Page 144 of The Lycans: Vol Four

And I wasn’t about to stand here and keep wondering what the fuck was going on.

I pushed away from the wall and stumbled forward, my feet tripping over the large debris that covered the floor.

Sparks of electricity crackled overhead from exposed wires. I ducked down when I heard a gun going off in another hallway.

There was an unholy roar that seemed to shake the entire foundation, but I pressed forward. I knew Sebastian was here. I swore I felt it, like a tether keeping us together despite being apart.

Or maybe this was all just some kind of horrible nightmare, a sort of Groundhog Day occurrence where I would just relive this moment over and over again.

The night of the escape flashed through my mind in gory detail, and I found myself going the same way, moving down the hallways, remembering all the details of broken walls, all the fighting and bloodshed, and the sounds and scents that had invaded my senses that night.

I was having a hard time keeping my balance, my nerves causing my hands to shake and my knees to feel locked tight.

I kept looking down hallways, hoping, praying to whatever gods were watching us down here like rats in a maze, that I’d find my mate.

The air burned my lungs as I picked up my pace, a hand on the wall to steady myself. I didn’t even care about escaping. I just wanted to find Sebastian.

If I died down here, then so be it, as long as he had his arms wrapped around me and we were together at the very end.

I kept ducking, dodging, and moving out of the way of the absolute chaos. Death was all around me as I searched, too afraid to call out to Sebastian and draw attention to the wrong kind of company.

As if I were still replaying that same day, I rounded a corner and skidded to a stop as I stared at the scene before me.

The déjà vu left me feeling off-balance. I stared at the Leandrean standing in the center of the hallway with human guards all around him. Their bullets ricocheted off the Otherworld’s body as this unnatural wind whipped around him, his white hair a flurry around his face.

No. Gods, no. I was not going back there again. I’d kill the fucking portal opener—and probably myself in the process—before I was dragged into that hell.

I reached down and picked up a broken-off piece of metal that lay amid the rubble. With my hand wrapped fully around the jagged length, I took one step forward to try and get close enough to use the weapon.

But before I could take another step, I noticed a huge shadow coming up behind the Leandrean and felt the air become frigid.

A hand suddenly burst through the Leandrean’s chest, fingers cracking open his ribs, the portal opener’s heart now in the fist, blood dripping down and splattering on the ground.

The next sequence of events happened so fast I stumbled back, my voice lost as I watched a demon and an Angelis seem to appear out of nowhere and make quick, efficient work of killing the human guards.

A sickening, squelching sound pierced through my shock as the fist that was buried within the chest was wrenched back, and the creature crumpled to the ground.

The demon and Angelis were tearing apart the humans, laughing maniacally as they threw insults at each other while ripping off arms, legs, and even gouging out the eyes of their enemies.

“My body count is higher than yours, motherfucker,” the Angelis growled as he reached into the mouth of a human and ripped out his tongue. He tossed the slab of muscle toward the demon. “Hungry, Bane?”

“Fuck you, Vox,” the demon snarled and kicked the tongue aside before he pressed his mouth on to the neck of the flailing human he held easily and ripped out his throat.

I looked away from them. A sob was tearing out of me as I stared at who stood across the hall, blood splattered across his face, his shirt soaked, and his eyes having this crazed cast to them.

And he was staring right at me as if I were the very air he needed to survive.

Sebastian.

I dropped the weapon and ran toward him, throwing myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, and buried my face in the crook of his neck.

A broken sob tore out of me as Sebastian held me, his big hands cradling my ass and his face buried in my hair as he took in a harsh inhale, his entire body shaking.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He didn’t put me down as he strode out.

And I was more than okay with that. Having him hold me again, when I didn’t know if that would ever happen, was an incredible feeling and I wanted to hold on to that for as long as possible.

“What in the hell is going on?” My voice was muffled against his neck. He tightened his arms around me and kissed my temple. “How did we get here?”

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