Page 58 of My Girlfriend is a Werewolf

He tried to give her a reassuring look.

She pushed herself to a sitting position and, to his disbelieving gaze, pulled a gun.

He didn’t think; he fired, his shot slightly wild but still hitting, striking her in the shoulder. She shouted in pain and dropped her weapon.

Grams would probably yell at him, but he didn’t fire a finishing bullet.

Instead, he moved faster, heading to the stairs, and ran into his first mercenary. The guy held a gun and stood guard at the top of the staircase, his goggles hiding his eyes, a gaiter covering the lower half of his face. He looked a lot like a bad guy in one of his video games, making it easier this time to take aim and fire.

The merc went down without firing his gun, and a moment later, Derek had his foot on the first step.

Which was when the lights went out.

Chapter 17

The lights went out,and with the lack of humming machinery, the silence deafened. The shooting also stopped for the moment.

“Mom?” Athena called out to her.

“Still here, baby girl. Almost got my feet untied.” A hiss and Mom exclaimed, “I’m loose, but I can’t see a darned thing.”

“Follow my voice.” Athena began talking. “Just walk slow, hands in front of you so you don’t smash your face into anything.”

“What’s happening?” Mom asked.

“Ares came for us,” Selene replied.

“How did he know where to find us?” Athena asked.

“I couldn’t say anything before because of the cameras, but he GPS-chipped us when you went missing. Thought he was a little nuts at the time but turned out he had the right idea.”

“Chipped?” Athena didn’t even know that was possible.

“Think of it as an air tag for humans, only it’s inside our bodies.”

“Well, damn.” No wonder Selene appeared so confident about rescue.

“Athena?”

Mom sounded close, and Athena murmured, “Not far now, Mom. Just a few more steps.” She heard rather than saw the hand that slapped into her bars. “You found me. Now feel for the lock.” The doctor hadn’t used electronic ones this time but rather good old-fashioned padlocks.

“How am I supposed to open it? I don’t have a key.”

“Fuck.” For some reason, Athena had forgotten that crucial component. “Maybe you can smash it.”

“With what?” her mother huffed. “Dammit. I wish I could see. Let me go groping and see what I can find.” Mom wandered off, her feet sliding on the floor.

Selene sighed. “We’re so dumb. Rogers has the key.”

“I’m aware.” Her ears caught a sound. “Someone’s coming. Hide, Mom.” Kind of an oxymoron since none of them could see shit.

The person coming down had a heavy step, but it wasn’t until she heard, “Athena?” that she relaxed, and her heart burst.

“Derek!”

“Thank fuck. Are you all right?” he exclaimed.

“Yes, but me and my sister are stuck in a cage.”

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