Page 4 of Psycho Pack

Maybe it's because I'm their omega. The thought is so strange. I never could have foreseen I would see a pack of alphas asmypack. But in spite of everything that's happened… I don't regret the choice Valek gave me.

That's something I'll have to wrestle with later.

A set of heavy metal doors blocks our path. Next to them is another control panel, this one with a keypad. I bite back a curse. We've come so far, only to be stopped by a locked door.

Wraith studies the panel for a moment, then raises his fist. Before I can stop him, he brings it down with crushing force. The metal crumples like paper beneath the blow. Sparks fly as wires tear free.

An alarm blares, so loud it makes me stagger. Red warning lights flash, bathing everything in a hellish glow. Not that it matters when there are no guards. They must be busy with the carnage above us. The doors slide open with a hiss of hydraulics.

"Subtle," I mutter.

Then he's scooping me up again, and we're racing through the open doorway. We emerge into a sterile white hallway that stretches in both directions. Signs on the wall point toward various labs and testing areas. But the one that catches my eye reads "EXIT" with an arrow pointing left.

In three long strides, he reaches the exit. Another door. He holds me in one arm while his free fist slams into it with earth-shattering force and we burst through the door and into blessed sunlight.

The biting cold hits me like a slap to the face. I blink rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness after so long in the dim underground. Wraith's arms tighten around me, his skin burning hot against mine despite the frigid snowy air.

Freedom stretches out before us. A loading dock at the foot of a towering cliff, machinery abandoned in the chaos, and a winding mountain road disappearing into swirling snow. So close. So tantalizingly close after everything we've been through.

But we can't leave. Not yet.

"Wait," I say, squirming out of Wraith's arms. The snow is painfully cold against my bare feet, and I have to fight to suppress a shiver. Wraith starts trying to pick me up again, but I place my palms on his chest, stopping him. "We can't go."

He freezes, looking down at me with confusion in his bright blue eyes. A low, questioning growl rumbles through his chest.

"The others," I explain. "I know they came for me."

Wraith's eyes narrow. He shakes his head vehemently, gesturing toward the beckoning mountain road with sharp, urgent movements.

"I know," I say gently. "But we can't just leave them." I hesitate. "And... and we can't leave Valek, either. I promise I'll explain later, but he wasn't trying to hurt me. Just… trust me. It's complicated."

Like everything else.

Now he's really looking at me like I've lost my fucking mind. Then he shakes his head again, more forcefully this time. His hands fly in a flurry of signs, too fast for me to catch. But the meaning is clear enough in his wild eyes, in the way he keeps gesturing toward the road.

Get out. Now.

"We can't," I insist, even as another explosion rocks the facility behind us. The ground trembles beneath our feet, and a plume of black smoke billows into the sky. "What if they're trapped? What if they need help?"

Wraith growls, low and frustrated. He taps his temple, then points at me. Think. His hands move again, slower this time so I can follow.

You don't know they're here.

"They are," I reply with conviction.

He groans, signing again, each movement of his hands pointed and firm.Even if they are here, they would want you safe.

I sigh. "Even if that's true, there's someone else, too."

Wraith's brow furrows. He cocks his head to the side, questioning.

"The Knight," I explain.

Who? he signs, frowning even more.

"He was the prisoner in the cell across from mine," I reply. I don't tell him the Knight reminded me of him. Massive, mute, misunderstood. "I promised I'd help him. I can't break that promise."

For a long moment, Wraith just stares at me. His scarred face twists in an expression I can't quite read—disbelief? Anger? Fear? Maybe all three at once. He shakes his head again, more emphatically this time. His hands move in sharp, urgent gestures.

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