Page 27 of Alpha Fate

“Needed to be sure there’d be a clear path for you.” Edirn gives him a stony look. “And I found something out.”

“Yeah? What?” Gage has gone tense against me.

“Your team set off an alarm when they came in here and—”

“I know that,” Gage snaps. “It’s why they had the cell block staked out.”

“Right. Well, they also locked down the pipeline you came in through. You’re not going to be able to get out that way. They’ve set an ambush about a mile in.”

“Fuck,” Gage mutters. “Should have known that would happen.”

“There’s another way out, a better one,” Edirn goes on. “I can show you the access point. Can you get word to your people?”

Gage hesitates. I’m pretty sure he’s weighing up how trustworthy Edirn is. Again, I can’t blame him. But what other choice do we have?

As if coming to the same conclusion, Gage says, “Yes.” He looks at the red wolf. “Get to Jagger. Warn him. Tell him to follow our bond back.”

Without further instruction, the wolf slinks toward the door, slips out, and vanishes into the darkness.

“Bond?” Edirn cocks his head, seeming confused.

“Pack bond,” Gage tells him. “We came with our Alpha.”

Edirn seems confused. “You have an Alpha bond in Steel Lakes? I thought you were rogues, like—”

“Like this lot?” Gage casts a dismissive look about us. “We’re nothing like Leadmills, Alpen. We have pack ties. Our Alpha connects us.”

“Well…fuck me.” Edirn runs a hand through his hair. Again, my eye is drawn to the scar around his throat. It’s at least half an inch wide, a silvery ribbon of scar tissue. Not a lot of things can do that to a wolf.

“We’re wasting time.” Gage starts moving toward the doorway, and I pad behind him. When Edirn falls in step behind me, I feel his hand on my shoulder. And then there’s a low growl. I glance around, expecting to see the silver wolf moving close, but it’s not. The sound came from Gage.

“I’ll take her from here,” he says, his eyes dropping to Edirn’s hand. Edirn removes it. “Show us how to get where we’re going.”

“Sure.” Edirn steps around me and moves through the door. The pair begin speaking in hushed tones as Edirn explains where we’re going. I tread across the cold concrete floor as Gage guides me into the open. I wince at the sharp debris but don’t let it slow me. We need to move fast.

I glance back as the hulking silver wolf slinks out behind us, eyes alert. Edirn moves up ahead, scanning a courtyard in front of us.

“This way.” He jerks his chin down a shadowy alley to our right.

Gage sweeps me up without warning, lifting me easily onto his shoulder. I bite back a gasp of surprise.

“Hold on,” he murmurs, and then we’re moving.

I cling to him as he races through a maze of alleyways with Edirn right beside us. My heart pounds, senses on high alert. We round a corner and almost collide with a guard. Gage plows into him, knocking him down without breaking stride. Behind us, a savage snarl erupts as the silver wolf tears into the fallen man.

We plunge on through the darkness. Gage’s body is rock solid beneath me, his breathing steady despite our breakneck pace.

Voices sound up ahead. Gage skids to a halt, nearly dislodging me.

“Shit.”

Edirn steps forward. “I’ve got this.”

Before we can react, he strides ahead, calling out a greeting. Murmured conversation follows, then laughter. Edirn rejoins us, expression grim.

“All clear. Let’s move.”

Gage hesitates only a second before following him down a different alley. I glance back at the silver wolf. Even in the darkness, I can see that his muzzle is coated in red. Blood. I decide not to think about it.

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