Page 72 of Vicious Luna

“Start filling them up,” she directs, and I pivot toward the nearest rack of rifles on the wall, removing them one by one and tucking them under an arm. I know that time is of the essence in situations like this, and I don’t waste a second of it. I fill my arms with as many rifles as I can carry, dart back to the table to stuff them in one of the bags, then spin back around to repeat the process.

“Ammo?” I ask as I begin pulling more guns off the rack.

“I’ve got it,” she clucks, tossing the last of the gun bags onto the table before yanking open a drawer beneath it, retrieving boxes of ammunition and stuffing them into each of the bags.

As I’m carrying another armful of guns back over to the table, I hear the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs through the open door, casting a wary glance in that direction as I start loading up another bag with rifles. The red-haired girl I briefly encountered outside the locker room the other day rushes inside, followed by a surly looking blonde dude with a beard and an impressive amount of ink. Upon seeing me, they both grind to a halt, the guy keeping me in his sights while the redhead turns to gape at Sloane.

“Whoa, what's he…?”

“Later,” Sloane snaps, cutting her off. “He’s helping.” She continues stuffing the bags with ammo as she asks, “what’s the counterattack?”

“Interception Three,” the guy responds gruffly, striding over to a locker on the opposite side of the room. He retrieves a pair of handguns from inside, shoving one into the waistbandof his jeans and passing the other back to his flame-haired counterpart. “Everyone else is already headed that way.”

“Riders Corner?” Sloane asks, and the guy jerks a nod.

I don’t understand their lingo, but I’m relieved they’ve at least got a plan worked out. And chances are, wherever they’re going, Avery will be there. The girl seems to be a magnet for danger.

The four of us work in tandem to finish loading up the bags with rifles and ammunition, Sloane introducing the others to me as Andie and Nash; a mated pair. Between the snippets of conversation I can actually follow, I pick up on the general situation unfolding and their responsive defense strategy.

Four SUVs have been spotted incoming on the main forest road that cuts through the center of their territory, presumably hunters from The Guild, and vehicles have been dispatched to a location they call ‘Riders Corner’ to block the road and prevent them from advancing further. A wave of fighters are already on their way to meet them- some in wolf form, others on foot- and should arrive at any minute. Our objective is to get the weapons to them before the incoming vehicles reach the blockade so everyone can arm up and get into position.

Many hands make for quick work, and as soon as we’ve got the weapons loaded up, we each sling as many bags as we can carry over our shoulders before departing the armory and ascending the stairs. Rather than heading for the nearest exit doors, however, Nash leads the way across the indoor training arena to another door off the back. It opens into a large garage with several ATVs parked inside. Sloane hops into the driver’s seat of a side-by-side, barking orders for me to get in with her, and Nash gets behind the wheel of another, Andie sliding in on the passenger side. One of them must activate the remote to open the garage, because the next thing I know, Sloane’s hitting the gas and we’re tearing off, the windhitting our faces as I get my first taste of fresh air in days.

Nash and Andie take the lead in their ATV, the trees whipping by in a blur as we pick up a well-worn trail through the forest. Sloane drives like a bat out of hell, nearly dumping me off at every turn, but I can’t say I don’t appreciate her sense of urgency. My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest. I can only surmise that this trail must be a shortcut of some kind to reach our destination, but every minute seems to stretch on for an eternity. The beast inside my brain is beating against the bars of his cage, demanding to be released, while all I can do is grit my teeth and hold on tight.

I’m not sure Icouldshift, even if I wanted to. My wolf still feels like a separate being; an intruder taking up space in my mind that I can’t communicate with or control. Avery makes it sound easy when she says I just need to accept him and integrate, but I know I’ve still got too many mental blocks up, whether consciously or not. Either way, this isn’t the time or place to experiment with a transformation. Something Iamadept at is keeping the beast at bay, so that's what I focus on instead, white knuckling the handle on the roll bar while I’m jostled around with every bump.

After what feels like an hour- but in reality, is probably only ten minutes or so- we finally hit the end of the trail, coming out on the road. There’s a crowd of people gathered around a pair of trucks blocking it, and I finally understand the ‘Riders Corner’ moniker when I see the sharp curve in the road beyond them. It’s a smart play to ambush the inbound SUVs here; they won’t see us until they take the turn, thereby equipping us with the element of surprise. Though I’m not sure what The Guild’s strategy is in carrying out a blatant attack in broad daylight; it’s far more risky and reckless than any missions we ran in the past.

Gravel sprays out from beneath the tires of the ATV in front of us as Nash pulls it to the side of the road, Sloaneveering off to park ours behind. Before it even comes to a complete stop, I’m hopping off the side-by-side, securing the straps of the bags over my shoulders, and darting around to the other side of the ATV to help Sloane with hers. A heartbeat later, the four of us are sprinting for the cluster of people near the trucks.

The crowd parts as we approach and wave of relief hits me when I catch sight of Avery up ahead, radiating confidence and ferocity like a valkyrie ready for battle. Those whiskey-brown eyes widen when she sees me coming, and I’m not sure whether it’s in surprise or fear- because her brother’s right beside her, andhejust spotted me, too.

“What the hell is he doing out of his cage?” Madd spits as I draw closer, his jaw clenched tightly and his glare murderous. With his heavily inked skin and hulking build, he’s easily recognizable from the video Matty took weeks ago. Even if he wasn’t, though, the way he shoulders in front of Avery gives off a distinct protective brother vibe.

Sloane pushes past me to intercept the confrontation, approaching her mate and dropping a weapons bag at his feet. “I let him out,” she states matter-of-factly, meeting his cutting glare without so much as a flinch. “He wanted to help.”

Madd shakes his head back and forth so hard it’s a wonder it doesn’t pop off his damn neck. “No, absolutely the fucknot,” he snarls.

Apparently Avery’s not content to be sidelined in this encounter, because she heaves an annoyed sigh as she bumps her shoulder into her brother’s, pushing past him to stride in my direction.

“Aves,” he growls in warning.

She pivots back toward him, pointing a finger. “Down, boy.”

His glare turns fucking arctic, the vein in his neck protruding. Shit, I know exactly what it feels like to be on thatend of Avery’s snark, so it’s no wonder he looks like he’s a breath away from completely snapping.

Been there, buddy.

“Just trust me, alright?” Sloane placates, pulling a pair of rifles out of a bag and shoving one into his hands. “We need to move,now.”

Avery closes the distance between us, leaning in as she grabs for the straps of the bags on my left shoulder. “What are you doing here?” she hisses under her breath.

I don’t have a chance to answer her because the sound of squealing tires suddenly cuts through the air, alerting us to the inbound vehicles’ presence, and all hell breaks loose. People start making a mad dash for the bags of weapons, grabbing for rifles and ammunition and running to seek cover in the trees. I pull two guns out of the bag at my feet and hand one over to Avery before I start loading my own, completely blind to what’s happening in the road from our position behind the trucks. By the time I’m finished loading my rifle, gunshots are already popping off.

Holding my firearm at the ready, I slink toward the front of one of the trucks, peering around the hood to see four familiar black SUVs parked in the road. The soldiers that arrived in them are already disappearing into the thick brush of the forest, and I immediately recognize the mission strategy. They’ll fan out, forcing us to split up, then use the forest for cover to stealthily pick us off one by one.

Madd clearly has a strategic mind, because he catches on right away, barking out orders to circle around and head them off before they can get too deep into the woods. Avery takes off like a shot, barreling into the forest, and wanting to keep her in my sights, I follow.

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