Page 109 of The World Undone

Bishop glanced at me, nodded, and we moved in, following Tex deeper into the building.

This structure was only two floors and a basement, and I knew that the second floor was almost exclusively living quarters.

If Rebecca wasn’t in the conference area that team leaders frequently used to debrief, then she’d almost certainly be in the basement.

That’s where the most security was, and where the inner workings of this station usually went down.

It was also where I’d spent the majority of my time during my brief stays at this branch.

Tex froze, a low growl emanating from him—a growl my own wolf felt and responded to.

I grabbed my blade and nodded to Wade and Bishop to be on alert.

We weren’t as alone as we thought we were.

Rather than stay and find out, or get caught by whoever was close by, we took off at a run. Better to find what we came for as quickly as possible—fewer chances for fucking up or getting caught off guard that way.

But when we turned into the hall, we met two people. Both looked to be in their late twenties and both were clearly not expecting us.

“Who are you?” The shorter one asked, his curiosity melting almost instantly to terror when his gaze snagged on Tex. “Fuck.”

His friend took off in the opposite direction, running as fast as he could.

Tex glanced back at Bishop, whose lips were pressed in a grim line, and at his nod, eclipsed the distance to the runner, until he overtook him completely.

The attack was quick and brutal, and the protector’s corpse lay mangled on the floor, the red carpet beneath him turning a darker shade as it absorbed his blood.

Wade knocked the other guy out, who’d let surprise cannibalize any chance at responding forcefully to our presence.

Unconscious, not dead. Probably. I didn’t much care either way, if I was being honest. Not anymore.

But when I looked back, I saw three sets of eyes disappear around the corner.

Fuck. More of them.

Before I could take off after them, a sharp, loud alarm reverberated through the building, echoing through the hall in tandem with a blaring red light that flashed in the ceiling.

Wade exhaled. “Guess there goes the element of surprise.”

“Check the room, quick,” I yelled to Tex, my voice competing with the siren.

The debriefing room was a few feet away from him and he’d shoved the door open by the time the rest of us caught up to him.

“Empty,” Bishop muttered, turning back to me with a sardonic smirk, “suppose it wouldn’t have been fun if it had been that easy. Lead the way to the labs.”

Loud footsteps sounded above as protectors swarmed from their rooms. Ignoring them entirely, I rushed us down two more halls, through a back room, and down the stairs to the labs and medical ward.

We were only challenged by four more protectors who had the sense to notice we were running in the opposite direction from everyone else and therefore not friendly. But we took them down quickly and discreetly.

“It’s locked.” Wade cursed. “Suppose that we should have expected that.” He turned to me, eyes narrowed. “One quick jump shouldn’t hurt, right?”

We were only to use Max’s powers in desperate need, to help preserve them for whichever team needed them most, but we both knew we had no other option here.

“Might as well shift us to the center of the lab if we’re using it anyway, give us the best advantage,” I said. “You remember where it is?”

Wade nodded then held a tentative hand out to Tex, not entirely sure how he’d respond to being pushed through space in his wolf form. There’d been a reason he’d waited until the barn to transform.

“Please don’t bite me,” he gritted as he grabbed the wolf, then clasped me and Bishop into an awkward hug, before teleporting.

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