what they’ll do instead is cement the idea that he’s already stronger than they bargained for. Believe it or not, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, save poor Mary’s loss.” He sounded remorseful for the first time, despite his overall stoicism.

“That’s on them. They didn’t have to kill her,” I reminded him, grinding to a halt as we all watched in silent horror when three midsized gray wolves charged Dirge.

“Cristian, let me out of these tunnels,” Shay demanded.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m on strict orders from High Alpha?—”

“That is my mate! I’m a capable fighter, and if he dies, I die anyway!”

“My orders are that you are to remain here with the other females.”

Shay’s eyes turned gold, her wolf shoving her way to the forefront as hair sprouted along her arms, and her fingertips turned deadly sharp with claws.

All that came out when she tried to speak again was a feral canine snarl.

“Cristian”—Brielle spoke cautiously—“I think it’s best we let Shay out, if it’s possible to open the door from the inside?”

He froze, indecision warring with duty, the battle playing out across his features for all to see.

“Shay is capable, and she’s right, she can absolutely help Dirge. He’s clearly injured. Also, she’s immortal.”

“If you give me a direct command, I cannot ignore it,” he said warily, “but I strongly urge?—”

“Let her out, please. Now.”

“As you wish.” He bowed stiffly and ran for the tunnel.

Shay bolted ahead of him, already fully in her shift.

I held my breath as the three wolves attempted to circle Dirge, who dropped into a crouch and moved to keep them in front of him.

One lunged in first, jaws wide, and he defended with a claw to the throat. The gray wolf yelped and dodged, but while Dirge’s focus was split, the other two charged him at once. One aimed for his throat, the other his already-wounded flank.

Dirge leapt into the air, using his superior size to clear the wolf that charged him head-on, landing on the other wolf’s back and latching onto his back with deadly sharp fangs.

The wolf beneath him howled in agony and collapsed as the other spun to charge again. But Dirge charged free and spun toward his remaining attackers, still moving quickly despite the blood trailing from his open wound.

I wanted to cheer as the wall slid open, Shay arrowing out like an avenging angel intent on destruction. She barreled into the side of one of the wolves before they knew what hit them, sending him tumbling paws over tail, and leaving Dirge to focus on the only wolf left standing.

They pounced in unison, each of them downing their wolf with ease. I looked away when blood and fur started flying.

They’re okay, and that’s all that matters.

When the room fell quiet again, I looked back up to see Dirge leaning into Shay’s side while she licked his muzzle.

I was sure he was mentally chastising her for risking herself, but the bond between them was obvious from outer space. It sent an ache through my chest as I thought of Gael.

Would we ever get to that place? That level of inherent trust and devotion?

I hoped so.

Both wolves on screen perked up, sinking into defensive stances as the sound of wolves running down the hall reached us over the speakers.

But the sound of scraping stone over stone drew my gaze away from the distant threat and to the more immediate one. I scooped up the gun once more and hollered over my shoulder, “Everybody into one of the side rooms. Lights off and lock the doors.” I used my alpha bark, cocking the gun in my hands and sighting it on the section of stone that was swinging slowly inward.

I heard the sounds of obedient feet racing toward the bunk room and the bathroom, but Ivy jogged to my side instead, shooting me a wicked grin as she stripped off her borrowed clothing. I only spared her a short glance before focusing back on the threat.

“I’m not afraid to fight.” She shifted at my side, and a small part of me was glad to have her. I didn’t know her like my girls, but I liked her immediately. And she must have been pretty damn strong to ignore my alpha command.

“If they come in one at a time, stay next to me so I’m free to shoot. If they come in a pack, try to stay off to one side.”

She yipped her agreement a second before the door stopped moving.

A blood-soaked darker gray wolf I didn’t recognize burst through it, arrowing toward us with his maw stretched wide, sharp canines glinting under the LEDs.

I didn’t hesitate and pulled the trigger. It hit him in the shoulder, but he kept coming. Ivy rocketed forward as a second wolf ran in, bulldozing into the darker gray wolf at the lead and knocking him clear so I could take aim at the second. I’d only gotten off one shot to his chest when the sounds of many, many running feet echoed off the stone hallway beyond the opening.

Shit, shit, shit!

I was a decent shot for a target head-on, but I had no hope against as many as I heard coming. I dropped the gun on the chair and shifted, bursting out of my clothes in a flash. Ivy had already finished off the first wolf, his naked male form now lying bloodied in front of one of the gun cases.

Snarls and the sounds of fighting reached us just before the third wolf burst in. Ivy and I were like a well-oiled machine, each of us splitting off to come at the gray wolf from opposite sides. She hit his flank at the same time I latched onto his throat, his claws grinding uselessly against the stone as we both tore chunks out of his hide.

His blood filled my mouth, my wolf reveling in the cruel efficiency of the kill. Ivy peeled off to tackle the next wolf as I shook him, cracking his neck.

I dropped him when he went still, turning to see if Ivy needed backup.

She was going to have to figure it out for herself, I thought grimly as five more wolves in varying shades of gray poured in to circle us. She dispatched her target and then backed up to me so we were tail to tail, covering each other as the five enemies circled.

This was not good. I wasn’t a trained fighter, and even if I were, more than two-to-one odds weren’t great.

One of them shifted, shaking his head as he stood tall.

“It’s only a couple of bitches, and neither of these looks like the Alpha’s mate. Aren’t we supposed to be looking for a white wolf?” the man asked the wolf closest to him.

Why are they attacking us if they don’t even know who we are?

They must have communicated through the pack bonds because he nodded in response to something we couldn’t hear.

“Well then, there’s no need to keep them alive. Take them out, and then we’ll search the place.”

I thought of Brielle, of all the innocent women hiding behind me. I thought of Gael, my mate. But most of all, I thought of my sweet, innocent Petal, whose life depended on mine. There was nothing standing between these bullies and my baby but me, and I was sure as hell not going to lie down and die.

Fuck that all the way to next week.

I leapt at the man’s bare throat.