Page 60 of Dawn of the Pack

We pass through a set of double doors and turn left, then right, then left again. Every dark doorway we pass my heart jumps, wondering if there’s someone inside being tortured, someone who needs rescuing.

But I force myself to keep going; today is not about them. Today is about Derrek, but I’ll come back for them. I’ll come back for all of them.

Suddenly, the sounds of several people talking, along with heavy footfalls, echo down the hallway.

Richardson immediately turns and begins pushing us back around the last corner. He leaves Azalea stranded alone. Her eyes panicked as her head turns between the approaching threat and the rest of us. I gesture for her to follow before I’m muscled around the corner, but I realize the next second that it’s too late.

“What are you doing here again, witch?” A nasally male voice snarls. “Alpha warned you to stop turning up like this. He’s going to be pissed you don’t seem to be able to listen.”

“What do you care?” She shoots back with that condescending, disinterested tone. “I’m not hurting anything, and he can’t banish me from the building. Why don’t you mind your own business? I have somewhere to be,” she sniffs.

“Oh, no you don’t,” a deeper voice growls. “Alpha said that if we catch you here again, we’re to give you the same treatment as the rest of our guests. He said,” the unknown male chuckles, “he said that if you want to be here so badly, that can be arranged.”

“Get your hands off me! Despite her attempt to sound indignant, fear laces her voice. “You have no right-”

“I have every right, witch, and you can’t use your powers against me. Alpha told us that your contract forbids it. So cut the crap already. We have a nice comfy cell for you to sleep in until Alpha gets back tomorrow.” Shuffling noises of an obvious struggle ensue, then a horrifying thwack echoes down the hall, and it falls silent.

“Good job. She’s such a pain in the ass!”

“She’ll be out for a couple of hours at least. Come on, let’s toss her in a room and report her to the commander.”

We wait as the footsteps fade away, and a distant door clicks open and shut. A hand on my shoulder almost makes me jump out of my skin, but it’s just Landon, pointing at his watch.

Shit, we just lost half our time until the next check in. We have got to move.

Richardson makes eye contact with Landon, who shows him the timer.

The older man nods grimly, then peeks around the corner. He gestures us forward, and we continue on our quest. When we reach the spot we’d left Azalea, a guilty lump forms in my throat; her thick black hat is on the floor, along with a few drops of blood. Several feet ahead more blood smears the white tile, leaving a bright red streak every few feet of the long hallway.

And now we’re running out of time and don’t know where to go from here. We pass a cross hallway that looks exactly the same as the one we left. It’s like a maze in this place, probably intentionally. The house above didn’t cover nearly this much ground, so they must have expanded this massive basement out like an ant’s nest to keep it hidden from prying eyes.

Richardson chooses a direction and moves, the rest of us following on silent feet. We’re following Azalea’s blood trail, right up to another set of double doors, this time with a window.

And there, just a few more feet down the hallway, is a doorway with two bored-looking men standing outside. One of them is Billy.

Excitement and relief and fear swirl together in my gut; we still have to get Derrek out and somehow find Azalea, since she’s the one who can remove the collar. And then we all have to make it out of this maze and back to the safety of our vehicles.

Richardson and Levi are both at the double doors, communicating with a series of hand gestures, probably discussing their plan.

Then something buzzes; it’s just a vibration, but in the absolute silence of the hallway it seems almost deafeningly loud.

I turn to look at the source, along with the rest of our party.

Landon’s face is bright red, but he holds up his wrist, revealing that our time has run out.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jared

When Landon’s watch buzzes, I only have one thought:

We’ve got to get Lily out of here, now.

I gesture back the way we came, but she shakes her head stubbornly and points at the door, mouthing, “He’s right there!”

And then the Montrose guards begin their check ins.

“Team one, all clear.” The guys guarding Derrek report in a bored tone.

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