Page 61 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

“I’m sorry about this, but it’s this or a cell, and you’re still in danger from bullets inside a cell. If you keep walking, there’s a larger area a bit farther down.”

“No, no.” Dirge lifted her around the waist and passed her into Shay’s arms. Shay looked grim as she held Oli, murmuring apologies as Dirge shut the door behind us. There was only a sliver of light left when the door to the high alpha’s suite banged open, and I had to resist the urge to scream for him to come in with us. I knew he wanted to protect the castle, but he was all alone out there.

The heavy door slid shut as he burst out of his clothing, a massive black wolf leaping into the fray as we were sealed away behind the walls.

“How will they get us out? Goddess, if they all die, we’ll betrapped in here!” Olivia was having a panic attack.

I rounded on her, my own alpha wolf rising to the surface as Bri and Shay desperately shushed her.

“Enough,” I snapped on a low hiss, letting my power out to brush against hers.

She was much lower down the hierarchy than my alpha oreven Shay’s beta. A nu, my wolf decided as she trembled silently under my command. I eased up a fraction, not enough for her to keep talking, but enough that she’d know I wasn’t trying to torment her. “We’re not going to stay here. We’re going to go down into the tunnel, like Dirge told us. It’ll open up, and we’ll be with you. We are not going to get trapped in here, and the menaregoing to be fine.” I added the last bit for myself as much as for her.

They have to be okay.I hid my own terror with sheer alpha will. Someone had to take charge, and that someone was me.

“Okay, I’m sorry. We’re going to be okay. Right?” Oli asked in a terrified whisper, hands shaking as she pushed her red hair away from her eyes.

“Exactly. We’ll be fine, and so will they. The best thing we can do now is stay calm and work together.” I eyed the cold stone walls warily. They were so thick that with the opening sealed behind us, I couldn’t hear the fight I knew was happening right outside. But if thingsdidgo wrong, I didn’t want to be sitting here waiting for them to attack us next. We would go deeper down and see if there were any weapons. If not, we’d at least have more room to maneuver as wolves.

“Kane and Gael are on their way back with Varga, but it’s still going to be a bit,” Bri whispered as we started down the tunnels. “He’s close enough that I can feel it through my bond. Dirge won’t be alone for too long. Kane’s picking up some of what’s happening through my emotions, and he’s pissed.”

“They aren’t going to know what hit them,” Shay said, a savage edge to the words. Her eyes were glowing—hell,allour eyes were, which was why we could see in the sparse light from the distantly placed sconces in these tunnels.

They were surprisingly clean, but cold and clammy. I did not want to spend the night down here, but it was better than the alternative.

The ground sloped down under our feet, and the tunnelbegan to turn, sharper and sharper until we were walking straight down in a corkscrew pattern. Eventually, it opened back up again, into what looked like a full-on armory. There were glass cases lining the walls, a room full of bunk beds, a full kitchen with a nonperishable pantry, and even a garage with four large, blacked-out SUVs that I’d bet were bulletproof waiting inside.

I found a light switch on one of the walls, and soft LED lighting flickered to life around the space. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief and made a beeline to a couch in front of a television. Bri wasted no time finding a basket of plush blankets and pulling one over Olivia as I dropped my alpha command completely. I let her tend to our still-shaking pack mate—because that was what she’d become since we’d met. I didn’t know how or why, but she fit with us.

I’d apologize to Oli later for using my dominance on her, but now wasn’t the time. Shay walked with me to the cases of weapons, eyes wide as she took in row upon gleaming row of deadly potential.

“Do you know how to use any of these?” she asked, pointing to some sort of gun with a large circular bullet thing underneath it.

“I’ve been to the gun range a time or two. I’ll figure it out.” I ran my fingertips over the glass until I felt some give. As soon as I pressed, the glass door popped open on smooth hinges, and I selected a midsized gun from the rack.

A quick check showed it was loaded, and I slipped a spare magazine into my pajama pants pocket. I turned a questioning gaze on Shay, but she shook her head.

“If it comes to that, I’ll shift. My wolf is a better fighter than I am.”

“Fair enough. I’m just not sure what would happen if I shifted right now.”

“Let’s not find out, please. We all need to keep ourstrength,” Bri interjected. “Why don’t you sit with Oli—you can take the chair facing the tunnel, if it makes you feel better—and Shay and I will get us all some water.”

She had her doctor voice on, so I didn’t argue. I clicked the gun case back closed and wandered over to the chair she’d pointed at. I rested the gun across my lap and waited.

THIRTY-ONE

Gael

Our return flight to the castle was uneventful, and the whole thing rubbed my fur the wrong way, no matter how ready I was to be back under the same roof as my mate without a hitch.

The need for her was an itch under my skin that I couldn’t scratch until I laid eyes on her myself, and we were still ten minutes out.

Kane went stiff as a board at my side. “What’s wrong?” I asked, that uneasy feeling not letting me go.

Varga started to laugh from his position at the front of the cargo area, the sound low and unnerving. We’d strapped him into a harness to be kept safe and sound until the tribunal was held in front of witnesses.

It was too easy collecting him. What is he up to?

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